The next morning, I hastily woke up from my deep slumber. Taking a quick glance around my dorm, I reminded myself that this was Hogwarts, and not my dull bland room at Godric's Hollow.

I opened my pale yellow curtains, basking in the warmth of the surprisingly sunny weather from outside. The light made the whole room seem magical, with specks of colour reverberating across each and every four poster along the circular room.

My roommates' beds were still engaged with four sleeping forms resting soundly on top. I scanned the girls' peaceful faces, trying to remember who was who again from last night. I distinctly recalled Rebecca and Reyna as the two raven-haired twins. They were both strangely quiet, their stormy grey eyes adding to their mysteriousness. Then there was a tall brunette named Donna who was quite bubbly, and just overall really sweet. She had beautiful hazel brown eyes that accentuated her lean figure. I bet she would be an expert at flying.

Last but not least, there was of course, Ginny. Needless to say we were both ecstatic that we were in the same dorm and house. 

The corners of my mouth curved upward as I reminisced the events of yesterday in my head and I started to prepare myself for the day to come.

***

At the Great Hall, there was a great buzz flowing around everywhere. Students were chirping animatedly, eager to continue on their gossip from last night. At the front, the teachers were also   chattering and enjoying their breakfast (which was, of course, amazing).

Seated at the Gryffindor table, I found myself wedged in between Ginny and Donna. We were currently talking about our timetables and which subjects we were looking forward to.

"I think History of Magic will definitely be the worst lesson," added in Donna.

Ginny nodded, "Yep, that and defence against the dark arts. Lockhart," she uttered the name with distaste, "probably won't even be able to get through the lesson without gelling his hair or bragging about his unrealistic discoveries."

I moved the cereal around in my bowl, listening in to their conversation and chirping in when necessary. It seemed as if I had used up all my energy yesterday, and the after effects were playing in now.

"Timetables!" McGonagall yelled out, making everyone nearby me jump back in surprise.

***

"Now, who can tell me the difference between amortentia and veritaserum?" Snape asked with a lazy smirk etched onto his face. His eyes darted across the room at the silent cowering mix of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students situated behind their desks. Not a single hand rose up.

He finally ended the tension. "How about you Miss Weasley?"

"Sir, I don't know," Ginny answered back.

"Really then? What about you Gushers?" he asked Donna.

"Um... I'm not sure. Isn't one of them like a love potion?" Donna said nervously.

Snape's mouth curved upward in amusement. "It seems no one from Gryffindor is able to answer such a simple question. I have poor hope for you at the end of the year when we will be making potions you can only dream of.  5 points from Gryffindor for pure ignorance!"

I raised my hand up," But Sir, we didn't realise we had to learn everything in the book by heart."

Snape slowly turned towards me, studying me with concentration. "It would be best to keep your mouth shut in my lesson, Miss Stewart," he replied as his eyes locked with mine again.

I let out a breath. That outburst was sure to have gotten me in trouble, but it seemed I had been lucky.

All around me, the remaining Gryffindors sighed. It wasn't really a surprise that this would be the outcome of the lesson, but one could hope.

Snape began writing onto the board. Staring at his scruffy handwriting, I realised that this was a potion. I quickly jotted it down onto my parchment, noticing that the disgruntled Gryffindors were already behind the Ravenclaws, who had started writing the ingredients down already.

This was not the best start to the day.

***

"Everybody, let's all just calm down for a second," Lockhart said to the squealing gaggle of girls grouped in front of him, "I know you're all eager to see me but I do need to get the lesson started!"

Rolling my eyes, I took out the heavy stack of books onto the table. It had cost nearly a fortune to buy all his books and with how the lesson had started, it seemed it would be all for nothing.

I felt Ginny slump down beside me. "Ugh, when this lesson finishes, I'm running straight to the Great Hall," Ginny stated.

Nodding my head in agreement, I turned to face the front of the classroom, where Lockhart had somehow managed to pry the girls away from him. Shooting a large smile, he took a book from the already tottering pile on his desk.

"Who can tell me what this book is about?"

Nearly the whole class slouched down in boredom, all except for the obvious tittering handful of girls right in front of Lockhart.

It was safe to say that lesson did not educate me at all. 

***

"Everyone, grab a room and stand in a single line!" Madam Hooch hollered.

I let my fingers slide across the smooth polished broom. Letting out a silent chuckle, I laughed inwardly at my luck. Compared to people like Ginny, my broom was of top quality.

"Let's hope this goes well!" Ginny said as she kept her eyes focused on Madam Hooch.

I agreed. This could result in either a disaster or success. I, having never touched a broom before today, was quite nervous. However, no one could deny the relaxing last lesson of the day, especially with as good a weather as this.

"Now, when I say 'go' you say 'up'!" Hooch shouted out. Taking out her precious whistle, her eyes took in one quick sweep of the class and raised the whistle.

"Go!"

With that yell, 30 loud 'up's' could be heard throughout the grassy field. Astonishingly, mine flew straight into my hands, as well as Ginny's. I felt Donna shift slightly beside me as her broom still lay motionless on the floor. "Briar, how did you do it?" she whispered frantically.

"Don't be afraid of the broom. You need to control it, not the other way round!" Madam Hooch said as she swept past the line of students. 

"Up. Up, up, up. Up! Up!" Donna screamed, each 'up' making her more agitated.

Ginny placed a hand on her shoulder before saying, "Look, just take a deep breath. You're not going to get hurt. Everything will be fine."

Donna stared unconvincingly at the broom before her. "Up," she said with a monotonous voice.

"More power," I suggested.

"I really don't think it's going to come up guys," she stated sadly as she looked down at the ground.

Suddenly Madam Hooch called out, "Everyone who has managed to get hold of their brooms, you're going to try flying now. If you haven't, just watch."

Donna gave us both a reassuring smile which me and Ginny returned at her.

"Go!"

As soon as the words escaped Madam Hooch's mouth,  a sea of students rose up into the air. I gazed around in delight at the view below me, savouring the feeling of the cool breeze upon my skin. 

Ginny flew up beside me, giving me a thumbs up and shooting off higher. I looked down at the handful of students who didn't mount and at Madam Hooch who was now motioning something. I couldn't decipher it quite well, but her gestures became more quicker and sharper and I realised she was communciating with me. Looking forward, I tried to identify the problem, but it was too late.

Hitting the tree with a huge force, I found myself tumbling downwards towards the ground at an unstoppable speed. I could hear cries arise around me, but everything was going too fast to be clear enough to listen. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the fall, hoping that it wouldn't be as bad as I expected.

Crack!

I winced as I felt my head collide with the grass, my body following straight after. "Briar! Briar are you alright?" I shuddered as I felt two arms hold mine. It made everything worse. Soon stars were clouding my vision, and before long, the world erupted into darkness.