This is a problem, Lux thought to himself as stood in the dungeons of Hogwarts. It was his first day of classes, and he was only trying to make his way to his potions class. But in front of the classroom he was supposed to enter were two other students. Judging by the color of their robes, they were also in Slytherin, and they seemed to be having a heated argument. Lux really didn't want to get in between the two of them because they could be talking about something important. But he also really needed to get to that class.

"Admit it!" one of the girls ordered the other one. She had short and messy dark brown hair, with a patch of dyed orange hair. Her eyebrow were naturally furrowed and had unusual violet eyes. Her stockings had a hole around her left kneecap, and she stomped her black combat boots to threaten the other girl.

"I can't!" the timid girl cried. She had long black hair, and brown skin. Her dark eyes hid behind her black, semi-rimless glasses. 

"Say I'm the most powerful witch at Hogwarts!" the brown haired girl bullied.

"It's logically impossible!" the girl with the glasses argued. "I've made numerous lists of the most powerful witches at Hogwarts based on multiple factors. You're less powerful than Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Madam Hooch, Madam Pomfrey, every single seventh-year... You're just a first-year like me!"

"I'm nothing like you," the bully said. After hearing a snippet of their argument, Lux judged they weren't talking about anything important. He decided to walk in between them to get to class.

"Excuse me," he said as he approached the two. 

"And who do you think you are?" the mean-spirited girl asked him. 

"I'm trying to get to class," Lux answered listlessly. "Now excuse me..." 

"Wait." The bully held her arm out to stop him as soon as he took a step. She looked him once up and down as soon as Lux stopped. "I know exactly who you are..." she smirked. "You're Lux Aeterna. Your brother lost his mind, disgraced his house, got expelled from school and ran away as soon as he was about to be taken into Azkaban. The Sorting Hat should be burned for putting you in Slytherin."

"Uh huh," Lux muttered, uncaring of what she said. "Who're you?"

"Merula Snyde," she said. "First-year Slytherin. The best witch at Hogwarts. I overheard the professors whispering about you at the Feast. I suppose you think you're better than me. I should put you out of your misery before you ruin Hogwarts like your brother tried to."

"Or we could talk out our differences and come towards a mutual friendship like civilized people," Lux proposed. Merula just laughed in his face and mocked him.

"You think you're good enough to be friends with me? You really are as mad as your brother." 

"Aeterna," a soft spoken voice called out his name before their conversation could continue further. Lux looked up at the man. "I knew you would be trouble," the man said.

"Professor Snape!" Merula reeled back in shock from his sudden appearance, but Snape had his sharp eyes fixed on Lux. 

"Get to class," he ordered. "Be thankful you aren't headed for detention." Then the professor walked into his classroom, with Merula walking in after him. Lux was left wondering to himself, what did I do? He was about to head into the classroom himself when that other girl spoke to him.

"Thanks for standing up for me, Lux," the girl said with obvious relief. Lux wanted to ignore her, but she kept running her mouth at him. "I've never been very strong. Or very good at making friends. My name's Rowan, by the way. It's-"

"We seriously need to get to class," Lux told her, a little annoyed. He entered the classroom as he did. The classroom was very large and shaped like square, with large square tables and narrow circle top windows. It was large enough to allow at least twenty students to work and its walls were lined with pickled animals in glass jars. In one corner of the room stood a basin into which ice-cold water poured from a stone gargoyle's mouth, while in another was a student supply cupboard. There was also a blackboard at the back of the room which the Potions Master could write the class's instructions on. Being located in the dungeons, the classroom was much colder than up in the main castle. There were only three available seats left. two of those seats were next to Merula, and Lux sat in one of those seats. It was either that, or have Rowan sit next to her. If she did, then Lux would have to listen to Rowan and Merula bicker the entire class. When Rowan sat down next to Lux, Professor Snape began the lesson.

"This is your first potions class," he addressed everyone. "And based on the bewildered look in your eyes, this could very well be your last. Unlike your other classes, this is not the place for foolish wand-waving, and intolerable screeching of mispronounced incantations. You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. Ensnare the sense. Bewitch the mind. Keep your mouths shut," he turned to address two students who were whispering to each other. After they fell silent, he continued. "Today you will produce a simple Cure for Boils Potion. Know that I expect perfection. And know that there will be severe consequences for failing to meet my expectations. Let us begin with a demonstration. Everyone to the front. Now."

After Professor Snape finished speaking, Merula turned to Lux and started teasing him for no reason. "You think you're so special, but you're already guaranteed to fail, Aeterna." After her ominous words, Merula went up to the front of the class like Snape ordered.

"...Right," Lux uttered, perplexed by her blatant animosity.

"Just ignore her, Lux." Rowan spoke up from beside him. Lux forgot she was there, and got a little spooked. "After getting reprimanded by Snape, we need to brew this potion perfectly."

When did she get reprimanded? 

After watching Snape's demonstration, Lux spent the rest of the lesson following the recipe in the book and brewing the potion. He counted and crushed snake fangs, weighed dried nettles, had porcupine quills ready to add, all that snazzy potion making stuff. Being completely new to potion making, he did everything meticulously and with exact precision. Lux would strain his eyes so hard he forgot to even blink. He had every fiber of his being focused solely on making this potion. When it came time to wave his wand over his ingredient, he used nonverbal and wandless magic to cast Reparifarge on his cane. When he did, his cane shrunk down to a long wand. 'I have just the wand for you,' the wandmaker Ollivander told him as he handed it over. 'Pine wood, unicorn hair core, 16 inches, pliable.' He waved the wand over the potion to finish it off, and as soon as he did, pink smoke raised out of the cauldron. Lux double-checked his textbook to make sure this was supposed to happen. 'The potion should be blue...' check. 'Emits pink smoke when completed.' 

"Yes!" Lux gave out a quiet cheer to himself, proud of his work. It was his first time brewing a potion, and he did it perfectly. He had every reason to be proud. 

"Oh wow, congratulations, Lux!" Rowan said to him after looking at his finished concoction. She seemed genuinely happy for him. "In all my research, hardly anyone ever brews this potion correctly on their first try."

Lux was feeling quite smug after what she told him. But his attitude quickly changed to worry as he noticed the potion starting to bubble. It was light at first, but as the color shifted from blue to green, the bubbling grew more vigorous. 

"What's happening?" Lux asked her, a little worried by this reaction.

"Did you add Bulbadox Powder?" Rowan asked him, frightened. She began to slowly cower under the desk. "From my studies, this looks like the beginnings of the explosive reaction caused by adding Bulbadox Powder..."

Lux stared at Rowan, expressionless. "A what-" A sudden BANG rang throughout the classroom. It was a small explosion, but a loud one nonetheless. Lux's cauldron exploded in two. One half of the the cauldron flew straight into his forehead with a loud CLANG, hurting his feelings and sense of accomplishment. The dark green solution splashed and scattered across the table, and green smoke rose up from it.

"Congratulations," Merula sarcastically remarked. "You have cured the table of boils."

It didn't take long for Professor Snape to tower over Lux. He glared down at him with enough murder behind his eyes to kill a dragon. Despite his obvious rage, he still spoke in a contained voice. "You should never have been allowed inside of my classroom, Aeterna," he scolded. "Not since your brother have I seen such a hopeless student. Ten points from Slytherin! Dismissed!" Snape yelled to the entire class. "I've had enough of all of you miserable sods for one day."

The entire class scurried out of the room, eager to leave. As soon as Lux was out of the room, he was immediately pulled aside and shoved up against the cold stone walls by Merula. "It's only going to get worse, Aeterna," she promised. "You should have known that coating your cauldron with Bulbadox Powder would make your potion explode. I certainly did."

"What is your problem, Merula?" Rowan admonished her after she heard. "You just cost us House Points!"

Merula shoved Lux away and faced Rowan. "I'd rather lose House Points now than have him Slytherin forever," she told Rowan. Then she turned back to Lux. "Now there's no doubt that I'm the most important first year, and you're nothing but a disgrace just like your brother." Merula left back up to the main castle with that last insult, leaving Lux wondering. What are House Points?