Selene Walker and the Sorcerers Stone (Book 1)

Chapter 7

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. 

Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows, defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch pitch, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit-fur gloves and enormous beaver skin boots.

 The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship. 

Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn't know which was worse – people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him, holding a mattress. 

It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have got through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.

 Harry learnt that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

 Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll and  she was much nicer for it.

However, since the start of their friendship, Selene had grown distant from them. She no longer sat with them at their meals. She sat with Kate during potions. She no longer sat near them in classes. Any free time was spent with Kate. 

When Harry and Ron questioned her about avoiding them she became angry and yelled at them for putting them selves in danger. Harry felt bad about having upset her, but he did not feel bad for saving Hermione. All in honesty, he would do it again if he had too, and he told her this. After that, Selene left them standing in the hallway confused as to why she had started crying and yelling at him that he was 'JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER' 

 The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire which could be carried around in a jam jar. 

They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.

Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?" 

It was Quidditch through the Ages. Harry showed him. 

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor." 

"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?" 

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly. 

The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Selene could hear them from down the hallway in her own room. She knew they were all excited about the upcoming match, but this was getting ridiculous.