Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before Draco Malfoy came into his life. Selena however, seemed to be taking an interest in the Slytherin Boy, even though she denied that she saw Draco has more than a friend.
Harry and Ron couldn't understand how Selena had developed a friendship with their enemy, but Harry knew his sister was the type who saw the good in everyone. It was just how Selena was, though Ron accused Selena of being naïve several times Malfoy had said hi to her on the way to classes. His stomach churned at the idea that his sister may have had a crush on Draco, because he had caught Selena staring at him from the Gryffindor table, as if she was daydreaming.
However, one thing for certain that the twins could agree on was the harassment from Veronica Blackwood.
From day one, Veronica had been harassing Selena about how plain she looked and poor Selena was being pelted with bits of paper and had gotten names called at her in the corridors. Selena was used to this life and had put up a mental block to the name calling, but it was harder to ignore the pelting.
Harry remembered one funny moment where Selena snapped back during lunch. Veronica had passed by their table calling Selena a fake, when Selena surprised everyone with a savage comeback, "Veronica, being nice to someone you'd rather slap isn't being fake. It's sucking it up and acting like an adult." She said, smiling and taking another sip of apple juice.
Luckily for Harry, First Year Gryffindor's only had Potions with the Slytherins, so he didn't have to put up with Draco as much.
Until they woke up one morning to find a notice pinned up in the common room that made them all groan, well everyone except Selena. Flying lessons would be held on Thursday – and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. "Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."
Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about how First Years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside where he lived on his broomstick. Even Ron bragged about how he nearly crashed into a hand glider on Charlie's old broom.
Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Already, Ron and Dean Thomas had a big argument over soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had even caught Ron poking Dean's soccer poster, trying to make the players move.
"Oh, come on Harry, what have you got against Draco? He's just a kid. The least you two could do is try to get along." Selena said, glaring at her brother.
"You only say that because he's your friend." Ron muttered, giving Selena a dirty look. Selena narrowed her eyes at the Weasley boy.
"What's wrong with making friends with other houses? All have you know, the only friend I grew up having, was Harry."
Ron grumbled to himself.
Neville had never been on a broom in his life, because as he told it, his grandmother never let him near one.
Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by the words of a book – not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday, Hermione had bored everyone with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was clinging onto every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to the broomstick later on, but everybody else, including Selena was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of mail.
When Ron's owl, Errol flew by he dropped a letter and a wrapped newspaper onto the table. A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and pulled out a glass ball with white smoke inside.
"Hey look," a boy exclaimed. "Neville's got a Remembral."
"I've read about those," Hermione said. "When the smoke turns red, it means you've forgotten something."
As she said that, the smoke in the Remembral had turned scarlet, meaning that Neville had forgotten something. "The only problem is, I can't remember what I've forgotten?" Neville said, trying to remember what it was that he forgot.
Harry was looking at the Daily Prophet, the wizard's newspaper. "Lena, Ron, check this out. Someone broke into Gringotts," Harry said, showing them the front page.
Selena stared at Harry in confused bewilderment. "Someone broke into Gringotts? How?! I thought that place was impossible to break into."
She said as she and Ron moved in a little closer to listen in as Harry read out the story. "Believed to be the work of dark witches or wizards unknown, Gringotts goblins were acknowledging the breech and insist that nothing was taken. The volt in question number 713, had in fact been opened that very same day."
Selena's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Hang on, that's the volt that we visited with Hagrid, that day in Diagon Alley."
"Then that means that the robber was possibly after what was in the volt." Harry said. Selena scoffed and shook her head. "Who in their right mind would go after a grubby little package?"
"Good morning Gryffindor and Slytherin First Years, I am Madame Hooch." announced a grey-haired woman with eyes like a Hawk. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well what are you waiting for – stand to the left side of your broom, quickly!" she spoke sharply.
The class followed her instructions and waited for the next. "Now, I want you all to stick your right hand over the broom and say up."
"Up!" Selena spoke clearly.
The broom shifted a little on the ground for a few minutes until it finally flew up into her hand where she held it there with a stunned look on her face.
She looked over at Harry, seeing that his broom was already in his hand. Ron however was having some trouble. When the broom finally decided to move off the ground, it flew back and hit him in the head. Selena and Harry choked out a laugh. "You okay Ron?"
"Stop laughing you both," Ron grumbled, a red mark starting to appear on his face.
When the class all had their brooms in hand Madame Hooch gave the next instructions. "Now, I want you all to mount your brooms, hold on tight and when I blow my whistle, kick off from the ground, keep your brooms steady, hover for a bit, lean forward and touch back down." The class mounted their brooms and awaited the sound of the whistle blow.
Madame Hooch blew her whistle, but only one student started hovering. Selena recognised the boy as Neville Longbottom. Neville started to whimper as the broom floated even higher. "Mr Longbottom!" Madame Hooch said, thinking Neville was being disobedient. Neville however was starting to panic. The class moved back in shock.
Selena tried to control the broom with her powers but Neville accidently kicked her in the face out of panic, knocking the girl to the ground and breaking her concentration. "Selena!" Harry cried, helping her up.
Neville's broom shot forward and flew high above the grounds, moving around like a bucking horse, trying to throw its rider off. The broom succeeded and Neville fell off screaming. Mid fall, his cloak got caught on a gargoyle's spear.
The cloak ripped and Neville fell head first onto the grass with a sickening crunch before Selena could stop the fall with her powers. "Everybody out of the way!" Madame Hooch barked, running towards Neville's aid. She knelt down and helped Neville up.
Neville let out a painful whimper when Madame Hooch touched his arm. "Oh dear, it's a broken wrist. Come on, let's get you to the Hospital Wing." She said, soothingly.
When they stood up Madame Hooch turned her attention to the rest of the class. "All of you stay on the ground while I take Mr Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. If I see one broom in the air, the person responsible will be out of Hogwarts before they can say Quidditch."
Draco smirked as he picked up a small, red, glass ball. Selena recognised it as the Remembral that Neville's Grandmother had sent him by mail. "Did you see his face? If the fat lug had given this a squeeze, he's have remembered to fall on his fat arse."
All of the Slytherins laughed at his joke.
Selena gave Draco a look of disappointment. "You can't say stuff like that, didn't you hear Madame Hooch, Neville's broken his wrist."
Harry marched over glaring angrily at Draco. "Give it here Malfoy."
Draco returned the glare. "No Potter, I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find, perhaps the roof."
The blonde hopped onto his broom and took off into the sky. Selena was in shock and confused at his actions. "What's the matter Potter, bit beyond your reach?" Draco mocked, causing a gasp out of Selena.
Right now, she was more concerned about Draco getting in trouble, than him teasing Harry.
Harry growled under his breath and reached for his broom when Selena stopped him. "Harry no way, you're gonna get yourself in trouble!"
Hermione stepped in and said. "Your sister's right Harry, you're going to get expelled!" Harry ignored the girls and took off anyway.
Selena bit her lip in nervousness. There were students watching the whole thing so she couldn't use her telekinesis to pull the boys back to the ground. From up above she heard Harry shout at Draco. "Give it here Malfoy or I'll knock you off your broom!"
"Is that so?" Draco mocked.
Selena decided that she had had enough of this joke. Detention or no detention she was not letting another accident happen. She mounted a broom and flew up in between the two boys. "Stop both of you! You're going to break someone's neck!"
"I'm gonna break his neck!" Harry shouted, pointing at Draco.
Draco sneered. "Really? Alright then, catch!" Draco tossed the Remembral in the air and it flew high and far into the air. Harry immediately flew past Draco and Selena, trying to catch the ball. Selena glared at Draco.
"Really? You know your better than that Draco. Why would you do that?" Draco's facial expression changed to one of guilt. He stammered under the glare from her emerald green eyes that seemed to be burning holes in his soul.
"I-I-I was…"
Selena relaxed and gave him a panicked look. "Just get down before we get spotted!"
Both Selena and Draco flew down to the ground faster than a sprinting cheetah and tossed the brooms to the ground like nothing happened. They spun around when everyone was watching something in the distance. A tiny red and black dot was flying closer and closer until Selena could see that it was her brother. He was holding something red in his hand and too Selena's shock it was Neville's Remembral.
The whole class cheered as Harry landed on the grass and ran towards them, waving in triumph. Selena tackled him into a hug, relieved that he didn't get caught and that he retrieved the Remembral. This happy moment was ended quickly when they heard a stern voice of an older woman.
"Harry Potter!" barked Professor McGonagall. "Never in all my years at Hogwarts…you could've broken your neck! Come with me now!" Everyone's face fell as Harry walked away with the older woman.
Selena's heart broke as she watched her brother walk away with Professor McGonagall. It felt like McGonagall had just taken away a part of her body from her. Selena gave Draco a look that was a mixture of disappointment and sadness.
"How could you?" she muttered to him. Draco's own heart broke when she saw the look she was giving him. It was heartbreaking. Selena's eyes filled with tears as she ran away from the lawn. She couldn't bear the idea of Harry being expelled. Hermione and, Selena's roommates tried to stop her.
"Selena!" they cried.
Blaise slapped Draco on the arm. "Smooth move Draco, now the girl of your dreams hates your guts. You just got her brother expelled!"
Draco buried his face in his hands, feeling the terrible wave of guilt wash over him.
Selena ran away to hide somewhere on the school grounds. She ran past the Greenhouses, the lake and the Dark Forest. She then saw some sort of Willow Tree sitting alone in the grounds. She figured that maybe that she could climb it and wait it out before the next class started. She didn't care if she got expelled. She didn't think she could continue on with school at Hogwarts without Harry with her.
If he was going to be expelled, then she was going with him, she couldn't let him deal with the Dursley's on his own could she. The tree moaned and groaned in the wind and possibly from the eleven-year-old girl climbing its branches. She was about halfway up the branches, one of the vines coiled around her ankle tightly and before she could register what was happening, the vine yanked her into the air and started throwing her around like a ragdoll. Selena screamed as she clutched onto the vine to hang on for dear life. The vine flung her around in the air with the rest of the branches thrashing about.
The vine then started to drag her along the dirt and grass then through its tangles of branches, twigs and vines. Selena continued to scream as the branches left horrible scratches and cuts on her body. What kind of tree was this?! The girl continued to scream for help, hoping that someone could hear her and come save her.
Finally, she heard someone holler out a spell and the tree froze and the vines fell limp. Selena lost her grip and slipped from the vine, falling to the ground. Luckily, she wasn't as high as she thought she was and she landed on a patch of soft grass. She saw stars and her hair was filled with leaves, twigs and dirt. Her uniform was stained and scratched. Her face was now smeared with dirt and the make-up was now ruined. Selena also had multiple cuts, scratches and bruises on her body, but nothing too serious. Someone came running over to her and picked her up, carrying her to safety.
It was Professor Snape and he was wearing the facial expression of someone who had just witnessed murder. "Selena, can you hear me?!" he pleaded, kneeling down with her in his arms.
"P-Professor Snape?" she murmured. Snape breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her tight, confusing the girl at how affectionate he was being towards her. He was acting like a parent who nearly lost their child. "Are you hurt? Can you stand?"
"I think so," Selena replied, regaining proper speech.
Snape helped her up and brushed off all the dirt and leaves. All the while, Selena could swear she heard him mutter.
"I won't make the same mistake again. I'm sorry Lily, I'm so sorry Lily."
Lily? That was my Mum's name. Selena thought.
"Pardon?" she asked. Snape didn't say anything, taking her hand and pulling her further away from the demon tree.
"What were you doing climbing the Whomping Willow?!" he shouted at her, angrily.
"The what?!"
"The tree you were just in, foolish girl!"
"Professor, I thought it was just a regular tree."
Snape's expression softened slightly. "That tree has been on these grounds since before you were born, it's very dangerous and is not supposed to be climbed."
"I won't ever go near that tree again."
"Good," He cupped her chin, examining her bruises and scrapes.
She winced from the sting. "Ow!"
"Sorry," he apologised, sounding genuinely truthful. Snape reached into his robe pocket and handed the girl a small vial. "Drink this, it'll heal you."
Selena hesitated and downed the tiny bottle in one gulp. She cringed at the medicinal taste. Sure, enough her skin started to heal before her eyes, even her make-up was restored back to normal. "Thank you, Professor,"
"You're welcome Lil – I mean, Selena…" he stammered, going a bit pale. "Now you will never speak of this to anyone, understand? Off you go. Back to class!" he said, turning on his heel and speed walking away, leaving Selena alone and confused.
"Weird," she said to herself, walking back towards the lawn. She gave the Whomping Willow a wide berth as she rushed back to the lawns before Madame Hooch returned.
It wasn't until dinnertime when Selena saw Harry again. She walked into the Great Hall and spotted him sitting next to Ron at the Gryffindor table. "Harry!" she cried out in joy, tackling him from behind.
"Selena! Where were you? I heard from Adeline that you ran off in tears after McGonagall took me away. Look at you, your covered in dirt."
"I was upset," she simply stated, sitting down next to Harry. "Why are you covered in dirt?" Harry asked, concerned. Selena paled, briefly looking up at the teachers table where Snape was sitting.
"I tripped over a rock." She lied, not wanting to tell Harry about her being attacked by the Whomping Willow.
She had promised Snape that she couldn't tell anyone about him saving her life. "Please tell me that you're not having your last meal at Hogwarts?" she pleaded.
Harry laughed. "Nah, I'm now the Gryffindor Quidditch Seeker."
Selena's jaw dropped open. "No way! No freaking way!"
Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over. "Well done, Harry," said George in a low voice. "Wood's just told us. We're on the team too – Beaters."
"That Quidditch cups got our name on it this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."
Selena looked at Harry. "Who's Wood?"
"Oliver Wood is the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, I start training next week." explained Harry.
"I can't believe my brother is the new Gryffindor Seeker." Selena squealed proudly.
"Did my ears just deceive me or did I just hear that Harry Potter is now on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team?" called a raspy voice.
Selena turned her head and smiled. "Hey Loch Ness!" she greeted.
Vanessa walked over to the Gryffindor table, along with another girl around her age.
"So, you're the Potter Twins then," said the girl in the same raspy accent as Vanessa. "Everyone, this here is my cousin Evan."
"Nice to meet you all." Evan waved. She was a couple inches taller than Vanessa, with a brunette pixie cut and ocean blue eyes.
"What house are you in?" Ron asked.
"Ravenclaw." Evan replied.
Fred and George looked at each other than back at Evan. "I thought your name was Evangeline!" George said.
Evan instantly looked like she was going to throw up as she glared daggers at the second Weasley Twin. "Don't. Call. Me. Evangeline!" she snapped.
"Evan hates being called that name," Vanessa explained quickly to avoid a confrontation.
"Okay, okay, then," George said, backing up.
"We have to go anyway. Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new passage way out of the school."
"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our First Year. See you," Fred and George had hardly disappeared when they heard someone approach them from behind.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here." added another voice. A voice belonging to someone far less welcome. They all turned around and saw Veronica Blackwood strutting towards them in a way that was far too mature for someone her age.
Evan frowned. "What do you want, Blackwood?"
"I just wanna know if what I heard on the grapevine is true. That the famous Harry Potter has been expelled from Hogwarts on his first week."
Veronica smirked down at Selena. "What are you going to do about that, Potterina. Spend the rest of the year without her big brother to protect her." She sneered.
Selena and Harry smiled smugly up at her. "Actually, I think you might be a bit behind on the rumours, Blackwood." Harry started.
"Harry's the new Gryffindor Seeker." Evan said smugly.
Veronica stared in shock, her perfectly lip glossed mouth morphed into a shiny, pink 'O'. "W-What? B-B-But First Years aren't allowed to join the House Team!"
"Not Harry, I expect this might come as a shock, Blackwood, but it's the truth." Selena sneered, giving Veronica a 'ha, ha' expression.
Blackwood glared at them all and gave a tiny 'hmph'. "I hope you break your neck Potter, and as for you Potterina, I hope you get expelled." She said, sticking her nose in the air and strutting away back to her table.
Vanessa unclenched her fist, that was now bleeding from where her nails had cut into her palms. "Grrr, I hate that snob!" she hissed.
Evan nodded. "Worst for me, I have to share a dorm with her, she's a Ravenclaw too." Everyone looked up at Evan sympathetically.
"I'm sorry," they said.
"I know right! She's an absolutely nightmare. She goes on and on about how many awards she's won from all the Beauty Pageants she's entered, not to mention she hogs the bathroom every morning. You wouldn't believe how many times I've been tempted to put a live tarantula in her bed." explained Evan.
"Beauty Pageants huh? That explains a lot,"
Selena looked over at Harry. "You okay Harry?" she asked.
"I'm just worried about Quidditch, what if I mess up." As he said that, Hermione walked up. "You won't mess up, it's in your blood." Harry and Selena stared at the brunette in confused shock.
"What?" they said. "Follow me," she said. They all got up from the table and followed Hermione towards a glass case full of trophies and shields. Hermione pointed to a shield and Harry and Selena's jaws dropped in shock seeing the name chiselled on a gold badge: James Potter.
Evan and Vanessa smirked in surprise at the twins. "Well what do ya know?" Vanessa said.
"Looks like Quidditch is in your blood, Harry." Evan said, mirroring her cousins smirk.
Ron finally spoke up. "Harry, Selena, why didn't you tell us that your father was a Quidditch Player."
Selena reached out to touch the glass with her finger while Harry continued to stare in wonder at the cabinet.
"W-W-We didn't know…" they said in wonder.