Harry sat there for a while, waiting to calm himself completely before beginning his search for clues.
He picked up his wand and waved it lightly.
"Revelio!"
But he found nothing. There were no traces of his old friends in the Room of Requirement, the secret meeting place of the Order of the Phoenix.
After a fruitless search, Harry finally had to give up.
Silently, he returned to the Gryffindor dormitory and lay down on his bed.
Ron, in the bed opposite, was still fast asleep, lips smacking as he clearly dreamed of something delicious.
The next day, Harry slept until noon — and so did his roommates.
"Good morning," Ron smiled at Harry.
"It's already noon," Harry said, pulling back the curtains and looking out the window.
Usually, breakfast was the time when young witches and wizards received their packages. But since it was the weekend, they preferred to sleep in, and the owls would deliver at midday.
An owl flew through the door and dropped a package into Neville's arms.
"Ouch!" Neville groaned. "Carol! You're always like this!" he complained, tearing open the package to reveal a small glass orb, about half the size of a fist, seemingly filled with white smoke.
"Look, it's a memory orb," Seamus said with a smile.
"Yes, a memory orb," Neville said, wincing. "Grandma knows I'm always forgetful — she warns me if I forget something — here, hold it tight. If it glows red… ah!"
Neville's face fell as the memory orb suddenly glowed bright red. "—You forgot something."
He tried desperately to remember what he had forgotten, when Draco passed by the Gryffindor table and snatched the orb from Neville's hands.
"Malfoy!" Harry, already in a foul mood, stood up. "Give that memory orb back to Neville!"
"Why?" Draco weighed the orb in his hand. "That fat oaf is so stupid, even the memory orb can't help him remember he isn't wearing his robes."
"Oh! That's it!" Neville exclaimed suddenly. "I forgot to wear my robes!"
Draco laughed and tossed the orb onto the table.
"Next time, use that fat behind of yours to think properly, Longbottom," he said with a dark expression. "Someone like you is really…"
He stopped abruptly, because Professor McGonagall, with her cat-like sixth sense, appeared beside them.
"What's going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly.
"Malfoy stole my memory orb, Professor," Neville replied. "Harry and Ron are insisting that he return it."
Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry and Ron provocatively, then turned and left the Gryffindor table.
Harry, already annoyed, felt his anger rise further after the incident. He now had an uncontrollable urge to use Legilimency on Draco's pale, thin face — partly as a small punishment and partly to see if he had any memories of Cassandra.
"Very well, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said with a faint smile on her stern face.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry and Ron replied obediently.
After Tuesday's History of Magic lesson, it was time for Flying class.
A relaxing flying lesson right after a tedious lecture always lifted everyone's spirits. Even the drowsiness caused by Professor Binns' hypnotic voice vanished instantly.
Flying classes were mixed Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the Gryffindor students had nearly been late because Professor Binns forgot to dismiss them.
The Slytherin students were already waiting, looking somewhat impatient, with twenty brooms neatly lined up on the ground.
"These brooms are really old," Ron said to Harry. "I heard they were given to young witches and wizards when Gui studied here, and they haven't been replaced since. Fred always complains that the brooms shake when flying too high, and some are hard to control."
"They definitely need new ones," Harry replied casually.
Contrary to Ron's expectations, Neville and Hermione were incredibly nervous.
Hermione kept reciting from a library book called Origins of Quidditch, trying to calm her fear of flying with theoretical knowledge, while Neville followed closely, treating her recitation as his anchor.
Soon, Madam Hooch arrived in the training area. Her short gray hair framed sharp, eagle-like yellow eyes.
"All right, what are you waiting for?" she shouted. "Everyone, grab a flying broom, quickly, quickly, hurry!"
Harry didn't understand why she was in such a rush.
"Extend your right hand and place it over the broomstick," Madam Hooch shouted from the front, "and say: 'Up!'"
"Up!" everyone yelled.
Harry shouted once, and the broom leapt into his hand. Hermione turned to look at him in surprise, but even after almost yelling herself hoarse, her broom hadn't responded.
"All right, when I whistle, push off with your legs, push hard," Madam Hooch continued. "Hold the broom firmly, rise a few meters, lean slightly forward, and land vertically. Listen for my whistle — three — two —"
Before she could even whistle, Harry saw Neville leap into the air, soaring skyward.
"Wow—" Draco exclaimed, shielding his eyes as he watched Neville shoot upward before crashing onto the ground with a dull thud.
It all happened in a blink; Harry barely had time to draw his wand. He pointed it at Neville and cast a cushioning spell.
But he was still young, and Neville was too far away, so the spell only slightly softened the impact.
"Broken wrist," Madam Hooch said, hurrying to help Neville. "I'm taking this boy to the infirmary immediately, and none of you may move! Put your brooms back, or you'll be expelled before you even get the chance to say 'Quidditch.'"
After Madam Hooch left, Draco picked up the memory orb from the floor.
"Isn't this Longbottom's memory orb?" Draco said with an ironic smile. "If that fat oaf had held this orb, maybe he'd remember he fell on his butt instead of his wrist."
"Give it here, Malfoy!" Harry stepped forward.
"No, I'll hide it so the oaf can find it himself," Draco said, smirking as he mounted his broom and hovered in the air. "How's the roof?" he jeered. "Can't reach it, Potter?"
Without a word, Harry mounted his broomstick, flying with impressive ease.
"Harry! No way! Remember what Madam Hooch just said? You'll be expelled!" Hermione shouted, trying to stop him. "And you don't even know how to fly—"
But Harry was already in the air, soaring effortlessly.
Hermione stood agape; she hadn't expected him to fly so well on his 'first' broom ride.
"Cool!" Seamus exclaimed from below.
"Give it here, Malfoy," Harry said firmly. "Or I'll teach you a lesson."
His eyes stayed locked on Draco's, still debating in his mind whether to use Legilimency.
"Well, Potter?" Draco taunted, tossing the orb. "Going to protect Longbottom?"
Harry was truly furious; the helplessness of not finding an old friend combined with the rage of seeing Draco's infuriating face.
He drew his wand and pointed it at Draco.
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