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For the next few days, things had gone quite well. I had gotten to know my new friend on many occasions. I had also talked quite a bit to Hermione. One day during breakfast, she brought Harry and Ron over to the table.

"Hello, Lacey. I want you to meet Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." I smiled, as did both boys.

"Nice to meet you both," I said.

"You too," said Harry.

"So," Ron began, "aren't you the sister of that famous witch?"

"Yes." Ron smiled.

"Wicked!" They both seemed rather nice. My first impression of Harry was indeed correct; he did want to stay out of the spotlight. He still does.

Anyways, Neville was very interested in my life. He asked me about my family, my interests, practically everything. I asked him likewise; he said that his parents gave him to his grandmother to raise, since they were always away. As I talked to him, it occurred to me how lonely he must have been. He was always so excited to talk to me; it was as if he'd never had a friend before. Like me, he also had trouble fitting in.

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"Good afternoon, class." Madame Hooch approached us outside on a clear warm day.

"Good afternoon, Madame Hooch," we all replied. She muttered to a few students as she passed them, stopping at the head of the two rows of students and brooms.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what're you waiting for? Everyone step to the left side of your brooms." We did so. "Now raise your right hand over the broom and say 'up.'" Immediately, a chorus of 'ups' filled the yard as the students attempted to make their brooms obey.

"Up," I said, but my broom just rolled a bit. I said it a second time, and it flew up into my hand. Wow, this is amazing! I looked around to see that several others, like Hermione and Ron, were still having trouble. But after several minutes, everyone had their brooms. Hooch gave us our instructions on what to do, and then told us to mount the brooms.

"On my whistle. Three, two..." She blew her whistle. Before anyone had a chance to kick off, however, I looked beside me and saw that Neville was rising off the ground on his broom. He tried to touch back down, but the broom drifted higher. "Mr. Longbottom," said Madam Hooch, reaching for Neville's broom as it went up beyond her reach. "Mr. Longbottom. Mr. Longbottom!" Fear filled me as my friend started to take off uncontrollably.

"Down, down!" he screamed helplessly. We could only watch as Neville's broom started spinning all around; at one point, he dove at us so quickly that Madam Hooch had to literally dive out of the way. Finally, Neville's robe caught on a spike in the wall, pulling him off the broom and leaving him dangling several yards above the ground as we gathered beneath him. He shouted for help, and it was at that moment that I saw the robe start to rip.

"Oh, he's-" I couldn't finish my sentence because he started falling again, got his robe caught in a spiked candle holder, and as the robe slipped off, he crashed to the ground. I was about to go forward when I heard Madam Hooch speak.

"Everyone out of the way!" She ran forward and gently helped Neville to his feet. He was writhing in pain. "Ooh, oh dear, it's a broken wrist," Hooch said as Neville moaned. She started leading Neville inside as she spoke. "Everyone is to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say Quidditch." After they were gone, I saw that Malfoy was holding a Rememberall that Neville had received from his grandma.

"Did you see his face? Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he'd have remembered to fall on his fat arse." The other Slytherins snickered at Malfoy's joke. I was about to step forward, but Harry beat me to it.

"Give it here, Malfoy." Malfoy turned to Harry.

"No. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." With that, he hopped on his broomstick and took flight. "How 'bout on the roof?" He flew several feet above the rest of us. "What's the matter, Potter? Bit beyond your reach?" That did it. Harry started climbing on his broomstick. Even when Hermione tried to talk him out of it, I was secretly glad; Malfoy needed to be taught a lesson. In what seemed like an instant, Harry was in the air in front of Malfoy.

"Give it here, Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!" Malfoy carelessly played with the little sphere in his hand.

"Is that so?" I was surprised to see Harry charge at Malfoy, even though he missed. "Have it your way, then," Malfoy sneered. And with that, he threw the Rememberall at the castle as far as he could. Harry shot after it, and was soon out of sight. Malfoy touched back down and laughed. "Well, there's Harry Potter for you." His friends laughed, and when he saw my glare, Malfoy looked at me and arrogantly twitched his eyebrows at me. I was about to comment, but then, I saw Harry in the distance. He was clutching the Rememberall. I couldn't control myself.

"There he is! He's got it!" As he approached us, we erupted into cheers. Everyone congratulated him. "Harry," I said, "that was incredible." He smiled at me and expressed his thanks.

"Harry Potter!" We turned to se Professor McGonagall looking at Harry. "Follow me." Nervously, Harry stepped forward and followed her. When they were gone, Malfoy decided to open his mouth again.

"Next thing he'll do is start selling his autograph, twenty Galleons each." By now, I was fed up. I looked right at him as I spoke.

"At least he doesn't have a name like 'Draco Malfoy.'" Everyone but the Slytherins erupted with laughter. Ron came up to me and patted me on the back.

"Good one, Lace." I smiled. I didn't see Malfoy glaring at me.

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Later that day, after Defense Against the Dark Arts, I went to the hospital wing to visit Neville. I decided to bring Belle to meet him. When I walked in, I saw his sitting up in a bed, looking rather happy.

"Hey, Lacey," he said, smiling. I smiled back and pulled up a chair to sit beside his bed.

"How's your arm?" He shrugged.

"Hurts a bit, but I'll live." Then, he took his Rememberall out of his pocket. "At least I've got this back." I nodded. Then, he noticed Belle. "Oh, is that your cat?"

"Yes," I said, gently plopping the cat onto the bed. Neville hesitantly reached out with his left hand and patted her head.

"Children," Madam Pomfrey said, "I need to talk to one of the professors, but I'll be back in about ten minutes." We nodded, and she was gone.

"She's cute," Neville said, "but I've always preferred dogs." Then, I had an idea.

"You know," I said softly, leaning in, "so do I." I looked around to make sure that Madam Pomfrey hadn't come back, and then turned back to Neville. "I'm going to tell you a secret, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone." Interested, Neville nodded.

"I won't tell a soul. I promise." After a moment, I took Belle into my lap and patted her head five times.

"Little darling, come." In an instant, she was a puppy. Neville smiled widely, both bewildered and joyful.

"Oh, wow! How'd you-" He was speechless, but took Belle into his arms as she licked his face.

"She's really a dog, but she has a spell that turns her into a cat around other people. Watch." I patted her five times. "Little darling, sit." There was the cat again. We both laughed as Madam Pomfrey walked back in.

"Alright, Miss Ravensdale," she said, smiling. "Mr. Longbottom needs his rest."

"Okay," I said, still smiling. Neville handed Belle back to me. "Get well, Neville."

"Thanks," he said, smiling. I turned and left the hospital wing.

As I started back to the Gryffindor common room, I started skipping. There was nobody around, and even if there was, I always skip when I'm happy. But instantly after turning another corner, the good feeling seemed to Dissaparate.

"You think you're so witty, don't you?" Malfoy stepped menacingly toward me, Crabbe and Goyle close behind him.

"I really can't remember the last time I turned a corner and you weren't there," I said. He gave me a cold stare and crossed his arms.

"You need a lesson in manners." I was too focused on the way he was glaring at me to notice Crabbe reaching toward me. Before I could stop him, he grabbed Belle by the scruff of her neck and pulled her from my arms.

"Hey, no! Give her back!" Malfoy took out his wand and pointed it at Belle.

"Maybe shaving all of your furball's hair off will teach you some manners." Crabbe and Goyle snickered as I watched helplessly. However, before Malfoy could utter so much as a syllable, something happened. In an instant, Belle transformed into an enormous lion. She seemed to be over ten feet tall. When she let out a loud roar, I would have given a fortune to see the looks on the three boys' faces again. They screamed in horror and scrambled down the hallway and around the corner. I looked up at the lion, and she instantly turned back into her small cat form. I burst out laughing as Belle jumped up into my arms.

"How did you do that?" I knew she couldn't answer me, but she had shocked me. The thing I loved the most about Belle, aside from her being so loyal and wonderful, was that she would never cease to amaze me.

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A few weeks later, it was Halloween. Everyone was looking forward to the feast that evening. It seemed that Ron was the most excited; I remember how much he liked to eat. But before we could enjoy dinner, we had to get through our classes. I remember my Charms class that day. Professor Flitwick stood on his desk to speak to us, due to being quite short in stature. He told us of the Levitation charm that can make things fly. We practiced the "swish and flick" technique before he gave us the incantation- Wingardium Leviosa. Everyone, including myself, tried it on our feathers several times, but nobody seemed to get it.

"Oh, come on," Neville said next to me, clearly frustrated. He tried again, but the feather wouldn't budge. Then, I glanced over and saw that Hermione had succeeded. Her feather was floating upwards from her desk as she held her wand proudly. However, I saw that Ron looked rather glum at her success.

"Oh, well done!" The professor was very pleased. "See here, everyone, Miss Granger's done it! Splendid!" Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Seamus Finnegan had tried to use the spell, but it had caused the feather to blow up, covering his face with soot.

As Neville and I were walking to our next class, I overheard Ron talking to Harry, Dean Thomas, and Seamus in an obnoxious mocking manner.

"'It's Levi-o-sa, not Levio-sa.' She's a nightmare! Honestly! No wonder she hasn't got any friends." Is he talking about Hermione? Then, I noticed Hermione, clutching her books and sniffling, push past Ron. I heard Harry acknowledging that she probably overheard Ron's nasty comment. As I saw Hermione storm ahead of us, I couldn't help but feel sad. Sure, she was a bit of a know-it-all, but there seemed to be something else behind it.

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Later that evening, everyone was enjoying the feast. I was indulging myself in a candy apple, while Neville had some pumpkin pie. Next to him, Harry inquired as to where Hermione was located.

"Parvati said that she wouldn't come out of the girl's bathroom," Neville said to Harry. "She said she'd been in there all afternoon, crying." As Harry glanced at Ron, Neville glanced at me, a sad look on his face. I mirrored his look. Poor Hermione.

Then, without warning, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Professor Quirrell, who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, ran in.

"TROLL, IN THE DUNGEON!" He was panting uncontrollably. "Troll in the dungeon!" We all froze in terror as we stared at the frightened professor. "Thought you ought to know." And with that, he collapsed to the ground, having fainted. A great rumble of thunder was heard, and immediately following it, all the students screamed. I got up from my chair instantly, as did Neville and Seamus. Everyone tossed their food away, got up, and scrambled for the door.

"SILENCE!" We all stopped dead in our tracks and turned to the speaker. "Everyone will please not panic," said Professor Dumbledore calmly. "Prefects will lead the students back to their houses. Teachers will follow me to the dungeon." After that, everyone got into their lines and left the great hall. Percy Weasley, a prefect, led us to our common room. Some ran up to the dormitories, while others stayed in the common room. I stayed, as did Neville.

"I think it'll be okay," he said to me, seeing the worried look on my face. "The teachers will probably know what to do."

"Yes, you're right. But..." It was at that moment when I realized who was missing from the room.

By the time Ron, Harry, and Hermione did return, everyone else had gone to bed. I had stayed up. I was sitting in the common room on a sofa, Belle in my lap, when the three of them walked through the door.

"You guys, what happened?" They were covered in dust.

"Oh, um," Ron said, "just a little mishap with a troll." With that, all three of them smiled at me and went upstairs to their respective dormitories, leaving me baffled. I have always admired the three of them, as well as the friendship they shared (and still do share). Actually, I had sort of envied it. I had never experienced a friendship like theirs. That is, until...but, that's a story for another day.

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The very next day, it was the first Quidditch game of the season. I had never seen a game before, and I was looking forward to it. But Harry seemed incredibly worried about something.

"Boy," Dean said, "I wonder if our team can beat Slytherin." I frowned.

"Why wouldn't we be able to?"

"You haven't heard, Lace?" Seamus had spoken up. "The Slytherin team is brutal." Next to me, Neville went wide-eyed.

"Seamus, you don't want to freak out Harry."

"Oh, right. Sorry, mate." I rolled my eyes. Boys.

A few hours later, we were outside in the Quidditch pitch. All four houses were in different stands all around the enormous field. I clutched my small red-gold Gryffindor flag as we all waited anxiously for the game to begin. Finally, our Gryffindor players entered the field and flew into the air. We all cheered loudly.

"Go, go, Gryffindor! Go, go, Gryffindor! Go, go, Gryffindor!" The Slytherin players flew out, and I felt a sting of dread. They looked so formidable with their faces scrunched into glares. Then, we heard the voice of Lee Jordan, a fellow Gryffindor, over the loudspeaker.

"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts's first Quidditch game of the season. Today's game, Slytherin versus Gryffindor!" The Gryffindors, including myself, went wild.

"Yeah!"

"Alright!"

"Gryffindor!"

"The players take their positions as Madam Hooch steps onto the field to begin the game." We saw Madam Hooch, clad in a Quidditch-like robe and eye goggles, step into the middle of the field to the large box containing the balls.

"Now, I want a nice clean game," Madam Hooch said. "From all of you." She opened the box opened, releasing the two Bludgers and the Golden Snitch.

"The Bludgers are up, followed by the Golden Snitch. Remember, the Snitch is worth 150 points. The Seeker that catches the Snitch ends the game." With that, Madam Hooch picked up the Quaffle and tossed it into the air. "The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!"

The next few moments were a blur. Angelina Johnson, one of our players, had hold of the Quaffle and took it across the field like a bolt of lightening. After quite a bit of dodging, she threw it through the hoop. We cheered again. "Angelina Johnson scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!" I'll always remember the thrilling feeling I felt when we won our first goal.

"Well done," Hagrid shouted, mixed in with the Gryffindor students. Then, I saw that the Slytherins had possession of the Quaffle. Captain Flint weaved through our players and tried to throw the ball through the hoop, but out Keeper, Oliver Wood, blocked it easily. Then, another Gryffindor player got the Quaffle and scored another point, earning ten more points, as well as more cheers.

However, when Wood blocked another Slytherin from scoring, Flint grabbed the bat from a Beater and hit a Bludger at Wood, knocking him to the ground below. I gasped.

"What? They shouldn't be allowed to do that." I continued to observe the game nervously. With Wood out of the way, the Slytherins were able to score two goals, leaving our teams tied. Then, we saw that Harry has caught sight of the Snitch and was starting to pursue it. But after a few moments, something strange happened. It was as if a giant hand had seized Harry's broom. He started jerking violently back and forth in the air. Hagrid looked at the scene through his binoculars

"What's going on with Harry's broomstick?" I heard Hermione and Ron muttering, and then Hermione ran off. I was incredibly worried for Harry, as were the rest of the Gryffindors. I heard Ron shout next to me.

"Come on, Hermione!" I wondered what they had said to each other. But then, I saw that Harry's broom had stopped whirling, and he was able to get back on and resume his chase of the Snitch. The Slytherin Seeker was in pursuit of it, but in an instant, he and Harry were shoulder to shoulder. When they got closer to the ground, the Slytherin pulled up. Harry, however, straightened his broom so he was just inches off the ground. He reached out, and took another step forward...

His broom flipped forward, sending him flying off, landing on the ground. We let out a gasp. Immediately, Harry was on his feet. However, he put his hands on his stomach, looking like he was about to retch.

"Looks like he's gonna be sick!" Hagrid exclaimed. Then, Harry spat something out of his mouth. Even before Lee's voice was heard again, I knew what it was.

"He's got the Snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the Snitch!" In the air, Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"Gryffindor wins!" We had won. Everyone in the Gryffindor stand went loopy with cheers. I jumped up and down and screamed at the top of my lungs, as did, Neville, Ron, and Seamus (and countless others). I looked down at Harry, who was standing, holding the Snitch proudly in his hand as we cheered.

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