"Well you look exhausted," Draco drawled.

"Possibly because I am," I said, walking into the common room and plopping down onto the couch next to him.

"Did you wait up for me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I just happened to be awake, that's all," he said defensively.

"Mhm. Cute," I smirked and he smiled slightly.

"That was one long talk," he glanced at me.

"We ended up just talking about potions," I waved my hand dismissively.

"I see. Well, anyway, my mother was very excited to see you in Diagon Alley the other day. She says she wants to have a family get together over Christmas holiday," he rolled his eyes.

"Well, our parents used to be very good friends," I sighed.

"I don't particularly want to have a family get together," he said.

"Hell no. But, if mother agrees to have one, I won't have a choice," I scowled.

"I'm sorry for pushing this, but you look really tired. Anxious, too," he frowned.

"Well, yeah, I start school tomorrow," I shrugged. In all honesty, now that the adrenaline has faded, I'm really anxious about the fact that I've killed someone. If anyone finds out I could go to Azkaban. It's not like I'm untouchable like the Dark Lord. I'm just another not-quite-yet Death Eater. If the Dark Lord was currently living, I wouldn't have a problem with killing. He's the protection all Death Eaters have. But since he isn't around, I have no security or protection. I'm fucked.

"You sure that's all it is?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm positive. In fact, I'm going to head up to bed," I stood, but Draco grabbed my hand.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask. I know Slytherin's act like assholes, but we're here for one another. Even if you don't want to ask me, ask someone else. Okay? Makes the whole first day experience easier," he smiled sadly.

"Thanks," I nodded once.

***

"Wake up, sleeping beauty! It's school time!" Pansy threw the curtains open surrounding my bed.

"Shut up," I groaned, turning over.

"No, I let you sleep in, but if you don't get up now, we'll be late!"

"What?" I sat up, brushing my hair back from my face.

"Come on!" she snapped. I rolled out of bed, went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and then quickly pulled on my uniform. I didn't bother to tie the tie yet.

"Hurry," Pansy said, throwing her hair into an updo as I worked on my makeup. I threw my hair up into a bun, tucking my wand behind my ear as we raced down the stairs. Before I knew it, I was colliding with someone.

"Watch it!" I snapped.

"Fuck off," the other person snapped back. When I bothered to look at them, I laughed.

"Sorry, Draco," I said and he blinked, also just now realizing it was me.

"Oh, Merlin. Sorry," he smiled. Pansy grabbed my hand and shot Draco an annoyed look.

"Let's go!" she said, pulling me out of the common room and to the Great Hall. When we got there, she dropped my hand and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. We both composed ourselves before walking in.

"Fashionably late," she shrugged as Draco caught up with us. We all walked in together, and I sent Potter a friendly smile when he looked my way. Granger frowned at the exchange, but he smiled back. We took our seats and I tiredly ate some toast and eggs. The owl Claire and I were instructed to share, Alisana, arrived with the Daily Prophet and I took it, reading over the headline. Double Homicide in Windsor.

"Don't you live in Windsor?" Pansy asked. I felt my heart plummet as I continued on to the article.

Clementine and Lamoure Loveland were found in their home late last night by a neighbor, both dead from what appears to be the Killing Curse. Ministry officials say there aren't any suspects at the moment, but it is known that the Loveland's are ex-Death Eaters who betrayed You-Know-Who when he was alive. Officials say it is likely that the deaths were the work of Death Eaters. There are post mortem wounds on the victims, leading officials to believe the infamous Fenrir Greybeck mauled them after they had been killed.

I dropped the paper and stopped reading it. Pansy looked up at me, horrified. It took a few moments to register that Claire was screaming. My hands shook violently. Tears burned my eyes. I wanted to scream as well. That filthy fucking half-breed ate my parents.

"Leah," Pansy whispered. The entire Hall began to fill up with whispers, in fact.

"No," I shook my head.

"Darling," Pansy began to stand, but I was faster. I stood up and stepped away from the table.

"No," I shook my head again. There were several professors with Claire, calming her and trying to get her to the hospital wing.

"Miss Loveland," McGonagall stood a few feet away, looking sad.

"No!" I shouted, knowing my eyes were red.

"That filthy half-breed ate my parents!" I yelled and Draco shot to his feet, coming over to comfort me.

"Do not touch me!" I said, holding my hand up.

"Leah, let us help," Pansy walked over to stand next to Draco.

"Leah!" Claire sobbed from across the Hall.

"Get them out, now," Severus said, grabbing me and pulling me from the Hall. I didn't notice much until I was seated on a cot in the Infirmary.

"Leah," Claire threw herself on to me, sobbing hysterically.

"It's okay, Claire," I hugged her.

"They're gone. Someone killed them," she cried into my shoulder.

"I'm going to find Greybeck and kill him. Fucking half-breeds," I spat.

"Miss Loveland, you will do no such thing. I know this is difficult for you..." McGonagall said.

"Difficult?  I hated my parents. Absolutely hated them. But they were my parents and they didn't deserve to be eaten by a psychotic half man half dog!" I snarled.

"You're becoming hysterical," Severus said, holding out two vials.

"Each of you take one," he instructed. I snatched the vial out of his hand and downed it, my hands shaking violently.

"Leah, we'll get to the bottom of this, okay? Relax," Sev put his hands on my arms.

"Let the potions take effect and then you can have the day off," Pomfrey said.

"No, I want to go to class," I shook my head, although I felt sick to my stomach.

"Come to my office first," Sev said sternly. I nodded and Claire wormed her way back into my arms.

"Leah don't leave," she whimpered.

"You're fine, Claire. I'm going to talk to Uncle Sev about what happened."

"Are we in his custody now?"

"I...I don't actually know. I'll find out," I promised, standing up and heading to Sev's. When I reached his office I closed the door and slumped against it.

"What do I have to do to kill Greyback?" I asked.

"We'll handle Greyback later. Sit," he gestured. I moved away from the door and sat down, feeling a headache coming on.

"Give me your wand," he held his hand out and I slowly glared up at him.

"Why?"

"Give it," he demanded and I pulled it out of my pocket, handing it over. He placed it inside a drawer in his desk.

"While we were taking care of the girl last night, another group of Death Eaters were sent to your home. Without you or Claire in the house, it was much easier to break down the wards and get to your parents. Barty met up with them afterwards to ensure the job was done. He stopped Greyback from completely eating the bodies. We had your parents killed," he said and I sat there, still as a statue.

"I know you don't care that they are dead, but if you want to blame anyone for Greyback, blame Rookwood. He was the one who gave Greyback permission."

"Why did you kill them? I don't understand."

"As you very well know, there is a war underway. This is the sign geared towards you to let you know the Dark Lord will be returning. He has taken his revenge on your parents."

"Does he want revenge on me as well?"

"No, he wants you in his ranks. Your parents were preventing that. They were also, as you know, traitors. The Dark Lord killed two birds with one stone, so to speak."

"So he gave the order?"

"Yes."

"But...he isn't around! Where is he? He isn't alive!"

"He's not quite alive. Not yet. All in good time," Severus said.

"But what happens now? Are Claire and I in your care?"

"For all intents and purposes, yes. You are legally mine now," he nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen? I could've been prepared and not freaked out in front of the entire Hall."

"That's exactly what we needed you to do. Otherwise, people would have been suspicious."

"Fine. Fine. But next time, fill me in," I snapped. Sev smirked and nodded.

"Agreed. You may go to class now, it starts in ten minutes," he nodded.

"Wand," I held my hand out and he placed it in my palm. I walked out of his office, down the stairs, and the scanned the potions room for Pansy. She waved me over and I sat down, sighing in irritation.

"Darling, I am so sorry about what happened. It must be devastating," she hugged me.

"No, I'm fine. It's Claire that's fucked up."

"Well mother wrote me and she is absolutely appalled by what happened! She said if you need anything at all you can go to her. She also offered to take you in for holiday breaks."

"Tell her I said thanks. I won't need to take her up on that offer, though. Severus is apparently my new guardian."

"Well, that makes sense," she nodded and Draco turned around from his seat in front of us.

"So what are we doing as revenge?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Revenge?"

"What are you talking about?" Pansy frowned.

"On Fenrir Greyback," he drawled.

"Oh," I smiled slowly.

"What a fantastic question. What indeed?"

"Leah, as much as I would love for you to get revenge, I don't know how possible that'll be. Snape is going to have his eye on you more than ever now, and I know he wouldn't want you going after that psycho," Pansy frowned.

"I'm sure we can figure something out. Even if it's just Crucio."

"Or we could give him a potion as revenge," Draco grabbed his book and opened it to a page he had bookmarked. I raised my eyebrows in shock.

"Why do you have a sixth year potions book?" I asked.

"Some extra reading. What do you think?" he tapped the page.

"I love the idea," I admitted.

"But with who?" Pansy's eyes scanned the page.

"Leah of course," Draco smirked at me and I smirked back.

"How are we getting him this potion?" Pansy asked.

"I'm sure we can find a way," Draco shrugged. I got out a piece of parchment and began copying down the instructions.

"Thanks Draco," I said.

"Not a problem."

***

"Amortentia?" Severus looked at me with his arms crossed.

"The most powerful love potion in the world," I grinned.

"You want to brew this in class?" he gestured to the parchment.

"C'mon. Class starts in five minutes you can still change lesson plans. Besides, I know you have all of the ingredients; I helped you unpack."

"Why do you want to make this?"

"Because it's interesting."

"Leah, I know you better than I know myself, there must be a reason behind this."

"It's a secret mission," I winked and he snorted.

"Come on," I whined.

"Stop whining. Fine, we'll do the potion," he conceded.

"Yes! Thank you!" I hugged him and then hurried back to the classroom.

"It's not fair that you can get whatever you want by just batting your eyes and smiling sweetly," Pansy said sourly when I sat down with a shit eating grin.

"I did neither of those things," I flipped my hair over my shoulder.

"Did you really get Snape to agree?" Draco frowned, turning towards us.

"Wands away," Sev said, coming into the room, "Today we will be making Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world."

"Sir," a Hufflepuff spoke up, "we aren't due to learn that until sixth year."

"Who cares? Look at it this way, if you learn how to make this potion maybe you'll finally get a date," I sneered. The girl flushed and hid her face as Pansy snickered.

"Thank you, Miss Loveland," Sev drawled.

"Now, I have the instructions written up on the board," he flicked his wand and they appeared before us, "you may begin."

"You better be good with potions," I narrowed my eyes at Pansy.

"Shut up, I'm good enough," she said. I got up to get the ingredients just as Draco did.

"I bet you ten galleons Pansy and I make a better potion than you and Blaise," I smirked. Draco laughed shortly and smirked down at me.

"We'll see about that. Blaise and I are pretty good. Top of our class."

"Funny, I thought Granger was top of the class," I tilted my head and smiled innocently. He glared, but I could tell he was amused.

"What do we need?" Draco asked, allowing me into the ingredient room first.

"Ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, lavender, peppermint, powdered moonstone, pink salt, and juice from cherry pits."

"Cherry pits?" Draco wrinkled his nose.

"Hush, Severus pits the cherries himself, it's not like they're just pits from eaten cherries."

We gathered our ingredients in silence, handing each other the things we needed. I grabbed an extra vial to store some of the potion away for future use. When we left the ingredients room, students were still trying to figure out the best way to tackle the potion. Pansy and I got to work, Pansy struggling more than I. I saw her repeatedly brush her hair out her eyes angrily. She also cursed quite a lot.

"Oh my god, give me the cherry pit," I said after watching her try to juice it for what seemed like hours. She picked it up and slammed it down in front of me. I took the edge of my blade and crushed it, the juice leaking out freely.

"What the fuck!" Pansy snarled, stomping her foot.

"Problem, Miss Parkinson?" Sev drawled, looking up from a Hufflepuff's cauldron.

"No, sir," she grit out. Draco smirked back at us.

"Shut up," I mouthed to him, scowling. He chuckled and turned back around.

"Add the moonstone," I said, stirring the potion.

"Slowly," I snapped and Pansy glared at me, but obeyed. She poured in the moonstone as I stirred and then we let the potion simmer.

"Five minutes," I said, casting a tempus charm to keep time.

"Professor Snape, we're finished," Draco held up a vial with the potion in it.

"How?" Pansy demanded.

"Because we aren't incompetent, like you," Blaise drawled.

"Shut up! Draco you can't let him talk to me like that!"

"I'm not his keeper," Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Drake!"

"Don't call me Drake," he glared. I sat back and watched with raised eyebrows.

"Why are you such a prick all the time?" she seethed.

"Pansy shut up and stop being a twat," Draco said coolly.

"Hey," I snapped, sitting up straight and glaring fiercely at him. He glared back.

"Watch your mouth, Malfoy," I snarled, placing my hand on Pansy's arm. He looked at me, internally debating whether or not to argue, and then nodded once, turning back around.

"Thanks," Pansy said in surprise.

"Your relationship isn't very loving," I looked at her expectantly.

"It's mainly for image," she muttered.

"Pans," I sighed and she shook her head.

"Drop it, Leah," she warned and I rolled my eyes but complied. I took down the tempus charm and bottled our potion.

"We're done, professor," I called, holding up one vial and keeping another one up the sleeve of my robe. Sev eyed me suspiciously but took the vial.

"You may leave," he nodded. Pansy grabbed her bag but then paused, inhaling the scent of the potion.

"Careful there," I laughed.

"It smells fantastic. Like citrus, rain, and broom polish," she said.

"Broom polish?" I laughed even harder.

"Quidditch player," Draco and Blaise leaned against our table.

"Mm," I hummed, looking at Draco curiously. There's no way it's Draco that Pansy's in love with. He frowned, seeing me staring and I shook my head. Pansy narrowed her eyes at me.

"What do you smell, Leah?" she asked. I leaned over the potion and inhaled. I slowly sat back with a frown.

"Well?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Pansy asked skeptically.

"I don't understand," I said.

"You can't just not smell anything. Something must attract you," Blaise raised his eyebrows.

"Smell it again," Pansy demanded. I rolled my eyes but bent over the potion again.

"I'm not getting anything. Well there's something but it's really faint. I can't tell..." I sat back.

"Is there a problem here?" Severus stood behind Draco.

"She doesn't smell anything!" Pansy crossed her arms.

"I think she's lying," Draco looked down at me.

"I'm not," I snapped, glaring back up at him.

"Perhaps it's brewed incorrectly," Severus looked at me coolly before walking away.

"We win, then," Blaise chuckled.

"It is not! I smelled what attracts me!" Pansy protested.

"Let's see then," Draco rolled his eyes and then leaned over our cauldron.

"No...no it's working," he looked thoroughly confused.

"What the fuck, Leah?" Pansy laughed. I stepped away from the cauldron and shook my head.

"I don't know," I said and grabbed my bag, leaving the classroom. 

***