Hermione

.

.

Saying goodbye to her parents was always so difficult, even when it was the third time. Hermione just couldn't get away from them to cross the 9 ¾ barrier, she always felt compelled to hug one of her parents again before leaving for good.

"I'm going to miss you..." she said for the hundredth time as she hugged her father.

"I'll miss you too. But hopefully we'll get the letters! Come on, you're going to miss your train." her mother said as she wiped her eyes quickly.

Hermione gave them a final hug, picked up her trolley and ran through the wall which seemed to vanish as she passed. When she arrived at the platform, the atmosphere was completely different: a hundred students were crowded along the Hogwarts Express, all of them meeting up after the summer. Hermione looked at the clock: 10:40. Her mother always exaggerated the times so she wouldn't be late.

She approached the first carriage and with difficulty hoisted her trunk, then sat down in the first empty compartment she could find. She took out the blanket her mum had given her for Christmas and two books, put her suitcase in the net and waited for Harry and Ron to arrive.

Minutes passed. As the last of the arrivals boarded the carriages one by one, Hermione could hear the laughter and final 'goodbyes' of the students.

Then the train started slowly, but Harry and Ron had not arrived yet. Hermione stepped out of the compartment to look around the corridor, which was empty.

She waited for about ten minutes and then stepped out into the corridor again, this time a little panicked. When she poked her head out of the compartment, she saw Fred Weasley standing against the window talking to his friend Lee Jordan.

"Fred?" called Hermione.

The concerned man turned around and joined her with a frown:

"How do you know I'm Fred, and not George?" he asked as he came up to her.

Hermione had to lift her head to look at him, he was at least a head taller than her.

"Um, I don't know, I've learned to tell you apart. Do you know where Harry and Ron are?"

"Tell us apart? But how? Even our mother can't do that."

"I... Your hair is darker, and you have a few more freckles than George."

"Wow. You know you're the first person to tell me that?"

Hermione felt her cheeks turn pink.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Are you kidding? That's amazing! I've heard you're very good, but I didn't think you were that perceptive. Sorry, what was your question?"

"Do you know where Harry and Ron are?"

"Hm, no. Haven't seen them since we went through the gate, they must be at the back of the train. Do you want a chocolate?"

He handed her an orange packet, but Hermione knew never to accept food from the Weasley twins. Seeing her face, he burst out laughing:

"You're right, it better not, it gives you green hair."

Hermione laughed in turn as Fred went back a little further to offer the chocolate to a first year. Hermione closed the compartment door and huddled under her blanket waiting for her friends to return. Perhaps they had met someone on the way and been delayed.

After an hour though, Hermione couldn't concentrate on her book. Where were Ron and Harry? Maybe they didn't want to see her anymore, maybe they'd realised that the three of them couldn't be friends after spending a month together?

The door to Hermione's compartment opened. She looked up sharply, hoping to see one of her friends, but it wasn't Ron or Harry. It was a girl, with flaming red hair and lots of freckles on her nose.

"Hi, do you mind if I sit here?"

"No, not at all."

The girl sat down opposite her and sighed:

"Finally! I couldn't take it anymore with Fred and George. They're so desperate to protect me, and won't let me leave their compartment on the pretext that it's too dangerous, when they're the ones making a mess of things by handing out lots of pranks to everyone."

"How did you manage to escape?" asked Hermione with a laugh.

"I told them the treat trolley was coming through, they took refuge in the corridor and I was able to sneak out." the redhead explained with a mischievous smile. "You must be Hermione Granger? Harry Potter and Ron talk about you a lot. Me, I'm Ginny Weasley."

Hermione noticed that Ginny's face had turned three extra shades of red when she had said Harry's name.

"Yes, that's me. You don't know where they are, by any chance?"

"No... I haven't seen them since we went through the gate."

"Ah... Right."

"It's my first year at Hogwarts," Ginny explained. "I'm a bit stressed..."

"That's normal, I was too." reassured Hermione. "Are you hoping to get into Gryffindor?"

Ginny wanted to answer, but just then the door opened again. Fred and George stood in the doorway with their arms crossed, and their sister rolled her eyes.

"There was no trolley." said George. "You said that so you could escape?"

"Yes." replied Ginny without hesitation.

"Well done!" exclaimed Fred with a big smile.

They both entered the compartment and sat down on Hermione's bench:

"That was a very good diversionary tactic, Gin'. We know where you get it from." George said proudly.

"Still no Harry and Ron?" asked Fred.

"No." replied Hermione.

"Maybe they got lost on the train, or never got on."

Hermione felt the stress rise at hearing this.

"Erm...what happens when you miss the train?"

"No idea. Maybe there'll be another one tomorrow for the latecomers?" offered George, who didn't seem at all worried about his brother and Harry's fate.

"What are you reading?" asked Fred.

"A book about vampires." explained Hermione.

"So cool!"

Then the compartment door opened again, but it still wasn't Harry or Ron, it was Neville Londubat, and he had green hair. Neon green. Fred and George giggled quietly as they saw him coming, but Neville probably didn't know that his hair colour had changed because he innocently walked into the compartment without noticing the twins' laughter:

"Hey Hermione!" exclaimed Neville.

Hermione met Fred's eyes and he silently asked her not to say anything. She sighed slightly and smiled at Neville:

"Hey, Neville. How are you doing?"

"Great, but I lost Trevor again..." he said as he sat down. "You're Ginny, right?" he asked at the redhead's address.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm Neville Longbottom."

He shook hands with Ginny, who said gently:

"Original, your hair colour."

Neville frowned and turned to look at himself in the glass, and his eyes widened. Fred and George burst out laughing:

"Rohh, Ginny! You should have kept that a secret!"

"Sorry, I thought that was his real colour..."

"Since when have I been like this?!" squeaked Neville.

"Hm, since when did you eat the chocolate Fred gave you?" asked George.

"On the station platform..."

"That answers your question."

Hermione felt sorry for poor Neville, who always reminded her of Danny with his fat cheeks and naivety. She grabbed her wand from her pocket and whispered:

"Finite Incantatem."

Hermione felt her fingers twitch against her wand as she cast the spell: it was the first time she had used magic since the end of first year, two months before. The effect it had on her was intoxicating, as if the magic inside her wanted to come out at all costs instead of being confined within her for so long. Neville's green hair was immediately replaced by his usual chestnut colour.

Soon they were joined by Lee Jordan, and soon the compartment was almost full. Hermione pressed herself against the window as much as possible and chatted with Neville and Ginny, trying not to think about the fact that Harry and Ron were probably terrified, somewhere after missing the train.

Draco

.

.

Someone knocked on the door of the compartment Draco shared with Blaise, Pansy, Theo, Crabbe, and Goyle, and Draco tore himself away from contemplating the landscape to watch Pansy open it. Behind was a small boy with dark blonde hair, clumsily holding a camera in his hand.

"What do you want?" hissed Pansy.

"Hi, I'm Colin Crivey!" the little boy gleefully called out, oblivious to the cold faces of the students before him. "I'm a first year at Hogwarts. I wanted to know if I could take a picture of you, for my photo album."

Theo concealed a laugh and Crabbe asked:

"A picture? Why?"

"Because I want to show my parents everything I can, they don't know about Hogwarts and I promised to send them pictures that move!"

Pansy shut the door in his face.

"Another Mudblood." she grumbled as she went to sit back down.

"They're invading us." Draco replied dryly. "Like that Granger, she's insufferable. I saw her again on the platform, I was secretly hoping she wouldn't come back this year."

"I always wonder how she makes it to the top of the rankings..." said Theo softly.

Theo hadn't cut his hair over the summer, and it was now a bit curly at the ends and sticking out over his forehead and eyes when he bent down to read.

"She's cheating, that's the only explanation. And McGonagall and Dumbledore are just too obsessed with people like her to realize it." replied Draco.

"But how?" continued Theo. "The feathers are drawn to prevent cheating, she must have invented a ploy to be able to do it without anyone understanding how."

"Maybe she hides her answers in her bush of hair." quipped Draco, which made Pansy laugh. "Instead of thinking of a way to cheat, she'd do well to learn about potions to flatten her hair, this is even worse than last year."

Theo shrugged vaguely:

"I think she's pretty."

Blaise spat out his pumpkin juice and Pansy and Draco abruptly stopped laughing. Theo's face was impassive, as if he'd just explained the weather for the week. Everyone looked at each other in the compartment, then seeing that Theo wasn't going to explain any further, Pansy changed the subject:

"Did you enjoy your summer?"

"Considering you were at my house all the time, I didn't get to enjoy it much." Blaise said with a smile.

"Stop it Zabini, we all know you love it when we're here." said Pansy in an amused tone.

Theo continued:

"It was horrible for me. As soon as I got home, my father was in an even worse mood than the day before. I have the impression that these Ministry searches have enraged him."

"Same at home." said Pansy with a sigh. "It's a good thing I was able to go to Blaise and Daphne's, I probably would have lost my mind if I'd stayed home for two months. The wedding was great by the way, thanks again Blaise for the invitation."

"That's true." confirmed Theo. "Thanks Blaise, it was great."

"My pleasure." replied Blaise with a smile.

"And your mum was beautiful. That dress!" exclaimed Pansy.

"Thanks Pans'."

"Oh, yeah!" intervened Crabbe. "She was really beautiful."

Blaise's smile immediately faded from his face.

"Hey. Calm down, Crabbe." he warned in a threatening voice.

Ouch. Draco looked at Blaise: his features were tense, hard. He was extremely protective of his mother, Draco had learned never to make a slightly inappropriate comment about her, at least in her presence. It was a very sensitive subject for Blaise, he couldn't stand it when someone made the slightest remark about his mother's looks or marriages.

Everyone fell silent, Pansy's eyes went wide, Nott was annoyed (as he was every time Crabbe or Goyle spoke), and even Goyle was nodding at Crabbe, but the idiot was picking sweets out of a packet and hadn't noticed that the atmosphere had suddenly turned deadly. He continued with a greasy laugh:

"Well, what? I mean, she did look super sexy in her dress. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought so, seeing as she must have banged half of Great Britain..."

Crabbe's sentence came to an abrupt halt, because Blaise had just pounced on him. Even though he was taller, Blaise was much thinner than Crabbe, but the surprise effect must have helped him because he managed to throw Crabbe to the ground without any problem and used all his weight to immobilise and strangle him.

Draco and Theo rushed at Blaise to try and get him away from Crabbe, who was turning a dangerously purple hue, but the Quidditch training this summer seemed to have given him more muscle than they had anticipated, because he froze in place, shaking with anger.

"Blaise! Let him go, he's just an idiot!" shouted Theo.

They tried to pull him off Crabbe's body, but even with Goyle's help it was impossible. Blaise was clutching Crabbe's neck hard and pulling his friends' hands away from him as they tried to grab him with their shoulders. Pansy let out a shrill cry, and a prefect stepped into the compartment.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

He pulled out his wand and sent a powerful jet that violently propelled Blaise to the other side of the compartment. Draco and Theo stood by in case he wanted to return to the assault, but their best friend remained firmly seated on the floor against the bench, his eyes flashing.

"Explain yourself!" barked the prefect.

Crabbe was still panting on the floor, so it was Theo who explained:

"They had a fight, Crabbe said something stupid."

"You'll both get a detention, and I'm taking twenty points off Slytherin." the prefect pointed out with an outraged look on his face.

He walked briskly out into the train corridor. Crabbe and Goyle both stood up, and looked stupidly at Draco, probably hoping he would tell them what to do.

"Get out of here. Get out! Both of you! Get out!" hissed Draco.

The two boys followed the prefect at a brisk pace. Pansy was still shocked, she had curled up in her seat. Draco gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look and helped Blaise to his feet. He was calmer, but still shaking with anger.

Blaise didn't speak to Crabbe and Goyle for weeks after that.

Hermione

.

.

"Gryffindor!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

Ginny Weasley stood up quickly and trotted over to the cheering table, her cheeks scarlet. Her twin brothers, who were cheering the loudest, offered her a seat next to them and she sat down, opposite Hermione.

"Well done Ginny!" exclaimed George.

"We figured you'd be here..." began Fred.

"But it's always nice to know we were right. What would we have done if you had ended up in Slytherin?"

"Congratulations Ginny, and welcome !" Hermione gleefully chuckled.

"Thank you. Ron's still not here?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, and I'm really worried. I have no idea where they might be..."

"Didn't you hear?" interjected Seamus Finnigan, who was sitting next to Hermione. "They got kicked out!"

"What?" cried Hermione, Ginny and Neville.

"Yes, it's in the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. They were spotted flying around in a flying car!"

"Nonsense." said Hermione. "That's impossible."

She dismissed Seamus' theory with a wave of her hand, but noticed that the twins and Ginny gave each other a discreet look.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?

The Sorting ended, and the buffet appeared. Hermione wasn't very hungry, she was too worried about Ron and Harry to eat anything, she forced herself to eat two potatoes and waited impatiently for the meal to end so she could go and find her two friends. The conversations around her were going on as if nothing had happened.

After about ten minutes, Hermione saw Snape enter the Great Hall through a hidden door behind the teachers' table, leaning towards Professor McGonagall who suddenly looked very angry. She stood up and followed Snape, and they were soon joined by Dumbledore. Hermione sincerely hoped that it wasn't because of Ron and Harry that they had to leave the banquet... What was she going to do if they were sent away?

When the desserts disappeared before their eyes, Dumbledore had returned. He rose to stand behind his desk and began his start of year speech, with the usual warnings. He made no mention of Harry and Ron, who were still conspicuous by their absence, and he didn't seem particularly upset or in a hurry.

As soon as he had finished his speech and clapped his hands, Hermione stood up, wished the Weasleys, Neville, Seamus and Dean good night, and patrolled the first floor corridors in the hope of finding Harry or Ron. Nothing. She climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor tower, and it wasn't until she reached the very top that she finally heard Harry's voice.

"Ah, there you are!" she exclaimed, reassured to see them. "Where have you been? They're saying ridiculous things about you... I heard you were going to be expelled for having an accident with a flying car."

"We weren't expelled," replied Harry.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?" she said in a high-pitched voice.

"Never mind the morality lessons and give us the password," Ron replied grumpily.

"It's 'wattlebird,' but that's not the point..." began Hermione.

She was interrupted by exclamations from the Gryffindors who had just seen Harry and Ron, and who had obviously all heard about their disastrous arrival at Hogwarts. They were cheered from all sides and Hermione found it difficult to follow them without being pushed around by the Gryffindors who wanted to congratulate them.

She was furious: she had been worried about them all day, and they weren't even telling her! A flying car? That was so dangerous! You'd think they really wanted to get kicked out of school before they even started the year!

"Good night!" Harry called out hurriedly to Hermione before climbing the stairs to the dormitory.

She found herself drowned in the crowd of Gryffindors. Irritated, she went to sit on one of the sofas in the Common Room, where Ginny and Neville were already getting to know each other. When she sat down, Ginny asked shyly:

"Is it always like this here?"

"No, it's usually much quieter, but apparently coming to Hogwarts in a flying car and risking your place is a reason to party, so..." began Hermione.

"Is it true? They really came in a flying car? Blimey! I'm going to go see them!" cried Neville as he got up to go to the dormitory.

Hermione sighed. The boys were really weird.

Draco

.

.

When he arrived at the Slytherin table for breakfast, Pansy was already sitting in her usual place. Draco and Blaise sat down, but before they could say a word, Pansy slammed the newspaper down on the table, almost knocking over her plate of toasts. She urged them to read the headline without speaking, which Draco did:

"FLYING FORD ANGLIA WORRIES MUGGLES."

Blaise sighed:

"So, is it true? Did those two idiots really come in a flying car?"

"You'd better believe it." said Pansy, sipping her juice and looking at Weasley and Potter with a disgusted expression. "And they didn't even get kicked out. Snape looked furious last night, I saw him walk into his office."

"And they didn't even lose any points." Draco commented as he saw the Gryffindors' untouched hourglass. "Whereas you lost some when you fought with Crabbe. It's really unfair, they never get punished."

"That I'm not so sure of..." threw Blaise mischievously.

Curious, Draco looked up at the Gryffindors' table and saw the ugliest owl in England crashing into Granger's milk pitcher. But Draco knew what Blaise was talking about when he saw the red envelope he held in his beak.

"Ho-ho, a Howler..." said Pansy, suddenly much more amused. "This might be fun."

Weasley was livid. He opened the Howler and Draco saw that Longbottom and Granger had plugged their ears in an attempt to drown out the shrill voice that came out:

"STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D

EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE —"

Draco laughed as he saw Weasley's frightened face as he sat back in his chair more and more as his mother's voice shouted the letter. In the end, the letter caught fire and the Slytherins all burst out laughing: everyone had heard the contents of the Howler in the Great Hall. Pansy turned back to Draco and Blaise to eat:

"If I had received a Muggle from my father in the middle of the Great Hall, I think I would have left the school."

Only then did Draco notice that Ebony was sitting next to him. He unhooked the letter his mother had sent him to wish him a safe journey back to school, and saw with astonishment a second envelope that was from his father:

"Dear Draco,

I've arranged for you to join the Slytherin Quidditch team, by sending a nice contribution. Don't let me down.

I hope you have a good start to the new school year, and give my regards to Pansy and Blaise Zabini.

Lucius Malfoy."

Draco nearly jumped for joy on his bench. He showed his father's letter to Pansy and Blaise who both grinned widely:

"Great! You'll finally get to prove your Seeker skills!"

Draco couldn't have received better news. He reread the contents of the envelope several times: this was it, he was finally going to get his revenge on Potter. All the training he had done with Blaise this summer was finally going to pay off.

He reflexively raised his head to look at the ceiling: there were big grey clouds. The weather was not ideal for Quidditch. He saw that Granger was observing the colour of the sky too and immediately stopped looking at the ceiling.

Just then, Theo entered the Great Hall, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle. When Crabbe sat down, Blaise immediately stood up and left the room without a word. Theo sighed and helped himself to some porridge. Pansy picked up her newspaper with a raised eyebrow.

"Is he still pissed?" asked Crabbe.

"What do you think?" replied Theo sarcastically.

"But why?"

"Because you spoke badly about his mother, you idiot." retorted Draco.

"But everyone says she's beautiful! Even Pansy made a comment!" complained Crabbe.

"I said she looked beautiful in her dress, and you said she probably 'banged half of England'. Not the same." said Pansy without looking up from her paper.

"What should I do?" yelped Crabbe.

"You can start by apologizing, already. Did you tell him you were sorry?"

"No... Then will he talk to me again?"

"No, but at least you will have tried." said Draco.

Snape came by at this point to hand out the schedules, and Draco saw that they started with Transfiguration. He took an extra timetable for Blaise and waited for Theo to finish eating before going to class.

Apart from wanting to shine in the Slytherin Quidditch team, Draco had another goal in mind: to reach the top of the class. He had resolved to work a lot harder than he had the previous year for two reasons: first, to impress his father and avoid getting told off the next time he came back to the Manor, and second, to beat Granger.

He was sure he could easily compete with her if he got serious about his work. It wasn't hard to beat a Muggle-born, he would just have to use his acquired knowledge from pre-Hogwarts prep classes to get past her. He just needed to spend a bit more time in the Library, and do his homework. All he had to do was follow Theo, who never stopped working.

He spent the beginning of his first week of school following this resolution. He looked like an extremely studious and responsible student: he did his homework assiduously, listened attentively in class, sent letters to his parents, and went to bed early to be in shape the next day. He looked forward to the first grades of the year so he could see his progress.

He also spent a lot of time in the Library, often with Theo or Blaise, who still didn't speak to Crabbe, or Goyle. Draco couldn't understand why he had decided to stop talking to Goyle, who hadn't done anything, but Blaise must have thought they were the same two people. Pansy, on the other hand, refused to study in the Library, complaining that she was "friend with three Notts" and preferred to spend her free time with her friends. Draco even studied ahead in Herbology, Transfiguration and Charms, to get an extra head start.

When the first results of the year came in, however, it was a cold shower. Blaise brought a copy of the second year rankings when he arrived at the Library:

"The results are in."

Theo raised his head abruptly from his book to grab the parchment Blaise was handing him:

"Yes! Second!"

"What? What about me?" yelped Draco as he snatched the paper from his hands.

He found his name in fifth place overall. And Granger's was first, which made his blood boil.

"What?! She's still first?"

"What did you expect, to pass her in five days? We've been struggling with Blaise for a year now, you should already be happy that you're ranked fifth." Theo retorted bitterly.

"She's first in Potions?"

"Yes, but you're second." remarked Blaise amiably.

"I don't care about that. I wanted to beat her."

He tossed the parchment across the Library table where they had spread their books to study, and looked around to see if Granger was in the Library. Sure enough, there she was, at her favourite table that she hardly ever left, her nose buried in a book.

The sight of her gave Draco a new burst of rage and he turned to finish his Charms essay, ignoring the looks of Blaise and Theo. He couldn't even concentrate anymore. How did she manage to get first in every subject? Maybe a Muggle cheating technique?

"Come on, we're going to dinner." Blaise said after several minutes. "Pansy's waiting for us."

They put their things away and Theo went to the counter to borrow about half the books in the Library, which took a long time and irritated Draco even more. When he arrived at the Great Hall, he was in a bad mood. He ate without saying a word, but fortunately his friends must have realised that he was not to be disturbed because no one asked him why.

He chewed his pasta without appetite as he watched the Potter gang, consisting of Weasley and Granger, chatting happily at the table opposite. Granger's shaggy hair, Weasley's poorly tailored clothes and Potter's attitude upset him, but he couldn't stop looking at them and mentally insulting them.

He was interrupted by a sixth year, Marcus Flint, who approached him with a big smile:

"Hi, Draco."

He nodded in greeting. Marcus took a seat on the bench opposite Draco after Blaise made some room for him.

"Snape told me about your father's gift to the team... It's great, with this we'll win for sure."

Draco realised at that moment that Marcus Flint was the Slytherin Quidditch captain. He had been so sullen that he hadn't perked up, but now that he realised, he straightened up on his bench and pushed the faces of the Gryffindor Trio out of his head.

"You're officially on the team as a Seeker." Flint said.

His friends wanted to clap to congratulate him, but the captain stopped them with a wave of his hand:

"Wait, not too fast. We're going to surprise the Gryffindors, they don't know you're on the team yet, let alone about your father's gift. See you tomorrow at 7:30am on the pitch, they're going to get the biggest shock of their lives."

He started to get up from the bench but Draco stopped him to ask:

"Hm, Flint? What exactly did my father offer?"

"Didn't he tell you? He gave a 2001 Nimbus!"

"A 2001 Nimbus? To you?"

"No, not just me! To the whole team! He's really too cool!"

Draco's jaw dropped as Flint walked away to find his place at the table. Pansy and Blaise looked at him with round eyes, they too had not yet processed what Marcus had just said.

"Nimbus 2001? Isn't that the last broom that came out?" asked Nott who knew nothing about Quidditch.

"Yes... the very last one."

"It must have cost a fortune." Blaise said under his breath.

"Your father did well, that one." whispered Pansy in admiration.

Draco was no longer in a bad mood: on the contrary, it was the best news he'd ever had in his life, probably. He couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. A 2001 Nimbus! He had a 2001 Nimbus! His father must have been in a very good mood to give him a present like that.

After dinner, he hurried to his dormitory to go to bed and get to the next day faster. Pansy fell asleep with him that night, so he was very careful not to wake her up at 7:00 when he got out of bed, and got dressed in his new Quidditch clothes. He was so excited to try out his new broom, and especially to see Potter's face when he found out!

He arrived at the Castle's Entrance Hall a little early. Through the window he could see the Gryffindor team practicing under the pink morning sky. The Slytherin team arrived in full, all already dressed and ready to practice. Flint approached Draco and handed him his broom with a smile: it was black and perfectly waxed, the fork of the broom was straight and as soon as Draco closed his hand on the handle, he felt it fit perfectly in his grip, as if it was tailor made for his hands. He looked up and saw the smiling faces of the team:

"Let's go show them." said Flint with a wicked look in his eye.

Draco didn't have to be told twice and joined the team, who congratulated him on getting in. Draco felt his heart lighten and the excitement of training officially rise within him.

They arrived at the Quidditch pitch, and the captain of the Gryffindor team, Wood, swooped in to confront them:

"Flint! The pitch is all ours this morning! We got up at dawn for this! So you're leaving now!" he shouted as soon as he reached him.

"There's plenty of room for everyone!" Flint replied.

Potter and the Weasley twins stood behind their captain with hostile faces. The girls from the Gryffindors team arrived in turn and took up positions on either side, as did the Slytherins. The tension in the air was palpable.

"But I booked the pitch!" protested Wood. "I booked it!"

"You did?" said Flint. "Yet I have a note from Professor Snape. Look: "I, the undersigned, Professor Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch pitch to train their new Seeker."

Draco felt a chill run down his spine as he heard his position.

"You have a new Seeker? Who?"

The Slytherin team made way for Draco to step forward, triumphant. He glared at Potter, who was dejected.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" asked one of the Weasley twins.

"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint. I'll show you the beautiful gift he gave to the Slytherin team."

Draco held up his broom proudly as the Gryffindors stared at the 2001 Nimbus as if they were gold bars. Draco felt so proud and important, he smiled and puffed out his chest. He'd waited so long for revenge for Potter's exploits and his ability to escape the most grotesque situations, and that moment was coming.

"Oh, look. A field invasion." Flint said.

Draco turned and saw Weasley and Granger running along the pitch to join them:

"Why aren't you playing?" asked Weasley. "And what's he doing here?" he added, pointing at Draco with a jerk of his chin.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," Draco replied. "And everyone is admiring the broomsticks my father gave to the team."

Weasley gaped at the seven brooms in front of him. Granger, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit interested, barely glancing at the 2001 Nimbus and just staring at Draco. Her disinterest annoyed him, he wished she was jealous, or a little impressed.

"Not bad, right?" continued Draco. "But maybe the Gryffindor team will manage to find some gold to buy new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives, I expect a museum would bid for them."

The Slytherins burst out laughing, but Draco's eyes were resolutely fixed on Granger, who shrugged:

"At least no Gryffindor players paid to be on the team." she said dryly. "They were chosen for their talent."

Draco stopped smiling. Who did she think she was? He felt the anger rise and crush everything in its path.

"No one asked you, you filthy little Mudblood." he spat.