Untraceable (Harry Potter)

6: Flying Lessons

Untraceable chapter 6

I never believed that word could spread so fast within Hogwarts. Back chatting Snape was something not many people had the balls to do, and I didn't even get a detention! Well, I did, but I got out of it! Shows what being annoying does for you.

By the time first-year flying lessons had been organised for Thursday, everyone in the castle knew about my little conversation with Snape. It made the Slytherins hate me more, and everyone else respect me. Also, the Slytherins hair had stayed pink for three days and the teachers hair was red and gold for a week. Nobody had traced it back to me. Yet. Harry, meanwhile, was complaining about having flying lessons with the Slytherins. Mainly my twin.

"Typical" he muttered darkly,

"Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." Apparently he had been looking forward to flying more than anything else.

"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself." said Ron reasonably.

"Anyway, I know Malfoys always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

"It is. He can stay on a broom but otherwise he SUCKS!! The one time I saw him on a broom, he kept smacking into trees! It was so funny." I said reassuringly, remembering when I had been let out so my father could show me what a 'real Quidditch player' looks like. He smacked into the side of the house on accident and father had to use a hovering charm so he wouldn't fall and break his neck. When he tried to hop back on he flew into tree and got stuck!

My brother certainly did talk about Quidditch a lot. He complained loudly about first-years never getting into the house teams and not being allowed broomstick's. He also told long boastful storied that always seemed to end with him narrowly avoiding muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one though. The way Seamus Finnigan told it, he had spent the majority of his childhood zooming around the countryside on a broomstick. And Ron told anyone who would listen about the time he almost hit a hang-glider on Charlies old broom.

Anyone who came from a wizarding family would talk constantly about Quidditch. The exception was me and Neville. His grandmother had never let him near a broomstick and she had a good reason, Neville managed to have an extraordinary amount of accidents with both feet on the ground. And I had only ever been let out of my prison to watch Draco on a broom, I had never actually been on one by myself.

Hermione was just as nervous as everyone else. Flying wasn't something you could learn from a book. Not thst she hadn't tried. At breakfast on thursday she bored everone with flying tips from 'Quidditch through the ages'. Neville might have been hanging on to every word but everyone else was glad when the post interrupted her.

Today, Neville got a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed everyone a large glass marble thing. It was full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" He explained.

"Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if theres something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh..." his face fell because the smoke had suddenly glowed scarlet.

"You've forgotten something..." Neville was trying to remember what he had forgotten when my brother and his cronies walked past and he snatched the remembrall out of Neville's hand.

"Give it back, Draco." I said quietly. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, as if ready to fight Draco. But McGonagall walked over from the staff table.

"What's going on?"

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

"Just looking." Malfoy scowled, dropping the Remembrall back on the table. And he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle following.