The Golden Trio and the Slytherin

Chapter 3

"Mind if I join you?" She asked as she approached Hermione. The girl turned around and grinned at her.

"Not at all!" Hermione exclaimed, patting the seat beside her. Diana took the spot next to her and reached forward to grab a piece of bacon. "Did you settle in okay last night? What is the Slytherin dorm like?"

"The dorm is really cool, we are in the dungeons, so the windows actually look out into the lake! The rooms are a bit dark for my taste, and half the girls are mean." She told the girl, rolling her eyes. "How about you?"

"The dorm is so nice. It has a fireplace and a bunch of couches and tables for studying. The rooms are cozy too, with a small fire pit in the middle of the beds." Hermione explained she like Selene, was stuffing her face with as much food as she could get her hands on.

"Hello, Diana!" Harry greeted them as he joined them with Ron by his side. The boys sat across from them, Ron immediately digging in. Hermione gave him a disgusted look while she just laughed.

"Good morning, Harry! Ron!"

"What's it like being a Slytherin?" Ron asked behind a mouthful of toast.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you behind the food in your mouth." She retorted, giving him a pointed look. He swallowed his food and repeated his question with a hint of pink in his cheeks. "I'll have to keep you posted. So far one of the girls isn't too bad."

"What classes do you have today?" Harry asked her.

"Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, and History." She listed off from memory. She had studied her timecard for a few hours the night before while she couldn't sleep, to the point where she had memorized it. She looked forward to Herbology, Charms, and Potions the most in the coming months. According to her uncle, those subjects her mother had excelled in.

"We have Herbology and Transfiguration together today, then! What is the rest of your schedule?" Hermione asked excitedly, pulling her schedule from her robes. The girls then sat there comparing schedules for a few minutes so they knew which classes they would have together. Harry and Ron separated into their own conversation as Hermione began to ask her questions about her life.

"What do your parents do?" Hermione asked her as they got up from the table to make their way to their first class.

"My mother was a healer before she died." She said, looking straight ahead absent-mindedly.

"And your father?"

"I don't know who he is. Uncle tells me he is a wizard-like Mum, but he has never told me who he is. Says it's for the best that I don't know." Diana gave her a half smile and a sigh before changing the subject. "Have you done much reading into Herbology?"

This got the girl started, and she could tune her out as they walked to class. Her parents were a sore subject that she preferred not to talk about. She'd rather just avoid the subject of home together. Things weren't easy for her, living with a werewolf. Her uncle's condition made it difficult to hold a job, which meant that food and ingredients for his potion were sometimes hard to come by. That was why she had avoided changing in front of the girls the night before. She barely had enough body mass not to show her ribcage, and she knew her spine was also prominent. She usually wore larger sweaters to deceive the eye into thinking she wasn't skin and bones. She was hopeful that being at Hogwarts would help her out on some weight and not be so frail looking. It wasn't her uncles fault that he was a werewolf but it definitely made life harder. Her mom had left everything to her dad in terms of financial assistance so her poor uncle had to break his back to get enough money for them to have food on the table.

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Her first week of school went accordingly. She would get up early to avoid the girls and get breakfast before most of her classmates. Draco had caught on to this and had started joining her for breakfast. She wasn't sure why, but, in a way, the silent company was welcomed. They got into a routine. She would go down to the standard room and wait for him, and then he would come down and walk down together without saying words to one another. They would eat together for about twenty minutes until Hermione came down, and then she would move over to the Gryffindor table to hang out with her other friends. She would walk to class with Hermione and spend the rest of the day with her other friends in Slytherin. Selene and Daphne were friendly to hang out with, and she got along with them. She would usually do dinner and lunch with them, and then during her study period, she would go to the library to meet Hermione to work on their joined homework.

It wasn't until close to the end of their first week that they finally had their first potions class. She had been looking forward to it all week. When she arrived, she found Harry and Hermione in the class already. There was an open seat next to Harry, so she hurried and sat beside him. He regarded her with a smile as she pulled her books and notepad out. She skimmed a few things through her textbook as they waited for the class to start. Unlike some of her classmates, she had a bit of an advantage in Potions. With her uncle being a werewolf, she knew how to brew the potion for him.

Draco entered the classroom with his two friends, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. He acted like such a jerk when he was around them, making it difficult to like him. The three of them sat in the front row, snickering about the teacher being the head of Slytherin house and how he goes easy on them for it. She rolled her eyes and continued reading her book until the door to the classroom slammed open. The noise startled her, and she turned to look at the professor.

Professor Snape was tall, with long black hair and robes to match. He wore a grumpy expression like he was annoyed even to be there. He reached the front of the classroom in four strides and pivoted to address the students.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few, who possess the predisposition ..." His eyes wandered around the room, taking in each student in his class, and when his eyes found her, he paused for a brief second. She blinked at him in confusion. "...I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death. Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention." Snape's eyes were trained on Harry, who was taking notes of his speech. She elbowed Harry to tell him to pay attention. His head snapped up to make eye contact with the teacher, and he put his quill down. "Mr. Potter, our new celebrity. Tell me, what would you get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Her arm shot up, like Hermione's knowing the answer to his question. Harry looked between the two of them before he shook his head.

"You don't know? Well, let's try again. Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" She raised her hand again.

"I, I don't know sir," Harry replied.

"And what is the difference between monk wood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know sir."

"Pity. Fame isn't everything." Snape said, shaking his head slightly. Annoyed that he hadn't called on her or Hermione and was intent on criticizing Harry, she spoke up.

"Wolfsbane and monk wood are the same plants, sir. It's also more commonly known as aconite." The professor's eyes found her, and he raised an eyebrow at her. He took a few steps forward and looked down at her tie to determine her house.

"That is correct. Why aren't you all writing this down?" He looked pointedly at the rest of the class before he approached her at her table. "And how is it, a first-year knows of such things?"

"I brew potions at home with my uncle." She says, sitting up a little straighter in her seat, ready to defend herself if she had to. But he seemed to stop short at her reply.

"Your name, girl." He asked, softer than before.

"Diana. Diana Prince, sir." She said, lowering her voice, not unsure of his sudden change in demeanor. He said nothing, but she didn't miss the slight widening in his eyes before he walked back to the front of the room.