Author's Note: Here is the next chapter with the promised Flying Lesson! And we get to see a bit of our favorite Poltergeist.
Chapter 7 still has one less visitor than Chapter 8. For those of you who care. I also have over 100 visitors to the story (by one!).
I don't own Harry Potter or its characters. Elaine Goyle, Nandra Robards, Ainslee Knight, the Ravenclaw boys, and the Hufflepuffs are mine. And Selenia, who is not featured in this chapter.
I added a few things to this chapter that I felt would help develop the characters. So it's slightly different. Here you go!
Elaine's POV
The next morning was Transfiguration, followed by Potions. "I can't find my quill!" Rad fumed, digging in his bag as we headed to class.
"You don't really need it, do you?" Nandra asked distractedly, holding on to Jackson's bag as he shoved through the crowds.
Ainslee grimaced, "McGonagall always has us take notes before we start. You'd better get it; I'll go with you."
They headed back and I sighed. "What's wrong, Elaine?" asked Emery.
I thought of all the things that were bothering me. "Nothing," I clipped.
"Oh, a bunch of little first years trying to get through the crowd?" A Slytherin sixth year had stopped in front of us, blocking our way.
"Leave us alone. We're going to be late for class!" Nandra cried. The older student laughed in her face. "You're just a big bully!" she announced.
Annoyed, I pushed up past Nandra and Jackson. "Move," I demanded. He looked me up and down.
"And who are you to order me around?" he sneered.
I pulled out my wand. "Elaine Goyle. Don't make me ask twice," I ordered, feeling my face slip into a glare.
"I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget-" he began.
"Petrificus Totalus," I interrupted. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell over. I leaned over. "Have fun telling the teachers you got hexed by a first year," I hissed. Then I continued down the corridor.
At the end I stopped and turned around. "Are you coming?" I drawled impatiently. The rest of the Ravenclaws hurried after me.
"Wow, Elaine! That was awesome!" Nandra gushed.
"I still haven't gotten that spell right," muttered Emery.
Jackson just nodded and said, "Thanks."
We hurried off to Transfiguration. Rad and Ainslee slipped in just as class was starting. "Found it," he whispered out of the side of his mouth at me.
"Good for you," I muttered.
"Elaine hexed a sixth year," Nandra said quietly.
"She WHAT?!" he burst out.
"Mr. Allen. Do you have something you would like to share with the class?" Professor McGonagall asked pointedly.
"No, Professor," he blushed. "Then I'll continue. Now, to turn a button into a..."
"You'll have to tell me everything later," Rad breathed.
As I expected Transfiguration was uninteresting, but took focus. Afterward Nandra, Ainslee, and I headed down to the dungeons. Luna had disappeared, muttering something about her made-up creatures.
On the first floor we caught sight of Peeves, and I knew we were in trouble. The stories of Peeves tormenting the first years were legendary. Ainslee whispered, "Walk faster! Maybe we can blend in with the older students."
"Maybe you can," retorted Nandra, who was a head shorter than me. We latched onto a group of third years who seemed to be headed out to the grounds. It didn't work.
"Oh, the ickle-firsties trying to hide?" he mocked. I felt a tug on my bag, so I turned around. Peeves had snatched my potions book.
"Go on. I'll be along in a minute," I told Ainslee.
"Did the ickle-firsty lose her book?" he taunted.
"Give me my book Peeves," I ordered.
"Bossy little girl," Peeves cackled. "Bossy girls don't get their books back!" He blew a raspberry at me and zoomed away.
I hurried down the two flights of stairs to the dungeon used for the Potions class. Everyone stared at me when I entered and approached Professor Snape's desk.
"Yes Miss…?" he prompted.
"Elaine Goyle," I supplied.
"Goyle?" he repeated.
I nodded, "My brother is in Slytherin."
"And I'm sure you have an excuse for your tardiness," he challenged.
"Peeves stole my potions book, sir," I explained.
He looked at me for a moment, then stood. "You will continue to work on your potions. Come, Miss Goyle. Let us retrieve your potions book." He swept out of the room and I quickly followed.
"Where was it?" he asked as we reached the ground floor.
"We were on the first floor, sir, but he flew off and I'm not sure where he went," I admitted. We reached the corridor on the first floor.
"Here, sir," I directed, "and he went in that direction."
Professor Snape led the way, and as we reached the end of the corridor a thump sounded from a nearby classroom. I turned the corner and opened the door. Inside the unused classroom, Peeves had the chalkboard turned on its side and was placing my potions book on it. Then he spun the board as hard as he could, sending the book flying into the wall.
Professor Snape stepped into the room behind me. "Accio potions book," he muttered. The book flew across the room and into his hands. He passed it to me. "If you steal a student's possession again I'll have the Bloody Baron follow you around the castle," he threatened Peeves, whose eyes widened. I smirked at Peeves as Professor Snape stalked out the door.
When I caught up to my potions professor I quizzed, "When do we learn to do that?"
"Do what?" he restated.
"Make things come to us," I clarified.
"Summoning Spells? Probably third or fourth year," he supplied. I mulled that over as we descended the two floors to the potions dungeon.
I sat in the only seat left, by Luna, and murmured, "What are we doing?"
"Page twenty; Napping Nectar," she replied.
I got to work quickly, worrying over the time I had lost. Half an hour later I had caught up to Luna and the rest of the class. I was even ahead of some of the Hufflepuffs.
Professor Snape stalked around the class, glancing at the progress we were making and commenting. Upon reaching me and Luna he stopped. "I see you have caught up to the class Miss Goyle," he declared.
"Yes sir," I chimed.
"Good work," he complimented.
That afternoon when I entered the common room I saw all the first years clustered around the notice board. I joined them and asked Ainslee, "What is it?"
"Flying lessons start Thursday. We're with Hufflepuff," she announced.
"Joy…" I muttered. Hoping to use the commotion to avoid telling Rad the story- I knew that no matter who told him, he'd be determined to hear it from me- I tried to slip into the girls' dormitory unnoticed.
It didn't work. "Elaine!" called Rad. "You never told me what happened."
"I never said I would," I countered. His face fell and I sighed. "A Slytherin sixth year got in our way. I hexed him."
"A sixth year?! What'd you use?" he practically yelled.
"Shhh!" I hissed. "Do you want to get me in trouble?"
"Sorry," he whispered, contrite. "What'd you use?"
"Full Body-Bind Curse."
"Awesome!"
Having given him all the details I was willing to share, I fled upstairs and heard him asking Nandra for the finer points of the story.
I was nervous about flying lessons. As it got closer I dreaded it a little more. Flying was not my thing. I had been on my brother's broom once or twice when I was younger and I preferred to keep my feet on the ground.
On Thursday we headed out to a field on the grounds to find a group of brooms on the grass.
"Pick a broom and stand by it!" ordered Madam Hooch, the flying teacher. We followed her directions, and then stood waiting while the Hufflepuffs crossed the grounds to the field. Madam Hooch repeated her instructions and they scrambled into place.
"Now, put your hand over your broom and say, 'up!'"
"Up!" I blurted with the rest of the class.
To my complete astonishment the broom leapt into my hand. I looked up to see that Nandra, Jackson, and one or two of the Hufflepuffs also had their brooms in hand.
After showing each of us how to mount and hold the broom, she declared, "I am going to blow my whistle, and you will kick off hard from the ground. You'll float up a few feet then lean forward just a bit to come back down. Ready?" She blew her whistle and we followed her instructions. Or tried to.
Only a few people made it off the ground. I was one of those who didn't.
"Try again," ordered Madam Hooch.
I sighed. Then I kicked off harder. The broom rose maybe two inches before I leaned forward in fright. The class kept at it until all of us had successfully completed the exercise.
"Good work class. We'll practice that again next time. Now we are going to move on to flying forward and stopping," Madam Hooch commanded. She explained how and helped us, but we made less progress this time.
Finally class was called to an end. "You made progress today," Madam Hooch announced. "Class dismissed."
As we clattered back to the castle, I caught sight of my brother with his friends. Draco was snickering. I stalked by them, pretending they didn't exist.
Ah-ha! We discover a weakness... Rivalries are expanding. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! If I had one review for every twenty readers I would have 5 reviews by now, and I don't. And I know one person has reviewed multiple times. Please and thank you? No flames. Thanks!
Who can tell what's new? Review please :) Sorry I haven't put anything up in so long. Christmas Break is soon; I'll see what I can do then. Thanks!