𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

Friends ☾ 3-04

I laughed as I was led down the corridor by Harry, Fred, and George. Fred told a particularly funny anecdote of the time he managed to hang Filch upside down from the hallway ceiling. We arrived at the Quidditch pitch, and we stood watching the Ravenclaw team practice with the Gryffindors. I asked Flitwick to put in a special request for me to play, and he happily obliged, with little to no knowledge of the subject whatsoever.

Fred and George leaned against the wall as Harry put his hand on my shoulder. I was slightly shaking and my hair darkened, displaying my fear. I gave a nervous wave to Cho as she flew by, chasing the snitch. We stood waiting as the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Roger Davies, approached.

"Aurora Whitethorn, an honour to meet you." He gave a little bow as he stood in front of me. My hair turned pink and I blushed.

"Pleased to meet you as well." We went through the basic team dynamics as he talked through the Hogwarts match system. Roger already knew I could play, and I was grateful. He then handed me a Ravenclaw uniform.

"Let's see what you can do." He smiled. My eyes widened and I quickly went to change.

The Ravenclaw team and Gryffindor team quickly got into game formation for a faux match. I took a Chaser position next to Roger and another boy, named Jeremy Stretton. The whistle blew and we launched into action.

I saw Harry and Cho dive for the snitch out of the corner of my eye, and I raced for the quaffle. I stole it from Angelina Johnson and flew down the pitch. I passed over the Gryffindor's head to Roger, and he quickly passed it back. I flipped my broom and angled the quaffle straight through Oliver Wood's hands. Ten points.

"Bloody hell, you're good." Wood exclaimed as the quaffle was launched back into play. I smiled as I took in my surroundings. Much like my father, playing Quidditch was my happy place. I should hope I had at least some skill, seeing that my father was a professional. I dodged a bludger and Fred swore as it nearly hit him in the head. "Bloody hell, George! Watch it!" He yelled across the pitch. I smirked as I was again passed the quaffle, and I quickly threw it to Roger for an assisted goal. Another ten points. This went on for a while until we were tied 150 points each.

"Not bad, Whitethorn, not bad." I heard George mutter at Davies' praise and I giggled. "We'd be happy to have you play for us." I nodded excitedly as we landed near the edge of the pitch.

"I'd love to!" I grinned as he shot me a wink. He waved as Harry and I exited the pitch together.

"You're bloody good, Aurora." Harry blew a tired breath out of his mouth as we made our way to the castle. I turned and winked at him.

"Just wait until we play for real."

-

I sat at the desk next to Hermione, waiting for our class to start. It was our first Defence against the Dark Arts class this term, and I was excited. I loved learning new spells, and I was glad I knew a few people in our class. As the room filled up, students filed in and sat down. I heard Draco and his friends sit down in the back of the class. Our teacher quickly walked in from his office, and I immediately recognized him as the stranger from the train.

"Good afternoon, I am your defence against the dark arts teacher, professor Remus Lupin. For today's class, I have prepared something quite special. Please stand." As we stood up he whisked the desks to the side of the room and we all moved into the empty space. He brought forward a large brown cabinet with mirrors on the front. It began to shake violently.

"Intriguing isn't it?" He called from behind us. "Would anyone like to venture a guess, to what is inside?" He slowly made his way to the front of the room beside the cabinet.