The Midnight Duel (Which never happens)
Corey wasn’t sure how he felt with being in Slytherin. He felt like he was friends with Blaise so that was nice, but he absolutely couldn’t stand Draco Malfoy. He didn’t really like that people would stop and stare and whisper about him when the people from the other houses saw him. Sometimes he even thought that sometimes he saw some teachers do it.
One day Corey saw a notice pinned up in the Slytherin common room. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday - and Slytherin and Gryffindor would be learning together. Corey wasn’t entirely sure, but the other Slytherin first years didn’t seem pleased by this at all. He was very nervous about flying. He would probably just make a fool of himself. Malfoy was always talking about how good he is at Quidditch. Corey wasn’t sure if he was or if it was just talk, but it made him more worried about it.
Though there were some of Malfoy’s stories that Corey knew for sure were lies, like his long, boastful stories which mostly seemed to end with him narrowly escaping in helicopters. But none of the other Slytherins seemed to like it when he pointed out that, that was an absolutely ridiculous lie with no possibility of being true. Well, excluding Blaise who seemed to agree with him. Blaise didn’t seem like the other Slytherin, he wasn’t as interested in Quidditch as everyone else it seemed. Corey didn’t really understand Quidditch, Hagrid didn’t explain anything about it really and Ron helped sure, but Corey didn’t understand games by hearing about them. He learns by seeing or playing.
Sometimes Corey saw Ron in the halls, but it wasn’t anything nice. Ron was angry it seemed, by Corey not wanting to be his friend. Ron sometimes called him names, but that didn’t really bother him much. Almost every time Corey saw Hermione in the hallways or anywhere really, she seemed consumed in a book. And Neville it seemed was always getting bullied by Malfoy, which just made Corey hate Malfoy more than he already did.
Corey tries to help him every time he sees it, but he never knows how to help. Corey hadn’t had a single letter at his entire time at Hogwarts, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, well, Blaise did too, but he was much nicer about it. Malfoy’s eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened, loudly gloating or something, at the Slytherin table. Corey saw Draco Malfoy walking past the Gryffindor table when he stopped behind Neville.
Of course, Corey knew that Malfoy was about to do something to bully Neville. So, Corey went over to the table quick enough to see Malfoy snatch a glass ball the size of a large marble out of Nevilles hand. Corey pushed Malfoy, taking the glass ball-thing from him before he fell flat on his face. But just as Corey was handing the marble-thing to Neville, he sensed someone watching, just to see Professor McGonagall.
‘What’s going on here?’
‘Malfoy had my Remembrall, Professor, but Corey got it back for me.’
Scowling, Malfoy quickly went back to the Slytherin table. ‘Alright, but we do not tolerate fighting. Do you hear Mr. Potter?’ Professor McGonagall said sternly. Corey nodded, feeling unable to speak. When Professor McGonagall had gone again, Corey handed Neville his Remembrall.
‘Thank you, you’re the first person to actually do something about Malfoy.’
‘Well, I just couldn’t watch and do nothing.’ Corey said, no he was NOT blushing.
At three-thirty that afternoon, Corey, Blaise and the other Slytherins were heading down for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying dark and beautifully in the distance.
The Gryffindors came over later. Lying in neat lines on the ground were twenty broomsticks. Corey had heard from some of the older Slytherins complain about the school brooms, that they were absolutely terrible. Their teacher, Madam Hooch, finally arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow hawklike eyes.
‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ she barked. Oh, gee what could they possibly be waiting for, certainly not the teacher! ‘Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.’ Corey glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.
‘Stick out your right hand over your broom,’ called Madam Hooch at the front,’ and say, “UP!”
‘UP!’ everyone shouted at once making Corey want to cover his ears and die. Core’s broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Blaise’s broom, like Corey’s, had jumped into his hand immediately. Hermione Granger’s had simply rolled over on the ground and Neville’s hadn’t moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Corey; there was a quaver in Neville’s voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground. Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows, correcting their grips.
Corey was absolutely delighted when she told Malfoy he’d been doing it wrong for years. ‘Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard,’ said Madam Hooch. ‘Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle - three - two -‘
But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch’s lips. ‘Come back, boy!’ she shouted, as if it was Neville’s fault, which it wasn’t at all. Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet - twenty feet. Corey saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and- Corey’s eyes widened.
WHAM - a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily towards the Forbidden Forest out of sight. Corey ran over to where Madam Hooch was bending over Neville. Corey barely noticed her until he heard her mutter: ‘Broken wrist, come on, boy - it’s all right, up you get.’ She turned to the rest of the class.
‘None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are, or you’ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say “Quidditch”. Come on, dear,’ Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter, making Corey’s blood boil.
‘Did you see his face, the great lump?’ Some of Malfoys friends joined in.
‘Say that again and I’ll make you regret it.’ Corey said, barely registering his words over his anger.
‘Right. Look!’ Malfoy said, dismissively, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. ‘It’s that stupid thing Longbottom’s gran sent him.’ The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.
‘Give that here Malfoy. Right. Now.’ Corey said full of fury. At some point everyone had stopped talking to watch, but Corey wasn’t thinking about that, at the moment. Malfoy smiled nastily.
‘I think I’ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect - how about - up a tr-‘ Malfoy didn’t get to finish his sentence before Corey’s fist connected with Malfoys nose. There was a wave of gasps throughout the crowd. Malfoy’s nose was bleeding, he didn’t look all that tough now. He also seemed to have tears in his eyes. Corey saw that Malfoy had dropped the Remembrall on the ground, so he picked it up to give to Neville later.
Now that his anger had dissipated, Corey’s thoughts were clearer. Oh… What the hell was he supposed to do now? Malfoy seemed to be trying to act tough now that Corey had walked away again. Hopefully no one would tell a teacher. ‘Why did you do that for someone like Longbottom?’ Blaise asked, making Corey pause. Was he trying to say that Neville is lesser? Wait, don’t make assumptions maybe he didn’t mean it like that.
‘What do you mean? Neville is my friend. And Malfoy is a bully, and I HATE bullies.’ Corey said, maybe getting a little too heated at the Malfoy part.
‘Well, Longbottom is a Gryffindor.’ Blaise said it like that was supposed to explain what he was hinting at. ‘Yeah? Am I not allowed to have friends from other houses? Is that like a rule or something?’ Corey asked genuinely confused.
‘Well, no, but Gryffindors and Slytherin are known for being mortal enemies.’ Corey was now even more confused. Corey thought that when people from Slytherin were saying rude things about people in Gryffindor, they just had something specifically about that person. Not that they had something against EVERYONE in the house.
‘What the fuck. Why???’
‘Noone really knows when the grudge started. It just kind of happened and it’s been a fact ever since.’ Blaise explained, without making it clear why the hell the grudge had to continue forever.
‘Well…. What if I don’t WANT to continue the grudge? It seems kind of stupid to continue a grudge for no reason. I mean I can be okay with not liking some Gryffindors, but hating them all for just existing in Gryffindor, is just unfair.’ Blaise stayed silent.
It was dinner time and Corey couldn’t see Neville so he could assume that he was still in the hospital wing. Blaise seemed thoughtful? Maybe? Well, more than usual at least. Corey was fine with the silence. He just ate his dinner. ‘Hey Potter, what do you think would happen if I told Professor Snape about what happened on the pitch?’ Malfoy seemed to be trying to get a reaction from him.
‘You would be a bigger coward than you already are. You know since you technically started the fight, and you can’t even finish it? That’s loser behaviour.’ Corey said boredly looking at his food. He didn’t know if Malfoy said anything coherent after because he wasn’t really listening.
When Corey was back in his bed, he closed the curtains so he could talk to Rex. ‘Hello friend, how has your day been.’ Rex asked sounding a little tired.
‘It was okay I think, but my friend Neville broke his wrist.’ Corey was still worried about Neville.
‘Oh, that’s not good, is he okay?’
‘… I think so, but I still need to give him back his Remembrall, which I don’t actually know what is.’ Corey said quietly.