Candescent

The next day went by reasonably quickly. It was only our second day, but the teachers seemed to think that our all our lives revolved around homework. They weren’t at the moment, but if they kept loading the homework on us like that…

I spent the afternoon with Hermione in the library, again. She was getting so much attention and pretending to be such a know-it-all, that sometimes I wanted to say no to helping her. But then my conscience got in the way. That thing bugs me all the time.

I was the quiet student who sat in the back and did my work well enough so that I didn’t need help, but not fantastically, so I wasn’t praised every lesson like Hermione. But that was the way I wanted to be. It was easier to be unnoticed rather than to be out in the open.

We had our first flying lesson later on that week. I’d never actually seen a broomstick before, so I thought that it looked like a stupid magic stereotype. But as we all went out to the Quidditch pitch alongside the Gryffindors, my mind went completely blank. All I could think was-

“This is so cool.”

Wait, did I say that aloud?

“What is?” Malfoy came up behind me. I swear, I’m going to punch him someday if he doesn’t stop doing that.

“I’d like to say you, but I’d be lying.”

Burn.

“Well,” he replied, thinking. “I guess I’d prefer the lie.”

“You’re cool Malfoy!” I said like a little kid.

“Okay, I think the truth, even though it hurts, is less embarrassing.”

I nodded in agreement before skipping over to Hermione.

“Hey!” I said. I was really excited all of a sudden and I had no idea why.

“Hi,” she said warily. “Are you alright?”

“Great,” I replied honestly. “I can’t wai-”

But I was interrupted by Madame Hooch telling us all to quieten down. When she explained the process on how to ride the broom and everything, I was astounded at how easy it all sounded. However, a few seconds later I realised that for some, this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park by any means.

“Up!” I commanded, stretching my hand out over the broom that lay on the floor. A second later I grasped it in my hand and was swinging my leg over it. I looked over and saw that Harry and Draco both held their brooms in their hands too. But pretty much everybody else’s was on the ground.

“How did you do that?!” Hermione asked, completely awestruck. But to that, I had no answer.

But of course, it was then that the drama started.

I mean, you could tell from the first time they met that Potter and Malfoy weren’t going to get along. At that very moment they were shooting daggers at each other. When Neville Longbottom couldn’t control his broom and ended up being taken to the hospital wing, Draco seized his chance to push Harry over the edge. And it was only a matter of time before the very thin cord that was keeping them from pretty much an all out war, snapped.

Malfoy suddenly had Neville’s remembrall in his hand and was hovering off the ground, gaining altitude at an amazing rate. For those who were like me, either being muggles or raised as one, it was astonishing as we saw a person flying for the first time.

“Harry!” I heard every gasp around me. I tore my eyes away from Draco and back to Harry. Only, he wasn’t there. I looked back to Draco and saw the two of them facing off in the air. There was a queasy feeling in my stomach as I deliberated how this was going to end.

Draco threw the tiny sphere as far as he could before lowering himself back to the ground. But nobody was watching him because we were all watching Harry.

He was hurtling towards the ground, flattened against his broomstick. There was a sharp intake of breath as everybody watched him pull out of the dive centimetres from the ground and catch the remembrall in his hand.

Applause echoed around me and Malfoy’s face showed both shock and hatred. But as Harry landed, we all swarmed around him.

“I can’t believe it!” Hermione said to me over the loud cheers.

“Harry Potter.”

Uh oh. Teacher alert.

“Come with me please.”

Professor McGonagall stood a few metres away from us with her typical stern look on her face. We all shut up as Harry walked away with his head hung low.

“Looks like we can say goodbye to Potter,” Malfoy said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure Malfoy,” Ron Weasley replied.

“Whatever you say Weasley.”

“Oh, just shut up Draco,” I said. I was extremely annoyed by their fighting and just wanted to find out what happened to Harry.

He didn’t reply, but just walked off, followed by my fellow Slytherins.

“I guess that you’re not exactly fitting in then.”

“Nah,” I responded to Hermione. “I’m just a generally bitchy person.”

She looked at me warily.

“I’m kidding,” I said. “Obviously I’m sarcastic too.”

“Oh, right.”

She looked from the Gryffindors who were now leaving as well, back to me. “Do you mind?”

“No. It’s alright. I’ve got to do something anyway.”

She left and I was left alone. I looked at my broom and up to the sky. I was going to fail, I knew that. But the temptation to fly was overwhelming.

I swung my leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground.

It wasn’t super fast, but I was excited anyway. I could feel the wind whipping across my face. I turned sharply, flying over the castle. Feeling weightless. Feeling magical.

Feeling free.