The next chapter has arriiiiiiiiiiiived :P
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Ron, Harry and I managed within our first week to find the quickest way to every class, despite the moving staircases and portraits, and I even got to kick that blasted cat Mrs Norris.
Friday morning wasn't good however and as we traipsed into Potions, which we had with my fellow Slytherins, I could feel the depression i usually felt when i crept back into my common room late at night.
I just shrugged it off and poked at the jar of dissected things, giggling as bubbles floated to the top. Snape then decided halfway through the name call to pick on Harry, to Malfoy's amusement.
I was just glad it wasn't only me he reacted to - when he read my name out, he just stared at me like he'd seen a ghost. He had us make up some potion but I didn't pay attention to what I was doing, I let instinct take over. We were meant to be in pairs but I was the odd one out again, happily.
Snape wandered around, pointing out problems with everyone's potions until he came to Malfoy's. He praised it for a few minutes then turned and looked down at mine.
"Well Miss Sparrow i'm glad to see despite your other choices, you have a fine talent for potions," he said, almost in a gentle tone compared to what he used with the other students.
I beamed, ignoring his insult and stuck my tongue out at Malfoy when i spotted his furious look. Then suddenly clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon.
Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. The poor boy had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed and was now moaning in agony as angry red boils covered his arms and legs.
I didn't bother moving, seeing Snape come forward with an irritated expression. He wouldn't intentionally allow his students to get hurt - well, i hoped so.
"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire? Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus.
Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.
"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."
"Cheer up," Ron sighed an hour later as we left the dungeons, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"
"Oh me too!" I exclaimed, and at five to three we left the castle and made our way across the grounds.
Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest, we weren't meant to go in there but I wanted to badly. Hagrid also had a large boarhound called Fang who seemed to love Ron; I sat laughing at the red head getting covered in drool the whole time we were there while Harry talked about random stuff. Well it was probably important to him.
Over the next few weeks, I ended up in detention twice, once for slapping Pansy when she commented about my lack of parents, and the second for punching some third year in the face for touching my ass. I was twelve for god's sake.
Malfoy was also being an ass, annoying the three of us without any let up - me being Slytherin didn't take when i hung around with Gryffindors apparently. Then we found out flying started on Thursday, Slytherin and Gryffindor together.
"Typical," Harry muttered darkly, as we ate dinner at the Gryffindor table as always, "Just what I always wanted, to make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."
"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," Ron said reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."
"Yeah well Harry might not make a fool of himself, being the special one he is," I joked, "But I will. Though if it disgraces Slytherin then all the better."
Thursday morning we were eating away happily at breakfast, Neville explaining the present his gran sent him when Malfoy snatched it out his hand.
"Malfoy give it back or get a broken nose," I threatened, getting to my feet, just as Ron and Harry had done.
"Make me-" but I didn't get to hear what he was going to say because McGonagall appeared.
"What's going on?"
"Malfoy's got my Rememberall, Professor," Neville said quickly.
Malfoy dropped it, scowling and mumbled something before storming off with Crabbe and Goyle in toe. At three-thirty that afternoon, we hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for our first flying lesson.
The rest of my Slytherin house mates were already there, as were the twenty odd brooms. Madam Hooch - silver haired and golden eyed - came out of nowhere and started bossing us around.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
I did as she said - Harry and Ron either side of me - and looked at the broom. I couldn't make out what it said on the handle though.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom, and say 'Up!"
"Up!" Everyone said and I almost dropped my broom in surprise when it flew into my hand.
Harry got his on the first time too, as had Malfoy's. Ron's had simply smacked him in the face and lay back down, giving Harry and i something to laugh about.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two - " But Neville pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips. "Come back, boy!" she shouted.
Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet - twenty feet then WHAM! He'd fallen sideways off the broom and hit the ground hard, looking paler than snow. My face turned just as pale as i recognised the snapping of a bone somewhere amongst his body hitting the ground.
"Broken wrist," Hooch muttered, helping him to his feet, "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you get." She turned to the rest of us. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."
Almost as soon as they were out of earshot and sight, Malfoy threw his head back in laughter, the other Slytherins smirking or grinning nastily. I just rolled my eyes at his childishness.
"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Now the other Slytherins were laughing too.
"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil, stepping forward.
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry-babies, Parvati."
I had a comeback ready for that but Malfoy dived forward, distracting me.
"Look!" he said, snatching up the Rememberall. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."
"Give that here, Malfoy," Harry said quietly.
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"
"Give it here!" Harry demanded, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off.
He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"
"No!" Hermione exclaimed, "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble."
Harry ignored her and shot up into the air like a professional. I didn't hear what was said, but Malfoy threw Neville's Rememberall and Harry shot towards the ground after it, catching it and landing on his feet smoothly.
"HARRY POTTER!" McGonagall appeared.
"Oooh, he's in trouble," I whispered, ducking behind Ron when Hermione shot me a withering glare.
"Never - in all my time at Hogwarts - how dare you - might have broken your neck - " McGonagall struggled to say.
"It wasn't his fault, Professor -"
"Be quiet, Miss Patil."
"But Malfoy -"
"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."
"Haha, that'll teach him to think he's better," Parkinson snickered, as McGonagall led Harry back into school.
"Pansy i don't know what makes you so stupid but it really works," i said, rolling my eyes at her over my shoulder.
"Shut up you little blood traitor!" she screeched and i raised my eyebrows.
"Isn't blood traitor reserved for purebloods who favour the good side of life?" i asked, glancing at the Gryffindors who nodded, "Right, so Pansy really is stupid then if she can't insult me properly."
"I'm not stupid!" she screeched again, making the Gryffindors laugh, "How am i wrong calling you a blood traitor?!"
"Well obviously, if you were smart enough, you'd realise i'm not "pureblood"," i said with the bunny ears, "I'm what you call a "Muggle born"-"
Again with the bunny ears, which caused my house mates to stare at me in shock, i guess they never knew Slytherin accepted muggle borns.
"At least i think i am, i was raised by muggles, well, maybe i'm half blood, well actually who knows i could be pureblood since i'm what you call an "orphan"-" again with the bunny ears, "So for all i know i could have magical parents but i honestly couldn't care, because if being pureblood means being as dumb and inbred as you lot are, then I'll happily stick to my muggle roots."
"That's not possible!" Daphne spoke up loudly, "Slytherin only takes Pureblood!"
I looked at Ron behind me, "Are they deaf too?"
"Appears so," he grinned just as Madam Hooch returned.
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