Star-Crossed

Chapter Fourteen: Quidditch?

Before I knew it, four weeks had gone by. School was going by faster than I'd ever expected it to. Hogwarts was amazing. I'd made so many friends in such a short period of time. Maggie, the Hufflepuff from Defence Against the Dark Arts, Neville and his sweet sister Poppy, Dahlia and Elena, Hermione. Everyone.

Although, I will say there were some people I could do without for sure. Pretty much anyone I'd come into contact with from Slytherin. Especially that no-good Draco Malfoy. He'd hardly left me or my brother alone since we'd gotten here and refused his friendship proposal. Or whatever he called it.

The times he spent not teasing or competing with my brother, he spent riling me up. In Transfiguration, in Potions. All the time for Merlin's sake. Last Saturday at breakfast, as he walked past my seat at the Gryffindor table, he tripped poor Maggie as she was trying to come sit with me and the others, and made her spill her pumpkin juice all over the front of my sweater.

I wanted to get up and put a hex on him as soon as he'd done it, but he scampered away like the little weasel he is. My brother also had to calm me down as Maggie was apologising profusely.

Now it was Wednesday of the new week, and we were out in the courtyard for a special class. Madam Hooch was going to be teaching us all how to ride a broomstick.

Gryffindors and Slytherins were together today. And Madam Hooch was walking down the centre of the two lines both of our houses had made.

"Good afternoon class." She greeted, her hands folded behind her back.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch," All of us chorused back.

Hooch nodded to a sweet-faced girl closest to her in Gryffindor's line, "Good afternoon, Amanda good afternoon." Then she turned and faced the entire class at the head of the two lines of students, "Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of your broomstick."

All of us did exactly as instructed. I felt myself buzzing with excitement and slight apprehensiveness as I stepped up beside the sleek broom.

"Come on now, hurry up." Madam Hooch urged, clapping her hands in an attempt to quicken our movements, "Now, stick your right hand over your broom, and say 'Up!"

Across the courtyard, flurries of hands shooting out over broomsticks and shouts of 'Up' echoed across the verdant grass.

I stared intently at the broom below my hand and ordered, "Up!" Quickly. I was shocked when as soon as the word left my lips, the broom flew up into my hand.

Beside me, Harry did the same and the two of us looked up and locked eyes in pure excitement, uttering breathless exclamations of 'Wow' and 'Wicked'.

Hermione glanced between us in shock as everyone else was succeeding on their own time.

Across from me I flashed Malfoy a victorious smirk as his broom was still writhing at his side.

The blonde glowered for a moment until he glared at the broom and ordered, "Up!" harshly and the broomstick soared into his grip without hesitation. He looked back up and we met eyes, my hazel one's going hard as his steel grey flickered with smugness.

I was itching to wipe that ridiculous smirk straight off of his face. But I was soon distracted by Ron on the other side of me, desperately muttering "Up, up!" as his broom only rolled around on the ground next to him.

"With feeling," Hooch clarified for those who were struggling.

Further down the line, Elena and Dahlia's brooms flew up into their hands, but Hermione's seemed to still be evading her grip.