Chapter Five

Mia Dursley, PA to Samuel Wood

"Mia, I've got a proposal for you."

Mia looked up to see Samuel Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, sat down opposite her. It was breakfast time on the first Friday of term and Mia had been sitting alone for the past few minutes. Matilda, Emma and JJ had just left for one of Matilda's nature walks before class and Lily had moved down the table to have another go at unsticking her Standard Book of Spells.

"I think you're probably a bit old for me, Sam," Mia grinned.

Samuel rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean like that," he said. "As you probably know, I'm Quidditch captain this year." Mia nodded. "And, as you probably also know, I am officially the world's most disorganised person."

Mia grinned; Samuel was infamous for his disorganisation, which had caused him to be late to almost every Quidditch practice and even a few matches too.

"So," Samuel continued, "I've decided: I need a PA."

Mia grinned and then looked at Samuel. "Me?" she asked.

"Why not?" Samuel shrugged. "You're one of the most organised people I know. I'd pay you in chocolate and it'd be good practice for when you're Captain."

"I… Lily…" Mia stammered.

"Lily can yell at people," Samuel conceded, "but you can coach them. I'd pick you over Lily for Captain any day."
"But you don't get to choose captains," Mia protested.

"No, but if I'd pick you then the teachers probably would too," Samuel shrugged. "So… what do you say?"

"What exactly would a PA of yours do?" Mia asked.

"I need someone to organise me," Samuel said simply. "To remind me when practices are and to help me decide when practices will be in the first place – either to book the pitch for me or to follow me around or bombard me with MIs until I do it myself. And maybe also just remind me of things I say, like if I say at the end of one practice we're gonna d next time, reminding me… next time. So?"

"Okay…" Mia agreed. "So… what's the first thing that needs organising… when are Chaser tryouts?"

Samuel face palmed. "You see why I need a PA?" he asked.

"You haven't organised Chaser tryouts?" Mia asked.

"Nope," Samuel said cheerily.

"Go find out when the pitch is free and book it," Mia ordered. "I'll keep sending you MIs until you tell me when it is and then I'll put up the notice for you in the Common Room."

"Thanks, Mia," Samuel said, getting to his feet. "You're an angel."

"I wouldn't go that far," Mia grinned.

After Samuel had left, Mia got up and headed down the table to where Lily was still trying to unstick her Standard Book of Spells.

"Still no luck?" Mia asked.

"Nope," Lily sighed. She slid the butter knife beneath the book to try and dislodge the Stic, but it wouldn't budge.

"I've got an idea."

Lily and Mia turned around to see Theo stood behind them.

"May I?" He gestured toward the stuck textbook.

"Be my guest," Lily sighed.

"You got the tub?" Theo asked, and Lily produced it from her bag.

Theo enlarged the tub so it was big enough to fit over the Stic and the textbook. When he placed it on the table both the textbook and Stic were sucked up into the tub. Theo then tipped the textbook out of the tub and placed it – Stic side up – on the table so they could all see the round orange disk – now very flat – which had caused all the trouble. Theo shrunk the tub to its normal size and placed it over the Stic, which was instantly sucked back up into the tub. Theo snapped on the lid and handed the tub back to Lily with a tiny bow.

"I need no applause," he said in a posh voice, and Lily and Mia both clapped him. Theo bowed again. "All in a day's work, my dears, all in a day's work," he said and then headed back across the Great Hall toward the Slytherin table.

Friday was a busy day. Mia had seven different subjects and was given homework in every one: two lots of reading, three essays, a map to draw for Care of Magical Creatures, and a potion to start brewing because it needed to rest for at least twenty-four hours after the first stage.

"I guess we can make a start on some of it tonight," Mia said to Lily as they sat down opposite Matilda, Emma and JJ at dinner.

"Yeah, I might do that map of the Forest for Hagrid," Lily said. "It shouldn't take too long, I don't think."

"Tonight?" Matilda said, butting in on their conversation. "You can't do homework tonight!"

"Why not?" Lily demanded.

"Because it's the first meeting of the HEC!"

"The HEC?" Mia asked.

"The Hogwarts Environmental Club!" Matilda said exasperatedly. "We told you about it at the Feast. You promised you'd come!"

Mia couldn't remember promising any such thing. She began to say so but then Emma said, "Please come. We're worried no one will turn up because of last year."

"Yeah, and if you guys came, then maybe people would see that it's a good thing to go to," JJ added.

Mia looked at Lily, who shrugged. "Alright," Mia said. "We'll come. But only this first time – not necessarily every week."

"Yeah, 'cause we've been getting heaps more homework this year now we're starting our OWL courses," Lily added.

"And you'll bring Hugo and Louis?" Matilda asked.

"We'll try," Mia told her. "We can't force them, though."

"We'll see you there, then!" Matilda said. "We have to go now so we're there before anyone else."

The three of them got up and left.

Mia was halfway through her fish pie when Samuel Wood came and sat down opposite her and Lily.

"I've booked the pitch for next Thursday, straight after lessons," he told Mia. "Are you still okay to put up that notice for me? I'll try and remember to announce it in the Common Room tonight but there'll be people who miss it, so…"

"Sure," Mia said. "And I'll let Roxy and Mary know too, shall I? I assume you want the whole team there?"

"Yeah," Samuel nodded. "So Lily, new Chaser tryouts on Thursday, okay?"

"Sure thing," Lily nodded. "I wish James and Fred were still here, though."

"Don't we all," Samuel sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to being Quidditch Captain but I do not feel ready for it."

"You'll be fine," Mia told him.

"Yeah, especially with Mia to organise you," Lily grinned – Mia had told her about Samuel's 'proposal' on the way to Charms that morning.

After dinner, Lily and Mia headed up to Gryffindor tower to deposit their bags. Mia wrote the notice about Chaser tryouts whilst Lily wrote a MI to Louis, telling him to come to the HEC meeting.

"How d'you think I should sign it?" Mia asked, as she watched Lily fold the MI into a paper aeroplane and launch it across the Common Room.

"Mia Dursely, PA to Samuel Wood," Lily grinned.

"Because that's not at all pretentious," Mia sighed.

"True, though," Lily shrugged. "Or just sign it 'Sam', or get him to sign it later, or don't sign it at all."

In the end, Mia signed it, 'The Gryffindor Quidditch Team'. She went to pin it to the notice board, whilst Lily went to find Hugo.

"Do you think anyone else will come to this meeting of Matilda's?" Hugo asked as he, Lily and Mia headed down to Greenhouse One.

"Some first years, maybe," Mia shrugged.

"I think Emma was right when she said people will be put off by last year's 'stealing things' incident," Lily said. "I definitely wouldn't be going if Matilda wasn't my little sister."

The three of them met Louis and Ailie in the Entrance Hall.

"I don't know why you want to go to this thing, Louis," Ailie grumbled as they headed out into the early evening sunshine. "They stole my wand, remember?"

"I know," Louis said. "But they are sorry, and Archie's my little brother, so I feel I should support him. Besides, maybe this'll help them channel stuff in a positive way. Race you to the greenhouse!"

Louis ran off ahead, Ailie hot on his heels, leaving Lily, Mia and Hugo to follow on behind.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review if you're enjoying it - I love reading them. Thanks again to my awesome beta, Urgwaew! Also, I've now written the first two chapters of Year Five. Let's see if I can finish this one iwthout a four-year hiatus in the middle!