The next day, Camelia woke up naturally to her internal clock. She checked the clock on the table—it was only half past six. Carefully memorizing the class schedule on the desk, she gathered the books she would need and walked out of the dormitory.
Before leaving, she glanced at Libby, who was still in bed. Camelia hadn't tried to muffle her movements while getting up; Libby surely must have heard her, yet she remained lying there peacefully.
Camelia went down to the common room, found a seat in the corner, and began to read.
After a while, Severus came down the stairs from the opposite side and immediately spotted Camelia immersed in her book. He walked over and quietly took the seat beside her.
"Good morning, Sev," Camelia said, noticing his movement as she turned to him with a slight smile.
"Good morning, Lia," Severus replied, glancing at her before opening his own book.
Camelia noticed that Severus's clothes were a bit rumpled, but she said nothing.
Gradually, the common room filled up, and at eight o'clock, they were led toward the Great Hall.
After yesterday's "negotiation," Libby no longer interfered with where Camelia ate. Happily expanding her seating choices with Severus, Camelia sat at the end of the table where the students were either half-bloods or Muggle-borns like herself. There were very few Muggle-borns; including Camelia, there were only two.
After breakfast came the much-anticipated Potions class. Both Camelia and Severus saw the spark of excited anticipation in each other's eyes.
Following the crowd back to the dungeons, they arrived at the underground Potions classroom.
Slytherin shared their Potions classes with Gryffindor. Shortly after the Slytherins had taken their seats, the noisy Gryffindors pushed and shoved their way into the classroom in a ragged stream.
Lily searched through the sea of green until she quickly spotted Camelia and Severus. She walked over happily and sat down next to Camelia.
"Good morning, Lia! Good morning, Sev!"
"Good morning, Lily," Camelia greeted her with a smile, and a faint smile touched Severus's face as well.
"Oh, Camelia, you have no idea—Gryffindor is just amazing!" Lily excitedly told Camelia and Severus about the warmth and friendliness of Gryffindor and their cozy, fiery-red dormitory.
Camelia smiled as she listened to Lily, while Severus sat nearby, curling his lip and looking down at his book.
"So Gryffindor is the best house after all, unlike Slytherin—only evil dark wizards belong in Slytherin!" That obnoxious Potter popped up from nowhere, slinging an arm around Black's shoulders as they stood swaggering in front of Camelia's table to spout their nonsense. Behind them followed two others: one mild-mannered and melancholic with light hair, and the other short, with beady eyes, a sharp nose, and a chubby build, keeping his head bowed.
"That is precisely the sort of brainless, arrogant, and stupid thing a Gryffindor would say," Severus said, raising his head from his book and sneering derisively.
"Isn't your name Severus? Hey, Severus—Snivellus. Doesn't that suit you?" Black taunted, looking at Severus with a look of utter disdain.
"Ha ha ha, Snivellus!" Potter roared with laughter, patting Black on the shoulder. "Brilliant, my best mate!"
"Isn't it though? Look at his greasy hair, all stringy and slimy. Doesn't he look just like a slug?" Black spread his hands, putting on an exaggerated look of false innocence.
"Potter!" Lily felt as though she were about to explode with anger. She had never expected Potter and his friends to insult her friends right in front of her. "I won't let you insult my friends!"
Fuming, Lily stood up, marched around the table, and punched Potter and Black each in the chest.
Camelia grabbed Severus's hand as he ground his teeth and shook with rage, his fingers already reaching for his wand.
Pushing off the table with her hands, Camelia vaulted out of her seat. Right after Lily landed her punches on Potter and Black's chests, Camelia rolled up her sleeves and delivered a punch straight to the face of each boy.
"Pardon me. It's been a while since I last hit anyone, so I'm a bit out of practice. I trust there won't be a next time," Camelia said, looking down at Potter and Black sprawled on the floor while the entire class stared in stunned silence. With absolute composure, she rolled her sleeves back down and pulled the bewildered Lily back to her seat.
"Camelia, are you a troll?!" Severus had already been shocked when Camelia jumped out of her seat, and by the time she struck, his mind was left with only anger: How could she be as reckless as a Gryffindor?
Lowering her head and pretending to smooth her sleeves, Camelia said calmly, "They started it with their filthy mouths. The only way to deal with trash like that is to use your fists to shut them up."
"You...!" Severus felt as though he had just discovered for the first time that his friend had a brain made entirely of troll muscle. Why resort to physical violence when they were wizards, and why on earth had she stopped him from using magic?
"Because class is about to start," Camelia blinked, looking at the furious Severus and the still-stunned Lily. "This is much more time-efficient."
Both Lily and Severus were rendered speechless, though Lily decided it made a lot of sense. "Oh, Lia, that was so cool! I've never seen you get into a fight before!" Lily exclaimed once she recovered her wits.
"That's because no one has ever bullied me before."
She was lying. Before she met Lily, the local kids around her had simply been beaten into submission by her magic. Who would have thought she still knew how to throw punches even without magic? Severus muttered inwardly. At that thought, his anger inexplicably evaporated.
Meanwhile, Potter had found the pain of Lily's punch somewhat sweet, but being knocked flat on the floor by Camelia left him with only humiliation. He clenched his fists and made to step forward, but Black stopped him.
"What? Are you planning to hit someone?" Lily demanded angrily.
"Of course not," Black said, touching a bruise at the corner of his mouth. "We don't hit girls. I was just surprised that Snivellus is such a coward who only knows how to hide behind a girl." He arched an eyebrow and sneered at Severus.
"You..." Lily was too angry to speak, glaring at them with a face as red as her hair.
"Oh? What's going on here?" a cheerful voice asked.
"Nothing, Professor," Black said, pulling Potter back toward the Gryffindor line. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew followed closely behind them.
Professor Horace Slughorn looked around to see that all the students were seated. Puffing out his large belly and narrowing his light-green eyes, he said cheerfully, "Well, as long as nothing is the matter, let's begin our lesson."
Camelia put the pre-class incident out of her mind and happily listened as Professor Slughorn introduced the day's topic.
Severus felt the stares of disdain and disgust from the Slytherins around him, a mixture of shame and lingering resentment churning in his chest, yet he could not bring himself to blame his friend.