Soon, the class was dismissed and the students went to their next lesson: Potions. Snape's the type of person to make a seating plan, isn't he? I really hope I was right and he doesn't hate me. Otherwise, I'll be next to Malfoy.
But, suddenly, his prayers were disrupted by a voice behind him.
"Blake?" it said with uncertainty. I recognise that voice. Blake turned around.
"Harry," he greeted the other boy, with Ron at his side. Surprisingly, the ginger wasn't blaring insults at him, although he did look at Blake with suspicion. Is Ron actually sensible, or did Harry talk him down? Blake wondered. And wait - why are the Gryffindors in a Slytherin class?
But before another word could be exchanged between them, the Professor ordered them all inside, and almost as soon as the entire class was inside the classroom, Snape had deducted 5 points from Gryffindor from Longbottom for whimpering and another 10 points from Ron for dissent afterwards, much to Malfoy's glee. So Snape is an unfair person? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
"Here is your seating plan," the Potions Professor said nasally. Blake held his breath as the plan was revealed, ignoring all the other names and looking for his own.
RENSHAW ZABINI
Thank God, Blake thought, looking at Snape, who seemed as uninterested as ever, flicking through a Potions textbook. Blake turned to Zabini, who also seemed unbothered too - but Blake noticed Zabini's leg jitter ever so slightly. He's glad too, Blake thought.
Blake then turned to note everyone else's seating arrangements. In this class, the seats were different, but only on the Slytherin side - 4 desks in pairs, and 6 in threes. That's perfect for the current 'friend groups' in Slytherin: Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle on one 3, Parkinson and Bulstrode on a 2, Tracey, Charlotte and Greengrass on a 3 and then me and Zabini on the last 2? Snape's been watching us, Blake realised, his eyes narrowing. So does he care about us, or does he just want to make his job easier by making sure opposing groups don't interact?
The Gryffindors' arrangement had stayed the same as the other classrooms - desks in pairs only, but something was amiss. The people paired together weren't people that were friends - Ron and Harry had been separated to opposite sides of the classroom, and the rest of Gryffindor had been randomly dispersed.
He wants Slytherin to win the House Cup.
As the lesson continued, Blake's theory was proven correct. Time and time again, Gryffindors were asked the hardest questions, and deducted points when they couldn't answer, while Slytherins were asked the easiest questions, and given points when they answered. This was further evidenced when Snape, after picking on Granger once, wisely chose to ignore her for the rest of the lesson. But more worryingly, the Professor was clearly favouring Malfoy - giving him the easiest questions that even a Muggle would know, and giving him 20 points instead of the normal 5 or 10.
This isn't good. If it comes down to taking mine or Malfoy's side, Snape will definitely take his. So much for not being able to show favoritism, Blake thought bitterly. But Blake didn't voice his opinion - he didn't need to. After all, all he needed was Malfoy to snitch just once to be able to bring down his reputation schoolwide - and if he didn't snitch, then Blake could just defend himself like normal. Blake would much prefer Malfoy not to snitch, considering he didn't want to gain a reputation for fighting within school, or make Snape dislike him more than he potentially already did, but he wouldn't let Malfoy get away with disrespecting him for the second time.
Potions wasn't boring, but Blake had to admit Snape wasn't the best teacher. His personal vendetta against Gryffindor, and particularly Harry and Ron, wasn't the blessing that some of the other Slytherins thought it was - they didn't have to study as hard, but that would probably come back to bite them later on. Saying that Crabbe and Goyle definitely weren't the academic type was like saying grass is green, and if all the work they had to do was 'What colour is this potion?', then Blake would be surprised if they got an F. Wait, how do Hogwarts grades work? I'll have to ask McGonagall later, Blake noted.
Another thing Blake noted was that Daphne was astonishingly good at Potions - in fact, that didn't even cover it. She cleared Granger's Potion knowledge by miles, and had begun questioning and probing Snape, asking questions that even he had a hard time explaining. Why's she being like this? Blake wondered. Does her future career involve a lot of Potions? Even then, it doesn't seem like something she would do - she seems like the type to ask Snape in private, so what's her deal?
Eventually, the class ended and it was finally lunch time, and for better or worse, Harry was nowhere to be seen. To be fair, if I was him, I'd have left as soon as I could have too. Blake and Zabini reunited with Tracey and Charlotte, who was still as shy as ever.
"Where's your friend?" Blake couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, she said she had to do something," Tracey said dismissively. "She's always like that though - she'll be here soon enough. Anyway - I'm starving, aren't you guys?"
"No," Zabini said, in the same annoyed tone as before with Tracey. But unfortunately for him, at that exact moment, his stomach rumbled - loudly too, much to his embarrassment. The normal unbothered boy's cheeks had a pink tinge, and it wasn't helped when Charlotte of all people - quiet, shy Charlotte - was the first to laugh, followed closely by Tracey and Blake. Zabini's embarrassment soon turned to frustration, as he gave Blake the dirtiest look he could muster, and then proceeded to berate Tracey.
"I don't know why you're finding this so funny, especially after Charms today. You couldn't even pronounce Lumos correctly!" he taunted, horribly imitating Tracey's voice. It was weird to hear Zabini's voice sound mocking - weird, but funny, as Charlotte and Blake's laughter grew even louder, and Zabini's face morphed into an expression of satisfaction, as he trained his eyes on Tracey, hoping for a reaction. Unfortunately for him again, however, Tracey merely smirked.
"So, you finally decided to talk back? Just like I wanted - you did exactly as I planned, you good boy!"
As Charlotte and Blake's laughter reached a crescendo, Zabini's face became genuinely red, as he took a deep breath, and tried his best to ignore them all and keep what remained of his nonchalance intact.
This is fun, Blake thought. Maybe - just maybe, I'll be able to make some friends here.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is." As the group turned around, Blake already knew who it was. The blonde haired boy in front of him had his usual snarling face directed at them all.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Tracey asked him, as if disgusted by his mere presence. Blake sighed quietly. Just when it was all going well…
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