The school talks of nothing but Sirius Black for the next few days. The theories about how he entered the castle become wilder and wilder. Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, tells anyone who'll listen that Black can turn into a flowering shrub. Meanwhile, I write a letter to my parents telling them I'm doing well and conveniently forgetting to mention that a mass murderer broke into my school.
***
The weather worsens steadily as the first Quidditch match draws nearer.
The day before the match, the winds reach a howling point and the rain falls harder than ever. It's so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns are lit.
After a breakfast of porridge the morning of the first Quidditch match, I head down to the pitch with my friends. Quidditch is so popular at Hogwarts that the whole school turns out to watch the match. All the students run down the lawn towards the Quidditch pitch, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas whipping out of hands.
We cheer as the teams walk out onto the pitch, but the sound fades, overcome by the sound of the wind and fresh rolls of thunder. I can barely see what's going on through the rain. I can't even hear Lee Jordan, the commentator, over the loud weather.
The sky keeps getting darker and the rain thicker. After the first flash of lightning, a time out is called.
When the game starts up again, something odd starts to happen. The wind hits its strongest point and Michael yells, "Look!" At least a hundred Dementors have found their way on to the pitch, their hidden faces pointing up at Harry Potter.
I squint through the rain, trying to make out what's happening. I see a small figure, who I know to be Harry, sway and then start to fall. He plummets through the air and everyone gasps.
Dumbledore manages to run on to the pitch as he's falling. He waves his wand and Harry slows down before he hits the ground.
Now that Harry is safely back on the ground, Dumbledore spins around so he's facing the Dementors. He whirls his wand at them and shoots some kind of silvery mist their way. They leave the stadium at once and I catch a glimpse of Dumbledore's face. He's absolutely furious.
With the Dementors gone, he turns his attention back to Harry. His body is magically lifted onto a stretcher that appears out of thin air. Dumbledore leads the floating stretcher up to the school and the stadium fills with whispers. Whispers about how Harry Potter dropped so far out of the sky and when he hit the ground he didn't move a muscle.
***
The teachers assure us that Harry Potter is okay and life continues on as normal. Well, as normal as life in the wizarding world and at Hogwarts can be.
Soon, it's November 11th, my 13th birthday. I wake up to one present at the foot of my bed and I know by the shape what it is immediately.
"What's your mail doing here?" Padma asks. "It must be a birthday present from my parents," I answer.
"Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?" Mandy demands. It had never crossed my mind that they would care. I didn't exactly have any friends at my old school, so my birthday was always a quiet affair. "It never came up. Besides, it's the middle of the week, we can't do anything," I lie.
"Well, open your gift," Padma orders. I pick up the broom-shaped package and tear it open. The handle is made of polished ebony and the twigs are made of hazel, providing more precision in turning. The metal parts of the broom are goblin-made ironwork and written in gold on the handle is Firebolt with the registration number.
"Woah, that's a Firebolt, the best broom in the world," Mandy gasps. "And I can't even play on it because the Ravenclaw Quidditch team is full," I sigh, but I'm still bubbling over with excitement. I've wanted my very own broom ever since I learned I was a witch.
"We'll take you out to the Quidditch pitch after classes so you can try it out," Padma exclaims. "Michael is going to freak out," Mandy says. "Forget Michael, the whole Quidditch team will freak out," Padma points out.
As we're walking down the stairs to the common room, Sue and Isobel pass us. "Happy birthday, Allison," they say.
As we walk to the Great Hall for breakfast, I tell Michael about my Firebolt and he freaks out just like Mandy said. "Woah, that's awesome! Can I have a go on it later?" he asks. We slide into some open seats at the Ravenclaw table, but before I can answer, someone else takes the spot next to me. That person is Roger Davies, a fifth year Ravenclaw and one of the Chasers on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
"Allison, right? You're the new girl from Canada," he says. I nod my head in silence unable to speak. Roger Davies is one of those guys that's drop dead gorgeous and popular. He's tall with chiseled features, olive skin, brown hair, and brown eyes.
"Is it true you got a Firebolt?" he asks. I nod my head.
"How did you know that already?" I ask. "Two girls in your year, Sue and Isobel were talking about it and Cho overheard them and told me," he explains. "Well, if you're going out to the pitch after class, would you mind if we joined you? I'd love to see it in action."
Before I can answer, Mandy cuts in. "We'd love it if you joined us. Meet us on the pitch, first thing after classes," she says, before grabbing some toast and pulling me up from the table and guiding me away. Padma and Michael follow us out, both with piles of toast in their hands. I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks.
"Are you okay?" Michael asks. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...I wasn't expecting him to start talking to me," I answer.
"Clearly, you barely got the words out of your mouth," Padma says.
"Oh my gosh! Do you like him?" Mandy asks. "What? No! Maybe...I mean no! I don't even know the guy. He's just very attractive, that's all," I answer.
Padma and Mandy share a smile. "He is very attractive and smart too," Padma says.
"I hope you're good on the broom. It sounds like Roger is planning on bringing the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team," Michael says, changing the subject. "Yeah, I'm good. I've never had my own broom before, but I was on the Ilvermorny Horned Serpent team in my first and second year. I was a Chaser," I reply.
"How come you've never told us that before?" Padma asks. "It never came up before, I guess," I shrug. I take some toast from Michael's hand and start to eat. They each stare at me sceptically.
"Why don't you talk about Ilvermorny?" Mandy asks. I swallow the bite of toast before answering. "It's my birthday, can we leave that conversation for another day? Besides, we should be getting to class," I say. They drop the subject and we walk to class, eating our toast along the way.
***
The rest of the day passes in a blur as I look forward to and nervously anticipate flying my new Firebolt.
At lunch, I make sure to write a thank you letter to my parents and send it off with one of the school owls.
Sure enough, after classes, I find myself on the Quidditch pitch surrounded by my friends and the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Some more Ravenclaws sit in the stands, books and quills in hand.
Roger walks over to me and leads me over to the team. He points out a pretty girl with freckled skin, cascading raven black hair, and champagne brown eyes with dense eyelashes. "This is Alyssa Ford, Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team and our Keeper. I'll allow her to do the introductions."
"Well, you already know Roger, he's one of our Chasers. Jeremy Stretton and Randolph Burrow are our other Chasers." She gestures to two boys who look a couple years older than Roger. Jeremy has cream-coloured skin, wild gilded blond hair, and blue eyes. Randolph has lily-white skin, spiky red hair, and fern green eyes.
"Duncan Inglebee and Jason Samuels, our Beaters." Duncan has golden skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Jason has bronze skin, tawny brown hair, and brown eyes.
"Finally, our Seeker, Cho Chang," he introduces. Cho is an extremely pretty girl with a freckled nose, charcoal black hair and dark eyes. "And everyone, this is Allison Whitley," she finishes. "Now, show us what that thing can do."
I hop on to the broom and push off into the air. The feeling is like nothing else in the world. The speed, the wind through my hair. I zip through the air, fast and quick, making easy turns here and there, flying through the Quidditch hoops before I finally land back on the ground.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Cho exclaims. The Chasers and Beaters echo her in various forms.
"Have you played before?" Alyssa asks. "Yeah, I was one of the Chasers at my old school. My team won the cup both years I played," I answer.
"Well, Stretton injured himself last night during practice. We were going to hold tryouts to find a replacement, but I don't think we'll need to. If you're interested, you can sub for him this year while he's out of commission and next year you can try out for a permanent position," Alyssa explains. "Yes, I'd love to," I reply.