The Girl in my Dreams

The Girl In My Dreams
Chapter 2
Hogwarts Bound

Val woke up the morning of September 1st, and she felt ready to vomit. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that just made her sick. She was so nervous, not knowing what the future held for her, not knowing what she was walking into. She had no idea what Hogwarts would be like, what house she'd be in, or anything. The one question that had been answered was that she'd have at least one friend. Two, for the matter, but they may as well have been one.

Val had been with the Weasley twins every day for the past two weeks, and they had somewhat helped her to prepare for Hogwarts, but they couldn't really prepare her, for they had never been either. They had aided her in learning at least a little bit about the magical world so that she at least wasn't jumping in blindfolded.

The train for Hogwarts was set to leave at 11:00 a.m. from Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Her aunt, Marcie, had long ago told Val that Platform 9 and 3/4 was not visible to Muggle eyes, and the only way to get to it was to simply walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

Val was ready, or at least as ready as she would ever be, so that morning they left the house on Ottery Street Catchpole and headed for King's Cross Station. They got there at quarter to eleven, and Marcie led her to the barrier that they were to go through to get to her platform. They leaned through it as casually as possible, and once on the other side, Val gasped. There was a scarlet steam-engine with the name 'Hogwarts Express' painted in gold on the front. There were many compartments to the train, and Val gave her aunt one hug before boarding one towards the back. She stepped inside, and was quickly pulled into the very back compartment by two redheaded boys.

"Fred, George! What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Saving you from the Slytherin's. Wood and Percy say that that's the compartment that they always sit in, and if they catch anyone else in there, it's bad news indeed. Wood says they used some sort of a spell on him that turned his hair green, and whenever he tried to say something, he sounded like a frog," Fred said.

Val shook her head, then answered, "Percy's one of your older brothers, right?"

"Yep," George answered.

"Who's Wood, then?"

"Oliver Wood. He's in Percy's year. He's Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He and Percy are friends."

"What about me?" Another redheaded boy entered the room, this one looking much more serious. In her visits to the Weasley house, Val had quickly learned two things-the Weasley's were all redheaded, and that there were seven of them. She had also figured out how to tell Fred and George apart, but she didn't tell anyone how she managed this.

"Oh, hey, Perce. We were just telling Val about you and Wood."

"You're the one that's at our house everyday, then? They hide you quite well."

"They don't do anything well, Percy. It just happened that you were always somewhere where the twins weren't." Percy laughed, and then a boy about Percy's age walked in. He was a bit taller, and stocky. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and he smiled at Percy, then at the twins.

"Hey, Perce. Gred and Forge, you two are going to Hogwarts this year? I thought it was next year for you."

"Nope, this year."

"And who's your friend?"

"Val. Bradley. She lives down the street from us. Val, this is Oliver Wood. You'll learn to ignore him."

"Nice to meet you, Val," he said, and smiled.

"Ditto," Val replied, smiling. Everyone looked puzzled.

"Same to you," Val said.

"I take it you're from the States?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, I guess I still need to get used to things here." The rest of them laughed, and Percy dragged a reluctant Oliver out of the compartment and into the next.

As soon as they had closed the door, it slid back open again, and in walked a girl that looked exactly like her best friend, Porter. She was short and skinny, with brown hair and brown eyes. The resemblance was astounding.

"Porter," Val muttered so quietly that she thought no one else had heard.

"Porter? Excuse me, but my name is Gwynn Lions, not Porter. Who are you, anyway? Are you another stupid Mudblood?" Fred and George looked very angry at this statement, "My parents say that trash like that shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts, and I totally agree. Unfortunately, I'll be seeing you around."

Fred and George were very glad when the girl left. She may have looked like Val's friend, but the two were nothing alike.

"Bet you twenty Galleons that she'll be a Slytherin," said Fred, and George nudged him, whispering something that sounded very much like, "We don't have twenty Galleons, Fred."

"What was that she called me? 'Mudblood.' What does that mean?" Val asked, and they both looked very angry all over again.

"It's a really rude term for Muggle-born. It means common blood, or bad blood. Has your aunt Marcie told you about pure-bloods, and half-bloods, and things like that?" George asked.

"No, she didn't mention it."

"Well, there are Muggle-borns, like you, who are born into Muggle families and have Muggle parents. Then there are half-bloods. Wood's a half-blood, that means that one of his parents is a Muggle, and the other is either a witch or a wizard. Then there are pure-bloods. That means that both of your parents had magic in their blood. There are two types of pure-bloods. One type, like us, is the kind that could care less about your blood, as long as you have a good personality. The other type, like that Lions bitch that was just in here, think they're better than other wizards and witches because of their parents. You'll need to learn to ignore them, because if you let them get to you, then you'll be miserable, and seven years of misery is not a good thing, Val."

"Thanks for warning me," Val said, shaking her head.

"Who is Porter, anyway?" Fred asked.

"Huh? Oh, Porter was my best friend back in the States. She looked exactly like that girl, but she was so much nicer. She is nothing at all like Porter, though, let me tell you."

"Weird. Identical strangers, aye?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, pretty strange. So, which house do you boys think you'll be in?" Val asked, trying to change the subject.

"All of our brothers before us, you know, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, have been in Gryffindor, and our parents were in there, too, but you never know with us," George said.

"I pray that we're in there," Fred said, "I'd kill myself if I ended up in Slytherin."

"Oh, I quite agree, I don't much want to end up in Slytherin, either. I hope I'm in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, either, and I could even stand Hufflepuff." Fred laughed nervously.

After a little while, a little lady pushing a cart came in.

"Do any of you want something?" Val nodded, and bought several packs of Chocolate Frogs, a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a pack of Pumpkin Pasties, all of which she had eaten with her aunt and had enjoyed. She was a bit wary of the Bertie Bott's, her aunt had told her of many disturbing flavors.

"How about you two?" the kind witch asked, and the twins shook their heads, saying that they had brought sandwiches.

"Dumbledore- I haven't gotten him yet. Sounds amazing," Val said, reading the collector card that she had pulled out of the Chocolate Frog bag.

"Yeah, you'll be meeting him soon, you know. He's supposedly the best headmaster Hogwarts had ever had."

"Charlie and Bill say he's awesome, so he must be pretty good," Fred added.

"Those are your oldest brothers, right? Bill and Charlie?" Val asked.

"Yep," George said. They chatted nervously until they got to Hogwarts, now and then people coming into their compartment for a minute or two.

As they got off the train, a voice could be heard, yelling, "Firs' years? Firs' year o'er here!" Val looked at the man who was yelling, and she nearly screamed. He was gigantic, at least three times the size of a normal man. Val would have been alarmed if it weren't for the fact that his eyes looked so darn friendly, and she didn't think that there was any harm in him.

"That's Hagrid, the gamekeeper. Bill and Charlie have told us lots about him. They say he's really nice."

"Follow me," Hagrid said, and they all did. He led them to a lake where there were at least a dozen little boats.

"No more 'an four to a boat," he ordered, and Val climbed into a boat with Fred and George. They were joined by a tall, skinny girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair and green-brown eyes. The girl didn't say anything, she just climbed into the boat and helped row.

As they rounded a bend, they gasped as Hagrid told them they should be seeing the castle soon. The castle was the most beautiful thing that Val had ever seen, and she was sorry to lose sight of it when they rowed into a cavern. They exited the boat, and were greeted by a severe looking woman. Her hair was in a tight bun, and she had square framed glasses on.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said as they clambered out of their boats and onto the land. They followed her through tall, wide double doors, and the she spoke to them.

"You are about to be sorted. Wait here just one moment while I make sure that they're ready for you." She was gone before you had a chance to snap your fingers, gone through a door on the right of the entrance way. She poked hear head out the door, and ordered that they come in in a single file line.

The first years entered a room that seemed like it had no ceiling. They looked up, and all they saw was the sky, which was cloudy, but the full moon was still just barely visible.

"S'pose it's enchanted to look like it does outside," Fred murmured, and Val nodded. She looked around at the rest of the room, there were four tables that were filled with students, and she assumed that they were for each seperate house. There was a fifth table full of adults, and they sat on one side only, so that they were facing the students. This was the staff table.

Val was beginning to wonder how they managed to sort the students into houses when Professor McGonagall place a three legged stool in front of the staff table, and then placed a tattered and torn old stool on it. Val watched the hat nervously, and then the brim tore open, and the hat began to sing.

"Welcome to a new year,

Good day to everyone,

I am here to announce,

A new sorting has begun,

I will determine where you go,

Right now, you are dying to know!

If Gryffindor's the place for you,

Then you are brave at heart,

You have daring, nerve and chivalry,

And you might be rather smart,

Maybe Ravenclaw's where you'll go,

If you've got a ready mind,

You are like those of wit and learning,

And you'll be with your kind,

Or then again, there's Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Patient, they are

And unafraid of toil,

Last of all there's Slytherin,

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks'll use all means,

To achieve their ends,

Now this new year will be good,

You'll be where you belong,

So try me on and I'll tell you,

Just as soon as I finish this song!"

The hall burst in to applause, and Val breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anadia, Niko- RAVENCLAW!" The hat yelled, as a boy with light brown hair and brown eyes slid the hat off his head and walked to one of the middle tables.

"Anadia, Bean- HUFFLEPUFF!" A boy identical to Niko Anadia walked to the other middle table.

"Baker, Helen- GRYFFINDOR!" The girl who had been in the boat with Fred, George and Val walked over to the far table.

"Bell, Katie- GRYFFINDOR!" A blond haired, blue eyed girl walked over to the same table and sat next to Helen Baker.

"Bernstein, Kyle- RAVENCLAW!"

"Bradley, Val!" Val walked quickly up to the stool, and jammed the hat on her head.

"Hmm, your aunt was Marcie Fenton? Hufflepuff, wasn't she? Yes, yes, you'd do much better in Slytherin, though....... Or perhaps you'd rather have a view at the other side. Yes, better be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled. Val was shaking. She had been very close to being put in Slytherin.

Val sat down on one side of Oliver Wood at the table on the far left. He smiled at her, and then sat, "Looks like we're in the same house, huh?" Val grinned back, and looked up in time to hear "Hughes, Madeline" being sorted into Hufflepuff.

The next name called was "Johnson, Angelina." She was a tall black girl, with warm, chocolate brown eyes, and and black, flowing hair. Val looked at Fred and George, and she saw Fred mouth something to George. She couldn't understand all of it, but she distinctly saw his lips form the words "spend," "life," and "with." Val rolled her eyes.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed, and Angelina came and sat down next to Katie Bell.

The next boy sorted, Lee Jordan, also became a Gryffindor. He sat down on the other side of Oliver.

Gwenn Lions was the next person called up, and it was no suprise at all to Val that she was immediately placed in Slytherin.

Val could hear Angelina and Katie talking across the table.

"I hope Alicia gets put in Gryffindor," Katie said.

"Yeah. And Fred," Angelina replied.

"What about George?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, him too, I guess." Val looked at them.

"You two know the Weasley twins?" she asked, and they nodded.

"Why do you ask?" Angelina questioned.

"Oh, I live down the street from them. My name's Val."

"Angelina," she said, shaking Val's hand.

"Katie," she said, shaking Val's hand as well. They didn't talk any more just then, because their friend, Alicia Spinnet, was called up to the hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed.

"Yes," Angelina and Katie muttered to each other.

"I don't believe it," Alicia said as she sat down next to Angelina.

"'Leece, this is Val. Val, this is Alicia," Angelina said, introducing them to each other.

"Nice to meet you," Alicia said.

"Same," Val said back.

"Weasley, Fred- GRYFFINDOR!"

"Weasley, George- GRYFFINDOR!"

"Excellent," the twins said. Fred sat down next to Val, and George next to him.

"Val, have you met our friends? Angelina, Alicia, and Katie?"

"Yeah, we just met," Val said.

"All right, then. This is Lee, he's another of our friends. We're well prepared, and by some miracle, we're all Gryffindors," said Fred, but he was silenced just then as a man with very long silver hair and an equally long silver beard stood up. He had twinkling blue eyes, and a long, crooked nose. This was Albus Dumbledore.

"Welcome, each and every one of you, to a new year. I'd like to offer an especially warm welcome ot our new students, and I know those of you returning have heard this as many as six times before, but I will say it so that the first years are warned. The forest on the edge of the grounds is off limits, as is the village of Hogsmeade to first and second years, and older students with no permission slip. I am sure that I haven't forgotten to tell you anything important, so let the feast begin."

Val was amazed as the plates in front of them magically filled with food. She took a bit of everything, for she suddenly realized that she was starving. Next to her, the Weasley twins and Oliver were doing the same.

The food was delicious, Val had never tasted anything like it in her whole life. After everyone in the hall had finished with their meals, the plates filled again, this time with desserts. Again, she took a bit of everything, and she ate until her stomach felt as though it would burst.

The feast was over, and they were directed to follow their house prefects to their Common Rooms.

"What's a prefect?" Val asked Fred.

"Smart person. Leader of the house, sort of, except that it's a student and not a teacher," he whispered back, and Val gave him a puzzled look. He shrugged back.

They followed their house prefect up many winding staircases, down hall ways, and finally they came to a halt in front of a picture of a fat lady in a pink dress.

"All right, the password is 'Quidditch'," the prefect said, and the fat lady's portrait swung open. The prefect climbed through the entrance, and everyone else followed. On the other side was a circular room with loads of tables and armchairs. On the far sides of the room, there were staircases, one said 'Boys', and the other said, 'Girls.' Val said good night to Lee Jordan and the Weasley's, and climbed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. At the top, there were seven doors, and Val went through the one that said, 'First Years.'

Inside were five canopy beds, and a trunk was at the foot of each. Val found the trunk that was hers, and sat down on her bed. On her left was Angelina, and on her right was Katie. Alicia and Helen were on the other side of the room.

"G'night," Helen said sleepily, and climbed under her covers. The others, however, were not very tired, so Alicia sat on Katie's bed and Angelina joined Val on her's, and they talked for a little while.

"I'm so glad that I got put in Gryffindor, I was afraid that since my dad was a Muggle and my mum was a Ravenclaw I'd be put in there. I guess not, though," Katie said.

"My parents were both Gryffindors, but I still had my doubts, you know?" Alicia said.

"My mum was a Ravenclaw, too, but I'm in Gryffindor, aren't I?" Angelina added.

"My aunt was a Hufflepuff, and my parents are both Muggles, so I had no earthly idea where I'd end up, but I hoped for Gryffindor, and here I am. For one horrible moment I thought that stupid hat was going to make me a Slytherin. I could hear the thing thinking. It was very weird," Val added.

"The hat said I'd do well in any of the houses but Slytherin," Katie said, looking at Val.

"The hat said that I would have done well in Ravenclaw, like my mum, but it knew I wanted to be with Katie," Angelina said.

"The thing never had any doubt that I should be a Gryffindor. It said, 'Spinnet? Your parents were both GRYFFINDOR!' and then it was done," Alicia added, laughing.

"It said to me something about my aunt. 'Hmm, your aunt was Marcie Fenton? Hufflepuff, wasn't she?' And then the stupid thing started babbling about Slytherin. 'Yes, yes, you'd do much better in Slytherin, though.......' And then it got really weird, saying something about the other side, I can't quite remember, but I think it said, 'Or perhaps you'd rather have a view at the other side. Yes, better be GRYFFINDOR.' It was really bizarre. Made me seem like a dark witch or something. As if!" Val said, but the others were still looking at her oddly.

"I'm not, I've only just found out that I'm a witch, I've only known for a month or so, I don't know where that hat got off saying that stuff," Val said.

"That hat's really smart, Val, it wouldn't have said that for no reason," Katie said warily.

"Maybe it's just because I'm determined and stubborn, you know? Maybe it said that because it thought I would never give up when it came to getting what I want," she declared, trying to defend herself. She was regretting ever telling these three girls what the hat had said.

"Are you guys going to shut up so that I can sleep? At least whisper, I don't want to be exhausted for our first day of school, I actually want to make a good impression on our teachers!" Helen said from the bed across the room. Val was thankful for her suggestion.

"Sorry, Helen," Katie said, and Angelina and Allicia returned to their own beds. Val slid under the covers, and long after the silence was broken by snores, she fell asleep.

The next morning, Val, Katie, Alicia and Angelina walked to the Great Hall, chatting openly the entire time. They seemed to have forgotten that Val had nearly been placed in Slytherin, and she was glad for this.

"I can't wait for the Quidditch season to start, even if we can't play, it'll be interesting to watch. I just love Quiddtch!" Angelina said happily.

"I only just learned about it, but Fred and George have been teaching me how to fly, and I can't wait until our flying lessons begin next week," Val said.

"Oh, good, so you have flown before? I wouldn't want to go into flying lessons never having flown before," Alicia said.

"Isn't that what they're for?" Katie asked sarcastically, "To teach you to fly?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't want Slytherins sneering at me all through lessons, would you?" Alicia added, and Katie finally saw her point.

They had finally reached the Great Hall when Fred, George, and Lee caught up to them.

"We just set off a Dungbomb in the corridor, and the caretaker, Filch, had a fit. It's our first day and we've already got a detention," George said.

"I saw the whole thing, it was hillarious, Filch yelling himself hoarse at Fred and George," Lee said.

"Guys! We haven't even had a class yet!" Val said, but she couldn't help but laugh.

"And, while we were in their, we swiped this," Fred said, pulling an old bit of parchment out of his pocket.

"What's so great about some ancient parchment?" Katie asked.

"We don't know yet, but we're going to find out," George said.

"Yeah, it was in a drawer labled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'," Fred added.

"How did you get it without Filch seeing?" Alicia asked.

"I set off another Dungbomb and Fred grabbed it out of the drawer," George said, and they laughed some more.

"Course schedules- classes begin this morning," Oliver Wood said, passing them a sheet of paper.

"Monday morning- we've got Charms first, and then Potions this afternoon," Fred said, reading off of the paper.

"Beware of Professor Snape, he's the potions master, and he's not the most friendly bloke on earth. Actually, he's one of the least friendly people I've ever met, and he hates Gryffindors particularly. He'll take points off left and right, he will," Oliver said.

"Points?" Val asked.

"Blimey, Val, don't tell me you don't know about points?" Oliver asked. She shook her head.

"Every year, there's an inter-house cup championship. You get points for stuff like answering hard questions, helping teachers, and things like that. Points get taken away for things like wandering around at night and stuff like that. Whichever house has the most points at the end of the year wins, and the Great Hall is decorated in their colors for the leaving feast. They also get their names put on a trophy. Slytherin has won more years in a row than they deserve, let me tell you, so this year we Gryffindors had better win," Oliver said.

"Oh," Val said.

They ate the rest of breakfast quietly, and then left for the Charms room. Professor Flitwick, the teacher, was a tiny little man who had to stand on things to make himself tall enough to be seen over his desk. Val was amazed at how much fun the lesson was.

That afternoon, their bubble was burst, because Double Potions with the Ravenclaws was far from fun.

"At least it's not Double Potions with the Slytherin's, Wood says that makes him three times more insufferable than with any other house," Fred murmured.

If the class truly had been three times worse, Val was sure she would have died down in the dungeon. Snape took ten points off of the Gryffindors. He took five for Helen and Lee's potion blowing up and hitting him, two for Fred's ink spilling, one for Alicia speaking out of turn, and two more for Angelina, Val and Katie 'talking while they should be listening'. They hadn't even been talking, and when one of the Ravenclaws, a boy named Kyle Bernstein, tried to point this out, Snape took two points from him as well.

It was a huge relief to leave the dungeon two hours later.

At dinner that night, Oliver Wood asked how their day had been, and soon he wished he had kept his big mouth shut.

Snape "is such an imbecile! We weren't even talking and he took points off!" Katie said angrily.

"Speaking out of turn! If he hadn't been telling us false information, I wouldn't have raised my hand, and if he had called on me, even when he stopped talking, then maybe I wouldn't have had to interrupt!" Alicia roared.

"And if the stupid git hadn't banged his fist on the table we were sitting at, my ink wouldn't have tipped over and gotten all over his smelly feet," Fred cried.

"And the man should have made it clear how the hell you make the damn potion. If he could actually teach, then maybe Helen and I would have known what to do and would have been able to prevent our cauldron from melting and our potion from getting all over him. Mind, the prat deserved it," Lee added.

"The nerve of him, taking points off the Ravenclaws because Kyle was trying to get it through his slimy head that they weren't talking, that he was making it up!" Helen added.

"Sounds like you had a bad run in with him, then?" Oliver said, and the first years nodded.

The rest of their classes were not nearly so bad. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall was tough, but interesting, and it was by far the most rewarding when they got it right. Charms with Professor Flitwick continued to be fairly enjoyable; they had now gotten to a point where they were making things float and fly around the room. Herbology with Professor Sprout was not the most exciting, but compared to History of Magic with Professor Binns, it was a ball. Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, taught very dull lessons, but at least he didn't take points off when they fell asleep in class. Astronomy was rather dull as well, staring at the stars for hours on end.

Finally, the time came for flying lessons to start.

"Thank Merlin we're with the Ravenclaws and not with the Slytherins," Fred murmured to Val as they walked down to the field together. This was the lesson that most had been waiting for, but Val had her doubts. They were quickly erased when the lesson began.

Madam Hooch, the instructor, pointed to the twenty brooms laying on the grass and said, "Everyone, stand next to a broom." Val stood in between Lee and Alicia. Angelina and Katie were on Alicia's other side, and Fred and George were on Lee's. Helen, Val noted, was standing next to the Ravenclaw, Kyle Bernstein, the one that had defended the girls in Potions, and it wasn't the first time Val had a suspicion that there was something more than friendship between the two.

"Now, say 'up'," Madam Hooch said, and Val did as she was told. She was pleased that her broom obeyed and flew into her hands. Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Fred and George were among those whose brooms obeyed. Lee's broom went up in the air, but it rose far above the trees and began to fly off.

"NO!" Lee yelled, "COME BACK!"

Niko Anadia, one of the Ravenclaws, sniggered a little bit, but he shut up when he yelled 'Up' and his broom simply rolled over.

Kyle and Helen's brooms had similar reactions to Niko's, and Lloyd Kingman, another Gryffindor, couldn't even get his broom to move an inch. He kicked the broom and cursed at it.

"Come on now people, keep trying if you fail! Very nice, Miss Bradley, Mr. Weasley. Excellent, Miss Spinnett, Mr. Weasley. Good, good, Miss Bell, Miss Johnson. Yes, Miss Baker, Mr. Berstein, now you've got it! Jordan, go get another broom out of the shed over there! Mr. Anadia, you are doing it all wrong!" Madam Hooch barked. At long last, all twenty students got their brooms to obey, and Madam Hooch examined their grips.

"No, Mr. Anadia, that is incorrect! Mr. Jordan, have you actually been able to fly with that horrid grip?" Madam Hooch lectured. They quickly switched their grips.

"All right, on my whistle, push off the ground. One, two, *WHOOSH*," Madam Hooch hollered, blowing her whistle. Val pushed off of the ground and felt the familiar sensation of flying. She circled around slowly, and then dove back down to the ground with a sudden jerk.

"What's going on?" Val yelled, "It's doing this on it's own!" Val shrieked in horror as, twenty feet from the ground, the broom tossed her off.

Suddenly Val was falling, and then just as suddenly, she felt arms catch her. She looked up, and smiling back down at her was Oliver Wood.

"Nasty fall, that would have been. What happened?" he asked.

"The broom was in control. I had no idea what was happening."

"Yeah, those brooms are really old, not very good. They tend to take control. Even the best of fliers have been known to lose control of them. I know I have. You okay, then?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," she said quietly, and she began to squirm. Laughing, Oliver put her back on her own two feet.

"Miss Bradley, do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Madam Hooch asked.

"No. No, I'm totally fine. Can I have a different broom, though?" Val asked, smiling at the retreating figure of Oliver Wood.

"Lucky thing he had a question about the Quidditch season, it was," Madam Hooch said, looking at Val, "And you're positive you don't need to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"Ye..........." Val began.

"Val, look at your wrist!" Fred called down from his broom, and looking down, Val felt extremely nauseous. Her wrist was turning funny shades of purple, and when she poked it, she wanted to scream.

"Madam Hooch, I think I'll go to the Hospital Wing," she said, biting her lip.

"All right then. Mr. Weasley, please escort her. You've flown enough times to know what we're doing," said Madam Hooch, and Fred swooped to the ground.

"That was some fall, Bradley," he said, and looked into her eyes. He was smiling, but she knew it was just a front. She could see in his eyes that he had been truly concerned.

"Lucky Oliver caught me, ay?" she said, laughing.

"Does your wrist hurt, Val? It looks awful nasty." She nodded, and they walked in silence until they reached the castle doors.

"All right, which was is the Hospital Wing? I've forgotten already," Fred murmured.

"Oh, dear, here we go," Val muttered, "I haven't got a clue either."

"How about we cause some mischief on the way, then? I tend to find things when I'm running from teachers," Fred said, and he pulled a bag of Dungbombs out of his pocket.

"Weasley, you certainly are trouble, aren't you?"

"Would you like to throw it?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. She took the Dungbomb, and, making sure no one was watching, she tossed it. They were surrounded in a horrible smelling cloud of smoke, and they heard a yell from behind them. It was Argus Filch, the care taker.

"Run," Fred hissed, and Val didn't hesitate. She set off at a sprint, Fred right behind her.

As soon as they were sure that they had lost Filch, they slowed a bit. Val looked to her left, and there was the Hospital Wing.

"I don't believe it," Val said, panting. She was still laughing, and so was Fred. She walked slowly into the room, making sure that she had caught her breath.

"How may I help you, Miss Bradley?" Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, asked. Val showed the nurse her wrist, and she clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Nasty bruise, you've got there. How on earth did you manage it?" she asked.

"I fell off my broom," Val said, grinning sheepishly.

"And you landed on your wrist?" she asked in bewilderment.

"No, Oliver Wood caught me before I hit the ground," Val said.

"Ah, yes. Well, let me see that, and I'll have it fixed in a second."

Madam Pomfrey was not kidding about the 'fix it in a second' part. All she had to do was say a few words and her wrist was fixed.

"Thank you," Val murmured, and she and Fred turned to leave. However, when she walked around the corner, she smacked into Oliver Wood.

"Hi, Oliver," she said.

"How are you, Val? Are you all right?" he asked, and pointed toward the Hospital Wing that she had just left.

"Oh, my wrist was swelling up, that's all. Thanks again for catching me," she said, smiling.

"I wanted to talk to you for a second alone. Is that okay, Forge?" Oliver asked.

"Sure," Fred said, " I'll see you in the Common Room, Val."

"Why do you call him Forge?" Val asked, and looked up into Oliver's eyes.

"It's a joke between me and the twins. A couple of years ago, when I first met them, Molly was getting hoarse from yelling at the two, so when she called them to dinner she said, Forge, come! and I've called them that ever since. They don't mind, though, because they've never said anything about it."

Val smiled and said, "Well, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I was wondering if you had considered trying out for the Quidditch Team next year. You're a great player, and it's already been decided that I'm going to be captain next year."

"Quidditch? Me?" Val asked, "I've never really thought about it."

"Well, you should. See you later, Val," he said, and vanished.

"Bye, Oliver."

~~~

School kept flying by that year, and Val enjoyed it more than anything else in her entire life. For a change she had more friends than one, and what wonderful friends they were. The terrible foursome, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, and Val herself, were totally inseperabler, and the only people more troublesome than them were Fred and George Weasley.

No one said anything, but there was sort of an unspoken agreement between Oliver and Val, and even though she was eleven, she had a huge crush. It would have been worse, but the look in Oliver Wood's eyes every time he saw Val made it obvious that the feeling was mutual.

The school work at Hogwarts was difficult, but Val kept up with it best she could. She wasn't the ideal student, like Percy Weasley, but she got good enough grades. Fred and George managed decent grades, as did Alicia. Angelina managed grades more like Val's, slightly higher that decent, but lower than great. Katie was the exceptional student of the group, but even she was nothing compared to Percy. Katie was often spotted tutoring Lee Jordan, who had an extremely difficult time in Charms.

When they weren't doing schoolwork, the seven were wreaking havoc on the school with Dungbomb's and fireworks. Fred and George already had had at least two dozen detentions, and the girl's, who were better at making quick escapes, only had about six each.

Of course, on occasion they didn't feel like getting in trouble and settled down for a friendly game of Exploding Snap, or Wizard Chess. Val, who had never played Chess, Wizard or Muggle, before in her life, caught on quickly and soon could beat every single person in the Gryffindor House.

The Gryffindor's loved it, and they made sure that Val played at least one person a night. She beat them all.

Val's favorite part of Hogwarts was watching the Quidditch matches. She didn't miss a single one, and she payed close attention when the Gryffindor Team, which included Oliver Wood, played.

Before Val knew it, it was nearly the end of school. There was only a week left, and all of their final exams had been finished.

The only thing left was a school wide Wizarding Chess Tournament. Each house would choose one person to represent them, and then they would face off. Ravenclaw would play Gryffindor in the first round, and then the winner would face either Hufflepuff or Slytherin for the championship.

The Gryffindors chose Val Bradley.

~~~~

The Ravenclaw contestant was Penelope Clearwater, and she put up a hard fight. Penelope was very intelligent, and each time she made a move, Val looked as though she were trapped, but each time, Val used it to her advantage. In the end, Penelope was angry, but shook Val's hand like a good sport.

Kyle Flint defeated the Hufflepuff contender, and everyone was sure he had found a way to cheat because he was dumber than a brick.

On the championship day, Val figured out that he had cast a spell on his pieces, and each time Val blinked, they were in a different place. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall saw this, and she put in the nearest Slytherin to face Val while Kyle was punished.

The nearest one was Kyle's little brother Marcus, and he was a pushover. Val beat him so easily that it may as well have been a mtach againt a brick.

George, Fred, and Oliver lifted her into the air, and Professor McGonagall handed her a large trophy. Val had never been happier.

Then the time came for her to board the train and go back to life with her aunt, Marcie. Val wanted to stay at Hogwarts with all of her friends, but she knew she would have more fun with Marcie than she would have with her family back in Rhode Island.

The train ride back to Platform 9 and 3/4 went very quickly, and she waved good-bye to Angelina, Katie, and Alicia. Fred and George had left a short time before, saying that they would see her tomorrow. Oliver Wood kissed her on the cheek before flouncing away.

And there, amidst the crowd, was her aunt Marcie. Pushing her way through the crowd, she ran to her, and together they drove back to their home.

This was going to be a good summer after all.

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