Holly and Pheonix feather (part 1)
"I demand you leave my house immediately!!" James Potter's eyes displayed an anger that not even his wife had seen before.
"You're demanding that I...the greatest dark wizard of all time leaves your home? You think that I'm going to listen to James Potter and his wife?" He spoke in a sarcastic tone, which made James' blood boil. You could tell that he was angry because his face reddened with every word that Voldemort spoke. Voldemort could tell and laughed his cold and unforgiving laugh.
Voldemort and James Potter drew their wands and raised them to perform their first spell.
"Crucio." Voldemort whispered the word and a black beam of light shot out of the end of his wand and collided with James' body before he could utter a word. James Potter's scream pierced through the silence as his wife watched and gasped in horror. Despite the obvious pain the James was in, he did not kneel in front of Voldemort.
"Kneel!" Voldemort was losing his temper at James' strong will.
"Imperio!" This time, Voldemort shouted the curse at the top of his angered voice. After a few minutes, James could no longer stand, and he slumped to his knees, and tried with all his will to stand again, but couldn't. Voldemort laughed again and shouted,
"I have beaten James Potter, Pettigrew. You can now proceed with the plan." His servant, who, during all of this had been standing silently next to him, moved quickly and nimbly up the stairs. Lily Potter, who had also been silent, suddenly bolted across the room following Pettigrew. Voldemort, who had been watching James, suddenly turned to see Lily and whispered another spell. Lily was running too fast to stop and she bounced off the dark barrier, into the other wall and blacked out.
"You..." Voldemort had now crossed the line. Lily was one of two things that meant the world to James. He got up and cursed Voldemort, who was unprepared for this sudden assault, flew backwards and hit the floor with a crack. Pettigrew now shouted from upstairs,
Voldemort stood up and sneered. His plan had been put into action. He quickly put a curse on James, who was now frozen to the spot. Voldemort sneered a final time and floated up the stairs to meet Pettigrew.
Harry jolted awake and found himself in a cold sweat. He reached for his glasses and put them on. He peered at his watch; 2:35am. He wondered how many times he'd had that that dream now over the last couple of weeks. As he pulled his glasses back off, he wondered about whom 'her' was, and why he kept dreaming about what happened. Was it real? He slumped back onto his pillow and fell asleep again. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, and he knew it wouldn't be the last.
***
"Harry, Harry, get up. We're going to be late!!" Ron's panicky voice penetrated the door of the ninth room in the Leaky Cauldron. Harry's eyes opened quickly and he turned to look at the door. It was about to come off of its hinges!
"I'm up Ron!" Harry put his glasses on quickly to discover that it was 9:30am, and he was already half an hour late getting up.
"Damn!" He said to himself as he tugged on his clothes and tried unsuccessfully to tidy his black mop. He pulled his trunk to the door and opened it to discover that Ron was about to hit his face, and Harry reflexively raised his hands to protect himself.
"Harry!" Ron's face changed from his worried frown to his wide, relaxing smile. Hermione stood behind Ron, smiling, but also managing to look impatient.
"Come on." The Weasley twins were at the bottom of the rickety, wooden stairs waiting for them all. Harry dragged his trunk to the bottom and the twins grabbed it and rushed to the car outside. As he followed his trunk, he spotted a young girl sitting on her own drinking a Butterbeer. A bit early? He thought to himself. When she saw him, she smiled. He stopped to look at her, but Hermione moved in the way and stared at him.
"What did I do?" Harry asked.
"Come on," she said, reaching for his hand, "we'll be late."
He took her hand and was dragged abruptly to the car. Even though they had been going out for six months now, every time she touched him, he felt a warm tingle inside. He loved Hermione with all his heart, and was glad to find that after five years of knowing her, she loved him as well. Ron had always told him that they were meant to be together, but Harry had never had the courage to ask her out. When he had asked her, she had jumped for joy, and without hesitating, said yes. Now that they were in their fifth and final year of Hogwarts, he wondered what they were all going to do after they had done their O.W.L's. Hermione had made it very clear that she was going to stay at Hogwarts and do her N.E.W.T's, but Ron and Harry didn't have a clue.
***
Before Harry knew it, they'd had reached Kings Cross Station and they were all boarding the Hogwarts Express to start their final year at their wizarding school. They wandered slowly down the carriages, and when they reached the final one, it had only one occupant. They all sat down and she turned around to see who had entered and Harry noticed that the girl was the one from the Leaky Cauldron. She got up and started to introduce herself.
"Hi! My name's Bryony Smith," she gasped, "and you, if I'm not mistaken, are Harry Potter. I'd recognize you anywhere." She smiled again. Harry noticed that she had perfect, white teeth. Hermione elbowed him sharply. At this moment, Malfoy walked in.
"Fashion tip Potter. Mouth looks better closed. Who are you staring at anyway? Not that nasty mudblood surely?" He paused as he saw Bryony. "Who's this? Another one?" Bryony spun around and Malfoy started to stare.
"Fashion tip Malfoy. Mouth looks a lot better closed." Harry, Ron and Hermione all laughed at Malfoy. Malfoy closed his mouth quickly and he glared at Bryony.
"I can see we are not going to get on already. And I'm not a mudblood as you persist to call Hermione," she paused, "you must be Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy." She paused. "You look like your mother though. You have her hair and eyes. She's a veela, isn't she? But you have your fathers ice-cold glare." She smiled slyly.
Malfoy looked shocked and strode out as quickly as he'd arrived.
"God! How do you know so much about Malfoy? Why do you want to know so much about Malfoy?" Ron asked.
"Well, I know so much about him because of my father and a few books that I've read. But that's the reason that I know so much about you, Harry. And I've heard a lot about the Weasleys as well." Ron blushed to match his flaming hair.
Bryony reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.
"Anyone want one?" They all gratefully accepted, and Ron spat his out quickly.
"Yuk! Worms!!" Ron grabbed his drink and swallowed deeply.
"Ron?" Bryony looked at him strangely, "How do you know what worms tastes like?"
"My brothers, Fred and George, once tried to feed me worm sandwiches, but I didn't want to and then they decided to...I realise that nothing on this earth is going to make me tell you the end of this story, so I'll stop there." Ron suddenly realised that Bryony was still standing and he shuffled over and offered her a seat. She quickly sat down.
"Thank you, Ron."
"So," Harry started, "Where do you come from anyway? I saw you earlier in the Leaky Cauldron."
"Oh, I've come over from a school in New York. I needed somewhere to stay because the flight from America came in yesterday. Dumbledore told me in my acceptance letter that The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley was the best place."
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you move from America?" Ron asked. She quickly looked away and burst into tears and buried her face into her hands.
"I'm sorry." Ron was falling over himself to apologize.
"It's ok. I should have got over my parents death by now, but..." The tears started to flow freely again and she couldn't carry on. Harry's expression changed. He knew exactly how she felt. He looked out the window. He realised that they were getting near the school.
"We should get our robes on, we're approaching the school." They all nodded and pulled their robes over their heads, and Bryony wiped her face and did the same.
The train started to slow and they soon reached the school. Out of nowhere, the rain started to pour, and they all began to run towards the Hall for the annual Sorting. When they where within a few feet of the Hall, Bryony pulled Harry aside.
"Harry, I have to go. What house do you think I'll be in? What...what if I'm in Slytherin? Everybody hates the Slytherins!!"
She hugged him in an almost panic and whispered in his ear,
"What am I going to do?" He put his arms around her and thought how he was going to put this.
"Don't worry. I don't think you'll be in Slytherin. I reckon you'll be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. You'll be put where you're supposed to be. I mean, you're not evil and mean, are you? You're not like Malfoy, are you?" She laughed quietly and hugged him tighter.
"Thank you Harry." Before he knew it, she'd started waving as she walked towards the stage room for the Hall. He turned to the Hall and saw Hermione with her arms crossed, glaring at him.
"What?" As he walked towards her, she turned away from him and left to go to the Sorting on her own. Harry was left to consider what just happened.
***
As he arrived, all the first years poured out of the stage room quickly followed by Bryony. It was strange to look at, all the short first-years and Bryony being tall for her age towering over them. She was watching Harry, but when he looked at her, she turned away. Professor McGonagall brought out an old wooden stool and placed the ragged hat upon it. He noticed that all the first years where whispering amongst themselves about what was going to happen next, like Harry's year had during their own Sorting. Suddenly, everyone went silent, as the Hat began its song.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge by what you see.
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
And your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head,
The Sorting Hat can't see.
So try me on and I will tell,
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart.
Their daring nerve and chivalry,
Set the Gryffindors apart.
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where reside the just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil.
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've got a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind.
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real good friends,
Those cunning folk'll use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none!)
For I'm a thinking cap!
The Hall erupted with clapping as the Hat finished its song. As it did, Professor McGonagall began to unravel a piece of parchment with the first years name on them and began to read.
"Adams, Ruth." The young girl shuffled forwards towards the stool and placed the Hat upon her head. Soon, the Hat called out 'Hufflepuff.' The Hufflepuffs clapped and applauded their newcomer as she moved quickly off the stage and to her table.
"Avonary, Nicholas." He swaggered forwards with a full-of-myself grin on his face. Almost before the Hat had touched his head, it named him the newest 'Slytherin.' The Slytherins clapped and jeered their newcomer. Harry lost interest until he heard her name called.
"Smith, Bryony Draco." He gasped to hear that she had the same name as Malfoy. He glared at Malfoy not quite knowing why, and noticed that he was looking smugger than usual, somehow. He turned his attention back to Bryony who was now sitting on the stool, trying to look up at the Hat. She was talking to it, like Harry had to 5 years before. He notice that she said 'not Slytherin please' and so, before long, the Hat named Bryony Draco Smith a 'Ravenclaw.' Harry felt disappointed, he had hoped that, maybe, she was going to be in Gryffindor. But, he thought with a smile, perhaps Hermione had competition this year. Then there was,
"Zandy, James." He went forwards and the Hat fitted snugly on his head. The Hat quickly pronounced him a 'Gryffindor.' Suddenly, everyone around Harry got up and clapped and shouted and cheered. The newcomer found his way to the table and sat down next to Harry. He smiled and gasped when he saw Harry's scar,
"You're...You're Harry P...Potter," he stuttered, "I'm...I'm James Zandy." He put his hand out for Harry to shake. Harry took it and faked a smile, badly.
Suddenly, Dumbledore came onto the stage and started his speech.
"Well, I only have a few words to say and here they are. Oddment! Queasily! Wondrous! Nitwit!" Dumbledore then announced that they should all sing the school anthem.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty..." As Harry turned to watch Bryony, something caught in his throat and his voice refused to sing, or make any sort of sound at all. So, he attempted to mime the words instead. When everyone had finished (the Wesley twins included, who were singing at the speed of a funeral march), Harry turned again, and saw that Bryony was making herself quite at home with the Ravenclaws talking with the speed of a racehorse commentator. When she saw him watching her, she waved at him, her wonderful smile beaming. He waved back, hoping that if Hermione saw, she wouldn't get angry with him. His mind slowly started to drift again and as it did, his head turned and through the windows, he saw the Quidditch field. He smiled to himself. The thought of playing Quidditch had always cheered him up. He wondered what Quidditch practice would be like with their new keeper. They had a new keeper because Oliver Wood had finished school and the new captains, Fred and George Weasley had to choose another one. Harry's best friend and the youngest Weasley boy, Ron had gotten the job even though some people said that the judges where bias. Harry was hoping that he was good, or at least as good as his older brothers were. As his train of thought left his food, and gathered speed with Quidditch, Hermione turned to look at him. She wondered what he thought about. Her, Quidditch, or that new girl? What was her name? Hermione saw her out of the corner of her eye. She noticed how well her black hair went with her eyes. She saw how these came together to make an almost perfect face. What's wrong with it? She asked herself. Well, she thought, it's too perfect, isn't it? I mean, I had buckteeth and my frizzy hair, Ron has his fairly large ears and nose, Harry has his messy hair and... She stopped. Why am I trying to find faults in my friends? Hermione shook her head to clear her thoughts and try and find where that comment came from. Was she jealous of Bryony? Well, she thought triumphantly, I'm intelligent instead.
***
The next day, Harry found out that the Gryffindor Quidditch Team now had practice with the Hufflepuffs, not the Slytherins. He was glad. When they practiced with the Slytherin team, Malfoy always tried to knock Harry off his broom and the Beaters where always trying to hit him 'accidentally'. Malfoy was such a ...He appeared down the end of the corridor.
Thought of the devil Harry said to himself. He turned to Ron, who was ready for Malfoys attack. But, in truth, it wasn't Malfoy who made the first move, it was Crabbe and Goyle. The pair viciously shoved Harry and Ron out of the way as if they were tissue paper, and Malfoy stepped through the newly made gap.
"Well, at least now," he began, "I'll be able to practice with a team that can actually play." Ron's ears started to go very red. Harry felt insulted too, but deep down, but knew that what Malfoy said wasn't true.
"At least we play by the rules." Ron said with all the malice he could muster. Malfoy turned slowly and laughed in their faces.
"And, tell me what else can Potter and his sidekick do, but play by the rules?" He laughed a cold laugh that Harry swore came from his nightmare and swaggered away in the usual Malfoy form, with Crabbe and Goyle following, laughing in echo.
Harry relaxed and turned to look at the board again. The match times had already been set out for the year. The poster looked like this:
GRYFFINDOR
Match 1 - Gryffindor Vs. Ravenclaw - 10th of October 2000
Match 2 - Gryffindor Vs. Hufflepuff - 12th of January 2000
Match 3 - Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin - 26th of May 2001
He smiled again at the thought of practicing his favourite sport without Malfoy and the other Slytherins.
"We'd better go and get ready or we'll be late." Ron turned to look at Harry.
"Why?" Ron asked, but, from the look on Harry's face, Ron didn't even need to.
"Quidditch practice starts in twenty minutes, with the Hufflepuffs." He emphasised Hufflepuffs. As they began to walk away, they didn't see Bryony dart past them and look at the poster.
"Oh well. I'll see you some other time then, Harry." And she smiled.
To be continued...
"I demand you leave my house immediately!!" James Potter's eyes displayed an anger that not even his wife had seen before.
"You're demanding that I...the greatest dark wizard of all time leaves your home? You think that I'm going to listen to James Potter and his wife?" He spoke in a sarcastic tone, which made James' blood boil. You could tell that he was angry because his face reddened with every word that Voldemort spoke. Voldemort could tell and laughed his cold and unforgiving laugh.
Voldemort and James Potter drew their wands and raised them to perform their first spell.
"Crucio." Voldemort whispered the word and a black beam of light shot out of the end of his wand and collided with James' body before he could utter a word. James Potter's scream pierced through the silence as his wife watched and gasped in horror. Despite the obvious pain the James was in, he did not kneel in front of Voldemort.
"Kneel!" Voldemort was losing his temper at James' strong will.
"Imperio!" This time, Voldemort shouted the curse at the top of his angered voice. After a few minutes, James could no longer stand, and he slumped to his knees, and tried with all his will to stand again, but couldn't. Voldemort laughed again and shouted,
"I have beaten James Potter, Pettigrew. You can now proceed with the plan." His servant, who, during all of this had been standing silently next to him, moved quickly and nimbly up the stairs. Lily Potter, who had also been silent, suddenly bolted across the room following Pettigrew. Voldemort, who had been watching James, suddenly turned to see Lily and whispered another spell. Lily was running too fast to stop and she bounced off the dark barrier, into the other wall and blacked out.
"You..." Voldemort had now crossed the line. Lily was one of two things that meant the world to James. He got up and cursed Voldemort, who was unprepared for this sudden assault, flew backwards and hit the floor with a crack. Pettigrew now shouted from upstairs,
Voldemort stood up and sneered. His plan had been put into action. He quickly put a curse on James, who was now frozen to the spot. Voldemort sneered a final time and floated up the stairs to meet Pettigrew.
Harry jolted awake and found himself in a cold sweat. He reached for his glasses and put them on. He peered at his watch; 2:35am. He wondered how many times he'd had that that dream now over the last couple of weeks. As he pulled his glasses back off, he wondered about whom 'her' was, and why he kept dreaming about what happened. Was it real? He slumped back onto his pillow and fell asleep again. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, and he knew it wouldn't be the last.
***
"Harry, Harry, get up. We're going to be late!!" Ron's panicky voice penetrated the door of the ninth room in the Leaky Cauldron. Harry's eyes opened quickly and he turned to look at the door. It was about to come off of its hinges!
"I'm up Ron!" Harry put his glasses on quickly to discover that it was 9:30am, and he was already half an hour late getting up.
"Damn!" He said to himself as he tugged on his clothes and tried unsuccessfully to tidy his black mop. He pulled his trunk to the door and opened it to discover that Ron was about to hit his face, and Harry reflexively raised his hands to protect himself.
"Harry!" Ron's face changed from his worried frown to his wide, relaxing smile. Hermione stood behind Ron, smiling, but also managing to look impatient.
"Come on." The Weasley twins were at the bottom of the rickety, wooden stairs waiting for them all. Harry dragged his trunk to the bottom and the twins grabbed it and rushed to the car outside. As he followed his trunk, he spotted a young girl sitting on her own drinking a Butterbeer. A bit early? He thought to himself. When she saw him, she smiled. He stopped to look at her, but Hermione moved in the way and stared at him.
"What did I do?" Harry asked.
"Come on," she said, reaching for his hand, "we'll be late."
He took her hand and was dragged abruptly to the car. Even though they had been going out for six months now, every time she touched him, he felt a warm tingle inside. He loved Hermione with all his heart, and was glad to find that after five years of knowing her, she loved him as well. Ron had always told him that they were meant to be together, but Harry had never had the courage to ask her out. When he had asked her, she had jumped for joy, and without hesitating, said yes. Now that they were in their fifth and final year of Hogwarts, he wondered what they were all going to do after they had done their O.W.L's. Hermione had made it very clear that she was going to stay at Hogwarts and do her N.E.W.T's, but Ron and Harry didn't have a clue.
***
Before Harry knew it, they'd had reached Kings Cross Station and they were all boarding the Hogwarts Express to start their final year at their wizarding school. They wandered slowly down the carriages, and when they reached the final one, it had only one occupant. They all sat down and she turned around to see who had entered and Harry noticed that the girl was the one from the Leaky Cauldron. She got up and started to introduce herself.
"Hi! My name's Bryony Smith," she gasped, "and you, if I'm not mistaken, are Harry Potter. I'd recognize you anywhere." She smiled again. Harry noticed that she had perfect, white teeth. Hermione elbowed him sharply. At this moment, Malfoy walked in.
"Fashion tip Potter. Mouth looks better closed. Who are you staring at anyway? Not that nasty mudblood surely?" He paused as he saw Bryony. "Who's this? Another one?" Bryony spun around and Malfoy started to stare.
"Fashion tip Malfoy. Mouth looks a lot better closed." Harry, Ron and Hermione all laughed at Malfoy. Malfoy closed his mouth quickly and he glared at Bryony.
"I can see we are not going to get on already. And I'm not a mudblood as you persist to call Hermione," she paused, "you must be Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy." She paused. "You look like your mother though. You have her hair and eyes. She's a veela, isn't she? But you have your fathers ice-cold glare." She smiled slyly.
Malfoy looked shocked and strode out as quickly as he'd arrived.
"God! How do you know so much about Malfoy? Why do you want to know so much about Malfoy?" Ron asked.
"Well, I know so much about him because of my father and a few books that I've read. But that's the reason that I know so much about you, Harry. And I've heard a lot about the Weasleys as well." Ron blushed to match his flaming hair.
Bryony reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.
"Anyone want one?" They all gratefully accepted, and Ron spat his out quickly.
"Yuk! Worms!!" Ron grabbed his drink and swallowed deeply.
"Ron?" Bryony looked at him strangely, "How do you know what worms tastes like?"
"My brothers, Fred and George, once tried to feed me worm sandwiches, but I didn't want to and then they decided to...I realise that nothing on this earth is going to make me tell you the end of this story, so I'll stop there." Ron suddenly realised that Bryony was still standing and he shuffled over and offered her a seat. She quickly sat down.
"Thank you, Ron."
"So," Harry started, "Where do you come from anyway? I saw you earlier in the Leaky Cauldron."
"Oh, I've come over from a school in New York. I needed somewhere to stay because the flight from America came in yesterday. Dumbledore told me in my acceptance letter that The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley was the best place."
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you move from America?" Ron asked. She quickly looked away and burst into tears and buried her face into her hands.
"I'm sorry." Ron was falling over himself to apologize.
"It's ok. I should have got over my parents death by now, but..." The tears started to flow freely again and she couldn't carry on. Harry's expression changed. He knew exactly how she felt. He looked out the window. He realised that they were getting near the school.
"We should get our robes on, we're approaching the school." They all nodded and pulled their robes over their heads, and Bryony wiped her face and did the same.
The train started to slow and they soon reached the school. Out of nowhere, the rain started to pour, and they all began to run towards the Hall for the annual Sorting. When they where within a few feet of the Hall, Bryony pulled Harry aside.
"Harry, I have to go. What house do you think I'll be in? What...what if I'm in Slytherin? Everybody hates the Slytherins!!"
She hugged him in an almost panic and whispered in his ear,
"What am I going to do?" He put his arms around her and thought how he was going to put this.
"Don't worry. I don't think you'll be in Slytherin. I reckon you'll be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. You'll be put where you're supposed to be. I mean, you're not evil and mean, are you? You're not like Malfoy, are you?" She laughed quietly and hugged him tighter.
"Thank you Harry." Before he knew it, she'd started waving as she walked towards the stage room for the Hall. He turned to the Hall and saw Hermione with her arms crossed, glaring at him.
"What?" As he walked towards her, she turned away from him and left to go to the Sorting on her own. Harry was left to consider what just happened.
***
As he arrived, all the first years poured out of the stage room quickly followed by Bryony. It was strange to look at, all the short first-years and Bryony being tall for her age towering over them. She was watching Harry, but when he looked at her, she turned away. Professor McGonagall brought out an old wooden stool and placed the ragged hat upon it. He noticed that all the first years where whispering amongst themselves about what was going to happen next, like Harry's year had during their own Sorting. Suddenly, everyone went silent, as the Hat began its song.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge by what you see.
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
And your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head,
The Sorting Hat can't see.
So try me on and I will tell,
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart.
Their daring nerve and chivalry,
Set the Gryffindors apart.
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where reside the just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil.
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've got a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind.
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real good friends,
Those cunning folk'll use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none!)
For I'm a thinking cap!
The Hall erupted with clapping as the Hat finished its song. As it did, Professor McGonagall began to unravel a piece of parchment with the first years name on them and began to read.
"Adams, Ruth." The young girl shuffled forwards towards the stool and placed the Hat upon her head. Soon, the Hat called out 'Hufflepuff.' The Hufflepuffs clapped and applauded their newcomer as she moved quickly off the stage and to her table.
"Avonary, Nicholas." He swaggered forwards with a full-of-myself grin on his face. Almost before the Hat had touched his head, it named him the newest 'Slytherin.' The Slytherins clapped and jeered their newcomer. Harry lost interest until he heard her name called.
"Smith, Bryony Draco." He gasped to hear that she had the same name as Malfoy. He glared at Malfoy not quite knowing why, and noticed that he was looking smugger than usual, somehow. He turned his attention back to Bryony who was now sitting on the stool, trying to look up at the Hat. She was talking to it, like Harry had to 5 years before. He notice that she said 'not Slytherin please' and so, before long, the Hat named Bryony Draco Smith a 'Ravenclaw.' Harry felt disappointed, he had hoped that, maybe, she was going to be in Gryffindor. But, he thought with a smile, perhaps Hermione had competition this year. Then there was,
"Zandy, James." He went forwards and the Hat fitted snugly on his head. The Hat quickly pronounced him a 'Gryffindor.' Suddenly, everyone around Harry got up and clapped and shouted and cheered. The newcomer found his way to the table and sat down next to Harry. He smiled and gasped when he saw Harry's scar,
"You're...You're Harry P...Potter," he stuttered, "I'm...I'm James Zandy." He put his hand out for Harry to shake. Harry took it and faked a smile, badly.
Suddenly, Dumbledore came onto the stage and started his speech.
"Well, I only have a few words to say and here they are. Oddment! Queasily! Wondrous! Nitwit!" Dumbledore then announced that they should all sing the school anthem.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty..." As Harry turned to watch Bryony, something caught in his throat and his voice refused to sing, or make any sort of sound at all. So, he attempted to mime the words instead. When everyone had finished (the Wesley twins included, who were singing at the speed of a funeral march), Harry turned again, and saw that Bryony was making herself quite at home with the Ravenclaws talking with the speed of a racehorse commentator. When she saw him watching her, she waved at him, her wonderful smile beaming. He waved back, hoping that if Hermione saw, she wouldn't get angry with him. His mind slowly started to drift again and as it did, his head turned and through the windows, he saw the Quidditch field. He smiled to himself. The thought of playing Quidditch had always cheered him up. He wondered what Quidditch practice would be like with their new keeper. They had a new keeper because Oliver Wood had finished school and the new captains, Fred and George Weasley had to choose another one. Harry's best friend and the youngest Weasley boy, Ron had gotten the job even though some people said that the judges where bias. Harry was hoping that he was good, or at least as good as his older brothers were. As his train of thought left his food, and gathered speed with Quidditch, Hermione turned to look at him. She wondered what he thought about. Her, Quidditch, or that new girl? What was her name? Hermione saw her out of the corner of her eye. She noticed how well her black hair went with her eyes. She saw how these came together to make an almost perfect face. What's wrong with it? She asked herself. Well, she thought, it's too perfect, isn't it? I mean, I had buckteeth and my frizzy hair, Ron has his fairly large ears and nose, Harry has his messy hair and... She stopped. Why am I trying to find faults in my friends? Hermione shook her head to clear her thoughts and try and find where that comment came from. Was she jealous of Bryony? Well, she thought triumphantly, I'm intelligent instead.
***
The next day, Harry found out that the Gryffindor Quidditch Team now had practice with the Hufflepuffs, not the Slytherins. He was glad. When they practiced with the Slytherin team, Malfoy always tried to knock Harry off his broom and the Beaters where always trying to hit him 'accidentally'. Malfoy was such a ...He appeared down the end of the corridor.
Thought of the devil Harry said to himself. He turned to Ron, who was ready for Malfoys attack. But, in truth, it wasn't Malfoy who made the first move, it was Crabbe and Goyle. The pair viciously shoved Harry and Ron out of the way as if they were tissue paper, and Malfoy stepped through the newly made gap.
"Well, at least now," he began, "I'll be able to practice with a team that can actually play." Ron's ears started to go very red. Harry felt insulted too, but deep down, but knew that what Malfoy said wasn't true.
"At least we play by the rules." Ron said with all the malice he could muster. Malfoy turned slowly and laughed in their faces.
"And, tell me what else can Potter and his sidekick do, but play by the rules?" He laughed a cold laugh that Harry swore came from his nightmare and swaggered away in the usual Malfoy form, with Crabbe and Goyle following, laughing in echo.
Harry relaxed and turned to look at the board again. The match times had already been set out for the year. The poster looked like this:
GRYFFINDOR
Match 1 - Gryffindor Vs. Ravenclaw - 10th of October 2000
Match 2 - Gryffindor Vs. Hufflepuff - 12th of January 2000
Match 3 - Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin - 26th of May 2001
He smiled again at the thought of practicing his favourite sport without Malfoy and the other Slytherins.
"We'd better go and get ready or we'll be late." Ron turned to look at Harry.
"Why?" Ron asked, but, from the look on Harry's face, Ron didn't even need to.
"Quidditch practice starts in twenty minutes, with the Hufflepuffs." He emphasised Hufflepuffs. As they began to walk away, they didn't see Bryony dart past them and look at the poster.
"Oh well. I'll see you some other time then, Harry." And she smiled.
To be continued...