You probably already heard about the golden trio, but no one ever told you about the real golden trio. Well, actually, you probably already heard about Ginny Weasley, her talent for Quidditch, and her passion for a certain seeker. But would you like to hear the story of Lexie Vulchanov and Frances Whitby? They were Ginny's best friends. No one ever heard about them. No one ever heard about Frances' passion for potions and how she got inspired by Severus Snape. No one heard about Lexie Vulchanov and her natural talent for Dark Arts. No one ever heard about them. No one ever heard about these two amazing Slytherins who were always by Ginny's side.

It was the first day of September. Vulchanov and Whitby didn't know but they'd be meeting soon.

Lexie was at home, freaking out and shouting it was time to go. She didn't want to be late, at all. She wanted Hogwarts. And her parents didn't want to move. "You won't be late, don't worry" - Her mom said. "Mom it's my first day of my first year, of course I'm worried. Please hurry. The train won't wait for me"

Frances was a little bit nervous too. Although she'd been waiting for that moment her all childhood, she wasn't feeling very confident. What if no one liked her? What if she was really bad at Transfiguration? Her older brother, a true Ravenclaw, Noah Whitby, was the pride of her family. In each exam, he somehow managed to always get an Outstanding or an Exceeds Expectations. In fact, the only professor who gave him A's (Acceptable) was Professor Snape, who teaches Potions. At home, he complains a lot about him. That scared Frances. What if she was bad at Potions too? Was she going to only get P's (Poor) and D's (Dreadful)? Unfortunately, her family cared a lot about her studies and that pissed her off. "Frances Whitby, hurry up!! You're going to miss the train, darling!" - She heard her father from downstairs.

"I'm coming!!" - She yelled back as she was going downstairs. She entered the kitchen to have breakfast and she could already listen to her brother complaining.

"It is your first day Frances, and BOTH of us are going to be late, and all of this thanks to you."

"Shut up, Noah." - Frances replied with her mouth full of cereals. When she finished her breakfast, they all hurried to the car that was already filled with their luggage. As the Whitby arrived to the station, people thought they were muggles because Frances' father, Joseph, a real muggle didn't like to use brooms. On the other hand, Rose Whitby was a wizard, who actually didn't enjoy travelling by car. Joseph stayed in the car, and so the children waved him goodbye after giving him a tight hug. Moments after that, the three Whitby were passing the Platform Nine and Three Quarters. When Frances and her mother noticed, Noah was already gone. Rose just sighed, she gave her daughter a big kiss in the cheek, and a hug, as she said:

"Be careful! Choose your friends pretty well!! Choose someone smart who can help you with your studies!" Frances turned away, rolling her eyes. She took a deep breath and entered the train. "This is it" She thought.

She walked along the train looking for a free seat to take. Her gaze stopped when she saw a girl, maybe with her age, reading a book. She cleared her throat. "May I sit here?" The girl looked at Frances, ignoring the book for a few seconds. She removed a lock of her dark brown hair that kept getting in front of her eyes and smiled.

"Sure. My name is Lexie Vulchanov. Pure-blood but not a bitchy one"

"I'm Frances Whitby, half-blood." - Whitby said shyly.

"So what house do you expect to get sorted in?" - Lexie asked.

"Oh I didn't really thought about it. My brother is a Ravenclaw though."

"Really? I hope to get sorted in Slytherin, to be honest. I know what they say 'There's no single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin' but I don't think that way. There are bad wizards and good wizards in every house. They just have different characteristics." – Frances was amazed. She never heard anyone talking about Slytherin House like that.

"My mother was a Ravenclaw too... I think they don't say it, but they would like me to be one too."

"If you don't get to be a Ravenclaw, I hope you become a Slytherin, you look nice" – The brown haired girl said looking back at her book. Frances was happy that Lexie wanted her as a friend. Someone liked her already and it felt really good. Besides, Frances was amazed with how mature Lexie was. Her sense of humour was actually quite brilliant for an eleven years old.

A few minutes later, the two girls were already laughing and telling stories to each other. Lexie told Frances about the pure-blood family she lived with, the Vulchanov. She didn't bragged about them, but Frances already knew they were a powerful and an ancient wizard family. Then, when Frances was about to tell Lexie a story about how once her father tried to use an enchanted broom to sweep the floor and ended up in the urgencies, a red-haired girl entered their compartment.

"Are you looking for someone?" - Lexie asked.

"Hm no... I just wanted to know if I could sit..." - she replied.

"Oh, sure."

"Are you both new here?" - the red-haired girl said.

"Yes." - Lexie answered quickly.

"Me too. Ginny Weasley, nice meeting you two."

"My name is Lexie Vulchanov."

"And I am Frances Whitby, pleasure." And that was the start of everything. They talked a little during the rest of the trip. When they arrived, they were astonished with the whole castle.

A giant man guided them to some little boats, Lexie, Frances and Ginny stayed in the same boat of course, with another girl. As they entered Hogwarts, they saw a lady waiting for them. Once they were all gathered, she said: "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." Lexie smiled, she was pretty sure she was going to Slytherin. On the other hand, Frances was nervous, because she had no idea what she wanted. And Ginny... Well, Ginny wanted to be a Gryffindor... All her brothers were Gryffindors, and besides Harry Potter was a Gryffindor too, what could be better? They followed the Professor and entered the Great Hall. Once again their faces showed amusement and excitement. Ginny waved to Fred and George on the Gryffindor table. She could hear the whispering from the older students, some of them saying "Another Weasley!". Percy Weasley was seating next to some other Gryffindor students and pointed to Ginny, probably saying "That's my sister!". Ginny saw them all, but she was seeking another guy. "He is probably with Ron", she thought. Although, she couldn't find Ron either. Lexie looked around, seeing the other students. She figured out the Slytherin table and observed the students calmly. Then she looked over to the teacher table "That one is Dumbledore clearly...", she said laughing to Frances. Frances wasn't listening of course. She saw Noah pointing proudly at her, just like Percy did with Ginny. Noah made her a signal that clearly meant "I am saving you a seat here at our table!". She shuddered.

The Sorting Ceremony was about to start and professor McGonagall was now holding a long roll of parchment.

"Barnes, Emily."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Nott, Celestina."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Hughes, Elliot."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Lynch, Alicia."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Each tablet exploded with cheers when a first year was sorted in their house.

"Vulchanov, Lexie."

Lexie stepped forward calmly putting the hat on.

"SLYTHERIN!"

She smiled and the table on the left cheered and clapped as the girl joined the other students of her house. She saw a blonde-haired boy that she immediately recognised as Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco. "Can I sit or is your blood to pure, Malfoy?" the first year risked. The boy looked at her and to her surprise, he laughed.

"Pansy, move. Let the new girl sit there." He said to the girl next to him. She got up and gave Lexie an angry look. She ignored it and finally sat down, by Draco's side who was now watching her with a smile. "Looking for someone?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually I'm trying to find Harry Potter, heard that scar of his it's really hot." Draco rolled his eyes and looked away making Lexie laugh. Ginny told her at the train that Harry Potter (who was a good friend with Ginny's brother, Ron) and Draco Malfoy didn't get along. "I'm kidding, Malfoy. I'm Vulchanov, Lexie Vulchanov." She smiled.

"Weasley, Ginny."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

For a few seconds, Lexie was kind of disappointed that she wouldn't be in the same house as Ginny but she knew the red headed wanted Gryffindor just as much as she wanted Slytherin.

"Whitby, Frances."

The hat barely touched her head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Once again, the Slytherin table cheered and clapped and Lexie did too. She waved at Frances trying to catch her attention so they could sit together. When Frances was walking to her house table she could see her brother, at the Ravenclaw table with a disappointed expression.

"Frances! Hey, guess we're in the same house, hun?"

"Yeah, my brother didn't seem very happy though." The girl murmured.

"If he tries to make you feel bad just because of the House thing, I promise you I'll punch him." Lexie said, enraged.

"Oh, sure you will because you're so strong!" Draco joined the conversation making fun of Lexie's words.

"Oh, shut up, Malfoy" she answered rolling her eyes and giving the boy a little smile.

When the ceremony was over the students of each house followed their prefects out of the Great Hall to their common rooms. When they got to Slytherin common room, the perfect said "Pure-blood" and the door magically opened. "This year, Pure-blood is the password. Don't forget it."

The next day, both Frances and Lexie woke up really early. They stayed in the same dormitory, and they were both very excited for their first day of classes. After breakfast in the great hall they went to the dungeons to their first class of Potions.

Frances was quite nervous. Professor Snape was the one teaching Potions and she couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if she failed. Snape hated her brother and her brother hated her now.

They entered the cold room, and Ginny was already sitting at the corner. They sat next to her, and she immediately closed some sort of diary she was writing. The students started to arrive, as they looked at them confused. It was not very common to see two Slytherins with a Gryffindor if it wasn't a duel.

Then, after a few minutes, Professor Snape walked into the room, and everyone went quiet immediately. Frances almost stopped breathing. She didn't want to get in trouble. Not with Snape. He looked at the students' names and suddenly looked at the class. "Whitby" he said. Frances raised her hand but Professor Snape didn't seem to notice. He was looking for her among the Gryffindors.

"Hum... Professor..." she murmured trying to get his attention.

"Oh, a Whitby in the Slytherin House. Hope you're better than you're brother in my class. You won't get special treatment just because you're in my House." He said. If Frances was nervous before, that moment she was almost shaking. Snape then looked to who was sat next to her: Ginny Weasley. "And this year we have the youngest Weasley..." - he said, coldly. - "I hope you are not as bad as your brothers. I hoping you will get at least a P." Ginny blushed with anger." There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." - he introduced the subject - "Now, the first thing you are going to do is Cure for Boils. The instructions are in your texts and you can get your ingredients in the cupboard. You have 30 minutes, and I want each one of you to give me a sample for me to grade. You may start." The time flied by, and when Frances noticed they were only ten minutes left. At least, there was pink smoke raising from her cauldron, which was a good sign according to her text...

Although, when she looked to the other students, nobody else had that pink smoke. She began to worry, again. "Miss Whitby..." - She shook, already thinking she had done something wrong. - "I see you managed to get that pink smoke. Well done. Five points to Slyther..." - he was interrupted by a boy screaming. His cauldron had melted because he added the Porcupine Quills before taking it off the fire. - "Congrats, you just destroyed your cauldron on your first lesson." - His skin was getting injured by the liquid that was flooding from the cauldron with the potion. - "You and your friend can go to the Hospital Wing" - He said to the girl who was sitting next to him - "Clearly you both failed in this first evaluation. Time's up. Put your vials on my desk, please." - Lexie didn't finished the potion but was confident about getting a good grade, actually she had made a good job. Frances managed to finish in time, and at that moment she was quite proud, because she earned five points for her house. Last but not least, Ginny had managed to get something in her vial. It was not Cure for Boils, but it was something, and it was better that nothing, she thought.