Lazuli - Harry Potter Fan Fiction (Draco Malfoy)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Happy New Year!

I hope that you enjoy this new chapter!

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The rest of the day seems to crawl by slower than a slug. It does so ever since I decide that during the free period that I have at the end of the day, after Care of Magical Creatures, I'm going to go out on my broom.

After Care of Magical Creatures I canter out of the Forbidden Forest and say goodbye to Honey and Sophia, telling them that I'll see them later. In an elated hype, I get back to the Slytherin common room and barge into my bedroom. I quickly change from my long and impractical school uniform and into a knitted green jumper, some black leggings and my brown leather Quidditch boots that reach up to my knee. I slip a scarf and a thick coat on too - it can get cold rushing around 100 ft above the ground - and tuck my wand into my boot for safekeeping.

Ready in a record time of about two minutes, I slowly lift my hand and can't help but smile at my broom. It's not just an inanimate object to me; it's safety. When I'm on my broom, nothing can touch me. As I turn and dive, I'm fearless and flawless. If my flying was being marked, I'd get 10's every time.

The broom wiggles slightly, as if shaking off a long sleep, and zooms into my hand in the blink of an eye. The brooms that the first years are taught to fly with, they're nothing compared to the beauty of my broom; a Nimbus 2001. The finest of all brooms, except for a Firebolt of course. In my hand, it feels strong and powerful, nothing can touch either of us when we're together. It may be just an object, but I swear I can feel it's happiness at being reunited with it's mistress once more.

Not willing to waste anymore time, I grab my leather gloves with extra grip from the dresser and slip them into my jacket pocket, then carrying my broom protectively close to me, I leave the bedroom and stride down the corridor and enter the main part of the common room.

You only get free periods when you get to the fourth year, usually one every other day. But as a Prefect, we get a free period everyday in order to 'look after the first years' and 'be good role models.' Usually, I'd use it for it's proper purpose - studying for my OWLS and chatting the the first years, asking if they had any questions and generally trying to be a nice person. But after the stress of Umbridge's lesson and Draco's dramatics, I needed a break.

I practically gallop up the stairs outside the Slytherin common room and leave the dungeons without anybody asking me where I'm going. Most of the students are still in lessons, it's only the fifth years who get their free periods right now. People know better than to question me when I've got the distant and deep in thought face that I'm wearing now.

I zip my coat up as the corridors come to an end and I step out into the Clock Tower courtyard. A few students are milling around and chatting, the September afternoon cold but sunny. I don't climb onto my broom yet, I'll wait until I'm away from the other students and on my own.

As I reach the Covered Bridge, someone steps in front of me. My eyes snap up to his face in panic and I'm about to draw my wand when I realise that it's only Harry. A very nervous looking Harry, who's hands are behind his back and an awkward smile on his lips. "Oh, hello Harry." I smile at him, and he seems to relax a bit. "Li, I wanted to apologise, for earlier." He stares at his feet and his eyebrow furrows, nearly knotting together. "I didn't mean to upset you, I suppose that I should have been more respectful about what I said." He looks at my face, waiting sheepishly for my reaction. I shake my head and place a hand on his arm. "No, don't apologise. You were standing up for yourself and Cedric." I look around, making sure that there's nobody else present, and lower my tone. "Umbridge is just as mad as Fudge, but I'm afraid that she'll be here for a while to come. You should be more careful around her Harry, she's a bully with a lot of power, and that's a terrible combination."