Avacyn Lily Potter

Flying Class

Harry and Ron came in and groaned Harry said "Typical, Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy. Ava, did you hear about this?" I said, "About what?" He pointed out the paper about flying class and I said "Oh, yeah Draco told me as soon as Snape informed them." Harry said, "Since when are you friends with Draco?" I said, "Since he started talking to me, why?" Harry got mad at me "He's a bully Ava, he's worse than Dudley. I thought you were friends with Fred and George." I said, "I am." He said, "You can't be friends with Draco Malfoy." I said, "You don't get to control who I talk to." Fred walked in as we argued and said "Hey, Ava you ok?" I said, "Back off Harry, I mean it." I stormed out of the portrait and headed down the hall. Fred followed me and said, "What's wrong?" I stopped and leaned against the hall in a dark corner and said "Harry isn't used to me not needing him and now he is trying to control my entire life including who I talk to." Fred grabbed my hand "This is about Malfoy isn't it?" I nodded "Draco is the only first year that is nice to me, in fact, Draco, you, and George are the only ones nice to me in the whole school. Everyone talks about how Harry is some hero, but me? Rumors are spreading saying that maybe he was trying to kill me and if I hadn't been born maybe our parents would be alive. And I know that sounds stupid but everyone hates me because of what happened when we were babies." He said "Look, ignore them, it's just words. Do you remember what I told you when you told me you were friends with Malfoy?" I smiled up at him "That you'd kill him." he nodded "That goes for anyone in this school." I shook my head and smiled at him "You're too sweet to hurt anybody." he said, "That's what you think, your the most important person in the world to me, and I'll do anything to keep you happy, and safe." I hugged him and said "I like you Fred, but please don't get into trouble for me." he said "I can't promise that, but I like you too Avacyn. Let me walk you to class." I nodded and let go of him to take his hand.

At breakfast, on Thursday Hermione bored us all with stupid flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed us a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke. He said "It's a Remembrall! Gran knows I forget things... this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this, and if it turns red... oh..." His face fell because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "...you've forgotten something..." Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school was there in a flash. "What's going on?" Neville said, "Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. Draco said "Just looking, see you later Ava." he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

At three-thirty that afternoon, all of us first-year Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for our first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under our feet as we marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Fred and George Weasley always complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left. Our teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." I let Draco pull me to a broom and Madam Hooch said "Stick out your right hand over your broom, and say Up!" Everyone shouted "UP!" everyone shouted. My broom jumped into my hand at once, but Harry and I's were one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Madam Hooch then showed us how to mount our brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting our grips.