A week had passed since the beginning of term when a notice was put up on the notice board in the Slytherin Common Room. "Flying lessons," Aurora read off cheerfully to Draco, Pansy and Millicent. "Excellent."

"Not excellent," Pansy said. "Read the rest."

"On Thursday afternoon... With Gryffindor!" Her mouth fell open in protest. That just wasn't fair. They'd all be insufferable and reckless. "Really?"

"You're not scared are you, Aurora?"

"Scared?" She scoffed at Millicent. "Of the Gryffindors? Do you know me?"

"Of being shown up," Millicent clarified, and both Draco and Pansy laughed on Aurora's behalf, which made her feel quite good.

"No Gryffindor is going to show Aurora up," Pansy said, quite confidently. "Or Draco, but Aurora will probably show him up."

"Excuse me," Draco said, quite offended. Aurora laughed and bumped his shoulder easily.

"I'll go easy on you if we race," she said. "Promise."

The week leading up to their flying lesson, everybody got more and more excited as they discussed flying. Draco told anybody who would listen about his daring escapes from a Muggle helicopter, which Aurora knew was complete nonsense, but it was very entertaining to hear him tell it. She didn't feel the need to brag, though if anybody asked she would tell them how she'd been flying since she was five, and was determined to try out for the Quidditch team as soon as they allowed.

"Girls aren't allowed on the Slytherin team," Blaise Zabini pointed out to her, and she pointed her needle at his eye. He shut up immediately.

It seemed the only person who hadn't been on a broom before was Gwendolyn, who had read multiple books on the subject in their room when she thought Aurora wasn't paying attention. "It isn't something you have to study for, you know," she told her tiredly on Wednesday night as they were getting into bed. Gwendolyn looked at her warily. "Flying, I mean. If you think you can do it, then you can."

Gwendolyn still looked awfully worried. "You said you'd been flying since you were five."

"Well, yes, I have."

"So obviously you know you can do it. It's like walking or talking or writing. But I've not. And you know everyone else is great. I've heard Malfoy."

Aurora smiled and looked conspiratorially at Gwendolyn. She considered it for a moment before she said, "Don't tell him I told you so, but Draco's flying stories are greatly exaggerated. And flying comes naturally to a lot of witches and wizards, you just have to trust in your ability. A lot of us are just showing off."

Gwendolyn looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes. I'm sure you'll be fine."

She shook her head and Gwendolyn said quietly, "Thanks, Black," then resumed their silence, which Aurora took as her cue to go to sleep.

When they finally went down into the grounds for the flying lesson, the sun was bright and the sky blue and Aurora had to resist the urge to skip. It would have been most undignified of her, but she was ever so excited to be on a broom again, racing through the sky with the wind in her hair. She hadn't been on a broom since... Well, since before Arcturus died. She slowed at the thought, wondering what he might think of her and how she got on with her yearmates. With the exception of Draco and Pansy, she didn't have any friends she would seek out to talk to. Of course, there were Millicent and Daphne, and even Lucille and Blaise and Theodore, but they were more Draco and Pansy's friends than hers. And even despite their civil conversation the night before, she certainly wouldn't count Gwendolyn Tearston as a friend. She had been sneaking Aurora nervous looks all day, whispering to Davis.

Aurora ignored her though. Nothing would ruin her flying lesson. Not even Gryffindors.

They got there before the Gryffindors, and divided off into their own clusters, Aurora standing with Draco, Pansy, Vincent and Gregory. "I say, I wish they'd let us bring our own brooms," Draco said, eyeing the school brooms that lay on the ground with great suspicion. "These things don't look up to much."

"I think that's a Shooting Star," Aurora said, wrinkling her nose at a battered old broom near them. "Let's leave that one for Potter."

Draco laughed, grinning at her, as the Gryffindors came marching down the hill from the castle. "Here they come," Pansy muttered. "Potter's in the lead."

"I bet he is," Aurora muttered in response, and she and the others all moved quickly to get good brooms before the Gryffindors took them all up. She noticed Gwendolyn looking nervous and caught her eye, giving what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

Gwendolyn just stared at her, whispered something to Tracey Davis, and then stared down at her broom.

The Gryffindors lined up together, each standing over a broom. Potter was opposite Aurora, and she smirked when she caught his eye. She'd heard him saying already that he had never been on a broom before, so she dearly hoped he hadn't heard similar advice to that she'd given Gwendolyn. This could be highly amusing, if so.

Their instructor, Madam Hooch, arrived a moment later, once they were all standing by their brooms. "Well? What are you all waiting for? Everybody stand by a broom, that's it." Aurora looked down at hers, one of the more tenderly cared for ones. She would even say it might have come out within the last decade. "Stick your right hand out over your brooms," Madam Hooch instructed. "And say up."

"Up!" everybody shouted.

Aurora grinned when hers shot into her hand immediately and glanced around. Draco had managed it too, of course, though to her dismay, Potter had, too. He was looking at her rather sourly, so she smirked and glanced away. Gwendolyn was still frowning at her broom, muttering, "Up. Up!" under her breath until finally, the handle flew into her grasp and she beamed at Davis. Aurora was also pleasantly surprised when watching Weasley, as he took great pains to get his broom to move, and when it did, it smacked up to hit him in the nose. She couldn't help but laugh.

Once they had all gotten their brooms in their hands — Neville and Granger both took an awfully long time — Madam Hooch showed them how to climb on without sliding off the end, which Aurora knew perfectly well, though she supposed some did need the teaching. At least this would be an easy class to pass. Madam Hooch came around to correct their grips, and told Aurora hers was perfect, but told Draco he had been doing it wrong for years. Quite amused by the reddening of his cheeks, Aurora smirked at him, and he gave her a dirty look in response.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you're to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards. On my whistle." Aurora prepared herself, bending her knees. "Three — two—"

But Neville Longbottom kicked off already. He was white and clearly frightened, but shot straight up in the air, looking against. "Come down here at once, child!" Madam Hooch yelled up at him. He went up further, twenty feet, face white, and then made the terrible error of looking down. Aurora could almost see it happening before it did. He gawped down at the ground, face going almost green, and slid sideways off of his broom.

"Neville!" Aurora cried, as he plummeted downwards and landed with his face in the ground.

Madam Hooch hurried over to him, her face quite as pale as his was, and Aurora watched worriedly. "His wrist's broken," Hooch muttered. "Come on now, it's alright, up you get."

She pulled a tremblingly pale Neville up to standing and turned to face the rest of the class. "None of you are to move while I take this boy up to the Hospital Wing! You leave these brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can saw Quidditch." Aurora dropped her broom instantly. "Come on now, dear."

Neville started crying, holding his wrist tearfully as he went up to the castle with Madam Hooch, who had her arm tightly around him.

Draco burst out laughing, and Aurora shot him a disapproving look. "Did you see his face?"

"Don't be crude, Draco," she told him primly.

"It was pathetic," he said, and Crabbe, Goyle and even Pansy joined in the laughter.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snarled Parvati Patil, a Gryffindor.

"Oh, sticking up for Longbottom, are we?"

Pansy laughed. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

Aurora sighed and moved closer to Theodore Nott, who looked quite as disapproving as she felt. Draco did have a tendency to make a scene, and she didn't want to watch this one. She wasn't friends with Neville, but she did feel sorry for him — and the Longbottoms were important, so she didn't want to get on their wrong side.

"Look!" Draco was saying, as he bent down to pick something red up from the ground. "It's that stupid thing his grandmother sent him."

The Remembrall glistened in the sunlight as he held it up. "Give it here, Malfoy," Potter said in a quiet voice.

Aurora raised her eyebrows at him, and Draco smirked. "How about no. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up a tree?"

"Draco, stop it," Aurora said sharply, sensing what was about to happen. He was still holding his broom. "This is pointless."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Do you like Longbottom now, Aurora?"

"No," she told him, firmer than she'd intended. "But I don't want you breaking any rules. Or starting fights."

"You know I could take Potter."

"Even so, it's against the rules."

Draco grinned at her. "Like that really matters to us. Come help me find somewhere — you're the best flier, after all."

"No," she said firmly. "I don't want to get in trouble, and I want you to get in trouble either."

Draco smirked. "Suit yourself, then."

"Give it here!" Potter shouted, but it was too late.

Draco leapt onto his broom, and soared away instantly as Aurora had known he would, clutching the stupid Remembrall in his hand. "For Merlin's sake," she muttered under her breath, so that only Theodore could hear.

Draco flew level with the topmost branches of the trees and called down, "You want it, Potter? Come and get it!"

Potter grabbed his broom and Aurora groaned. "No!" Granger shouted, in a surprising show of clarity. "Madam Hooch told us not to move, you'll get everybody in trouble!"

It didn't stop Potter, and Aurora hadn't expected it to, though clearly Hermione Granger had. Potter climbed onto his own broom and soared up, too, making some of the others gasp. He was a surprisingly good flier, actually, Aurora thought. Especially for his first time. He turned his broom sharply to face Draco, who was clearly just as surprised by his skills as Aurora was.

"Give it here!" Potter called loudly. "Or I'll knock you off your broom!"

"He does that," Aurora muttered, "I'll hex him into next week."

Theodore smiled faintly. She couldn't hear what Draco's reply was, but she could tell he was worried. Potter flew sharply towards him and Aurora gasped in surprised, as Draco only just got out of the way in time. Potter wheeled around sharply and the Gryffindors started cheering for him, which Aurora thought was quite unnecessary and entirely over the top.

"No Crabbe and Goyle to save you up here!" Potter was shouting, and Draco seemed to have realised the same. He stared down at Aurora and made a gesture for her to join him. She shook her head. She had told him so, and she wasn't going to get involved in this drama, unless Potter actually did knock him off his broom.

"Catch it if you can then!" Draco yelled, and promptly threw the Remembrall into the air and zoomed back down the the ground. Aurora watched as Potter turned sharply and streaked after it, chasing the ball right down to the ground in a hard, steep dive. He caught it just before it reached the ground and shattered, and Aurora stared, begrudgingly impressed.

"What was that about?" Draco asked Aurora. "I thought you'd back me up!"

But she didn't say anything. Professor McGonagall was marching over to them, white in the face. "He's in for it now," Aurora muttered. "Good thing I didn't come up there after all. Then we all would have been in real trouble."

Draco pulled a face. "HARRY POTTER!" McGonagall yelled as Potter got to his feet, shaking. "Never — in all my time at Hogwarts — how dare you — might have broken your neck!"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor!"

"Quiet, Miss Patil."

"But Malfoy—"

"That'll do, Mr Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

Draco was grinning as Potter was led away. Aurora rolled her eyes. "He's in for it now, isn't he?"

"Good," Draco said, grinning, and Aurora got the sense that this went beyond the house divide.

Weasley was glaring at them both, and Granger muttering under her breath. "It's a shame we can't fly though. I wanted to show you up."

"Getting confident, are we?"

"I'm not getting confident, Draco. I'm always confident." She grinned. "But let's leave the rule breaking for now, yeah?"

Draco, unfortunately, couldn't resist. "I'm going to talk to him," he said at dinner.

"Who?" Aurora asked distractedly, stuck between eating shepherd's pie and reading through a Potions guide.

"Potter."

"Oh. Is he still here?"

"For now." Draco stood up. "Crabbe, Goyle, with me. Aurora?"

"Busy."

"Potions? Really? You're better than that."

"Potter?" she mimicked. "Really? You're better than that."

Draco rolled his eyes. "If you want to be boring, fine. Come on, boys."

"He's going to get himself in trouble," Aurora said, frowning after Draco as he left. There was no use, she thought, in stirring up trouble unnecessarily. Diplomacy, she recalled, was vital. But perhaps Draco hadn't had to learn such lessons yet.

Pansy sniffed. "I notice he asked you to join him and not me."

"And?" Aurora stared at her. "Why shouldn't he?"

Pansy didn't reply. She stood up and moved to sit next to Daphne and Lucille instead, leaving Aurora alone opposite Theodore and Blaise, who both shrugged. "Don't mind Pansy," Blaise told her.

"I don't," Aurora replied tightly, returning to her meal.

Draco returned with Crabbe and Goyle a few minutes later, looking smug. "That'll show Potter," he said.

"What did you do?" Blaise asked with interest.

"Challenged him to a wizard's duel." His eyes lit up. "At midnight."

"You can't be serious," Aurora muttered. "Don't you care how much trouble you'll get in if you're caught? And you hardly know any good spells yet, none of us so!"

"That's why it's so genius, see," Draco told her, and sat down gleefully. "I'm not really going to go. Potter will go to the trophy room with Weasley at midnight, well after curfew, and if Filch happens to get an anonymous tip from a student that they're going to be out in the hall at night..." He smirked and Aurora grinned.

"You're terrible," she told him, but was pleased with how devious he had managed to be.

"I thought you'd approve," he said cheerfully, and stole a roast potato from her plate. "This way, I can't get in trouble."

Aurora shook her head ruefully and stole one of Draco's Yorkshire puddings, smirking at him. "Well, yes, you had better not. I do need my best friend here."