Chapter 11: Broomsticks and Gossips
It did not take Alice long to discover that her favorite class at Hogwarts was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Brewing potions was too intricate, and Alice was not good at it, and she did not possess the patience to take care of plants in Herbology or study stars in Astronomy. Charms and Transfiguration were all right; they were interesting but Alice did not possess any special abilities in these areas. As for History of Magic, even though Alice liked history and enjoyed learning about it, Professor Binn's teaching style was incredibly dull.
Professor Macaby, a tired old wizard with a soft, creaky voice and snow white hair taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was by no means the reason Alice liked the class so much; in fact, she figured his teaching methods fell under the sole purpose of keeping the students quiet so that he could have some peace. His teaching method was to tell students to read the book, answer the questions, and write short essays, to which all students always received high marks. Every now and then he would stand before the class and ask them some questions, but most of the time he sat at his desk, grading essays, reading a book, or simply staring into space somberly.
However, Alice loved the class. Her textbook was fascinating, and unlike the other students who put off their work and spent the class talking instead, she would spend the entire allotted classtime reading An Awareness of Dark Forces. Sometimes when she had more free time during the day, Alice would read the book some more. By the middle of the second week, she had already finished the book, so she borrowed some books from the library to read during Macaby's class.
Of course, the textbook had been watered-down in order to be used as school curriculum for eleven-year-olds, but it intrigued Alice all the same to read about some of the Dark creatures and spells that existed in the magical world. She noticed this fascination even more when reading the library books that were set on an older level. However fearsome some of the things Alice read about might seem, they did not terribly frighten her. They reminded her of some of the evils encountered by the characters in the books she and Jeff loved to read, and somehow Alice had the feeling that one day, these would be the forces she would be fighting against herself. This gave her an odd sort of shiver when she thought about it, but she felt that it was one more of anitcipation than of fear.
Jeff's favorite subject was Transfiguration. He was amazed by the concept of turning objects into other objects, and he was eager to learn as much as it took for him to be successful in the class. He had to study hard and work at it, but Jeff definitely showed the most skill in their class of Gryffindors in Transfiguration.
The one thing Alice felt that she disliked the most about Hogwarts was how crowded the castle was. Around the grounds, in the common room, in the corridors...students were everywhere. If Alice ever wanted to be alone, she would probably have to go back in the maze.
But Alice was afraid to. Not because of being alone, of course, but because she was afraid that if she went back into the maze, she would get lost and take days finding her way out again. She thought she might be able to find the exit from Helga Hufflepuff's office, but if Alice made one wrong turn she would be totally lost.
If only she could get Jeff to go back in there with her! However, Jeff was so busy making friends with his dormmates, he was unlikely to be able to find time to spend with Alice. So whenever Alice wanted some space from people, she would often just go to her dormitory and read.
At the end of their second week of Hogwarts, the first year Gryffindors were scheduled a flying lesson with the first year Slytherins. Alice wasn't particularly looking forward to this, as she was clumsy enough with both her feet on the ground. Not only that, but she would also have to spend time with the Slytherins, with whom she did not get along very well. Having Potions classes with them was bad enough.
The afternoon of their flying lesson, Alice, Jeff, and his roommates made their way out onto the grounds. All the boys seemed very excited to learn to fly; Sturgis and Kingsley chattered excitedly about various Quidditch teams, while Luke talked about his brand-new Comet Two Forty that he had at home. Jeff was listening to both of these conversations intently, drinking in every word, obviously eager to discover what flying felt like.
Alice herself said nothing. She had flown before, of course, and she liked it, but she had no particular talent with it. Honestly, Alice wasn't any better at flying on a broomstick than she was playing baseball with Jeff, probably due to her clumsiness and lack of coordination.
When the group reached the area with the brooms, there was already a gathering of Slytherins around. One girl who Alice already particularly disliked, Valeria Avery, was talking animatedly with a group of Slytherin girls. They kept looking at Alice and laughing, which was really irritating her. If you have a problem with me, come tell me to my face, she thought to herself angrily.
Once the entire group had assembled, the Quidditch coordinator, Mr. Duncan, led them through the rudimentary flying steps. Reach out your hand, say up, etc...
Alice paid little attention to these proceedings. Instead, she was listening to Valeria, who was now standing near enough to Alice for her to make out some of what she was saying.
"...do you see that scarf Teresa Johnson's wearing? Makes her look like she's a six-year-old." Valeria obviously saw that Alice was watching her, because the next words out of her mouth were, "And that Macmillan girl doesn't even know what fashion is...She might as well be a boy..."
Mr. Duncan counted them off, and they all kicked off the ground, Alice's thoughts fuming. She didn't care one bit what Valeria Avery thought of her fashion, she truly didn't. But she couldn't believe that the girl talked so contemptuously about people behind their backs. It was rude and completely indecent.
At Mr. Duncan's order, the students rose into the air. Alice heard many shouts of amazement. To be honest, she didn't find flying remarkable anymore; just frightening. She was always half afraid that she was going to fall of her broom.
From the air, Mr. Duncan yelled, "All right, we're going to fly a lap around this area of the grounds. Follow me, everyone...slow and easy does it, now!"
"Hey, you there!"
Alice looked to see Valeria Avery staring at her with a malicious glint in her eyes.
"You look like you can barely work a broomstick! I thought you were supposed to be from a wizard family!"
This girl did not stir up good emotions in Alice. "Shut up," she said coldly, but loud enough for the haughty, stylish Slytherin to hear.
Valeria, quite agile on a broomstick, flew to the other side of Alice. "What did you say to me?" she growled in Alice's other ear.
"I told you to shut up," said Alice, more firmly this time. She said nothing else, though. This girl wasn't worth it.
Suddenly, Alice felt a sharp impact against her broom. In shock, Alice struggled to regain her balance, but as clumsy as she was this was no use. She could feel herself jolting in mid-air, and knew that she was not going to be able to manage staying on her broomstick. Just before she fell, she thought she could hear a tiny voice from far away saying, "Oops! Sorry..."