"Good afternoon, class!"
"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch!"
She spoke quickly and concisely to all of us standing in two lines, divided by house in the courtyard. Positioned at the end of the formation, she commanded the class with authority.
"Now, what are you waiting for? Step up to the left side of your broomstick! C'mon, hurry!"
I stood at the very end, with Pansy beside me and Draco next to her. Her loud, commanding voice echoed in my ear, sending a sharp pang through my lingering headache.
"Now! Stick your right hand over your broom and say, 'Up!'"
Even with my slight irritation at her volume, I followed her instructions along with the rest of the students.
"Up!"
"Up!"
"Up…"
"Up!"
The moment I called out, my broom shot into my hand with a loud smack. I had clearly used too much magic to summon it—control was difficult, especially on this rented broom and in my current state. I glanced over at Draco, who held his broom with a smug grin, while Pansy was still awkwardly hovering hers closer to her hand.
Once everyone had their broomsticks, Madam Hooch continued the lesson.
"Now, it's time to mount your broom! Hold it with both hands and grip it tight—you don't want to slide off the end."
We all followed her instructions, and I silently thanked her for moving further away, giving my ears some relief from her booming voice.
"When I blow this whistle, I want each of you to kick off hard, hover for a moment, and then come back down. Ready?"
She scanned the class as we nodded in unison.
Stepping back, she raised her whistle to her lips. Anticipating the sharp blast, I preemptively covered my ear just in time.
The moment she blew it, a Gryffindor student shot into the air—one I recognized as Neville, the boy who had lost his toad. His broom spiraled out of control, carrying him wildly across the courtyard. I turned to Madam Hooch, expecting her to take immediate action, but she struggled to aim her wand at him, her strained expression betraying her lack of precision.
We were left helpless, watching Neville flail atop the runaway broom.
"That looks like fun!" Valdemar cheered from inside my robe, peeking his head out to watch the chaos.
I barely had time to glare at Val's enthusiasm before my stomach sank—Neville was heading straight for us.
"He's not stopping!" I shouted, grabbing Pansy's arm and pulling her with me as everyone scattered.
We barely made it out of the way before Neville rocketed past, nearly clipping several students. His broom veered upward, sending him crashing into a statue, where his robes snagged on the unmoving sword held high in its hand.
I wasn't sure whether he was lucky to have been stopped or unlucky to be dangling in shame. That was until the fabric tore.
Gravity seized him, and he plummeted toward the courtyard. Fortunately, his tattered robe caught on an empty torch bracket, slowing his fall just enough before he slipped free and dropped the remaining fifteen feet.
All the Gryffindors rushed over to him, while a glimmer in the grass beside me caught my eye. Crouching down, I overheard Madam Hooch escorting Neville to the hospital wing.
In the grass, I found a small, clear ball with a metal ring around its circumference—a Remembrall. Draco, who had wandered over, began talking, but I wasn't listening. My eyes were fixated on the swirling, dark, sanguine cloud inside the ball.
'I've forgotten something… but what…?'
Staring into the scarlet mist, I was transported back to that fateful night.
I walked through the vast backyard of my estate, enjoying the brisk autumn air. Fireflies danced in the night, their golden glow guiding me toward the large forest beyond the wooden fence.
I had always known about the rotted portion of the fence—a secret entrance I could crawl under for my nighttime adventures. Without hesitation, I slipped through and entered the forest.
It was a bright night, the full moon bathing the woods in its silvery light. Though I had lost sight of the fireflies, the glowing forest still enchanted me. Leaves and branches crackled softly beneath my feet as I wandered deeper.
Eventually, I emerged into a clearing—a perfect circle free of trees, where only grass grew. A strange contrast to the leaf-littered forest floor. The moonlight illuminated the clearing, making the grass shimmer with an ethereal glow.
I walked to the center and gazed up at the breathtaking night sky, exhaling slowly. My breath lingered in the cool air, a faint mist illuminated by the moon's gentle rays.
Time seemed to stand still. I was utterly entranced by the splendor above.
Snap.
A branch broke behind me. My head whipped around, and I was met with two burning, yellow eyes.
Despite the moon's brilliance, the creature's body remained obscured in darkness. My heart pounded. My breath quickened. My legs tensed, ready to flee.
We stared at each other, unblinking. Neither of us moved.
A faint breeze carried from the creature, and with it, the eyes tilted slightly—less predatory, more contemplative. Slowly, I mirrored the movement, tilting my head as well.
The beast inched into the moonlight.
'Then what happened…?'
I grunted, gripping my temples as the headache returned with a vengeance.
'I… I don't—'
The memory dissolved into fragments. I could no longer recall what came next. Only the aftermath: my mother's furious scolding and my father burning books in the study. The rest of the night was lost to me.
The Remembrall's mist turned from red to a bright, almost unnatural white—something I had never seen before.
'What happened next…?'
"Give it back, Peterson!"
A sharp voice yanked me from my daze. I inhaled sharply, my chest tightening. Hermione Granger stomped toward me, her hand outstretched.
The Slytherins (mainly Draco) were taunting Neville over his broom incident. To Hermione, they were mocking Gryffindor as a whole.
She glared at me, demanding the Remembrall.
What greeted her made her falter. My neck snapped toward her with unsettling speed, my wide, unblinking eyes meeting hers with a wild, primal stare.
'Were his eyes always this green…?' she wondered.
She remembered them being mostly blue with flecks of green. Now, they were a deep, piercing jade with only the faintest trace of blue.
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, trying to fight the searing pain. My hands trembled. I glared at the smoking white orb, my jaw tightening with sudden, inexplicable anger.
"You want it? Go get it!"
Without thinking, I hurled the Remembrall with astonishing speed, sending it soaring across the courtyard faster than Neville had flown.
Hermione gawked at my display of strength, her eyes flickering with confusion. She turned to look at me, watching as I clutched my head, muttering beneath my breath.
'Something's not right…'
She barely knew me, nor did she particularly like me. But she could tell—something was plaguing me.
Pansy, watching Potter take off after the Remembrall, suddenly heard faint hissing. She turned to see a grim-faced Lucas frowning at her, his jade-like eyes sharp and unfamiliar.
"Take Val," he hissed softly. "I'm leaving class first. I'm going to the nurse… this headache."
His hand reached toward her, revealing two glowing blue eyes beneath his sleeve. Without hesitation, Pansy extended her arm, allowing Val to slither onto her. She shivered slightly—not from Val's movement, but from the confusion swirling in her mind as she watched Lucas rush off.
While the Gryffindors cheered Harry's victorious return, holding the Remembrall triumphantly, Pansy's eyes narrowed. She ignored the scornful remarks of her fellow Slytherins, instead locking eyes with Hermione.
The Muggle-born witch—whom she had seen with Lucas before—wasn't celebrating. She was frowning, staring at the courtyard exit where Lucas had vanished.
For a brief moment, their eyes met across the courtyard. Neither said a word.
They simply stared.