“Miss Jung, your partner for the year will be Miss Hwang. Please take your seats at the third table in the second row.”

Yerin never would’ve thought a seating arrangement would’ve sounded so much like a death sentence. What did she do in her past life to deserve Hwang Eunbi as her potions partner in her last year at Hogwarts? Yerin trudged to her assigned seat with her head hung low, as if approaching her execution. This was basically the same thing.

Hwang Eunbi was infamous, starting with the fact that she went solely by SinB. She was Slytherin’s prized quidditch captain and seeker. Slytherin hadn’t lost a game since she joined the team, much to Yerin’s annoyance. She was ruthless on and off the field. She simultaneously destroyed people with her quidditch skills while playing and her scathing remarks during everyday interactions. SinB may have been the most well-known girl from her house, but very few people were ever seen around her because of this. She was also known as an arrogant blood purist, a classic Slytherin, deeming herself too good for the other students, especially the muggleborns.

Of course, all of this was purely rumors, but if so many people were saying it, there had to be some truth.

As a Gryffindor and a half-blood, Yerin tried to avoid her as much as possible. This was going to be harder now that she had to sit next to her twice a week.

Yerin sat down, trying to subtly eye SinB as she got settled. She didn’t understand why SinB decided to have a nasty reputation when she easily could’ve been a well-liked person. She was pretty, smart, and athletic. Although being a Slytherin would’ve held her back from getting on with the other houses, SinB could’ve ruled Slytherin through admiration rather than the fear she uses now.  

Shaking her head, Yerin scolded herself for even bothering to wonder about SinB… It was hard not to though when she was such a mystery to basically the entire student body, but whatever Yerin thought, she’d probably be far off from SinB’s real reasons. Maybe her motives were actually so she could kill puppies in peace.

Yerin did a weird cross between a smile and a grimace; that silliness was most definitely not SinB’s reason, and dead puppies were sad to think about.

“Today, we will ease back into things,” Professor Jung said, calling everyone’s attention.

Yerin looked to her and absent-mindedly wondered why Professor Jung and SinB looked so similar. They were both Slytherins. Maybe distant relatives? Yerin shook her head again. Idle thoughts weren’t going to give her insight into SinB. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what she was like anyways.

“Please brew a Strengthening Solution. The instructions are on page forty-three. Once you’ve turned it in and I’ve approved, you may be dismissed from class.”

Unlike other partners, SinB and Yerin both got their own potion ingredients without even acknowledging each other. When they got back to their seats, SinB placed one of her ingredients on Yerin’s side of the table.

Unable to help herself, Yerin said, “Excuse me, could you move your salamander blood? It’s in my way.” It really wasn’t and it was obvious it wasn’t, but she didn’t want SinB getting comfortable around her. If she let SinB push her around now, who knew what she’d do later.

SinB stared at her in disbelief for a second before scoffing and rolling her eyes. She grabbed the ingredient and dramatically moved it to the other side of the table, away from Yerin. SinB raised an eyebrow as if to ask if that was good enough for Yerin before turning back to her cauldron.

As Yerin was turning back to her cauldron, she heard SinB mumble, “If that’s all that takes to be in your way, we’ll be lucky if you don’t make anything explode this year.”

Yerin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She heard SinB snicker, evidence that she knew Yerin had heard her, whether she intended for her to or not. Yerin wanted to hit her for the childish reaction, but she just resolved to not lower herself to SinB’s level. Still, she couldn’t believe how much attitude SinB had managed to convey in her few actions and words. Whatever, Yerin shouldn’t be surprised given what she’s heard about her.

Yerin ignored SinB as best she could, but the other girl was frustratingly distracting. SinB made her potion confidently with smooth, sure movements. Her long, dark hair was pulled into a loose ponytail but it had fallen over her shoulder like she was some fair maiden. Yerin couldn’t help but scoff. What a safety hazard. A pretty one but a safety hazard nonetheless.

While Yerin loathed SinB and what she stood for, she also wasn’t blind. Or straight. Meaning SinB’s apparent attractiveness was the one thing she could admire. It wasn’t fair to be that pretty if you were going think an entire set of people were below you due to their ancestry.

With almost twenty minutes of class left, Yerin was surprised when SinB got up with her potion already in a vial and labeled. She could only stare. It looked perfect, and when SinB walked up to give Professor Jung her potion, she said so too. Yerin glared enviously as SinB walked back to their table looking way too smug. It was her last year, and Yerin knew SinB was always ranked high in the class. She was going to fight SinB for the top rank and show her what half-bloods were made of.

Yerin angrily turned back to her potion, giving it the required stirs. She blinked, some of her anger receding only to be replaced by confusion. This didn’t look right.

“You put a drop too much of salamander blood.” SinB smirked as she leaned over Yerin’s shoulder, gloatingly adding, “Maybe next time.”

Yerin nearly threw her spoon at her. As if sensing Yerin’s barely contained aggression, SinB leaned away and grabbed her bag. She waved to someone behind Yerin, and Yerin couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder to see who. One table over and a row behind them, Yerin’s best friend Sowon was nervously making her potion next to a Slytherin named Eunha, one of the few known to be seen around SinB. It was nice to know Sowon was just as unlucky as her.

Yerin turned back around and found SinB gone. Relieved, she tried to figure out how to save her potion, but when she looked at it, her Strengthening Solution looked fine. Then she spotted a piece of parchment next to her cauldron with ‘you’re welcome’ scrawled on it. Yerin felt like flipping over her cauldron in fury, knowing it had to have been SinB who’d saved her potion. Yerin didn’t need her help or her pity, and it was arrogant and presumptuous of SinB to do that.

A part of her was tempted to toss the entire batch, knowing SinB had saved it, but she knew she couldn’t afford her grade to take that hit. Yerin reluctantly bottled the potion and turned it in. As she grabbed her things, she told Sowon she’d meet her in their next class, noticing just how panicked Sowon looked next to Eunha.

Yerin figured she’d just ask during lunch, but Sowon brought it up without being prompted.

“I don’t think I’m going to survive Potions this year,” Sowon blurted out two seconds after they’d sat down.

Not wanting to assume, Yerin talked about the curriculum first. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, Sowon. You did okay making the Strengthening Solution, didn’t you?”

“I’m not talking about the class. I’m talking about my partner!” Sowon whined. She paused and glanced around worriedly as if Eunha would be able to hear her from across the Great Hall. Once she felt like she was safe, Sowon continued, “I think she’s going to kill me.”

Yerin tried not to laugh. She hadn’t seen Sowon this paranoid since their first year when she thought the ugly scarf Yerin had gifted her was magical and was going to strangle her if she insulted it. Yerin knew she should take her friend’s fears more seriously, but Sowon tended to overreact and Yerin doubted anyone, even a Slytherin, would risk killing another student on Hogwarts property.

Sowon had known Yerin too long though and easily read the humor on her face. “I’m serious, Yerin! You didn’t hear her during class. I tried to make small talk but all I got were glares and cool remarks about how I should stop talking and focus on my potion.”

“Aren’t most Slytherins like that?” Yerin pointed out.

“This was next level. I could feel a chill in my veins. Apathy practically radiated off of her. I could’ve died right next to her and all she would’ve done is ask Professor Jung to clean up the mess next to her.”

Yerin snorted. She bit into a bread roll then sighed as she spotted her own potions partner entering across the hall. “It could be worse. You could have Hwang Eunbi as your partner.”

“Right,” Sowon winced in sympathy. “How’s that going? Has she insulted your heritage yet? Threatened your livelihood?”

“I think she’s waiting for the second class to do that,” Yerin rolled her eyes. “She’s definitely cocky as hell. She finished her potion early then had the nerve to tell me how I screwed up mine. Apparently that wasn’t enough to boost her ego, so she fixed my potion too when I wasn’t paying attention.”

“At least she fixed your potion,” Sowon shrugged. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Yerin shook her head. “No, it doesn’t, but I feel like she’s going to become a huge pain sooner or later.”

Sowon considered this before shrugging again. She went back to her lunch and talked about their upcoming practices for quidditch. Yerin went with the flow of the conversation but couldn’t help but feel a small seed of worry planted in the back of her mind.

Maybe this is why the following night when Yerin went to the library to study and saw SinB, she was immediately on edge. What was she doing here? SinB was smart, her perfect Strengthening Potion making that obvious, but she didn’t strike Yerin as the studying type. Then Yerin noticed a Ravenclaw sitting beside her with light brown hair and a round face. She didn’t recognize her, so she probably wasn’t a seventh year. Out of all the people SinB would choose to associate with, she chose a younger student who wasn’t even a Slytherin?

Yerin reminded herself it wasn’t any of her business and she shouldn’t care who the arrogant girl hung out with. However, due to her table preferences, she ended up sitting diagonal from them. She sat facing them, even though that meant a higher chance of accidental eye contact, because she didn’t trust having her back to them. This also meant she could spy on them.

Every time Yerin told herself not to bother with SinB, something told her to figure out this girl. To find out what made her tick. To understand why she was like this. To know her like no one else in this school did, to have privileged information. Maybe then, she could convince SinB she was a terrible person and help her change her views. Right, because that didn’t sound crazy at all.

Nonetheless, Yerin would absent-mindedly look up at the pair in front of her from time-to-time. If she didn’t know any better, they looked like any other students. SinB was leaning back in her seat precariously balanced on the hind legs as she flipped through a book while her friend was diligently taking notes. At one point, Yerin got caught staring by the Ravenclaw but the girl just smiled and went back to her notes. Well, she seemed nice and civilized, so why was she with SinB?

Yerin was about to call it quits for the night when Eunha joined SinB’s table. Slowly opening her book up again, she watched them curiously. She heard SinB rarely spent time with someone, let alone two someones, and maybe Yerin was being a bit nosy, but she was too intrigued to stop herself.

“Two days and I’m drowning in homework already,” Eunha complained as she sat across from the Ravenclaw. “At this rate, I’ll be willing to pay a fourth year to do my work.”

SinB rolled her eyes. “As if you’d leave your grades up to some fourth year.”

“Don’t test me,” Eunha snapped. “On top of all of this homework, I’ve also had to deal with three confessions.”

Confessions? It was then it clicked for Yerin. She’d always heard there was a gorgeous Slytherin in her year that everyone flocked to despite every confession getting rejected. It made sense that it was Eunha.

“Your charms know no bounds,” the Ravenclaw smiled, still scribbling away. How many notes could she possibly need?

“Don’t blame me for this. It’s not my fault people are vapid fools,” Eunha retorted.

Yerin grimaced. Right, so Eunha was definitely a Slytherin if prior clues weren’t sufficient enough evidence.

“What about that girl from Potions?” SinB asked. This made Yerin pause. She watched them carefully, not wanting to alert them she was listening. It was useless though because SinB was already staring at her. “The giraffe who sits next to you,” SinB clarified with a cruel smile.

“Don’t even get me started on her,” Eunha scoffed. “She was so clumsy yesterday that I was sure she was going to spill something on me, if not accidentally put too much of something and cause an explosion. Honestly, you’d think people in NEWT leveled potions would know what they’re doing.”

Yerin wanted to defend Sowon, but she was only one against three, maybe two if the Ravenclaw decided not to interfere. Instead she settled for glaring at SinB, imagining her on fire. It made her feel moderately better and while fire didn’t seem like a good enough punishment, she didn’t want to go too far.

“What can I say?” SinB said, looking at Yerin as she spoke, rather than Eunha. “Gryffindors these days are idiots that wouldn’t know a properly brewed potion if it was poured down their throats.”

The nerve of her! She took it back. She deserved being lit on fire. Yerin angrily slammed her book shut, startling Eunha and the Ravenclaw. She shoved her books into her bag. She tried to restrain herself, but between SinB’s savage words and accompanying smirk, it was either say something or punch SinB. She chose the one less likely to end with her in detention.

“Slytherins these days are all s that wouldn’t know kindness if it bit them in the ,” Yerin spat viciously. Without waiting to see a reaction beyond SinB’s pleased smile at getting a rise out of her, she stormed out of the library.

And Sowon had the nerve to tell her SinB wasn’t so bad.

A/N: Warning: updates will not be as regular and often as my last fic since I've started school again. I will try to update as often as possible though! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can.