The Next Generation (Malfoy's Daughter) Book 1

Chapter 5

Wednesday felt like a surprisingly normal day. Defense against the dark arts was interesting and the slytherins made sure not to sit near Potter or Weasley during potions. Those two had sat with the other redhead in the class, the one who had managed to get the potion correct yesterday, and Domonique whispered that she was Lucy Weasley, a cousin of theirs. Lynx found it much easier to concentrate on potions without having to worry about snide comments.

That night was their first night of Astronomy. Wednesdays were the only nights they were allowed to be out past curfew, and as Lynx walked with her group through the dark corridors it felt exciting. Sure they weren't actually breaking any school rules but something about how the torch's flickering light cast moving shadows made it seem like at any moment they'd be caught by the caretaker. The excitement lasted until they made it to the base of the tower and realized just how many stairs there were to climb - it was massive! By quarter to ten they still hadn't reached the top. Finally with seven minutes to spare they made it. The ravenclaws had already arrived and the slytherins tried to catch their breath while acting as if it hadn't been a ridiculously long climb.

"Hey."

Lynx was surprised that Domonique had come over to see them.

"Hi." She responded, not sure why the Weasley had come over. Sami stayed quiet, still trying to regulate her breathing.

"We just got here a little before you guys - it's crazy how tall this place is!" Without giving them a chance to respond she continued "I meant to ask you in charms yesterday, how are your classes going?"

"They're alright." She shrugged "This is Sami." She introduced. "Sami, this is Domonique Weasley."

Of course Sami already knew who she was - the teachers had taken roll call at the beginning of each class so all names were at least familiar by now. Sami merely smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Domonique."

"You as well."

The three stood together as their teacher Professor Sinistra explained what they'd be doing. Once the introduction was completed they were given time to work with their telescopes, and learn how to calibrate them in order to see different distances. It was chillier than they'd expected and by the end of the lesson Lynx was having difficulty focusing on using her telescope. Finally when they were allowed to leave they rushed the stairs as a group, slytherins and ravenclaws all just wanting to get back to their dormitories and out of the cold.

That night as Lynx and Sami lay in their dormitory they talked about what a nice surprise the Weasley girl had been. Who'd have thought someone like her would end up a friend of theirs.

With lessons and homework taking up so much of their time it was surprising when Lynx realized that she'd already been at the castle for a week. Today was their first flying lesson (Flying lessons are not held during the first week of class in order to give students a chance to acclimate to life at Hogwarts) and Lynx was excited. She'd been flying since before she could remember - it was something that she considered herself to be excellent at. If it hadn't been for the school rules against having first years on the Quidditch team she would have put her name down for tryouts.

Their professor introduced himself as Mr. Garbers. He was maybe a little older than professor Longbottom, with orange hair that looked as if it was permanently windswept. Before they were allowed to fly he waved his wand, causing a chalk board to appear out of thin air. Pointing his wand at the board figures appeared and he walked them through the fundamentals of flight - boring. After twenty minutes he mercifully vanished his board and caused the brooms sitting nearby to arrange themselves in neat lines. The process was simple. He explained while holding his own broom that they would try one at a time.