CELESTE buried her face in her hands, letting out a shuddering breath. She was sitting on the ledge of the wall by the courtyard, her thoughts all over the place. It was just a boggart. It was not real. But that did not stop her from thinking that they would actually leave her. All of them would. Just like her father.

"Les, " said a familiar voice. Draco sat down on the ground and made her look at him. "It's not real. Nobody is leaving you."

Celeste's stormy gray eyes teared up. "I'm humiliated, Draco." She sniffled, a tear escaping her eye. "They'll all talk about me now."

Draco didn't know what to reply because he knew she was right. "So?" He frowned as if it was no big deal. He brushed away her tear and continued, "Tell you what. We'll do something else. Blaise and and I will give them something to actually talk about."

Her lips quirked upwards. She put her arms around her knees. "Like what? what could be more important than Celeste Black's boggart?"

Draco seemed to be in thought. After a minute, he said, "Leave that to us." and he stood up, giving her a hand. She looked up at him with unshed tears in her eyes and took his hand, standing up.

Her brother. The boy she basically grew up with. The mean and cold boy, who was only soft for this girl he considered as his sister. And the mean and cold girl, who had nobody but him and her uncle.

"What was it uncle Reg and my mother always said?" asked Drace, grabbing her bag— that he had brought with him after running after her— on the ground and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Toujours Pur," offered Celeste offhandedly. Always pure. Their family motto.

Draco chuckled and shook his head. "Not that, you dimwit. The other thing." He said, pursing his lips in thought.

Celeste felt her lips turn up. "Always have each other's back, even when the whole world turns its back on you."

Draco nodded and slung an arm over her shoulder, rubbing her arm comfortingly. "Yes, that. I've always got your back, Les."

"I've always got your back, Draco." She smiled, her mood lifting. "What class do we have now?"

"Potions," replied Draco as he led the way to the dungeons. When they reached there, they started walking to the potions classroom.

They opened the door and ignored the others already there, taking seats at the back of the class. Blaise and Daphne, who were sitting in front of them, turned around and gave Celeste concerned looks.

'Are you okay?' mouthed Daphne in concern, her eyes on the girl.

Celeste gave them a small smile and a nod.

Daphne smiled back and turned around, Blaise as well.

Professor Snape cleared his throat and looked at them all, a sneer on his face as usual. "Today, you will be making the Shrinking Solution." He said in his drawling voice. "If brewed incorrectly," he glanced at Harry and Ron, "it is going to turn poisonous. Unless you want me to use the incorrectly brewed potion on you, then you must do it right. Understood?"

Harry muttered something under his breath, making Ron turn his laugh hastily into a cough when Snape's glare stopped on them.

"What was that, Potter?" Snape curled his lip menacingly, his usual hate for Harry Potter on display for everyone to see.

Everyone knew Professor Snape hated Harry Potter, but nobody knew why. It was clear since their first potions class back in first year. The Slytherins enjoyed it, if they were being honest. Someone who put Harry Potter in his place? Count them in.

Harry glared right back at the teacher. "Nothing," he mumbled.

Professor Snape hummed and looked away. He sat down at the chair by his desk and waved a hand. "Begin," he said, going back to writing something with his quill and ink on a parchment.

Celeste stood up, along with the others, and took the ingredients out of the cupboard. Minced daisy roots. Peeled Shrivelfig. Sliced caterpillars— she grimaced in disgust and put it in her small bag. One rat spleen. A dash of leech juice— she put that in a vile. A splash of cowbane. And finally, wormwood.

She closed her small bag and with the two vial in her other hand, she walked back to her and Draco's desk, their cauldron in the middle of the table. Draco was going over the potion in his book, turning the page over by his hand, his other arm still in a sling.

"Did you get the ingredients?" He asked expectantly, looking up and noticing it in her hands. She nodded and put the bag and vial on the desk, opening her own potions book.

"Psst," someone whispered to them by the table right next to them.

Draco and Celeste looked at the person. "Yes, Parkinson?" Draco finally asked.

Pansy Parkinson ignored Tracey Davis's— who was her partner for the lesson— giggle. "'How is it, Draco?' simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Draco, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But he winked at Celeste when Pansy wasn't looking. Celeste let out an unladylike snort.

She went back to the ingredients and opened the bag, putting them all on the table. She started by juicing two Shrivelfigs, adding their ruby blood to the cauldron.

Draco stopped talking to Pansy and muttered to Celeste, "That haircut is so bad I feel myself almost vomiting."

Celeste let out a small laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. She stirred the potion slowly, while Draco turned on the heat gently with his uninjured hand. Then, she sliced four daisy roots and added them to the cauldron. After that, Draco added five hairy caterpillars.

He took the other vial of wormwood and shook it, then added that to the potion as well. Celeste stirred the potion vigorously. It was turning into the right color.

She juiced four leeches and added it. Draco stirred it slowly. She added rat spleen and then a splash of cowbane. Draco stirred it again. She turned on the heat into a higher temperature, then took out her wand and muttered the shrinking charm.

The potion turned green.

A few cauldrons away, Neville Longbottom was in trouble. Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His potion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned—

"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape, ladling some up and allowing it to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. "Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Please, sir," said Hermione Granger desperately, "please, I could help Neville put it right—"

"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville. Draco let out a snicker and so did Celeste. "Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly."

Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear.

"Help me!" he moaned to Hermione.

Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly, watching Neville sweat as he stirred his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions to him out of the corner of her mouth, so that Snape wouldn't see.

Meanwhile, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley packed away their unused ingredients and went to wash their hands and ladles in the stone basin in the corner.

"Snape's a git," Harry muttered to Ron, as he stuck his hands under the icy jet that poured from a gargoyle's mouth.

"'Course he is," replied Ron savagely, glancing at the man. "He's a Slytherin. All Slytherins are gits."

Harry's eyes went on Celeste, who was whispering to Draco, her lips in a victorious smile. Their potion turned out right, then. Harry felt his lips twitch upwards at the girl's smile.

He let out an 'ouch!' when Ron elbowed him and gave him a look. "Not all Slytherins, Ron." Harry muttered, drying his hands and rubbing the place that was elbowed. "Look at Black. I haven't seen her be a git, not even once."

"That's just 'cause you're in love with her, mate." Ron rolled his eyes at his friend's infatuation with the girl. "You have been for years. She hasn't looked at you even once, has she?"

Harry's brows furrowed and turned into a frown. "That was harsh." He mumbled as they walked over back to their cauldron.

The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron.

"Everyone gather round," said Snape, his black eyes glittering, "and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned."

The Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked excited. Snape picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand, and dipped a small spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat.

There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm.

The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown.

"Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, which wiped the smiles from every face. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."

Celeste and Draco grabbed their bags and walked out of the classroom with Daphne and Blaise.

"When are you taking that sling off?" Blaise asked curiously, motioning towards Draco's injured arm. Celeste knew Draco wasn't taking it off for dramatics. His arm was healed by now, she was sure of it.

"Dunno," shrugged Draco, unbothered. "Maybe in a few weeks."

"What class have we got next?" Daphne asked Celeste as they walked in front of the boys.

Celeste took out her schedule from her bag and showed it to Daphne. "You lot have Divination. I have Ancient Runes."

"I still can't believe you chose Ancient Runes over Divination with us," Blaise shook his head in disbelief.

"I want to actually learn something, Blaise. Divination is a waste of time. Trelawney is a fraud, anyway. It's not like I would've learned something from her." She said as they walked up the steps out of the dungeons. She stopped underneath the stairs leading to the floor above them. The other three had Divination and it was somewhere way, way above. Meanwhile, Celeste was already on the right floor, and she had Professor Bathsheda Babbling's class. "I'll see you all later at dinner."

"Where are you going after this class ends?" Draco asked.

"The library. I'm meeting up with Astoria there," replied Celeste, thinking of Daphne's little sister, whom she became friends with just last year. "She needs help with some classes. I offered to help her."

"I can help her," offered Daphne kindly.

Celeste shook her head. "I promised. I've got to go. I'll see you all later."

They muttered goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Celeste opened the door to the Ancient Runes classroom and sat down at the back, alone. She took out her copy of Ancient Runes Made Easy by Laurenzoo and also took out a parchment and a quill, a bottle of ink as well.

She looked up when Hermione Granger walked in. Granger's hair seemed to be frizzier than usual and she was letting out panting breaths as she put her book on the desk at the front of the classroom and sat down. The girl turned around and noticed Celeste. "What're you looking at, Black?" She gave her a hard look, looking the girl up and down.

Celeste raised an eyebrow. If anyone should have that attitude, it should've been her. "I haven't said anything, Granger." She pointed out, ignoring the few other students listening in on them.

Hermione Granger stuck her nose up in the air and huffed. "You didn't have to. You looking at me was enough." She said and turned around, not waiting for a reply.

Celeste rolled her eyes and opened her book. A few minutes later, their Professor walked in and the class started.

Soon enough, the class ended. Celeste put her stuff in her bag and walked out of the classroom and rushed to the library. When she was there, she gave Madam Irma Pince, the librarian, a nod.

Madam Pince smiled at the girl, whom she liked. Celeste usually spent her free time at the library over the couple of years. It was her safe space, aside from the Slytherin common room. She loved books. She loved learning. She loved studying.

Celeste found Astoria hunched over a book on an empty table, waiting for her. She sat down across from the girl and smiled. "Hello, Tori."

Astoria, the second-year Slytherin, looked up and relaxed when she saw who it was. "Hi, Les. I've been waiting for you." She replied, giving the girl a smile. Her brown hair was curled and her green eyes shone with knowledge. The girl was smart for her age. Celeste bonded over books with the girl a year ago, which was what led to the two having a friendship, despite their one year age gap.

"Sorry for making you wait," said Celeste sincerely, taking the book in front of Astoria and looking at it. It was the second year potions book. Astoria, despite being smart, had a slight weakness in potions, which caused her to ask Celeste for help. Celeste immediately accepted. How couldn't she? She loved the girl sitting in front of her. She was like her little sister.

"Let's start," said Celeste. "So, the Strengthening Solution—"