A/N: OK! You may have notice alot of random people in the sorting, who I would like to talk about for a moment:

Delilah Abbot: She is a character in an actual novel I am writing. I thought it would be fun (and easy, since I already know her character) to put her in. - Ravenclaw
Wilson Archibald: Orphan, will be more important later, so watch out for him. - Slytherin
Harry Bonnet: Only slightly important, just known as one of Albus' friends. - Gryffindor
Jonathan Burke: A Black family descendant. - Slytherin
Churchill: First name is Tracy. Not important (though who knows, that could change!) - Hufflepuff
Davis: First name is Melissa. An old classmate of Blissany's. She's a bitch, and don't worry she'll stay that way. - Slytherin
Darling: First name is Eleanor. Not that important, but I'm rather fond of her. - Hufflepuff
Evans: First name is Chistopher. He's gonna be fun. - Gryffindor
Fowler: First name is Dawn. She's very much a Pansy the Second. - Slytherin
Franklin: First name is Isaiah. Will be Albus' best friend. - Gryffindor
Franklin: First name is Imogen, will be important later. - Hufflepuff
Scorpius Malfoy: Hehehe.. - Ravenclaw
Alice Preistley: Not important, just wanted someone called Alice. - Ravenclaw
Joseph Tarray: Not important. - Hufflepuff
Luke Vodapianof: He will be this story's pureblood-crazy dickhead :D - Slytherin
Julia Wood: Daughter of Oliver Wood. - Gryffindor
Anna Robertson: Not important, just a Prefect, undecided whether she'll be head girl or not in two years. - Gryffindor
Danielle Harding: Julia's bestfriend now. - Gryffindor
Oscar: Amelia's cat. - Gryffindor :D

Also, the chapter title for this chapter and the next one were too long so I shortened it for the drop down list but kept it proper here.

Ok? Ok.

"Pleasure and action make the hours seem short."

- William Shakespeare

Chapter Four

Pleasure And Action Make The Hours Seem Short

The next day we all woke up too early. Sitting up in bed we glanced nervously at each other then started dressing into our school uniforms. Rose pulled her long hair into a high ponytail, as did Julia, but hers was messier and she left her fringe out, unlike Rose. Amelia brushed her long dark brown hair carefully and I ran my fingers through mine, Metamorphosing out the knots, making the curls smooth and shiny and neat. Danielle, however, brushed it quickly once and left it at that.

I studied my reflection objectively. I liked the appearance I had chosen for Hogwarts. My hair was a mane of neatly coiffed curls in a soft, light reddish brown. My eyes were something else; a dark lavender colour flecked a little with black, they were… intoxicating.

"Oi, Narcissus!" Amelia called to me, "Stop staring at yourself and come to breakfast with us."

I chuckled and skipped over to her, linking arms as we descended the stairs.

"You know that Narcissus was a man," I told her. As we walked through the common room, James sidled up to me and said, "Hello, Cataline."

I smiled a falsely bright smile and saw him gasp a little before quickly replacing his usual cocky demeanour.

"Why, hello, Potter."

He chuckled at me for some reason before overtaking Amelia and I and leaving out the portrait hole. Amelia looked at me strangely, but I just shrugged and continued through the portrait hall.

Professor Longbottom was walking along the tables, handing out the first year's timetables.

"What do we have now?" Albus asked, taking a seat next to me.

"Transfiguration," I said. Uncertain about what to eat, as I usually skipped breakfast, I settled for some pineapple juice and a croissant. Rose sat down across from me, not eating anything but reading through her Transfiguration book as if expecting an exam. A few people away I heard James laughing loudly about something already. I rolled my eyes; he was so annoying.

Once we had finished eating, we hurried off to our classroom, bubbling with excitement.

"What do you think we're doing?" Amelia asked, eyes glinting at the prospect of magic.

"Mum said we'll only start small and do things like turning matches into needles," Rose said.

"Oh…" I was disappointed at this news. Regan had already taught me how to do that. If I did it quickly I could convince the teacher to let me do the homework in class…

The teacher, Professor Denavo, was a strict woman with her pure white hair cut into a severe bob and her grey eyes sharp and calculating. She started the class with roll call, going through it as fast as she could, before diving into a long speech about the difficulty of Transfiguration. Then she gave out a handful of matches to everyone. I quickly transfigured them and then raised my hand.

"Yes, Miss Cataline?" she asked me.

"Professor –" She interrupted me.

"Oh, Miss Cataline, of course, your father sent me an owl explaining the circumstances." I sighed in relief, but I shouldn't have been so surprised; that was just like Regan.

"So what do I do til then?"

"I want you to go through your Transfiguration book and make a list of all the spells you have learnt and all the spells you haven't. At four o'clock I would like you to come to my office." I got to work while Professor Denavo taught.

By the end of the class the only other person who had succeeded was Rose. I left the list with Professor Denavo and headed off to Charms.

"Why didn't you have to do the spell?" Amelia asked me on the way out.

"Look, Bliss, look! Look at my needles!" then she coughed and blushed, "Oh, sorry, you weren't allowed to and there I was flaunting my needles…"

"Oh, no," I reassured her, "I already know that spell." Rose paled. "But, I mean my dad has been teaching me for a few months now, so I guess I started school early in a way. It's nothing to do with talent." Rose shook her head.

"Bliss, you're a brilliant witch, and I know it."

In Charms, Professor Flitwick told me that Regan had sent him a letter too, and I was once again ordered to make a list.

At lunch time Rose wouldn't talk to me; she was angry at me for stealing her thunder and embarrassed that she couldn't match my 'talent'.

"Look, it doesn't matter," I groaned. "I'll probably be in the corner for all our classes now and you'll be with the others showing off."

"My parents are always going on about how smart I am, but you!"

"I told you, I've pretty much been in school since I turned eleven."

We had double Potions next, which I was grateful for. I would be able to learn something now.

Professor Slughorn started the class like Professor Denavo; a long speech about potions and their importance and difficulty. He gave us a simple potion to cure boils, something which was apparently a common first year potion to learn. Melina and Regan had decided against teaching Potions, as it wasn't either of their strong suits and they wanted me to do well. By the end of the lesson, only Rose and I had finished, but Albus had come close.

We walked back to the common room, and Rose seemed to have forgiven me.

"We could take over the school, someday," she joked to me.

At ten to four I bid everyone adieu and made my way to Professor Denavo's office. I was surprised to see Professor Flitwick with her too.

"Miss Cataline, we have discussed your situation and have came up with a solution. We will teach you the spells you do not know separately, and then teach you the ones the second years have so far in the term. Once you have caught up with the second years you will join their Transfiguration and Charms classes."

My eyes widened; I had thought I would just be in the corner learning different spells, but I would be learning with a class still; a class of second years.

"Will I be learning anything tonight?" I whispered, exhilarated.

"Well…" Professor Denavo hesitated, "you can, if you want."

"Yes, please, please!" She began telling me about Switching Spells, and I sat there with my quill running across the page while I listened with wide eyes.

"Miss Cataline…" she paused, seeing my quill which was writing on its own accord. I realised she was going to tell me something that wasn't about switching spells and I waved my wand at it, muttering the incantation. "Miss Cataline, my second years don't know how to make quills write for themselves yet."

"Milena and Regan - my parents, I mean, taught me random spells that were useful. Like Accio and such. But they didn't follow a curriculum, and I check then second year's books and I haven't learnt many of them." I didn't want her to change her mind.

"If they keep teaching you, I have the feeling you'll be doing fourth year transfiguration next year."

"I'll tell them to stop, I promise. They teach me other things as well, mainly little spells that they use around the house, not from the book." She looked at my hopeful face, waved her wand at my quill and continued her Switching Spells lecture. I managed to get it fairly quickly, but she still set me homework to practise, and to write an essay, due in two days.

We went straight to dinner and I quickly sat down next to Amelia, who was chatting politely with Danielle Harding.

"So, what happened?" she asked me.

"I'm moving up a year!" I told her everything Denavo had said and she looked at me in awe.

"She taught you Switching Spells?"

"Yep!" I demonstrated on our dinner.

"Wow…" she sighed. "So when do you go to the second year's class?"

"Denavo said hopefully by next week, a fortnight at the max."

"So we won't be in the same class anymore?"

"We will, for most classes, just not for Charms or Transfiguration." I hadn't thought about that yet…

"Who will I sit with?" she sobbed.

"Rose," I said automatically.

"She sits with Albus…"

"Don't worry, that won't last." She blinked at me. "Well, you don't expect Albus to sit with his cousin all the time when he has Isaiah Franklin, Robert Taylor, Harry Bonnet and Christopher Evans in his dormitory. No, he'll make some man-friends, not stay with Rose."

"Why not?"

"Because, he's a boy!" I sighed, exasperated.

"Poor Rose…" Amelia blubbered.

"Ah, but she'll have you, remember?" Her amber eyes widened in understanding. We looked over at Albus, who was chatting politely to Isaiah. Grinning triumphantly, we finished our dinner.

*

On Tuesday, someone had posted a notice on the notice board for the first years.

FLYING LESSONS
for all Gryffindor and Slytherin
FIRST YEARS
This Thursday after LUNCH

All through double Herbology, everyone was talking about their past experiences with a broomstick, if any.

"Wow," Amelia said after Julia had recounted a dramatic tale of how she and her father had narrowly escaped the muggle police.

"I don't think I can do this," she gasped on Friday morning.

"Why not?" I asked, surprised she was so worried.

"I've never flown before."

"So? A lot of people haven't." I was running my fingers through my hair, as I did every morning. "If you don't do it now, you never will. Plus, you don't have a choice."

"Damn," she muttered. I grabbed her arm and dragged her out of bed.

"Up, up, up, woman!" I chanted. She rolled her eyes at me and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. I tutted, "Don't worry, you guys, we'll meet you at breakfast." Danielle, Julia and Rose, who had been watching us silently, got up and left.

Several minutes later, Amelia was out of the bathroom in a clean and crisp uniform. I frowned.

"It's not fitted."

"Well, no. You didn't…" she trailed off as I pulled out my wand and muttered the incantations. "Thank you."

We had double Potions after breakfast. Cutting up the ingredients we needed, I fantasized about being on a broomstick again after what felt like ages. At the end of the lesson we chatted excitedly. Rose had mixed feelings about being on a broomstick. She had avoided it so far in her life, but now she had no choice; would she like it, like her dad, or hate it, like her mum?

At lunch, Amelia wasn't eating. When I asked her why she mumbled something about 'being lighter for the flying'. I left her be and then gently told her we had to go to the Quidditch pitch. She got up without complaint, staring ahead. As we walked with the Gryffindors, we were joined by the Slytherins, yet in a way were still detached from them.

"Mudblood…" one of them, a boy, hissed at Amelia. She didn't notice, so he turned to me, "Blood traitor…" I rolled my eyes, discreetly slid out my wand and thought Levicorpus. The boy was suddenly hanging in the air by his ankle. Everyone laughed at him, including the Slytherins. I shot him one more disdainful look before walking off with Amelia.

Once we got to the Quidditch pitch we stood in two rows; Gryffindors on one side, Slytherins on the other.

"Good afternoon, class. My name is Madam Hooch. Wel – Nice of you to join us, Mr Vodapianof." I saw the boy I had cursed join the Slytherins, glaring at me. He whispered something to the boy next to him, who looked at me and laughed. "As I was saying, welcome to your first flying lesson. Please stand on the left side of the broom. Place your right hand above the broom and say 'UP!'"

I did as was told, and was unsurprised to have it fly immediately into my hand. I looked around to see if the same had happened to anyone else. Only three other people had been so lucky; Albus, Julia and, annoyingly enough, the boy Vodapianof had whispered to.

"Good, Miss Cataline. Mmm, you too, Miss Wood, Mr Potter, though that's hardly surprising. Lovely, Mr Zabini." I stopped myself from glowering at her; it wasn't her fault that she had to compliment a Slytherin. "Come on, Mr. Archibald! There you go!"

A small boy with bronze hair looked up eagerly, to see if anyone had seen his achievement. He noticed me looking and grinned at me. Not the usual malicious Slytherin grin, but an actual grin. Noting this, I grinned back. Zabini saw the exchange and hit Archibald on the shoulder. The boy, obviously confused, looked from me to Zabini and back again. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him again; he smiled back, but kept glancing warily at Zabini.

"OK," Madam Hooch sighed, "if you're not holding your broom, pick it up." Rose guiltily picked it up, as did a few others. "Good, now, when I blow my whistle I want you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then come straight back down. On my whistle – three – two – one!" There was a deafening blast and I was finally in the air again. On impulse, I did a few laps of the group and people copied me.

"Come STRAIGHT BACK DOWN!" Madam Hooch bellowed. I landed lightly in front of her, and the other first years landed too. The lines were now officially demolished, and we were just a group, united in the adventure of flying. Archibald was next to me now.

"Hi," I said brightly to him. He smiled but said nothing, casting nervous glances at Zabini and Vodapianof. I winked at Archibald and once again pulled out my wand. Only Archibald noticed. I pointed it at Zabini and Vodapianof and thought, once again, Levicorpus. They were both raised into the air by their ankles and I quickly cast a shoe-shining spell at my shoes, in case Madam Hooch tried Priori Incantatum on my wand. She didn't bother, though, but simply rolled her eyes and waved her wand at the two boys, who fell into a heap on the ground.

"Now, despite that display, I want you to do laps around the pitch. Once again, mount your brooms, please." There was a scuffle to get on the broomsticks. "On my whistle – three – two – one!" Another blast and we were up. Laughing joyfully, I began swooping. Albus quickly caught up with me and we grinned at each other in delight. I began circling him, and spinning on my broom, laughing gaily. As we continued, it became a kind of dance between us. We saw the others landing and hastened to join them.

"Well, clearly, a lot of you have talent," Madam Hooch commented, her eyes flicking over to me and Albus. I couldn't help but grin. "Was today anyone's first time on a broom?" Amelia, Rose, Archibald, a Gryffindor boy and two Slytherin girls raised their hands. "Well, you six did well," she said gently. I realised I hadn't seen how Amelia had done. Madam Hooch gave us free flying time, and she said she would be there to supervise and help anyone in need of it.

I hopped on again and zoomed off, looking for something to do. I saw the goal post and got a sudden idea. Looking to make sure people were watching, I then flew up to the top of the goalpost, holding the broom out in front of me, using it to steady myself. I heard a few people gasp, and then I laughed out loud and jumped, my arms out like a bird. Someone screamed as I moved the broom beneath me and zoomed up into the air again. I heard other people laughing but a lot of people were simply in shock. Amelia flew up next to me and hit me on the back of my head.

"I thought you were trying to kill yourself!"

I laughed, until I realised she was really angry.

"I was just doing a trick. I've done it before, heaps of times." I gave her a quick hug and saw she was breathing calmly now. "You're doing really well on a broom."

"Thanks… and that was a pretty cool trick. You looked so graceful."

"It's so much fun to do…" I said wistfully, "But if I do it again people will just know I'm seeking attention." I grinned again, then started zooming about as much as I could before we were called back to go to our last class.

Well, I hope that your opinion of Bliss has changed slightly, but I doubt it. Maybe I'm too subtle.

Sneak peek anyone?

"Them, with their pureblood mumbo-jumbo? No thanks."

I won't tell you who said it, because I'm a little bit cruel. True to my form, I'm posting this at quarter to 11 at night :D

Enjoy, enjoy!

Love, Sace