That afternoon Karen's head felt close to bursting from all the information. Her class with Slughorn had been a long one. Karen had done her best to focus, putting the information about her birth parents aside, and had eventually lost herself in potion making. Note taking, really, as Slughorn had taught them about various ingredients and methodology during this first lesson rather than have them make an actual potion. That would come next time, he said. He had also been sizing her up, Karen was sure, and she half expected an invitation to a Slug Club meeting then and there. Probably he hadn't started those yet, though, and she hadn't gotten anything other than homework.
Karen half wished she had a time turner as she walked over to the training grounds for her first flying lesson. Not so much because she wanted to take more classes faster, her head already felt crammed from what she was taking now, but rather in order to get all that homework done.
Still, she was excited about flying. Karen wasn't a very athletic person but the concept of flying had to excite anyone who wasn't afraid of heights, she was sure. And despite not being into sports, what was there not to love about quidditch?
The weather was lovely, only a slight breeze stirred her robes as Karen walked with the Ravenclaw first years to where a bunch of other first years already stood, waiting for Madam Hooch. Karen groaned inwardly when she saw that the Ravenclaws were taking this class with the Slytherins, mostly because this meant she had to spend a class each week with the bratty pure blood girl from the Sorting. No sooner was she there, saying hi to the girl she had helped get into the common room the first day, than she heard a not-so-quiet whisper about how embarrassing it must be for her to take classes with the first years. She took a deep breath and somehow managed to ignore them until Madam Hooch arrived.
The lesson went smoothly. Just as it had been for Harry, broomsticks were brought and Madam Hooch taught them the very basics of getting on the broom, hovering for a few moments and coming back down. Fortunately there was no incident like there had been with Neville. Karen worried a little bit when the girl she had helped into the Ravenclaw common room, Sarah, shook from nervousness and went a bit too high but she managed to steady herself and get back down safely.
After the lesson, just as Karen was about to leave, she heard the Slytherin girl, Claryssa Bole, commenting rather loudly about Sarah's flying.
"…so obviously a muggle-born. It's not like it's very hard. I guess true wizards are just more skilled than people like her." Karen turned around, angry. Bole hadn't used the word mudblood yet but it was implied. Sarah stood, quaking and on the verge of tears, close by with three other first years. One of them looked like he was about to say something in her defence but Karen beat him to it.
"Of course, it's very easy to be good at something you've already learnt how to do, isn't it?" She spat. "Ex-quidditch player daddy decide to teach you a bit early how to fly, I assume?" The assumption wasn't completely random, she had been reading a bit in her Harry Potter books and stumbled on the name of Lucian Bole as a Slytherin quidditch player. It was probably a safe guess that Claryssa was related to him at least, if not his daughter.
Claryssa's cheeks puffed up and her face turned red. Karen realised she might be being a bit harsh on an eleven year old. This was the way she was brought up after all. But Karen had no tolerance for bullying, especially not on a sweet girl like Sarah.
"My dad's not an ex-quidditch player, he plays for the Falmouth Falcons!" Claryssa Bole practically yelled at Karen. So he had continued his career in quidditch? Yay him. Karen heard the boy who had been about to stand up for Sarah whisper that the Falmouth Falcons were known for violence during games. Should have figured.
"Doesn't change the facts. You already know how to fly, she doesn't. Your friend over there wasn't doing so good himself." Karen nodded towards a black headed Slytherin boy standing next to Bole whose grin faded at her words. "And you know what? One of the worst fliers I ever saw was a born and raised wizard while the best I knew had muggle grandparents, so obviously muggle blood has nothing to do with it."
Bole glared at her and the other Ravenclaws, then scoffed and stormed off, her fellow Slytherins following behind.
Karen turned to Sarah and gave her an encouraging smile. "And that worst flier is a brilliant wizard, by the way. He's just good at other stuff." Sarah beamed at her and wiped the tears from her face.
As they walked together back to the castle one of the other girls asked; "Are Slytherins always this mean? I'd heard stories but that Bole girl is just awful."
"They're not all like that." Karen told her. "The good ones just don't speak up much. They're probably scared they'll get bullied by the mean ones if they do. Besides, I guess the attitude kind of catches when you're around people like that all the time."
"It's still awful." The boy said fiercely.
"Don't judge them too harshly," Karen said, "they were raised this way and are just acting the way they think is normal. I'm sure there's good ones there you just don't know." She found herself almost doubting her own words, though. Every Slytherin she knew had been a rather mean person. Broken and scarred, doing what they knew and acting this way for various reasons, some even forgivable ones. But still mean.
Once they reached the castle Karen headed off to her private Charms lesson. She always enjoyed Flitwick's classes, she seemed to have a knack for spell work. With the new information about her birth father Karen couldn't help but wonder whether this was an inherited talent. Flitwick had been especially pleased when she was sorted into Ravenclaw, he had given her a small cupcake during their first class after the sorting. Of course, he had made her practice her Wingardium Leviosa on it first, but she had been allowed to eat it afterwards.
After that Karen was dead tired but decided that it would be better to start on her pile of homework rather than take a nap before dinner. Just then she would rather have a quiet place to study and at this hour there were probably lots of students in the library so Karen decided to visit Kenan.
She took the hidden passageway Kenan had brought her out of during her first visit, behind a statue on the second floor. She enjoyed the chance to use her lumos charm, casting spells still fascinated her, and it wasn't long before she was in the secret painting room.
"Hey Kenan!" Karen said, dumping her bag next to the couch. "Guess what? Professor Trelawney apparently knew my…" Karen's words faded as she looked more clearly at the person she had at first taken to be Kenan. But this person wasn't the silvery transparent of a ghost. There was a real, living student in the room.
A/N: Oh look, a cliffhanger-ish thing. Isn't that fun? ^^
So how'd you like this one? Reviews = love (and I loooove all of you who reviewed the last chapter \(°w°)/ *hug*)