Chapter Four
You know the part when Harry is being followed by excited whispers and looks all throughout the first day? Well, we were kinda one of those people. We'd look for him in between our classes, though most of our classes were with him because we were all first year Gryffindors. My classes were fascinating. My favorite by far was Charms. Professor Flitwick was the cutest little teacher I've ever seen, sitting on his big pile of books behind his desk. For the first week, we basically went through the first chapter of every book we had in every class. Professor Snape gave us a talking to. Even though I knew he wasn't the evil one, he scared me to death. He gave people these looks like you-better-watch-yourself kind of looks, like an evil eye. Professor McGonagall was the same way, only not evil, if that makes any sense. She was strict and terribly clever. She turned her desk into a pig at the beginning of our first class of Transfigurations. It was more amazing watching it than reading about it.
"Hey, what's that Neville?" I heard Dean point to a little object in Neville's hand at breakfast on Friday.
"It's a Remembrall. It glows red when you've forgotten something."
I gazed at it in amazement as it glowed red.
"The only trouble is, I can't remember what I've forgotten."
"Can I see that Neville?" I asked. He handed it to me and I looked over it. It was perfectly round and glowed a scarlet red smoke. It was pretty heavy and fit exactly in the measure of my hand. It looked made of pure glass and was clear without the red smoke. Then someone pulled it out of my hand.
"What's this Victor?"
"It's not mine, it's Neville's, Malfoy."
"A Remembrall, interesting Longbottom, why don't I keep it safe for you, so you don't forget it?"
"Give it here, Malfoy." I spoke up. I knew Neville wouldn't say anything. Malfoy took a step closer.
"She said, hand it over." Mike stood up. I swallowed a giggle. Malfoy looked up at the boy who was about two or three heads taller than him. Malfoy exhaled and gave it to Mike. Mike sat back down, giving the Remembrall to Neville.
"You don't need to be my bodyguard, Mike, I can stand up for myself."
"Ok, ok, just making sure."
"Sara."
"What?" came a voice from behind a potions book.
"What classes do we have today? Anything new?"
"Yeah. YES! Flying lesson at eleven. Man, this is so much better than bio."
"Coolness."
I waited impatiently for the flying lesson so when it finally came, I ran across to the Quidditch field. And, yes, we were with the Slytherins.
Mike, Mell and Sara were already there. They were waiting some impatiently, some totally terrified. The Slytherins arrived "fashionably late," Malfoy in the lead, of course. Madame Hooch blew her whistle.
"Ok, people. Stand next to a broom. Quickly, quickly."
I took one next to Mike and Mell. Lightly jumping up and down on the balls of my feet, I listened for her next instructions.
"Stick your right hand over the broom and say, UP!"
"UP!" I yelled. The broom flew up into my hand. I smiled around at my friends. Mell got it too, but Mike was having trouble.
"UP!" he kept shouting, but the broom just rolled over. Then he just picked it in his hands with frustration. Eventually Sara got her broom in her grasp.
"Now on the count of three, I'll blow the whistle. Then you will rise up from the ground, hover a little bit and then touch back down. Do nothing else!"
We all looked around, gulping. Madame Hooch raised her whistle.
"Ready, one.two."
But she never got to three. Neville, two people down from me, rose from the ground higher and higher until he completely lost control of the broom. It flung him around all over the field forty feet in the air. I clutched my face with my fingernails, watching fearfully. Neville swung upside down, lost grip of the broom and fell to the ground with the sound of cracking bone. I shuddered.
Madame Hooch ran over. "Tut, tut. Broken wrist. Come on now, up you get. I'll take you to the hospital wing. And all of you, don't you dare leave the ground on those brooms or you'll be out of here before you can say quidditch."
And they left with Madame Hooch's arm around Neville.
"Hey look it, it's Longbottom's little Remembrall thing!" Malfoy ran over and picked up the round ball.
"What's the matter with you?" Harry spoke up. I glanced over at him.
"Hand it over," my friends and I joined in, "Don't you know you're not supposed to touch things that don't belong to you without permission?"
"Oh, little miss goody-two-shoes," Malfoy sneered at me, "I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find, like up a tree."
And with that, Malfoy took off into the air, making a few circles. He's a really good flyer, I thought. Harry followed suit with a determined look on his face, despite remarks from Hermione. Taking a deep breath, I clambered onto my broom too and pushed off. It was the most delightful feeling in the world. The air whooshed past my ears and I felt so light and free in the air. It was almost as good as flying by yourself.
"Come on you guys," I heard Sara say, "Let's help."
I grimaced. I knew Harry could do it on his own, but hey, what the heck? This is our fantasy. Another whoosh and Sara and Mell were by my side. Harry looked surprised to see three strange girls up there defending him.
"Well," I said, smirking to Malfoy, "We've got my sidekicks, where's yours? Oh, yeah, I forgot, they're down there."
He seemed to notice this but said, "All right, have it your way then," a smile coming across his face. He threw it as hard as he could upwards towards the towers of Hogwarts. I gasped and hesitated as Harry raced towards it. The Remembrall was flying fast. I hovered behind him, watching carefully. Sara was behind a ways and Mell warded off Malfoy. Harry reached out my hand, shakily, and closed it on the cold glass. The wall of the tower was coming closer and closer to the tip of his broom. Again, I clutched my face in fear, even though what was going to happen. He pulled my broom upwards and did a flip. I screamed and watched him settle himself up, facing our direction. He passed it to me. I threw it to Sara, who caught it and dodged Malfoy, throwing it to Mell. Mell caught it in her right hand before toppling softly onto the grass.
"Yes!" I cried, punching the air. I lowered myself down to the ground and ran over to Sara and Mell, giving them hugs. Harry followed us, confused.
"All right, we rock!" I cried.
"GIRLS!" we spun around to face Professor McGonagall. I gulped, thinking: or not.
"Pr-Professor-
"Come with me, ladies, Harry you as well," she said curtly. We followed meekly, glancing at Mike who stared back at us, open-mouthed, knowing exactly where we were going.
"Professor Quirrel, can I borrow Wood for a moment?" McGonagall peeped her head in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. I glanced at Sara and she hid a smile, raising her eyebrows. A tall boy came out, with shorn brown curls on his head and bright blue eyes. Mell looked back at us, both our jaws were touching the floor. Harry still just looked confused and kept glancing at us nervously.
"Wood? I've found you some new players." McGonagall said, excitedly.
He looked at us.
"You three will make great Chasers, you look fit for that. And you," he looked at Harry, "you'll be great as our Seeker."
"He caught that ball from a thirty feet distance. I saw it from my window," Professor McGonagall spoke up excitedly. Harry smiled weakly. "We'll arrange a meeting so you know the ropes," Wood told us.
I smiled. Ok, but this was going to be really, really weird, but it felt a little exhilarating too.
You know the part when Harry is being followed by excited whispers and looks all throughout the first day? Well, we were kinda one of those people. We'd look for him in between our classes, though most of our classes were with him because we were all first year Gryffindors. My classes were fascinating. My favorite by far was Charms. Professor Flitwick was the cutest little teacher I've ever seen, sitting on his big pile of books behind his desk. For the first week, we basically went through the first chapter of every book we had in every class. Professor Snape gave us a talking to. Even though I knew he wasn't the evil one, he scared me to death. He gave people these looks like you-better-watch-yourself kind of looks, like an evil eye. Professor McGonagall was the same way, only not evil, if that makes any sense. She was strict and terribly clever. She turned her desk into a pig at the beginning of our first class of Transfigurations. It was more amazing watching it than reading about it.
"Hey, what's that Neville?" I heard Dean point to a little object in Neville's hand at breakfast on Friday.
"It's a Remembrall. It glows red when you've forgotten something."
I gazed at it in amazement as it glowed red.
"The only trouble is, I can't remember what I've forgotten."
"Can I see that Neville?" I asked. He handed it to me and I looked over it. It was perfectly round and glowed a scarlet red smoke. It was pretty heavy and fit exactly in the measure of my hand. It looked made of pure glass and was clear without the red smoke. Then someone pulled it out of my hand.
"What's this Victor?"
"It's not mine, it's Neville's, Malfoy."
"A Remembrall, interesting Longbottom, why don't I keep it safe for you, so you don't forget it?"
"Give it here, Malfoy." I spoke up. I knew Neville wouldn't say anything. Malfoy took a step closer.
"She said, hand it over." Mike stood up. I swallowed a giggle. Malfoy looked up at the boy who was about two or three heads taller than him. Malfoy exhaled and gave it to Mike. Mike sat back down, giving the Remembrall to Neville.
"You don't need to be my bodyguard, Mike, I can stand up for myself."
"Ok, ok, just making sure."
"Sara."
"What?" came a voice from behind a potions book.
"What classes do we have today? Anything new?"
"Yeah. YES! Flying lesson at eleven. Man, this is so much better than bio."
"Coolness."
I waited impatiently for the flying lesson so when it finally came, I ran across to the Quidditch field. And, yes, we were with the Slytherins.
Mike, Mell and Sara were already there. They were waiting some impatiently, some totally terrified. The Slytherins arrived "fashionably late," Malfoy in the lead, of course. Madame Hooch blew her whistle.
"Ok, people. Stand next to a broom. Quickly, quickly."
I took one next to Mike and Mell. Lightly jumping up and down on the balls of my feet, I listened for her next instructions.
"Stick your right hand over the broom and say, UP!"
"UP!" I yelled. The broom flew up into my hand. I smiled around at my friends. Mell got it too, but Mike was having trouble.
"UP!" he kept shouting, but the broom just rolled over. Then he just picked it in his hands with frustration. Eventually Sara got her broom in her grasp.
"Now on the count of three, I'll blow the whistle. Then you will rise up from the ground, hover a little bit and then touch back down. Do nothing else!"
We all looked around, gulping. Madame Hooch raised her whistle.
"Ready, one.two."
But she never got to three. Neville, two people down from me, rose from the ground higher and higher until he completely lost control of the broom. It flung him around all over the field forty feet in the air. I clutched my face with my fingernails, watching fearfully. Neville swung upside down, lost grip of the broom and fell to the ground with the sound of cracking bone. I shuddered.
Madame Hooch ran over. "Tut, tut. Broken wrist. Come on now, up you get. I'll take you to the hospital wing. And all of you, don't you dare leave the ground on those brooms or you'll be out of here before you can say quidditch."
And they left with Madame Hooch's arm around Neville.
"Hey look it, it's Longbottom's little Remembrall thing!" Malfoy ran over and picked up the round ball.
"What's the matter with you?" Harry spoke up. I glanced over at him.
"Hand it over," my friends and I joined in, "Don't you know you're not supposed to touch things that don't belong to you without permission?"
"Oh, little miss goody-two-shoes," Malfoy sneered at me, "I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find, like up a tree."
And with that, Malfoy took off into the air, making a few circles. He's a really good flyer, I thought. Harry followed suit with a determined look on his face, despite remarks from Hermione. Taking a deep breath, I clambered onto my broom too and pushed off. It was the most delightful feeling in the world. The air whooshed past my ears and I felt so light and free in the air. It was almost as good as flying by yourself.
"Come on you guys," I heard Sara say, "Let's help."
I grimaced. I knew Harry could do it on his own, but hey, what the heck? This is our fantasy. Another whoosh and Sara and Mell were by my side. Harry looked surprised to see three strange girls up there defending him.
"Well," I said, smirking to Malfoy, "We've got my sidekicks, where's yours? Oh, yeah, I forgot, they're down there."
He seemed to notice this but said, "All right, have it your way then," a smile coming across his face. He threw it as hard as he could upwards towards the towers of Hogwarts. I gasped and hesitated as Harry raced towards it. The Remembrall was flying fast. I hovered behind him, watching carefully. Sara was behind a ways and Mell warded off Malfoy. Harry reached out my hand, shakily, and closed it on the cold glass. The wall of the tower was coming closer and closer to the tip of his broom. Again, I clutched my face in fear, even though what was going to happen. He pulled my broom upwards and did a flip. I screamed and watched him settle himself up, facing our direction. He passed it to me. I threw it to Sara, who caught it and dodged Malfoy, throwing it to Mell. Mell caught it in her right hand before toppling softly onto the grass.
"Yes!" I cried, punching the air. I lowered myself down to the ground and ran over to Sara and Mell, giving them hugs. Harry followed us, confused.
"All right, we rock!" I cried.
"GIRLS!" we spun around to face Professor McGonagall. I gulped, thinking: or not.
"Pr-Professor-
"Come with me, ladies, Harry you as well," she said curtly. We followed meekly, glancing at Mike who stared back at us, open-mouthed, knowing exactly where we were going.
"Professor Quirrel, can I borrow Wood for a moment?" McGonagall peeped her head in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. I glanced at Sara and she hid a smile, raising her eyebrows. A tall boy came out, with shorn brown curls on his head and bright blue eyes. Mell looked back at us, both our jaws were touching the floor. Harry still just looked confused and kept glancing at us nervously.
"Wood? I've found you some new players." McGonagall said, excitedly.
He looked at us.
"You three will make great Chasers, you look fit for that. And you," he looked at Harry, "you'll be great as our Seeker."
"He caught that ball from a thirty feet distance. I saw it from my window," Professor McGonagall spoke up excitedly. Harry smiled weakly. "We'll arrange a meeting so you know the ropes," Wood told us.
I smiled. Ok, but this was going to be really, really weird, but it felt a little exhilarating too.