Oh, get off it, Lestrange! You're just being ridiculous. I mean, this is the guy that practically send your mother to jail. I shook my head mentally and went back to the textbook. We were leaning about non-verbal spells. Why are we leaning things that I have already known since fourth year. I'm way ahead of these people.
"The person on your desk will be your partner and you will try to disarm you. Start!" Snape instructed.
I rolled my eyes and glanced at Potter, who didn't look at all pleased. He took out his wand and stared at me for a while. "What?!" I snapped.
"Blimey, are you always like this?" Potter asked.
"Maybe I am, considering you put my mo-," I stopped myself. I don't want to get into that conversation. At least not know. "Do you want me to disarm you first or do I do it?"
"You give it a go," He answered.
Expelliarmus, I thought lazily. I flicked my wand to Potter's and his flew across the room. Accio, I thought again and the wand flew back into my hands. With a bored look, I gave it back to Harry Potter.
"Not bad," Potter said with a smirk. Then, with the look in his eyes, I could tell he was trying to disarm me. After minutes of trying and trying, Snape came lurking around Potter and his failures. I honestly was just staring blankly as Potter tried to get this down. I think I almost fell asleep in his attempts.
"Miss Lestrange, did you succeed in this non-verbal exercise?" Snape asked, walking to our desk.
"Nope," I answered.
"Let's see. Disarm me," Snape instructed.
"If you insist," I answered, lazily. By this time, everyone had shut their unguarded mouthes and observed me and my about-to-be success. Oh, I love attention! Again, I thought, Expelliarmus. Snape's wand flew across the room and I Accio'd it back to him. My fellow Slytherin classmates clapped and cheered for me, while the others grumbled and went back to trying.
"Very nice, Miss Lestrange. Thirty points to Slytherin for disarming me and thirty more for bringing it back with Accio," Snape rewarded. The Slytherins cheered.
"Thank you!" I said, sweetly and innocently.
After I had my moment, I went back to Potter, who was still trying to figure it out. I got bored with just sitting there, so I decided to help him.
"Look, it's not that hard, but it isn't simple either. All you have to do, even though I know your doing so much of it, is concentrate on the thing you want to disarm and the spell. After you think you have complete focus, as in you can't hear anyone around you and nothing can distract you, then you say the spell in your head. If you do that perfectly, then with a little more practice, you'll master it," I explained.
"Hm. I see. Was that how you learned it?" He asked.
"Pretty much, yeah. Alright, let's see you do it, then."
He glared at me, but I ignored it while rolling my eyes. I was just trying to help. Something I rarely do. I stuck out my wand and just sat there, waiting for Potter to disarm me. Truthfully, he just looked constipated and stressed out. Finally, after a whole class of just me waiting for him, DADA finished.
After everyone left the classroom, I stared at my schedule... I have Potions next... Let's see... It says the dungeon, but where was that? I looked around the classroom and found Potter still putting his textbook in his book bag. On his hand, I saw a really worn out Advanced Potion Making book.
"Uhm, Potter, where's the Potions room?" I asked.
"You have Potions next?" He asked, with a bit of annoyance in his eyes.
"Er... Yes."
"Me too. Just follow me, I guess."
I shrugged and followed behind him. His friend, Ron Weasley and the Mudblood Granger, followed him as well. They'd kept whispering, obviously, talking about me. But me? If they hated me for no reason, I'm fine with that, but at least get to know me. Blimey, people really do judge people by their book cover.
When we reached the dungeon, I saw Parkinson, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Draco in one little desk. I waved at them and sighed that their seat was all taken. Professor Slughorn, a chubby short man, looked at me and grinned widely.
"Ah, Miss Lestrange, am I right?" He asked.
"Yes, sir. Echo Lestrange, sir," I answered with pride.
"Yes, of course. I had you're mother, an excellent student, she was. Very bright, but always devious. Let's see... Since this classroom is mostly full, you may have to sit with Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom. There over there," Slughorn pointed to three boys, looking at me with disappointment.
I nodded at him, thanked him, and went to the empty seat next to the three Gryffindor boys who were giving me mean glances from time to time, except the one that I suspected that was Neville. He was looking at me with guilt or some sort of fear. Was I really that scary?
Whatever, I ignored the glares and stares behind me and payed attention to the lecture, which, again, I knew almost everything about. Slughorn was making us make the most effective love potion.
I opened my book and looked at all the wrong instructions. Who made this book? I closed it and searched my bag for my Fifth Year Potions book from Beauxbatons. I flipped my book to the real page and smiled at the correct instructions. I didn't bother telling the boys around me about the mistakes, they don't deserve it if they keep giving me those looks.
After a while of stirring, mixing, crushing, and blowing, I finally finished the potions. When I smelled it, I smelt cinnamon, barley opened plastic, cardboard, chocolate and cherry chap-stick. I quickly snapped out of my trance and looked around. There were girls following the sent of my cauldron. I looked around for Slughorn, but he had already come to the rescue.
Slughorn placed the lid and smiled gratefully at me. "Well done, Miss Lestrange. I didn't know anyone could beat Harry Potter. Excellent. Harry, m'boy, I think you've found your competition. Ten points to Slytherin."
My Slytherin classmates cheered and whopped and I did my curtsy. I placed the cauldron on the back table and went to Blaise and the others. I gladly helped him out and added a little bit a flirting just to make the time more enjoyable.
Parkinson, on the other hand, was having too much trouble finishing the third step, but I didn't bother helping her out. I mean, she's been nothing but a brat to me so why should I care about her. I helped Blaise until the tenth step because the class had finished.
Apparently Blaise had most of the classes with me except for DADA. Charms, Transfiguration and Astronomy were all a breeze. I felt like I could study seventh year stuff and still get everything correctly. Also, I had Potter for Charms and Astronomy. Even though I said that I don't have any sort of regard for him, I still... can't get him out of my sight. It's like he's always there.
In lunch, I decided to have a chat with Draco, but when I got there, Draco was missing.
"Blaise, where's Draco?" I asked.
"Dunno, he's been always like this. Missing some lunches and also dinners. He became different," He explained. "Don't worry about him, Echo. Just and eat."
I shrugged and sat, eating and talking. I looked back and saw Potter with his two other friends, whispering and glancing at me from time to time. I raised my eyebrow and turned back. Remember, Echo, if it weren't for him, your mother wouldn't have gone to Azkaban. Sure, she's not in that hell anymore but all those years without a real mother... no one knows.
After a quiet lunch, I decided, since I have the whole day off, to walk around Hogwarts and get used to it. I wanted Blaise to come with me, but he had other classes to go to.
I waved at him and walked to opposite way. I decided to take a walk around the outskirts of Hogwarts. I found a small hut with pumpkins on the outside. As I looked into the window, I saw Hagrid with Potter, Weasley, and Granger. I rolled my eyes and walked back to the castle. I journeyed though the moving stairs and found myself in the seventh floor of the castle.
I heard footsteps from the back and saw Draco coming closer. By reflex, I hid from him and watched him until he stopped on a wall. He closed his eyes and the wall suddenly turned into a door. Draco sighed and went inside the room. Quickly, with light and silent feet, I followed him into the room.
The room was sort of like a storage room. Random crap was everywhere. I really really really wanted to touch the objects there, but I didn't want to make any noise so that'll have to wait. As I was spying of Draco, I was wondering why he was here.
Draco stopped in this huge cabinet thing covered in a cloth. He grabbed the cloth and pulled it down and exposed the large black cabinet.
"What the hell is that?" I couldn't resist.
"Bloody hell, Echo!" Draco yelled. "Why are you here?!"
"I finished all my classes and well I was looking for you but you're never there. So, naturally when I saw you sneaking around, I decided to stalk you. Why, is that weird?" I asked, grinning.
"It's more then weird. Get out."
"No."
He glared at me and walked to me, him not taking any crap today. "Seriously, just leave me alone."
"Why? Don't you always want attention or is it..." I quickly grabbed his left arm and pulled up his sleeve exposing his Dark Mark. I smirked while he stared at me with fright. I whispered, it was almost silent. "The Dark Mark. Classic."
"Don't tell anyone about this," Draco added quickly as he pulled down his sleeve. "This is none of your business!"
"Oh, it's not?" I asked, smugly.
"No, no it's not!" He did the same, he grabbed my sleeve and pulled it down to expose my bare left forearm that was Dark Mark-less. "You have nothing to do with him. Now, get the hell out of my business."
"But I want to help! You're doing this for the him, right? Then I want to help!" I pleaded. "This is the only way I can get close to my mother. My mother whom I've never seen in my entire life. Please, Draco. I need to be a part of this."
Draco sighed and walked back to the cabinet. "Fine. What can you do with this?" Draco pointed to the cabinet.
"I don't even know what that is."
His voice turned into a whisper. "It's a Vanishing Cabinet. I'm mending it and there's another one in Borgin and Burkes. If I ever finish mending it, Death Eaters and your mother will come through here and break into Hogwarts."
"I'm in," I whispered.
Harry PoV
When I finished Astronomy, I looked around for Ron and Hermione but realized that they were in the common room. I sighed and headed that way. As I was in the moving stairs, I saw Lestrange moving around recklessly and thoughtlessly. I decided to follow her because of the assumptions I had of her. Why can't Ron and Hermione see the logic in my thoughts?
The Death Eaters brought Echo Lestrange, the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman that murdered Sirius, here to assist Draco. They are both Death Eaters! It was simple! But no, they had to be reasonable and nice about it.
I followed her until she reached the wall of the Room of Requirements. Then, I saw Malfoy enter and Echo enter slowly afterwards, as if she was spying on him. Two can play that game. After a while of waiting, I went inside the Come and Go room. It was really different. Loads of Divination objects were inside. Looks like Trelawney got a new storage room.
I peeked at Malfoy and Lestrange as they were both whispering to each other. I couldn't hear but their movements were clear. Malfoy quickly pulled up Lestrange's sleeve and she quickly put it down. THAT'S IT!
That proved it! Echo Lestrange is a Death Eater.
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~Misha~