The Gryffindor Royal

Chapter Four

Ron and Harry,unlike the girls,had successfully managed to be late to their first lesson,Transfiguration with professor McGonagall. They sprinted down corridor after corridor,desperately trying to find their classroom. At long last,they made it into the classroom. It was filled with several students and a grey tabby cat on the teacher's table. Hermione,Malfoy and several other students turned to see who had been late. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back around while Shelena and (Y/N) were shaking with silent mirth."Whew,made it." Ron managed to get out between pants."Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if we were late?" Ron asked."Yes,I can." (Y/N) muttered to Hermione and Shelena,who giggled lightly. The grey cat on the table chose this moment to spring off the table and transform into professor McGonagall. Her expression was one of stern annoyance as she walked over to where Harry and Ron were standing."That was bloody brilliant!" Ron awed as he stared at McGonagall."Oh,thank you for that assessment,mr Weasley. Perhaps it would be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr Potter and yourself into a pocket watch? That way one of you might be on time!" Professor McGonagall said,staring down at the two."W-we got lost." Harry stuttered."Then perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats?" McGonagall suggested. With that,she walked off to the front of the classroom,her heels click-clacking as she went. The two boys sat down and made up their minds:they would never be late for Transfiguration ever again. After Transfiguration was Potions,to which Harry and Ron managed to show up to on time. The students sat around,chatting idly with their friends. Hermione was now flipping through her Potions textbook,seemingly trying to memorise it cover to cover. Minutes later,Snape opened the door with a loud bang and walked straight to the teachers table."There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class." His voice was monotonous and he sounded bored. Harry figured that he'd much rather be teaching DADA than Potions,hence his attitude."As such,I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However,for those select few..." his eyes wandered to Malfoy,who smirked proudly."Who possess the predisposition...I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame,brew glory and even put a stopper in death." Malfoy was now staring at the teacher and giving him his full attention. Little suck-up. (Y/N) thought bitterly. She'd heard horror stories of Snape from Fred and George before(Percy never spoke against a single teacher),and she certainly didn't want to get into more trouble with him."Then again," Snape continued,pulling (Y/N) out of her thoughts,"Maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you are confident enough to Not. Pay. Attention." He was glaring down at Harry,who was busy copying down notes. Hermione,who realised this first,nudged his shoulder and nodded toward Snape. Harry hastily put down his quill and stared at Snape,who glared back with intense loathing."Mr Potter. Our new celebrity." Harry,Ron and Shelena gulped in unison while (Y/N) just glared at him. Greasy haired git. Harry had been paying attention! It wasn't a crime to copy down notes! She was about to stand up and punch Snape right in the nose but was held back by Hermione,who hissed:"Remember this morning!""Tell me what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape asked,one hand on the pillar next to him. Hermione gasped as she and (Y/N) put their hands up at the same time. Ron looked at his twin in amazement,clearly trying to remember when she'd learned the answer to this question. Harry could only look and Hermione sadly before shaking his head wordlessly."You don't know?" Snape asked."Well,let's try again. Where,Mr Potter,would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione and (Y/N)'s once again shot up in sync as though they'd been practising this for weeks. Once again,Harry had to admit that he didn't know the answer."I don't know,sir." He said quietly."And what is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?" Snape fired one last question at Harry. This time,Hermione and (Y/N) were raising their hands so high that they were no longer sitting down. But,once again,Snape ignored the two,and Harry repeated himself,"I don't know sir. Hermione looked at Harry in disbelief and continued raising her hand for good measure."Pity," Snape sneered."Clearly,fame isn't everything,is it,Mr Potter?" By now,Malfoy seemed to be having a hard time trying not to laugh and Harry was glaring at Snape. After lessons ended,(Y/N) trooped off to Dumbledore's office. McGonagall was standing outside the door,waiting for her."He'll be upstairs." McGonagall explained. She pat (Y/N)'s shoulder before walking off. Hesitantly,(Y/N) stepped onto the staircase which began to move instantly. Gulping when she'd reached the top,she stepped nearer the door and knocked."Come in," said an old voice. (Y/N) pushed open the door and found Dumbledore sitting at his desk with the oddest assortment of things in front of him;an empty goblet,a pile of leaves,some dry twigs and a clump of earth."Miss Weasley! I was expecting you. Have a seat my child. My,why the worried face?" (Y/N) knew for a fact that Mr Malfoy had a lot of influence on the board of school governors. If Malfoy had managed to convince his dad to do something within the last few hours,she'd be worse than doomed."I'm in trouble,aren't I Professor?"(Y/N) asked in a uncharacteristically timid voice. Dumbledore chuckled."Good heavens,no, though I do hope that you will apologise to young Draco. I heard about what happened this morning,and was wondering if you could tell me wether something similar has ever happened before?" (Y/N) nodded slowly and thought back to when she was a small child."There was a time when Fred cast a spell on Ron's teddy bear so that it turned into a spider. I was really angry with Fred,and was imagining getting back at him by lighting his toes on fire,because he doesn't like the heat. When I looked down at Fred's feet,his toes really were on fire! But he said that it didn't hurt much,just a little tingling sensation." Dumbledore sat in silence for a few moments before requesting something else:"I've heard what I need to. I happen to need a favour,miss Weasley. Could you perhaps picture this water goblet,"He gestured to the goblet in front of him,"Full of water?" Complying immediately,(Y/N) closed her eyes and thought of the water goblet,only now it was full of water. When she opened her eyes,the goblet was indeed full."Good! Now,imagine this pile of leaves being lifted into the air by a gust of wind." Closing her eyes once again,(Y/N) felt something lift several strands of her long hair. She cautiously opened one eye. Sure enough,a curious little gust of wind was lifting the leaves several inches above Dumbledore's desk."Excellent,miss Weasley,simply excellent. Next,it's getting a bit chilly now,isn't it? How about a fire to warm us up a bit?" For the third time in a row,(Y/N) closed her eyes and imagined the twigs on fire. Sure enough,an undeniable warmth filled the room. A fire was crackling merrily in front of the two."Aguamenti. That was truly marvellous,my dear. Last,but certainly not least,I want you to pretend you're angry at me. Then,imagine yourself hurling this clump of earth at me. Do you think you can do that?" (Y/N) gaped at her headmaster. He  seriously wanted her to throw dirt at him? However,she decided to trust Dumbledore and do as she was told. A soft thump confirmed that she'd hit her target straight in the face. She looked up at Dumbledore,who,despite having dirt smeared all over his face,looked down at her with a twinkle in his eye."If I'm not mistaken,miss Weasley,I think you might just have something known as the Elementum Power." (Y/N)'s mouth hung open. She'd heard of this power before. Merlin himself had it! Dumbledore continued to explain that with practice and determination,she'd soon be able to turn water into ice or gas,cause small natural disasters,choose the degree of heat of a fire if she wanted to burn someone instead of just making fire appear,cause gusts of wind strong enough to lift heavy objects into the air and control the last three elements;Light,Darkness and Spirit."I think it'd be wise,miss Weasley,if I were to train you personally every Saturday. How does that sound?" (Y/N)'s eyes widened. Dumbledore was making time in his busy schedule to train her? She nodded,too overcome to speak as she made her way back to the door."Miss Weasley!" Dumbledore called. She turned back to face him as he stared right into her eyes."Do you have anything you'd like to tell me?" She thought for a while. It was highly unlikely he meant that he wanted to hear about her constant arguments with her older brother(three guesses who), so she said the the only thing that came to her head:"I'm able to see into people's thoughts, I think."
•••••
"Eye of rabbit,harp string hum. Turn this water,into rum." Seamus sat a few seats away from Harry,Ron and (Y/N),waving his wand at his water goblet and peering at its contents. He looked slightly disappointed but sat back down and recited the incantation again."What's Seamus trying to do to that glass of water?" Harry asked,turning to the twins."Turn it to rum.""Actually managed a weak tea yesterday,before..." there was a loud explosion noise and everyone jumped up in surprise. Instead of turning it to rum,Seamus caused a mini explosion in his glass of water. Loud shouts of laughter could be heard up and down the Gryffindor table as the students craned their necks to get a better look at what Seamus had done today. Hermione and Shelena,who were sitting directly in front of Seamus,waved their hands in front of their faces in attempts to clear the smoke. That's when screeches could be heard throughout the hall and students looked up from their breakfasts."Ah,mail's here!" Ron said happily as owl after owl came swooping into the Great Hall. Owls flew above their owners and dropped their parcels into the students' hands. Ron and (Y/N) were each sent a letter and a copy of the latest Daily Prophet. Harry picked up the newspaper and turned to (Y/N)."Can I borrow this?" She nodded absentmindedly while opening her letter."It's from Bill!" She cried happily and began reading. From what Harry knew,(Y/N) seemed to have a very good relationship with the eldest Weasley brother,Bill Weasley. Harry unfolded the Daily Prophet and began reading. Neville Longbottom opened up his small parcel and pulled out a small,clear glass ball. He looked at it,obviously trying to figure out what it was until Dean Thomas exclaimed:"Hey look! Neville's got a Remembrall.""I've read about those. When the smoke turns red,it means you've forgotten something." Hermione put in immediately. Just as she finished,the smoke in the Remembrall turned red and Neville looked up helplessly."The only problem is,I can't remember what I've forgotten!" (Y/N) smirked before raising her eyebrows. Ever heard of mirrors to check your appearance,Neville? She thought,shaking her head. Neville had somehow forgotten his robes."Hey Ron,(Y/N),somebody broke into Gringotts. Listen. Believed to be the work of dark witches or wizards unknown,Gringotts goblins,while acknowledging the breach,insist nothing was taken. The vault in question,number 713,had in fact been emptied that very same day." Hermione and Shelena,who had been sitting opposite the three,were staring at them unblinkingly."That's odd," Harry continued,"That's the vault Hagrid and I went to." The three,now aware that Hermione and Shelena were staring at them,looked over at the pair. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and looked away, but Shelena just stared at the three like they were some sort of riddle she needed to solve. In the afternoon the Gryffindors and Slytherins made their way to the fields surrounding the school. For the first time ever;Flying. The students lined up in two straight lines,Slytherins on one side,Gryffindors on the other,all with a broom at their feet. Their teacher,Madam Hooch,strode up to them and began talking once,"Good afternoon class.""Good afternoon,Madam Hooch." The class parroted,all looking very excited."Good afternoon Amanda,good afternoon." She said to the girl,who'd said 'morning' instead of 'afternoon'. After walking in between the two lines of students,Madam Hooch turned round to face the class."Welcome to your first flying lesson," she announced,and many people couldn't keep the excited grin off their faces."Well,what are you waiting for?" Madam Hooch snapped."Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick. Come on now,hurry up. Stuck your right hand over the broom and say 'up'." "Up!" Everyone said in unison. Harry's bloom flew into his hand like a bullet. It was one of the few that did. Hermione stared at Harry in utter shock when she failed to be the first one in the class to do it. (Y/N)'s broom flew into her hand after another attempt,and she began teasing Ron."Wow." Harry whispered,in awe of the broomstick in his hand. Malfoy's broom shot into his hand a while later,and he grinned,clearly proud of himself."Up! Up!" Ron said over and over,but his broom didn't move."With feeling!" Madam Hooch shouted over the noise."Up. Up." Hermione tried,but all that happened was that her broom rolled over on the ground. Shelena's had already flown into her hand."Up! Oh!" Ron groaned,as his broom whacked him straight in the nose. He clutched his nose in pain and noticed Harry and (Y/N) sniggering on either side of him."Shut up,Harry,(Y/N)." Harry stopped,but (Y/N) leaned across Ron and whispered to Harry,"I'm never letting him forget this!" "Now,once you've got hold of your broom,I want you to mount it and grip it tight,you don't want to go sliding off the end. When I blow my whistle,I want each of you to kick off from the ground hard. Keep your broom steady,hover for a moment,then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle–3,2..." She had hardly blown her whistle when Neville began to lift off from the ground,whimpering slightly."Mr. Longbottom..." The class began to call for Neville to get back down,but he was so scared he could hardly grip onto the broom."M-m-mr. Long–Mr. Longbottom!" Madam Hooch cried. Neville had now begun to shout for help while the class screamed for him to be careful."Come back down this instant!" Madam Hooch yelled,looking annoyed. Merlin,woman. Don't you think he would if he could? Madam Hooch had officially become(Y/N)'s second least favourite teacher,after Snape. That's when she remembered something;her power! She closed her eyes and imagined that gust of wind blowing Neville back down to ground,but when she opened my eyes,he was still struggling in mid-air. That's when she remembered that she hadn't trained to move such heavy objects,and her powers weren't that developed yet. Neville had now lost almost all control over his broom. Most of the girls were squealing and shutting their eyes tight out of fright,and were screaming for Neville to get back down. Neville's broom hit the side of the castle and he narrowly avoided falling to the ground by tightening his grip on his broom at the last second. Then he zoomed back down so that he was mere inches off the ground and was headed directly toward his classmates."Mr. Longbottom!" Madam Hooch tried one more time,but of course to no avail. She pulled out her wand in attempts to slow Neville down,but was too slow and she jumped out of Neville's way. The shouts became louder and the students followed Madam Hooch's example and jumped out of the way. Neville flew off into the distance where the class could not see him,but most definitely could hear him. When he finally came back into view,Neville had another close call,just that this time he'd nearly gotten impaled. Neville's robes had took the blow for him,and seemed to be dangling from what looked like a very sharp arrow. The rest of the class gathered below him,each shouting a different question. Just as Neville looked up to see how bad his situation was,his robes tore and he fell onto an even sharper pitchfork. His robes tore once more and Neville fell all the way back down onto the grass."Everyone out of the way!" Madam Hooch hollered,and everyone parted like the Red Sea. Hooch ran over and bent down next to Neville,who was lying on the floor and seemed to be in a lot of pain."Up you get them," she instructed Neville,who did so with many 'ows'."Oh,oh,oh,oh dear," Madam Hooch muttered."It's a broken wrist. Tch,tch,tch. Good boy,come on now. Up you get." In all the fuss,no one noticed Malfoy picking up a clear,glassy ball."Eveyone's to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say 'Quidditch'." With that,she and Neville made their way to the hospital wing. Once Hooch was out of earshot,Malfoy let a harsh laugh."Did you see his face?" He asked the Slytherins."Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze," he held up the Remembrall,"He'd have remembered to land on his fat arse!" The Slytherins tittered uncomfortably,but Harry had had enough."Give it here, Malfoy." He said firmly as (Y/N) came to stand next to him. Malfoy turned round to face the two."No. What are you and your girlfriend going to do about it? I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." He mounted his broom and flew up."How 'bout on the roof?" When he realised Harry and (Y/N) weren't following him,he turned and shouted down at them,"What's the matter Potter,Weaselette? Bit beyond your reach?" Realising what they had to do,Harry and (Y/N) began to mount their brooms. Although (Y/N) grew up in a wizarding family and knew a bit more about flying than Harry did,she'd never really had much experience. Her brothers never let her play with them,saying that she was too small and weak to do anything;she'd had to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night to use their brooms. Of course,she was nothing of the sort,but back to Malfoy and the Remembrall. Hermione struggled through the crowd of students until she reached Harry and (Y/N)."Harry,(Y/N), no way. You heard what Madam Hooch said. Besides,you two don't even know how to fly." But much to everyone's,including Harry and (Y/N)'s,surprise,the two flew extraordinarily well."What an idiot." (Y/N) heard Hermione and Shelena mutter and they began to talk about how reckless she and Harry were being. Now,Harry and (Y/N) were level with Malfoy,and they began shouting at him."Give it here,Malfoy,or I'll-""Or I'll set your fingers on fire!" Harry stared at (Y/N) in amazement before speaking again."I was going to say knock him off his broom,but that works for me." He shrugged."Is that so?" Draco taunted,tossing and catching the Remembrall a few times in mock boredom. Harry made a sudden lunge for the ball,but Malfoy did a 360 and Harry missed."Have it your way then!" Malfoy challenged,and threw the Remembrall towards a castle window. Harry and (Y/N) flew off after the ball,desperately hopping it wouldn't smash a window. (Y/N),who was the faster of the two,reached out to grab the Remembrall but missed. Harry,by some miracle,had managed to keep the Remembrall in his line of vision and began shouting directions to (Y/N):"Left,now right,down!" Deciding to take a risk,(Y/N) shut her eyes tight and imagined a gust of wind blowing the Remembrall in her direction. As she opened her eyes,she saw the Remembrall floating toward her serenely. She caught it gently and threw it to Harry,who caught it and flew down to the ground,welcomed by their happy classmates. What the two failed to see,however,was professor McGonagall,sitting in her office behind that very window,watching everything happening with bated breath.