Corvie sat down in Potions.
Severus Snape walked into the room.
The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors all sat down and quieted.
"There will be no silly wand-waving or incantations in this class," said the Head of Slytherin House. "I can teach you how to brew fame, bottle glory, and even put a stopper on death–if you aren't as stupid as the usual dunderheads I have to teach."
Corvie leaned back in her chair. She liked Snape already. He got right down to business.
Corvie watched as he flicked his wand at the chalkboard.
Words appeared on the chalkboard, and Corvie got to work immediately.
Snape walked around the room, sneering at the various Gryffindors' potions. When he reached the station where Neville, Dean, Lavender, and Hermione were working, he opened his mouth. "The rest of you Gryffindors should be working like these four," he said. "You should be ashamed that three magicians of no magical blood descent are performing better than you are, Potter. Can't you see how good their potions are?"
"Maybe you'd be able to see better if your hair wasn't so long and greasy," Harry snapped. The Gryffindors all gasped in shock; Snape's lip curled; Corvie shook her head, but she was smirking a little.
"What did you just say to me, Potter?" Snape snarled, rounding on the younger of the Potter twins.
"I said it's rich of you to be–!" Harry began, but Corvie shook his head.
"You can't be talking," she said. "You wear fricking glasses, you stupid prat."
The Ravenclaws all laughed.
"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape said, completely ignoring Corvie's jibe. "And you're just going to ignore that?!" Finnegan howled, outraged.
Corvie smirked, and then returned to her potion.
After Potions, they had Transfiguration.
The Head of Gryffindor House, Minerva McGonagall was standing at the front of the class as the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors entered the classroom.
"Now, I have heard that some of you have been shown…unfair favoritism by some of your other teachers," McGonagall said crisply
Corvie felt the Gryffindors glare at her. She ignored them.
"I will not show any such favoritism in my class," McGonagall.
Corvie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right," she muttered to Sue Li and Padma, who both snickered. "Excuse me, girls." McGonagall looked at the three of them very sternly. "Is there something funny about what I am saying?"
Corvie, Sue Li, and Padma exchanged nervous looks. Lavender raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Brown?" asked McGonagall.
"They were just remembering a joke that I told them earlier today," Lavender said. Corvie and the other two girls exhaled sighs of relief as McGonagall nodded and turned back towards the whiteboard.
"Thanks," Corvie whispered once class had started. Lavender smiled at her friend. "That's what friends are for, Corvie," she said.
By lunchtime, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were in uproar at the fact that Corvie, a frankie first-year, had been made Chaser of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team.
Corvie was sent a Cleansweep Two Hundred, and she practiced every day on it. Her first team practice was coming up, just the day before the game.
Corvie paced nervously around the room, his messy red hair falling into his face. "Relax," said Padma, looking up from her book. "Yeah," said Lisa Turpin, glancing up. "You'll do fine."
Corvie sighed, throwing himself onto his bed. "But what if I mess something up, and Davies takes me off the team?"
"Not with a game tomorrow," pointed out Lisa.
Corvie brushed his bangs out of his face. He looked at the clock. "I'd better get going, then," he muttered, picking up his broomstick. "Davies said that even though we're friends with the Slytherins, that it would be nice if a different House won the House Cup this year–and if Gryffindor was knocked down a few notches."
"I heard Harry got on the team," said Lisa.
Corvie's head jerked up. "Wait, what?" he snapped. "What do you mean, he got onto the team?" Padma snorted in disgust. "My sister went up with him to Dumbledore and complained about you being put onto the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, and so he agreed to let the Gryffindor Seeker's empty place be filled in by the Boy Who Scored, or whatever people are calling him these days."
Corvie shook his head in disgust. "Well, then we'd better train even harder, if we want to beat both Gryffindor and Slytherin. With the Slytherins, it's just a friendly competition–but with the Gryffindors, now it's personal."
Corvie rose into the air with the rest of the team–their second-year Seeker, Cho Chang, their fourth-year Keeper Roger Davies, the Beaters, a pair of second years known as Kevin Wilkes and Evan Rues, the Chasers, Alyssa Perkins, and Sara Hues.
"Team, I'd like you to meet our newest member," said Roger Davies. He clapped Corvie on the shoulder. "He–er, I mean, she–she is our newest Chaser."
"You said she was good," said Sara doubtfully. "She is," said Evan. "Cho, Roger and I have been watching her practice every day ever since she got that broom. She's a natural."
Practice went pretty well. Corvie followed the Ravenclaw team up to the Great Hall, chatting with the three second-years on the team. The rest of them were third- and fourth-years, so their team was somewhat on the younger side. There were no upper years on the team, Corvie realized suddenly, sitting down with Padma, Sue Li, and Lisa.
Harry's voice rang from the other side of the room. "The first match is tomorrow," he said, his eyes wide for dramatic effect. Parvati and several Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls were staring at him with loving adoration in their eyes. Corvie snorted in disgust.
"Now that I'm on the team," Harry continued, "Ravenclaw and Slytherin won't stand a chance. We'll catch that Snitch in less than a minute, I know we will."
Corvie ground her teeth angrily. She shot up to her feet and stormed over towards Harry. Lavender looked from Harry to Parvati to Corvie and her entourage of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Theo and a few of his Slytherin friends were there, too.
"Would you mind not bringing the filth over here, sister dearest?" Harry asked, his tone dry and sarcastic.
"Huh, that's funny," Corvie said.
"Yeah, and it's rich coming from someone who has hair that looks like a pile of burnt dish rags," Padma deadpanned.
Harry spluttered. "I–what–no it's not!" he said, turning red. Lavender snorted. "Shut up, Brown, you're a Mudblood!" snapped Ronald. "Blood matters," said Neville in a slightly shaky voice. "But ability matters more. You should know that by now, Ronald."
Fred and George, along with Leo and Lucas, appeared. "Ickle Ronniekins, we just got a letter from Mummy dearest!" Fred said. George and Lucas sniggered. Leo and Fred put their heads on Ronald's shoulders.
"Sounds like you forgot to pack your underpants, Weasley," said Daphne, and Theo snorted into his fist. Ronald turned an ugly shade of red and glowered at them.
"Here, it's for Ickle Ronniekins' eyes, only," Lucas said, tossing a ripped-open envelope onto the table. Corvie snickered as Ron went red. "You–you read my mail?!" he stammered, his face turning even redder.
"Maybe we did," said George.
"Maybe we didn't," said Leo.
"Maybe we're messing with your mind," said Fred.
"And maybe you're just being paranoid," said Lucas
With that, the four tricksters darted back into the crowd, smirking over their shoulder at the youngest Weasley boy.