Chapter 1

Potions had never been your favorite course at Hogwarts. It wasn't that it didn't interest you - you simply lacked the talent. Every other class was easy, or at least challenging in an engaging way. You enjoyed learning most of the time, and your high marks made even the top Ravenclaw students jealous. But potions? You could never keep the cauldron at the right temperature, or weigh ingredients properly, or stir in the right direction long enough to be successful. Something would always bubble over or burn through...you were hopeless.

Today was no different. You were in Advanced Potions, your literal nightmare, leaning over your cauldron and stirring desperately. The fumes and smoke had made your hair frizz out, and you blew a stray hair out of your face as you bit your lip. The liquid, by now, should have turned a brilliant royal blue… but it looked more like a pale and sickly lavender. You groaned. Your partner looked at you and smirked.

"I swear, it will never cease to amaze me how much you suck at this."

"Shut up, Jones," you snarled, more out of frustration than anything else. He laughed.

"How can you be so bad at this, Pen? You're a Slytherin, aren't you supposed to be a natural at this business?"

You snapped your head to look at him. "Ernest Jones, for a Ravenclaw, you really are the dumbest person I know." He laughed at that, leaning over to your side of the table.

"It's just that you're so smart… usually…" his voice trailed off as he peaked inside your cauldron. "Wow, you've really made a mess."

"Thanks for that," you quipped, pushing him out of the way. "What's yours look like anyway, Mr. Perfect?" Ernest sighed, letting you look at his. It wasn't perfect, but at least it was a shade of blue. He clicked his tongue.

"I think I maybe stirred left one too many times? I don't know… I wasn't paying close attention…" he glanced quickly at the girl seated three rows ahead of you. You snorted.

"Abbie? Really? You sure know how to pick them…" Ernest blushed immediately.

"You're her friend, right? Can you talk to her?" You hummed at that.

"I can try…" you started. "You know she would never date outside of Slytherin house, though, right?" You said this softly, knowing how stupid it was, but also that it was the truth. Ernest smiled sadly.

"You Slytherins do like to stick together, don't you?" You were about to answer when a small explosion at the front of the room caught your attention. Startled, you looked up to see a large puff of blue smoke coming out of a student's cauldron in the first row.

"Well done!" Your professor boomed, smiling. "Well done, well done! 20 points to Hufflepuff for being the first to successfully brew the Skele-Gro potion!"

You craned your neck to see who it was, and caught a glimpse of a student you had never seen before. You could see the back of his head, hunched over, and a shock of red, wild hair sticking up from every which way. You nudged Ernest with your elbow.

"Hey, who is that, anyway? I've never seen him." Ernest looked up from his cauldron.

"Who?"

"The guy next to your girlfriend," you smirked. Ernest blushed.

"Oh, that's that Scamander bloke. He's very strange…" he stopped suddenly as a bubble popped in his potion. He looked at you, worried. "Is it supposed to bubble?"

"How would I know? I suck at this, remember?" You looked back at the student in the first row. He was gathering up his things to leave, as finishing your potion meant that you were done for the day. He kept his head low, shoving book after book into his bag, dropping a few papers. As he bent down to pick them up, he dropped another set of papers to the ground. A few students snickered. His eyes darted around the room, settling on yours. You took in his features quickly; green eyes and a tight, thin mouth. You gave him a small smile, but instead of smiling back he stood up and hurriedly made his way out of the classroom, muttering apologies under his breath. You scrunched your nose. "Why have I never seen him?"

Ernest cocked an eyebrow at you. "Why would you have? He's in Hufflepuff, a bit below your radar… I only know him because he was in my Care of Magical Creatures lecture last year. He's really into that stuff."

"I wonder if he would tutor me in Potions…" you thought out loud. Ernest scoffed. "What?" you asked, annoyed at his tone.

"Really? You, Miss Slytherin princess, wants to voluntarily spend time with a… Hufflepuff?" He scrunched his nose at the word, acting overly dramatic. Ernest hated the Slytherin House - it was a miracle you two had ended up friends. You smirked.

"It can't be any worse than spending time with you." Ernest gasped and put his hand over his heart, feigning offense. You laughed. "What did you say his name was, again?"

"Scamander." Ernest answered, stirring his potion twice, counter-clockwise, and smiling when it turned a more appropriate shade of blue. "Newton Scamander."