The weekend passed faster than Teddie would've liked. She had hoped of exploring the castle in more detail but between fights with Parkinson and Malfoy, much to the displeasure of Sierra and Professor Snape, and homework, Teddie barely saw outside of the common room and the library.
Throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Teddie's friendship with Theo, Blaise, and Daphne strengthened. The three purebloods defended her against Malfoy and his cronies, whilst teaching her as much about the Wizarding world as they could. In return, Teddie told them all about her life in the Muggle world, and what it was like to find out she was a witch.
On Sunday evening, Daphne and Teddie had been caught in a secluded corner of the library, feeding dead mice to Merlin and Morgana. Madam Pince, the school's librarian, was furious, not to mention mortified, and had kicked them out immediately.
Much to the displeasure of the two corn snakes who had to regurgitate their meal due to distress.
The following Monday, lessons started again. History of Magic was becoming worse by the second, and Teddie often found herself falling asleep against Theo's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind as he too was finding it difficult to pay attention to their droning Professor.
"The idea of him being a ghost is still exciting," Teddie said. "But the lesson itself?" She shook her head. "Mason would say that's a lot coming from me because I love History. Maybe I should just subject myself to checking out books from the library."
"I'm going to write to your brother and tell him you said that," Theo teased.
Teddie laughed. "I highly doubt he'll believe you," she said. "But you're welcome to try. I'm also not a stranger to checking out books, or to a library itself, you know? I do have a library card for back home. I just don't check out books often."
"What kind of books do you like, Ted?" Blaise asked.
"Historical, Mythological," Teddie answered. "Every year for my birthday, Mason gives me a book. Last year it was a book on The Greek Myths. I think I brought it with me to Hogwarts, it's probably at the bottom of my trunk."
"Greek Myths?" Daphne asked. "You mean like the Greek Gods?"
Teddie nodded. "And monsters, yeah," she said. "My favourite story is of Icarus. He was the son of a craftsman who was imprisoned in a Labyrinth. But the craftsman was determined not to suffer captivity and made two pairs of wings by adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. He gave one pair to his son and then cautioned him that flying too near the sun the wax would melt. But Icarus is ecstatic with the ability to fly that he forgets his father's warning, and in doing so fell to his death in the sea when the feathers came loose during flight."
Blaise stared at Teddie in fascination. "There's a lot of messages you can take from that story," he said.
"My Mum tells me that story all the time," said Teddie. "Usually after I've done something that she told me not too. It's the whole "mum knows best" talk."
"Your mum sounds wise," Daphne said.
"And strict," Blaise added.
Teddie smiled. "She is, my dad can be strict too," she added. "But he's usually more fun-loving. He reminds me to keep my temper in check, but I could probably get away with murder with him."
"My dad's like that," Daphne agreed.
"I wish mine was," Theo admitted, quietly. "If I'm honest, my father's scary at times."
Teddie grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
Theo met her gaze and smiled, squeezing back.
~X~
On Thursday morning, a noticed appeared on the Slytherin bulletin board in the common room. A notice that brought much excitement to many of the first years, including Draco Malfoy who immediately started bragging about how brilliant he was going to be. Today, the first years were to take part in their first flying lesson.
"I could play for a national team," Malfoy said loudly at the breakfast table. "Better than some national teams, to be honest."
Teddie rolled her eyes. "Even national players were learners once," she said, swallowing a mouthful of cereal.
"Please don't pick a fight with him this morning," Marcus said, helping himself to some toast and jam.
"I'm not," Teddie defended. "I'm just stating a fact."
"I know, but you know what Malfoy's like."
Teddie huffed and reached for a pitcher of milk. "Fine," she said. "I'll keep my comments to myself."
"Have you ever flown before, Green?" Derrick asked from the opposite side of the table. "Not a broom, obviously, but I mean in general?"
"Do you mean have I been on a plane?" Teddie asked.
Derrick nodded.
Teddie shook her head. "My parents can barely afford the essentials," she said. "What makes you think that they can afford four plane tickets?"
"So, you've never been out of the UK?" Adrian asked.
"Nope. The furthest I have ever been is Wales," said Teddie, "and that's only to see my grandparents."
"How did you get to Wales?"
"My father drives. Any money he earns from his job is rationed between the car and the house," Teddie explained. "Then my mother's earnings are rationed between me and Mason. My parents rarely get nice things, everything they earn is spent on making me and Mason comfortable."
Derrick studied Teddie with a sad look.
Teddie glared at him. "Don't look at me like that," she snapped. "I'm not broken goods just because I come from poverty. I just see the world differently."
"Would you change it, if you could?" Derrick asked.
"I doubt it," Teddie replied. "My parents always say that money can't buy happiness, you have to make your own, and for what it's worth, I agree with them."
The others exchanged looks as Teddie went back to her breakfast. They didn't know what it was like to come from a poor background, while most of them weren't beyond rich, they were also better off than Teddie described. They wanted for nothing, whereas Teddie seemed to struggle to even make ends meet most of the time.
"We should get going," Blaise said, breaking the silence. "I hear Madam Hooch is as strict as Professor McGonagall, especially when students are late."
Finishing their breakfast, Theo, Daphne, Teddie, and Blaise bid goodbye to Marcus and his friends and left the Great Hall.
"Hey, Green -" Malfoy called.
"Just ignore him," Theo said, grabbing Teddie's hand and leading her out into the Entrance Hall.
This time, Teddie did.
~X~
At three-thirty, once all lessons had promptly come to an end, The Slytherin first years headed out into the clear, breezy afternoon and marched down the grassy slope towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds. Madam Hooch was waiting for them, and so were over a dozen rickety-looking broomsticks.
Madam Hooch, Teddie noticed, looked somewhat like a hawk. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes. She sniffed as they approached. "We'll just wait for the Gryffindors before we get started," she said. "While we wait, you may pick a broom and stand behind it."
Teddie followed her friends over to the brooms closest to the end. She found herself between Theo and Daphne and looked at the old broomstick on the ground. It looked like something out of one of Mason's fairytales. It had a slender handle with some chunks of wood missing, and even the twigs from its brush were sticking out at an odd angle.
"That doesn't look safe," Teddie said.
"Scared are we, Green?" drawled Malfoy.
Teddie sighed and shot him a look down the line. He was standing on the other side of Blaise. "What's it to you if I am, Malfoy?" she asked.
Malfoy smirked and turned quickly to Parkinson, she stood on his other side. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and said something. Teddie knew it was about her as Parkinson looked in her direction and laughed.
"Not so tough as you try to make out to be, huh, Green?" Parkinson asked.
"Maybe you two need to stop exaggerating," Teddie retorted. "I've never once said that I am or even acted, tough. It's not my fault that you're both easy to take down. But then, I guess that's why you were named Pansy, huh, Parkinson?"
Parkinson looked murderous but was cut off from arguing by the Gryffindors arrival.
Madam Hooch ordered the Gryffindors to pick a broomstick, just like she had done the Slytherins, and to stand behind it.
Teddie watched as Harry Potter and his friend Ronald Weasley chose the two broomsticks across from her and Theo. Harry met her gaze and she offered him a small smile, he returned it.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Madam Hooch barked. "I want you to all step up to the left side of your broomstick, and shout 'UP'!"
The students did as instructed.
Teddie held her hand over the broom and shouted "UP!".
The broom didn't move.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Teddie muttered.
Theo sniggered and Teddie playfully glared at him.
"UP!" Harry shouted from the opposite side of the lawn. Immediately the broom flew into his outstretched hand.
"Show off," Blaise muttered.
Teddie shook her head with a grin and looked back at her broom. "UP!" she tried again, but the broom merely rolled around on the ground. "I hate you!"
A loud THWACK caught Teddie's attention, and she looked up just in time to see Ronald Weasley's broom leap into the air and smack him straight in the face.
Teddie snorted and Ron glared at her.
Once everyone had hold of their broomsticks, Daphne and Teddie had merely kicked up theirs when Madam Hooch wasn't looking, much to the amusement of Blaise and Theo. Madam Hooch then showed them all how to mount without slipping off their end.
Much to Teddie's pleasure, and Malfoy's displeasure, Madam Hooch corrected his grip and told him that he had been doing it wrong for years when he protested.
"Guess you aren't as perfect as you expect yourself to be now, are you, Malfoy?" Teddie said, her eyes flashing mischievously. She knew she was playing a dangerous game, and she was already on thin ice when it came to Draco, but she couldn't help herself.
Draco shot her a dark look.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you will each kick off from the ground, hard," Madam Hooch was saying as she walked up and down between the students. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come back down by leaning forwards slightly. Is everyone ready? On my whistle - three - two -"
Across the lawn, a boy called Neville Longbottom, kicked off from the ground early and shot into the air like a bullet. Teddie just managed to see his white face plastered with terror before he whipped into the air.
"Come back down, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted.
"Someone help him!" shouted the bushy-haired Hermione Granger.
Daphne gasped and grabbed Teddie's arm painfully hard. Teddie looked at her friend and then up at Neville. The poor boy had slipped sideways off his broom and was plunging towards the ground. He landed with a heavy thud and a nasty crack.
"Is he -?"
Teddie didn't hear the end of the question as she threw herself forward. She landed on the grass beside Neville and leaned in close. Neville's face was wet with tears, and a flicker of pain cross his eyes as he looked up at her.
"Out of my way, out of my way!" Madam Hooch called, rushing over. She pushed Teddie aside and knelt beside the Gryffindor.
"I think it's a broken wrist, Professor," Teddie said, pointing at Neville's swollen right hand.
"Thank you, Miss Green, I'll take it from here," Madam Hooch said. She carefully helped Neville sit up, and then stand. Her arm around his broad shoulders as her free hand carefully held his broken wrist. She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take Mr Longbottom to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch!'"
No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" he said, loudly.
His cronies joined in.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Daphne snapped.
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Parkinson. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Greengrass, but then, you've already proven yourself to be a Mudblood lover." Her eyes flickered to Teddie.
"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward. He snatched something out of the grass and held it up into the sunlight. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."
The sun glinted off a small glass ball in Malfoy's hand.
"Give it here, Malfoy!" Teddie snapped, taking a step closer.
Silence fell as everyone turned to the two Slytherins.
Malfoy's face darkened as he turned to face Teddie. "Remember what Professor Snape said, Green, or you'll be on the train home by the end of the week," he said, smirking nastily.
"And you'll be in the Hospital Wing for the next month," Teddie snarled.
"You know what, I think I'll give it back to Longbottom," said Malfoy. "Or maybe I'll leave it somewhere for him to find. How about the roof of the Astronomy Tower, Green, you think he can find it up there?"
Teddie was seething, her hands clenching tightly into fists.
Draco mounted his broom and hovered into the air. He hadn't gone very far when a hand gripped the bristles on the back of the broomstick and he jerked forward.
Startled, Teddie looked around to see Harry Potter holding fast.
"Oh, come to the rescue, have you, Potter?" Malfoy snarled. "Can't handle the spotlight being on someone else?"
Harry ignored him and tugged as hard as he could against the broom, trying to pull it back to the ground.
Malfoy laughed as he leaned forward, urging the broom to fly away.
Over Harry's shoulder, Teddie saw Crabbe and Goyle cracking their knuckles and take a step forward, they were stopped by Blaise, Daphne, and Theo, as each of them took out their wands and pointed them at the two goons.
Looking up, Teddie jumped and latched onto the handle of Malfoy's broomstick. She threw all her weight into it and then dropped like a stone, pulling the broom down with her. She landed with a stumble, but Malfoy came tumbling off the end of and rolled across the lawn.
He dropped the Remembrall in his descent, and Teddie scooped it up.
"Wait until my father hears about this," Malfoy sneered at Harry, "oh, and Professor Snape!" he added to Teddie.
Teddie rolled her eyes and pocketed the Remembrall.
"What's going on out here?" Madam Hooch asked, striding back across the school grounds. She'd returned from taking Neville to the Hospital Wing. Her yellow eyes looked at Teddie, Harry, and Malfoy, and then over to the rest of the class.
No one spoke or moved a muscle.
Madam Hooch sniffed and turned back to the three students nearest her. "Class dismissed," she said. "Go on, all of you, back to your common rooms."
The students hurried back to the castle.
"This isn't over, Potter," Draco said as he crossed the Entrance Hall. "I'll see you in the common room, Green," he added to Teddie.
Teddie rolled her eyes and turned to her friends. "I'm going to go give this back to Neville," she said, taking the Remembrall from her pocket.
"I'll come with you," said Theo.
"We'll meet you back in the common room, then," said Blaise.
Daphne nodded and followed Blaise across the Hall. Theo and Teddie watched them disappear down into the dungeons and then headed up the marble staircase after the Gryffindors.
~X~
Neville looked up as the Hospital Wing doors opened. He half expected to see a few Gryffindor first years there, checking up on him, but his eyes widened with fear as he saw two Slytherins entering and heading straight in his direction.
"Neville, right?" Teddie asked. "Don't be scared, we're not here to hurt you."
"Then why are you here?" Neville asked.
Teddie reached into her pocket and pulled out the Remembrall. "You dropped this," she said. "I thought you'd like it back."
Neville took the sphere, stunned.
"I hope you get better soon, Neville," Teddie said. She smiled and turned away with Theo, walking back towards the doors.
"Th-thank you," Neville called out.
Teddie smiled and waved to him as she passed through the doors.
Teddie and Theo walked for a few minutes in silence before Theo broke it. "Are you sure the Hat chose you for Slytherin?" he asked.
"Why?" Teddie asked.
"No reason, it's just most Slytherins wouldn't have been so kind as to defend a Gryffindor," Theo said.
"Most Slytherins are afraid to stand up to other Slytherins," Teddie said. "Besides, I don't see that much of a difference between the houses. We all look after our own, except for Malfoy, who hates everyone who isn't like him."
"He's always been like that."
Teddie stopped and stared up at Theo, her mouth ajar. "Wait, what? You know him outside school?" she asked.
Theo nodded. "My father and his father are old friends," he said. "You'll find most of Slytherin know one another outside school. We're all purebloods, and pureblood families are connected in more ways than one."
"You mean blood ties?"
"And marriage," said Theo. "Arranged marriages are common in Pureblood families."
"You're joking?"
Theo shook his head.
"Gross."
Theo chuckled.
"So, dearest Theo," Teddie said, pretending to swoon as she latched onto his arm. "Do you have a betrothed?"
Theo shook his head but an amused smile crept onto his lips. "At the moment, no," he said. "But if my father has his way, then yes, I'll have one before I turn seventeen."
Teddie frowned. "But you'll be underage," she pointed out. "Not that that matters in some cultures, but you know?" she shrugged.
"Seventeen is the legal age in the Wizarding World," Theo said. "Is it different in the Muggle world?"
"Yeah, a person doesn't become legal until their eighteen in the Muggle world."
"Don't let the likes of Malfoy hear that. He thinks Wizards are more superior as it is."
"Oh, don't worry, I don't intend to let Malfoy hear a word of this conversation," said Teddie.
They turned the corner and started down a flight of stairs.
"Are you nervous about Malfoy's comment about Professor Snape?"
Teddie shrugged. "I told Professor Snape last week that I can't promise I won't get into any more fights with Parkinson or Malfoy, but I'd avoid them when possible. Kind of hard to do when you're in class," she said. "Besides, he knows I can't stand back when I see someone being bullied."
Theo paused, pondering. "Wait, how would he know that?" he asked.
"Because he knows me, silly," Teddie giggled.
"How does he know you?"
"Oh wait, I haven't told you guys, have I?" Teddie asked, realising her mistake. "Professor Snape is my next-door neighbour. We live on the same street."
Theo stared at Teddie and she giggled again. He smiled.
Suddenly, and without warning, the staircase shifted sending both Theo and Teddie stumbling into the bannister. Teddie's eyes widened as she looked down to see a black pit staring up at her. She knew there was a bottom to it, but seeing it from high up made her gasp and pull back.
"What's happening?" Teddie asked.
"The staircases change, remember?" Theo asked. "We must've taken too long to get down them."
"We've only just stepped on them!" Teddie protested. "What do they expect us to do? Jump?!"
Soon the staircase stopped moving.
"Come on," said Theo. He grabbed her hand and pulled her the rest of the way down. "Before the staircase moves again."
The two hurried down the remaining steps, turned left and hurried down the last flight. When they reached the hallway below they realised they were lost.
"Let's try here," Teddie said, pointing to a nearby door.
Theo nodded and followed her to the door. He tried the handle but it wouldn't open.
"What is the point of a door that won't open?" Teddie asked. "I mean, what do they expect us to do, teleport our way out?"
Theo stared at her, confused.
"What?"
"Teleport?"
Teddie nodded. "Yeah, you know, disappear from one place and reappear in another," she said.
"Oh, you mean Apparition."
"App-what now?"
"Apparition, or rather Disapparition."
Teddie shook her head, still confused.
"It's the same as teleporting. We'd disappear from here, that's Disapparition, and we'd appear someplace else, that's Apparition."
"Oh," said Teddie. "It sounds difficult."
"It's advanced magic. My father can do it, and it's rather an unpleasant feeling."
Teddie smiled and looked around. "Well, this door won't open, but maybe there's one down there?" she offered, pointing down the hall. "Come on, I don't want to be stuck standing here all night."
Theo nodded and followed her down the hall. They tried each door they passed before finally coming upon an open one.
"Yes, finally!" Teddie rejoiced. The excitement was lost as the door opened up onto another dark corridor. "No!" she moaned.
Theo chuckled and held out his hand. "Come on, we'll just have to keep looking," he said.
"You're enjoying this way too much," Teddie grumbled, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her through the door.
They continued in silence for a few steps before stopping.
"Did you hear that?" Teddie asked.
Theo swallowed and nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here." He turned around and stopped short. Mrs Norris, Filch's cat was sitting in the path.
"Oh no," Teddie whispered. "What are we going to do?"
"If Filch finds us he can take us back to the main castle," said Theo, thinking rationally.
"What if he thinks we're up to no good?" Teddie asked. "You know he doesn't like students. He's not going to believe we got lost, even if it is the truth. Besides, I got a strange feeling that we're not supposed to be here."
Mrs Norris yowled, her voice echoing off the walls.
"She's calling for him! What do we do?"
"Run!" Teddie said. She turned and bolted down the hall, Theo keeping pace at her side. They turned the corner and reached a door, it rattled as they crashed into it.
"It's locked!" Theo said.
"It's not," said Teddie. "It's stuck. Look..." she pushed against the door. It opened slightly but then slammed shut again.
Mrs Norris' yowls disappeared, only to be replaced by the heavy wheezing of Flich.
"Help me!" Teddie said, shoving all her weight against the door. Theo did the same. Soon the door opened enough for them both to slip inside, it then crashed shut behind them.
Breathing heavily, Teddie and Theo rested against the door, listening hard for any signs of Filch on the other side.
"Come along, my sweet," Filch said. He was standing right outside the door. "If they're foolish enough to be in there then they're as good as dead, anyway." His footsteps disappeared back up the corridor and then they were gone.
Teddie let out a sigh of relief and looked up at Theo. "That was close," she said.
Theo nodded and pushed the door. "I wonder how this got stuck?" he asked, looking at the frame.
"It's an old door," Teddie shrugged. "It's probably worn and rustic."
"But it -" Theo broke off as he turned to face her, his eyes widening at something.
Teddie frowned and turned on the spot. She half expected to find a Professor standing at her rear, but instead found herself face-to-face with a giant, snarling, frothing at the mouth, three-headed dog.
The dog's thunderous roars echoed throughout the room. The only reason it hadn't attacked them on the spot was that it seemed surprised to see them, just as they were surprised to see it. But it was quickly recovering from its state and advancing.
Teddie felt Theo grope around for her hand, and then he was pulling her backwards, out the door. They landed in a tangled heap as one of the dog's heads swooped towards the opening. Teddie jumped to her feet, grasped the door handle, and slammed it shut.
"Let's get out of here!" said Theo, running back down the corridor. Teddie followed him, if she had a choice between being expelled for being on a floor she wasn't supposed to be on, or being killed by a monstrous three-headed dog, she'd happily pack her bags and get on the train.
Soon they had reached the staircase and, much to their delight, found it prepared to move again. They raced up three steps just as it dislodged from the wall and sent them hurtling into the bannister again when the stairs had stopped moving for the fourth time, Teddie and Theo raced back up, and down another corridor. They turned at the end and found themselves back in a hallway they recognised.
"We - we should -" Theo leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
Teddie nodded. She didn't need him to finish his sentence to know what he was saying. "I'm going to die quickly, and then we'll go back to the common room," she said, sliding down the wall beside him. She pulled her knees up and buried her head between them.
"What the hell was that thing?" Theo asked.
"It was a Cerberus," said Teddie. "The Legendary Hell Hound of the Underworld. But what the hell is it doing locked up in a school?"
"Remember when you said you had the feeling we shouldn't have been there?"
Teddie nodded.
"I think that was the third-floor corridor," said Theo. "We weren't supposed to be there because it's forbidden."
Teddie lay her head back against the stone wall and closed her eyes. Knowing the floor was forbidden to all students didn't answer her question as to why a Cerberus was in one of the rooms.
"We should get out of here before someone finds us," said Theo. "It's going to be difficult to explain why we look, and sound, as we've just run a marathon. Especially when you consider if we tell them the truth, we'll be expelled."
"I'll take an expulsion over a horrible death with a side of bacon, please."
Theo cracked a smile and pushed himself up the wall. He pressed his hand to the smooth surface and then looked down at Teddie. "Come on," he said, holding out his hand. "You're not going to get expelled."
"You sound so sure," Teddie said, taking his hand and pulling herself up. "Malfoy's probably told Professor Snape all about our flying lesson and made it all seem to like it was my fault by now. And," she stressed, "our fight was in front of Gryffindors. That's hardly living up to the 'unified force' rule now, is it?"
Theo shook his head. "Daphne, Blaise, and I were also there," he said. "We'll come with you to Professor Snape and tell him our side of the story. He can't punish you if our stories corroborate yours."
"You'd do that for me?"
"Of course, you're my friend."
Teddie beamed. "Thanks, Theo," she said.
"No problem."
~X~
When they reached the common room, Headmaster Slytherin permitted them entrance after giving the correct password. Inside they found Daphne and Blaise sitting in front of the fireplace with Marcus and the others; the whole group looked up as the two first years approached.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Blaise asked.
"Funny you should mention hell," said Teddie, glancing at Theo. "We've got something to tell you." She perched herself on the arm of the leather sofa Theo had just sat in and looked around at the others. "We know why Dumbledore has forbidden anyone from going to the third floor."
Marcus leaned forward. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"We just got lost," said Teddie. "The staircase moved when we were coming back from the hospital wing, I wanted to give Neville back his Remembrall after Malfoy knicked it. Anyway, that's not the point," she shook her head. "The point is, on our way back down the staircase took us to the third floor and when we were trying to find a way out, we got caught by Mrs Norris."
"Filch, did he catch you?" Daphne asked.
Theo shook his head. "We hid in this room, the door was stuck but we managed to get it open enough to slip inside," he explained. "But I now wish we'd stayed to face Flich's wrath."
"Yeah, I don't think I would've had a mini heart attack if we'd just been taken to the Headmaster's office," Teddie agreed.
"Mini heart attack?" Adrian repeated. "What are you two talking about?"
"Yeah, you're not making any sense," Derrick agreed.
"There is a Cerberus on the third floor," Teddie said. "You know? A three-headed monstrous dog that I thought only existed in Greek Mythology."
The fire crackled in the silence that followed.
"Why would the Headmaster keep a three-headed dog in a room on the forbidden floor?" Derrick asked, breaking the silence.
Teddie and Theo shrugged.
"That's my question, too," said Teddie. "And I don't know about the rest of you, but I intend to find out."