The Muggleborn Slytherin

The Holiday Plans

Now that Halloween had passed, Christmas was just around the corner. Teddie was excited about the big holidays because she got to go home. A week before the end of the term, Professor McGonagall came around with two lists: Going Home and Staying at Hogwarts. She found Teddie and friends down on the Quidditch pitch with Marcus and friends, testing out proper brooms in replacement of the school ones.

Daphne had opted out of the chance, preferring to keep her feet safely on the ground. Theo and Blaise, who had been on broomsticks since they were old enough, were naturals while Teddie was a little unsure. She'd never flown before, not even in an Aeroplane, so she was unsure of how to do so with a broom. Sure, Madam Hooch had shown her the basics, but Marcus' broom was a lot stronger and more powerful than the simple school broom.

Teddie squeaked as Marcus hovered a few feet off the ground. She was sitting in front of him, clutching the broom handle for grim death.

"Open your eyes, Teddie," Marcus chuckled. "You're okay."

"No, Marcus, I don't like it," Teddie said, shaking her head. "Please, take me back down."

"Okay," Marcus said. He dipped forward slightly and shot back towards the ground.

Teddie sighed in relief as she slid from the broom and landed on her feet beside Daphne. If they had done this before the troll had got into Hogwarts, and dropped her from twelve feet, then maybe her reaction would've been a little different. But there was something about crashing twelve feet to the floor that made her nervous about being up high.

"There you are!" Professor McGonagall called, striding onto the pitch. "I've been looking for you four all over the castle."

"Sorry, Professor," Teddie apologised.

Professor McGonagall waved her off, and then pulled the two rolls of parchment from inside her robes along with a quill. "Now, who is staying for the holidays, and who is going home?" she asked.

"I'm going home," Teddie said. "I've already made plans with my brother over the holidays."

Professor McGonagall nodded and added Teddie's name to the Going Home parchment. She then turned to the rest of Teddie's friends. By the time she had received all their answers, her Going Home list was almost full.

"There'll be hardly anyone left in the castle," said Daphne, as Professor McGonagall left. "I manage to catch a glimpse of Potter and Weasley's name on the staying parchment, but Malfoy is going home."

"I'd say that is a good thing," Teddie said. "It means Potter will have a quiet holiday. I noticed that Malfoy likes to pick on him too."

Daphne nodded in agreement.

Teddie shivered and looked up at the sky. Theo and Blaise flew overhead and she smiled, but in the distance, she could see clouds rolling in. She pointed this out to Daphne and they both clambered to their feet, wandering over to Marcus.

"We should get inside," Teddie said, shivering. "Those clouds don't look friendly."

Marcus agreed and called the two first years and his friends back to the ground. He may not have been a Prefect but he was a Quidditch Captain, and that was a similar status as a Prefect. The only difference being that he couldn't dock points from other students.

Upon reaching the Entrance Hall, the friends found their path blocked by a giant fir tree. Teddie reached forward and stuck her head through the branches. "Hi," she grinned, looking up at Harry and Ron as they stood on the other side.

Ron jumped and Harry chuckled.

Withdrawing, Teddie and friends eased their way around the fir tree and found that Harry and Ron weren't alone in the Entrance Hall. Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were also present.