Brighter Than the Sun

Chapter Four

I was shaken awake by Hermione.

"Breakfast, come on!"

I wasn't sure if Hogwarts' first days of school were normally like this, but the day ended up making an eight out of ten on the "Weird First Day" list. The ten had been given to my first day at Ilvermorny when some kid blew up the classroom during potions and we had to get MACUSA's Accidental Magic Reverse Squad to come and help fix everyone who'd been turned into a houseplant. A small daisy had grown from the top of my head for a month after that, causing everyone to call me "Daisy Head."

When we entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the first thing we saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. As we passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter.

"Ignore him," said Hermione to Harry from beside me. "Just ignore him, it's not worth it..."

"Hey, Potter!" shrieked a Slytherin girl with a face like a pug. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooooo!"

"Her voice is really annoying," I said in a stage whisper to Hermione, causing the pug-girl to glare at me.

Harry dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor table, next to George Weasley. Hermione and I sat across from him.

"New third-year course schedules," said George, passing them over. "What's up with you, Harry?"

"Malfoy," said Ron, sitting down on George's other side and glaring over at the Slytherin table. George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint with terror again.

"What a jerk," I said. "Is he always like that?"

"Yes," Harry said spitefully.

"We should explain that later, Ron will rant about it for hours," Hermione said with a hint of amusement.

"That little git," George said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," Fred agreed, frowning at Malfoy.

"I wasn't too happy myself," said George. "They're horrible things, those Dementors..."

"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" said Fred.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" said Harry in a low voice.

"Forget it, Harry," said George bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been, he came back all weak and shaking...They suck the happiness out of a place, Dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," said Fred. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

"Sounds interesting," I said honestly. "Are there going to be Quidditch tryouts?"

"Yes," George said. He looked at me, slightly skeptical. "You play Quidditch."

"I was the best Chaser on the Thunderbird team," I answered proudly. "Yes, I play Quidditch."

Hermione and I examined our new schedules. I had wanted to sign up for both Arithmancy and Divination, but ended up choosing Divination. I wanted to learn how to predict the future. I figured maybe I could understand my dad more if I took Divination.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," Hermione said happily.

"Hermione," said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder, "they've messed up your timetable. Look — they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."