Celeste Shalom and the Philosopher's Stone

~Chapter 9~ {Flying Lesson}

As Celeste waited patently to be transferred to Slytherin she noticed that mostly all the first-years hated Draco.

Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Draco much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room which made them all groan except for Celeste. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday – and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

"Typical," Celeste heard Harry say darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

With all her mite Celeste wanted to tell him that Draco wouldn't laugh at him.... Or would he?

"I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk." She heard Ron say.

All Celeste wanted to do at that moment was to storm up at tell him that the 'Malfoy' kept talking about wasn't as bratty as they thought he was, and that's what she did.

"Jeez, no need to get angry. This is what you get for being friends with the bloody Malfoy's" Ron reasoned.

Celeste didn't get it. Why did people think that Draco was so bad?

But the thing was Draco certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first-years never getting in the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang-glider on this guy named Charlie's old broom. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared a dormitory, about football. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.

Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Celeste felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.

Hermione though was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This surprised Celeste as she thought that Hermione was excited for everything, not nervous! But this was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book – not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd got 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 post.

Celeste hadn't had a single letter since her parent's note, Draco's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.

One day he even came over to the Gryffindor table scowling at Harry to give Celeste some of his sweet's.

Celeste thought it was funny that her parent's weren't sending her any treats.

At the same time barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

'It's a Remembrall!' he explained. '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 ...'