Emma Potter

61: The break in

In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had becomemost people's favorite class. Only Draco and a few other Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.

 "Look at the state of his robes," Draco would say in a loudwhisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old houseelf." here I would hit him upside down on the head.

 But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched andfrayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. Afterboggarts, we studied Red Caps, nasty little goblinlike creatures thatlurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castlesand the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon thosewho had gotten lost. From Red Caps we moved on to kappas,creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbedhands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.

My other classes were going great too. I had always been an excellent student, and it was just showing.

Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after theaction-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagridseemed to have lost his confidence. We were now spending lessonafter lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had tobe some of the most boring creatures in existence. 

"Why would anyone bother looking after them?" said Draco in disgust, afteryet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' slimy throats. 

At the start of October, however, Draco at least had something else tooccupy him, something so  enjoyable for him it more than made up for his unsatisfactory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and Marcus, Captain of the Slytherin team, called a meetingone Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season

.There were seven people on a Quidditch team: three Chasers,whose job it was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a red,soccer-sized ball) through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops at eachend of the field; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy batsto repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls that zoomed aroundtrying to attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the goalposts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that of catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized ball, whosecapture ended the game and earned the Seeker's team an extra onehundred and fifty points.

But.

Apperently, Dracos arm was still hurt, so he was a Gloomy Gus.

One day, I came back to Slytherin Common Room  to find the room buzzing excitedly.

"What's happened?" I asked Zoe and Nicholas, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing somestar charts for Astronomy. 

"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Zoe, pointing at a notice thathad appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October.Halloween." '=

"Excellent," said Draco, who had followed me through the hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets." 

I threw myself into a chair beside Zoe, my high spiritsebbing away Nicholas seemed to read my mind. 

"Emma, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," he said. "They'rebound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already" 

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Draco. "Ask Snape if you can go this time, Ems. The nextone might not be for ages —"

 "Draco!" said Nicholas. "Emma's supposed to stay in school —" 

"She can't be the only third year left behind," said Zoe. "AskMcGonagall, go on, Emma —" 

"Yeah, I think I will,"I said making up my mind.