Written in the Stars | A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter Seven - Allison

The school talks of nothing but Sirius Black for the next few days. The theories about how he entered the castle become wilder and wilder. Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, tells anyone who'll listen that Black can turn into a flowering shrub. Meanwhile, I write a letter to my parents telling them I'm doing well and conveniently forgetting to mention that a mass murderer broke into my school.

***

The weather worsens steadily as the first Quidditch match draws nearer.

The day before the match, the winds reach a howling point and the rain falls harder than ever. It's so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns are lit.

After a breakfast of porridge the morning of the first Quidditch match, I head down to the pitch with my friends. Quidditch is so popular at Hogwarts that the whole school turns out to watch the match. All the students run down the lawn towards the Quidditch pitch, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas whipping out of hands.

We cheer as the teams walk out onto the pitch, but the sound fades, overcome by the sound of the wind and fresh rolls of thunder. I can barely see what's going on through the rain. I can't even hear Lee Jordan, the commentator, over the loud weather.

The sky keeps getting darker and the rain thicker. After the first flash of lightning, a time out is called.

When the game starts up again, something odd starts to happen. The wind hits its strongest point and Michael yells, "Look!" At least a hundred Dementors have found their way on to the pitch, their hidden faces pointing up at Harry Potter.

I squint through the rain, trying to make out what's happening. I see a small figure, who I know to be Harry, sway and then start to fall. He plummets through the air and everyone gasps.

Dumbledore manages to run on to the pitch as he's falling. He waves his wand and Harry slows down before he hits the ground.

Now that Harry is safely back on the ground, Dumbledore spins around so he's facing the Dementors. He whirls his wand at them and shoots some kind of silvery mist their way. They leave the stadium at once and I catch a glimpse of Dumbledore's face. He's absolutely furious.

With the Dementors gone, he turns his attention back to Harry. His body is magically lifted onto a stretcher that appears out of thin air. Dumbledore leads the floating stretcher up to the school and the stadium fills with whispers. Whispers about how Harry Potter dropped so far out of the sky and when he hit the ground he didn't move a muscle.

***

The teachers assure us that Harry Potter is okay and life continues on as normal. Well, as normal as life in the wizarding world and at Hogwarts can be.

Soon, it's November 11th, my 13th birthday. I wake up to one present at the foot of my bed and I know by the shape what it is immediately.

"What's your mail doing here?" Padma asks. "It must be a birthday present from my parents," I answer.

"Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?" Mandy demands. It had never crossed my mind that they would care. I didn't exactly have any friends at my old school, so my birthday was always a quiet affair. "It never came up. Besides, it's the middle of the week, we can't do anything," I lie.

"Well, open your gift," Padma orders. I pick up the broom-shaped package and tear it open. The handle is made of polished ebony and the twigs are made of hazel, providing more precision in turning. The metal parts of the broom are goblin-made ironwork and written in gold on the handle is Firebolt with the registration number.

"Woah, that's a Firebolt, the best broom in the world," Mandy gasps. "And I can't even play on it because the Ravenclaw Quidditch team is full," I sigh, but I'm still bubbling over with excitement. I've wanted my very own broom ever since I learned I was a witch.