SinB loved Potions. It was easily her favorite class, followed closely by Defense Against the Dark Arts. She enjoyed the precision required and the experimentation that followed. She found it fascinating that just a drop too much of one ingredient could render another useless. She might not be able to cook, but she could make a potion better than anyone else in her year.

She’d been looking forward to her Potions class this year. That is until Professor Jung decided to assign Jung Yerin to be her partner. If it’d been basically any other Gryffindor, it would’ve been fine. But no, it just had to be Gryffindor’s sweetheart, the best friend of Gryffindor’s prefect and quidditch captain, one of the best chasers Hogwarts has seen in years, and most importantly, a complete idiot who probably couldn’t even spell bigotry even though she practiced it daily.

Jung Yerin was a pretty blonde, and SinB never really believed the dumb blonde myth until she met her.

SinB knew from the moment Professor Jung announced their seating assignment that Yerin had heard all of the rumors about her, and she was proven right when Yerin was petty enough to tell her to move her salamander blood. Fine. If she was going to believe SinB was some stuck-up Slytherin with an attitude problem, that’s exactly what SinB was going to give her.

Yerin was surprisingly easier to piss off than SinB would’ve thought, given her seemingly patient demeanor. All it took were some cocky comments and correcting her potion for Yerin to turn an interesting shade of red SinB hadn’t known existed.

In the library, it’d been even easier. When Eunha had joined her and Umji, Umji had slipped her a note to make sure she was aware of their little eavesdropper. Eunha had smirked at the warning and kept up her prissy little act of being annoyed with just about everything. As retribution for eavesdropping, SinB prompted Eunha to complain about Sowon. That and a sly jab at Gryffindors being idiots was all it took for Yerin to blow up and storm out of the library.

Her and Eunha had a good laugh over that while Umji just shook her head at them.

While pissing off Yerin and playing into her twisted ideas of them had been fun at the time, SinB was almost regretting it now. It was only her second Potions class with Yerin, and SinB felt like she could choke on the tension. What an overreaction, SinB thought. Just a few rude comments, which should’ve been entirely unsurprising for her since Yerin had her preconceptions of SinB, and Yerin was treating her like she was the scum of the earth. Maybe she really thought SinB was.

I mean if that’s how she wanted it to be…

“Think you’ll be needing my help today, sweetheart?” SinB asked Yerin coyly, batting her eyelashes.

As expected, Yerin turned an exceptional shade of red. She angrily grabbed her knife and pointed it at SinB in a way that would’ve been interesting if she actually had the guts to stab her. “I will never need your help, you condescending .”

“You seem awfully fond of of calling me an ,” SinB teased. “Is this my pet name now?”

Yerin sputtered for a second, and SinB was amazed to see she could become even redder. “You wish!” Yerin scoffed.

SinB just smirked and went back to her potion. She usually didn’t enjoy acting like such a jerk, but Yerin made it too fun. She should keep track of all the shades of red Yerin can turn. As she thought about this, she easily made another Strengthening Solution without much thought. Other students hadn’t kept up with their studies as much as SinB, so they were brewing it again. SinB didn’t really mind. She enjoyed the practice and ease of making a potion she knew well.

SinB had mastered multitasking a long time ago, so on top of this, she observed Yerin from the corner of her eye. Unlike her, Yerin was focused solely on her potion, most likely so she wouldn’t need any help from SinB again. She had her blonde hair half up to keep out of the potion, a personal favorite of SinB’s. Yes, SinB had a favorite hairstyle for her. She’d seen Yerin around for years and had always thought she was beautiful. With an adorable smile and milky skin, she had been prime material for a younger SinB to crush on.

It was embarrassing, and Eunha was the only one who knew about it. The only reason Eunha even knew was because she was there in second year when SinB had bumped into Yerin in the hall, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks. She had stammered out an apology, but Sowon, who Yerin had been walking with at the time, had just laughed and told Yerin to be careful about who she bumped into and that she had Slytherin germs on her now. SinB had cried in the girls’ bathroom after seeing the disgust cross Yerin’s face at Sowon’s words. It was there that SinB made Eunha vow not to ever talk about what she’d seen.

She was sure Yerin didn’t even remember that split second interaction, but it had been a turning point for SinB as a kid. People didn’t care about what you were really like if you were a Slytherin, even your dumb crush. This thought process was what made her known as the heartless she was today.

“Stop staring. You make it seem like you’ve never seen a half-blood make a decent potion before,” Yerin snarled.

SinB hadn’t even realized she was still watching Yerin, lost in the past. She looked away with a fierce glare on her face, trying to hide the hurt from the words. Of all the things said about her, the thing she hated the most was that she was a blood purist.

She finished her potion and didn’t dare to look at Yerin again. After she turned in her potion and was walking back to her table, SinB noticed Eunha being more curt and rude with Sowon than she’d been the other day. When SinB caught Eunha’s eye, she realized Eunha had seen how she reacted to Yerin’s words earlier and was getting her vengeance through Sowon. An eye for an eye.

SinB smiled her thanks and left for Transfiguration. As she walked, she scolded herself for losing herself the way she had, letting her guard down. This was another reason she loathed having Yerin as a partner. It just brought back all of her bad memories as a kid. If only Yerin could be eye candy without the side effect of lingering pain. Whatever. SinB got over her when she was twelve, so she could get over her when she was seventeen. Besides, there wasn’t anything to really get over. She wasn’t crushing on Yerin like she had when she was a kid. Now it was just remembering she was better off without any dumb Gryffindors judging her for her house.

Having got to Transfiguration early, SinB just nodded to Professor Seo and took her seat. She read idly as she waited for the other students to arrive. When Umji sit down beside her, SinB perked up. Partially because she was happy to see her friend, but mainly because Umji placed a chocolate bar in front of her.

“This is exactly what I needed. For someone so young, you’re so wise,” SinB teased, never not enjoying the fact that Umji was a year younger than her.

Umji jokingly preened under the compliment. She patted SinB’s arm. “You have to be wise to graduate a year earlier but not to know you’d need something after Potions.”

“That obvious?” SinB sighed.

“I could be on the moon and still be able to tell.”

SinB rubbed at her eyes tiredly and leaned forward to rest her head on her arms. “Being with her just reminds me of my second year full of unrequited pining and why it was unrequited.”

“Because she thinks you’re a terrible person because you’re a Slytherin,” Umji said solemnly. There was the glint of fury in her eyes that was always there when this came up. “You don’t deserve that.”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve really gone out of way to prove that I’m not.”

Umji scoffed. “You shouldn’t have to.”

SinB smiled. They’ve had this conversation so many times it felt like a routine. More often Umji argued with her now that they were older, grasping the impact of harsh words more intensely now. It was an especially hot topic now, given SinB and Eunha’s potions partners too. SinB never let Umji get too heated though, ending the conversation before the younger girl lost her temper. There was no point in Umji getting upset over something SinB had gotten used to over the years. It wasn’t worth it.

“I got some really good jabs in today,” SinB bragged, changing the subject without an ounce of subtlety. It didn’t matter. Umji would go along with it anyways. “She’s still really riled up about me fixing her potion. I asked if she needed help today, called her sweetheart, and you would not believe how red she can get.”

Once SinB was sure Umji had forgotten about the whole her being sad over Yerin thing, she slowly branched into more natural topics like classes and their families. They chatted throughout class as they went through their list of things to transfigure. SinB and Umji did their work almost absent-mindedly, an advantage to always reading and being a prodigy respectively. By the end of class, SinB was in a much better mood, spending time with Umji providing a much needed boost.

When Umji suggested they visit Hagrid before dinner, SinB knew that’d be the perfect way to make her good mood complete. They walked out to his hut, playing a game on the way that basically consisted of not stepping on the cracks on the cobblestone path. It was childish but fun, a game SinB could indulge in with no one but Umji around.

They were greeted with great enthusiasm by Hagrid. He has known them since they were third and second years, itty bitty things that just loved spending time with the creatures he had. To this day, they still loved to visit and see the creatures since neither of them could take his class due to difficult schedules. They talked to him over tea, listening like little kids during story time as he told them about his latest animals, Puffskeins. They were harmless (something different than his usual), utterly fluffy, and perfect for cuddling. After they were done cooing over the animals and promised Hagrid to visit again soon, Umji and SinB started heading back to the castle.

Halfway there, SinB and Umji saw Sowon walking toward them. SinB thought they just might walk by each other without acknowledgment, but Sowon stopped right in front of them.

“We need to talk, Slytherin,” Sowon growled.

Instantly changing attitudes, SinB switched from carefree to cold and haughty. “What can I do for our esteemed Gryffindor captain?” SinB asked sarcastically. She felt Umji stiffen, shocked by the quick change; even after all these years, Umji couldn’t get used to the way SinB used masks.

“If you hurt Yerin, you’ll regret it,” Sowon threatened.

SinB wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. “What is she, your girlfriend?”

“No, but she’s my best friend, and I’ll be damned if I just let you hurt her.”

“Aw, did my words hurt her that much?” SinB taunted.

Sowon laughed but it sounded harsh to SinB. “As if she’d let the words of a Slytherin get to her. I saw you today in class, the way you stared at her like you were thinking how much her organs would sell for on the black market.”

SinB had always known she had a resting face but this was a little much. She clenched her fists to calm herself. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about. I’ll look at her however I want. What’re you gonna do, point your little stick at me?” SinB felt her face take on a full sneer. “I can’t even call it a wand when you probably don’t even have enough magic to make a feather float.”

“You are a vile human being,” Sowon said confidently, but SinB saw the way her hands shook in anger by her side. “You think you’re better than everyone else, but the truth is? You aren’t even worth the dirt animals in. No one cares about you. That Ravenclaw right here? She probably just hangs around you because she’s afraid of saying no. I bet even your parents regret having you as their child–”

SinB couldn’t help but draw her wand at the mention of her parents. She shoved the tip into Sowon’s throat. “Mention my parents again, and you won’t have to worry about Yerin,” SinB whispered, pouring every ounce of barely restrained rage into her tone. “Just yourself.” She pushed Sowon to the ground and spat. “Now who’s not even worth the dirt animals in?”

Before SinB could do more, Umji pulled her away, hurriedly asking if she was okay.

SinB closed her eyes and sighed. She shouldn’t have done that. She was proving to Sowon she was exactly what Sowon thought she was. A monster.

She was not okay.