Not seen, not taken

This Thursday morning, I am up early as usual to train. I realized that by getting bigger all at once, I had become a little bit clumsy in my body. I find it harder to estimate distances when I want to catch things, or I trip more easily.

I start by running around the lake before stopping to do a series of push-ups, pull-ups, and squats.

After 45 minutes, I finally finish my exercises. My T-shirt is covered with sweat and I must clearly not smell very good. Once back in the castle, I come across Susan, who goes to the great hall for lunch when I am about to go down the stairs to go to the Slytherin's common room.

"Sean? What are you doing in these clothes?"

"I was doing some physical exercises by the lake before lunch. It's good for your health to keep you in shape, you should try." I can see the disgust on her face. It's true that we don't see a lot of wizard doing sports except those who fly on brooms for Quidditch. "If you want, you can come with me tomorrow. I get up early every morning to go to the lake."

"That's fine, I don't think it's for me." She continues on her way to the great hall. Too bad for her.

After a quick shower and changing, I join the others for lunch. At the table, everyone is already excited for the afternoon class. Anyone who's ever flown on a broom boasts of being the best.

"I'm a professional when it comes to fly on a broom. I have flown over our mansion every day for the past three years." I don't see why Draco gets so excited about a simple flying lesson.

"I flew a little with my parents when we were out in the countryside." Daphne also has some flying experience." And you, Sean, have you ever flown?"

"Sometimes on the weekends. I lived in a muggle area so we had to wait late at night when it was dark or go deep enough in the forest not to be noticed."

It's amazing how they're in such a hurry to be on a broom.

Today is our first flight class with Madam Hooch. With the students of Slytherin, we are already there ten minutes in advance, lined up in position next to the brooms on the ground. The students of Gryffindors arrive right on time and just a few seconds before Madam Hooch.

"All right, everybody get in position next to your broom. Stretch out your right hand over the broom and say, 'Up!'"

It's an easy exercise that my father has already made me do dozens of times. "Up! " The broom flies to my hand. The others need a few more attempts to do it. The last to succeed is Neville who eats his broom in the face first, I still have the impression that he was created only to be the running gag of this universe.

"Well, now, kick on the ground to get started. You will hold your brooms straight and climb four or five feet before bending your broom forward to land. On my mark, three, two, …"

She did not even have time to say 'one' that Neville rushed into the sky against his will. I watch him with the others fly away to collide against every wall of the castle and then finally crash on the ground.

The students are rushing towards Neville, but knowing that his wrist is broken, I see no reason to hurry myself. I'm making my way through the crowd to see Neville being picked up by Madam Hooch.

"Nobody moves while I take this boy to the infirmary and you leave the brooms on the floor, otherwise I guarantee you won't stay in Hogwarts long enough to say the word Quidditch."

I noticed Neville's remembrall near where he fell. I was going to pick it up and give it to Seamus but Draco was faster than me.

"Did you see his face? If he used that, he would have remembered that it was better to fall on his big butt."

"Give me that, Malfoy, or you'll understand what it means to go after a Gryffindor!" Harry stands right in front of Draco, ready to fight. I feel like this is going to go badly and I don't particularly want to test Snape's collective punishments.

"No, I'm gonna ..."

I go quickly behind Malfoy's back and whisper in his ear.

"Remember what Snape told us at the beginning of the year. There are too many witnesses, this is neither the time nor the place to fight with him. And I don't want to waste my time doing extra chores because you can't think of a smarter way of annoying Potter."

I take back the glass ball and hand it to Seamus.

"Here, Neville's thing, would you mind give it back to him?" Seamus nods and agrees to keep the little glass ball.

I grab Malfoy by the sleeve and drag him a little away. " What are you doing?! I could have thrown that thing right in the middle of the lake to teach that dumbass a lesson."

"And you would have done this in front of so many witnesses? The only thing you would have won was a little satisfaction just before a punishment. Be smarter, find something Potter won't be able to say no to and that will certainly get him in trouble."

He seems to be thinking about what I'm saying, maybe there's still hope for that idiot.

"How about I challenge him to a duel!"

I spoke too early, he is totally unredeemable.

"Duels are forbidden. If you get caught, in addition to losing us points, you're going to be expelled, idiot." He frowns at the insult, but when he can't think of anything smart to do with his ten fingers, he clearly earned it. "Although, you give me an idea. You're going to challenge him to a duel when he's alone or even better with the other redhead who accompanies him everywhere. If he agrees, propose a room with only one entrance, without any place to hide, and at the end of a corridor after the curfew. And then when they're in, you send them Filch by using his cat." It's a bit like the chapter of the book except this time there won't be Hermione to save them with an alohomora. "You avoid getting caught and there's a huge punishment for them. And if they don't come, they look like cowards in front of everyone."

Draco smiles at my idea and I feel like I see the little gears of his brain. Now, we're gonna say that Harry and I were even for the punch at the party five years ago.

Madam Hooch eventually returns and we finish the class without any further incident. What's interesting is that by preventing Harry from arguing with Draco, he didn't become a catcher for Gryffindor's Quidditch team as he should have since McGonagall didn't see him fly to catch the remembrall in the air.

The evening meal takes place in a rather tense atmosphere, I thought Draco would be smart enough to understand my advice. But he will challenge Harry while he is sitting at the Grynffindor's table. All the Slytherin who had seen his little maneuver look at him with disdain. Anyone who might hear him could have warned the teachers about the request for a duel, and Snape would have given us all a punition for Draco lacks of brains. It's a good thing I know no one's going to warn the teachers and that Harry and Ron are going to go to the duel as planned.