The Tree of Blacks (English version)

Playing Cat and Mouse

Late November, 1976. Hogwarts.

November was coming to an end and Alya almost forgot the strange feeling she had during the last disturbing dream in which Merope had appeared.

The days passed quietly, with no particular events. Lessons went on as usual, without a hitch. The only exception was Potions, as always.

Alya found the topics covered in the sixth year very complex and often struggled to keep up with the passages Slughorn explained. The teacher now took many basics for granted, believing that the students, having reached that point in their school career, were perfectly capable of understanding the intricate threads of his soliloquies without getting lost. However, Alya found herself understanding almost nothing at the end of an explanation, far more often than she wanted to admit. But she dared not intervene, nor ask questions for clarification. Her pride in Black prevented her from showing herself unprepared.

Moreover, after her excellent result at the O.W.L.s, showing herself insecure and full of shortcomings would certainly have aroused suspicion as to the veracity of that incredible result. Therefore, Alya tried to make do as best she could, copying the movements of her comrades here and there, blindly executing the preparation steps of the various concoctions proposed by Slughorn. The failures were not long in coming and did not go unnoticed.

At that time of year, the sixth-year Potions class was tackling the difficult subject of love potions and their devastating effects. Professor Slughorn, in a good-natured voice, had come up with a predictable but equally annoying joke:

"Never as devastating as those of the dangerous infusions prepared by Miss Black. A single drop could prove fatal," he had exclaimed cheerfully, waving his big walrus moustache as usual. The whole class had erupted in thunderous laughter and Alya had never felt so humiliated. Afterwards, she wondered how she had managed to maintain an impassive dignity for the rest of the lesson.

But there was something else that bothered her more than Slughorn's playful banter in that class: the looks of disdain that Lily Evans sneaked at her from time to time. The professor's pet peeve. The insufferable Gryffindor model student, whom everyone admired for her extraordinary skills as a witch and potion-maker. Every potion she prepared turned out to be almost perfect every time, and Alya seethed with rage, like the creepy fluids inside her old cauldron.

Alya's dislike of Lily Evans was more than rendered by those deep emerald green eyes; it was clear that the girl had not forgotten their brief but significant encounter in the prefects' bathroom the year before. Lily Evans still hadn't forgiven Alya for discovering the secret she jealously guarded and using it to blackmail her on that distant day during the O.W.L.s period.

As a result, the young red-haired Gryffindor seemed to greatly appreciate the hilarity unleashed in the classroom by Slughorn's jokes about Alya's poor results and didn't shy away from casting the proud Slytherin with smug smirks full of disdain.

Alya silently endured both Evans' stares and the professor's taunts: after all, her outstanding grade on her Potions O.W.L.s exam had been obtained with the help of deception and threats, and in her heart, Alya knew full well that she did not deserve to attend Slughorn's classes. Her potion skills had not improved, so it wouldn't be long before someone questioned how Alya had actually passed the exam. For this reason, the young Black tried to keep a low profile during Slughorn's hours and, above all, carefully avoided any opportunity for bickering with Lily Evans. The brilliant Gryffindor potion-maker was the only one who knew the truth and Alya was certainly not going to give her a reason to spill the beans. She even risked being expelled if it turned out she had cheated on an exam. The only advantage the cunning Slytherin had at her disposal was that Lily Evans would also risk big if the truth came out. Which was why she had kept her mouth shut all that time, despite her temper as a champion of justice.