It was strange going down to the dungeons for Potions class when I knew that Snape wouldn't be there. I was lined up with everyone else who had made it into Potions - Harry, Ron, Hermione, four other Ravenclaws, Ernie Macmillan, and four Slytherins including Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini.

Professor Slughorn was short, fat, and bald, but seemed friendly nonetheless. He was far more welcoming than Snape, at least, when we entered the classroom.

The dungeon classroom already contained several cauldrons, each containing a different potion. They all gave off different odors.

With the smell of different potions wafting around me, I set off to a table. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie took one, the Slytherins took one, and the Ravenclaws took one. I sat in the back at a table by myself, just as I liked it.

Slughorn told us to get out our scales, potion kits, and potion book as he explained the potions in the room: Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, Amortentia, and Felix Felicis, a luck potion. He then told us to get to work on a Draught of the Living Death.

I turned to page ten in Advanced Potion Making and looked at the recipe. It was by far the most complicated potion I had ever seen.

I was cutting valerian roots when Slughorn began to walk around the room and observe our potions. When he reached my lonely table, he said, "Miss, you must be quite lonesome sitting by yourself. Why don't you join another table?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine right here," I said, hanging my head slightly so I could hide my face as best as I could with a curtain of hair. I continued to chop the valerian roots hastily. They came out uneven.

"Go on," he said. "Why don't you sit with those students over there?" He pointed to the Slytherin table. "I'm sure they'd welcome you."

"I - okay," I said reluctantly. I began to grab my stuff, and as soon as Slughorn's back was turned, I glared at him. Joining the Slytherins was the last thing I wanted to do.

I slammed my scales onto the table and took at seat, giving Malfoy and Nott a glare as I sat down. They began to laugh, and Malfoy said mockingly, "Why don't you want to join us?"

I glared at him again and began to say, "Now, you listen - " But Malfoy's hand was in the air and Slughorn was walking toward us.

"Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?" [*] he said, hoping for some recognition. After all, Slughorn had favored Harry and Blaise Zabini from the start because they were known to an extent - Harry's fame was obvious, Zabini's was because his mother was famous.

"Yes," Slughorn said, "I was sorry to hear he had died, although of course it wasn't unexpected, dragon pox at his age..." [**]

And he walked away without another word. I looked at Malfoy arrogantly and said, "He doesn't seem to think you're special at all ... please, just because he knew your grandfather? He probably taught a lot of our parents and grandparents ... "

"Like yours?" Malfoy said coldly. "I'm surprised he doesn't give you special treatment. ‘Daughter of two insane Death Eaters who both went mad in prison ... '"

I glared at him again, and my words came back to me. "Might I remind you that your father is currently in prison right now? You listen, Draco Malfoy, and you listen good - " I whipped my wand out of my robe pocket at jabbed it at his throat - "If you mention my parents at all, or anything that has to do with ... anything, then I swear I will tell the whole school that you're my cousin. And I'm sure you don't want that, do you?"

He opened his mouth to argue. I raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Your choice." He closed it and I lowered my wand.

"Fine, Tonks. You get your way."

My wand was at his throat again. "Don't call me Tonks!"

"Young lady, is there a problem? You don't seem to be progressing on your potion," Slughorn said from behind me. I froze for a second before stuffing my wand back in my pocket.

"Sorry, Professor," I said. "I was just - I'll work on it."

I looked at him, trying to look apologetic. His eyes narrowed and he said, "Now, what might your name be?"

I looked down at the table and muttered, "Lyra Lestrange."

The Slytherins began to laugh and coughed to muffle it. Slughorn said, "Ah, yes. I have heard of you. Taught your parents, you know. Your mother was quite extraordinary as I'm sure you're aware of. She had so much magical talent ... if only she had used it properly. It's a shame to see how things turned out, isn't it?"

"Yes," I muttered as I grinded my teeth together furiously. "It is."

I reached for my knife and grabbed it tightly as Slughorn walked away. I began to chop the rest of my roots furiously. As soon as Slughorn was out of earshot, Malfoy said, "How about that, Tonks?"

"Careful, Draco," Theodore Nott said. "Angry girl with a sharp knife. I wouldn't provoke her if I were you."

"Shut up," I growled as I dumped the roots into the cauldron. I stirred the mixture and turned to squeeze juice out of the next ingredient, sopophorous beans. As I pressed the knife into the bean, I said, "You have no idea what I'm capable of when I get angry, Malfoy."

"Oh, actually I do," Malfoy said, quiet enough that Slughorn couldn't hear. "I know you can perform a deadly Cruciatus Curse."

I stopped cutting the bean and said, "How ... how do you know that?"

Malfoy and Nott laughed again and Malfoy said, "Your mummy told me."

I dropped my knife; it hit the floor with a clatter. My hand was still frozen position as I said shakily, "Since when ... since when have you talked to my mother?"

Malfoy laughed out loud. "Didn't you realize? Ever since the breakout, she's at our manor all the time. She's my aunt, you know. Tells me all sorts of stuff about the Dark Arts."

"No!" I said. "You ... you ... " But I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"That's actually pretty impressive," Nott said.

"No, it's not!" I said furiously. "It's not impressive at all that he's in contact with her! She's probably telling him all sorts of things about me! Not that she knows me at all, but she knows enough - "

"That's not what I was talking about," Nott interrupted. "I meant, I think it's impressive that someone our age can perform a powerful Cruciatus Curse."

"Don't be ridiculous," I said, bending down to pick up my knife. I was way behind on my potion.

"I'm not being ridiculous," he said. "I think it would be great to be able to do that."

"Why?" I asked in extreme bewilderment.

"Well, if you're being attacked, you could easily curse the person attacking you. Then you could flee or kill them or whatever. It's a powerful curse."

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," I grumbled. "Have you ever had it used on you before?"

Nott didn't say anything, so I went on.

"It's stupid if you think it's great that I can perform this. You obviously don't have a brain, do you? It only works when I'm angry, and if I'm being attacked, chances are I won't think to use it. If you think a curse like that is cool, then you need a reality check. It's illegal, Nott, it can get you thrown in jail! Why do you think my parents went there?"

"I never said it was cool," he said. "I said it was impressive."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. Getting angry and attacking someone who's completely innocent is impressive."

"Never mind," Nott said. "I didn't mean anything by it."

To my surprise, his tone sounded honest. But why would a Slytherin talk to someone like me - not just a Gryffindor, but me - like that?

"Er ... okay," I said, confused by his words. "Well, then ... I need to finish my potion, so ... "

I stared down at the beans I was cutting, but was sure that Malfoy was giving Nott a look.

"Well," Malfoy said darkly, looking for any excuse to make me mad, "what about this morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts? What was your deal with Snape?"

"Malfoy, I'm warning you - "

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Nott said. "Snape made her angry, and she felt the need to leave before using a Cruciatus Curse on him. The most she could do was curse him - you know, not with magic, with words. Detention is probably better than prison, isn't it, Lyra?"

I gave him a strange look as Malfoy glared at him, but the honest truth was, I couldn't have said it better myself.

I continued to stir my potion, thinking, this is not in the plan. Shouldn't he be mocking me just like Malfoy? Why would Nott be defending me?

"And time's ... up! Stop stirring, please," [***] Slughorn said. He began to make his rounds around the room, checking out the potions and seeing who had the best one. It obviously wasn't mine, because I hadn't finished it. I had surely messed up somewhere as my potion wasn't supposed to be bright yellow and paste-thick.

"Miss Lestrange, what happened?" Slughorn asked as he peered over my cauldron.

"I messed up, sir," I said.

"I see. How about you, Mr. Malfoy? Hmmm ... not bad. And Mr. Nott?"

Malfoy smirked at me, obviously mocking the yellow mess-up in my cauldron. He seemed to think he had already won the prize for best potion, a tiny bottle of Felix Felicis.

"The clear winner!" Slughorn announced after checking everyone's mixtures. "Excellent, excellent, Harry!" [***]

Now it was my turn to smirk. I looked at Malfoy and said, "How about that? Beaten by a Gryffindor who previously couldn't mix potions at all."

"Shut up, Tonks - "

"Remember what I said, cousin dearest," I told him mockingly. And when we were dismissed, I wore a satisfied expression.

However, once that had worn off, I became confused again. It was one thing for Malfoy to know so much about me. But Nott? I felt like he could read my mind. Was it possible for him to be in contact with my mother, was it? No, it wasn't ... so how had he figured me out like that?