𓏲 . THE BOY WHO LIVED . .៹♡
                                                        CHAPTER EIGHT
                                      ─── THREE HEADS,ONE BODY

At three-thirty that afternoon, Charlus, Alistair and the other Slytherins hurried down the front steps into the grounds 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 darkly in the distance.

The Slytherin people had arrived first and soon after the Gryffindor students arrived, the Slytherins had about twenty brooms arranged in rows on the floor. Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.  "Good afternoon class." Madame Hooch spoke as she walked down the middle gap in between the students. 

"Good afternoon Madame Hooch." The Gryffindor and Slytherin sides greeted their broom flying teacher at the same time. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. " The woman welcomed them into the lesson with a smile, but then she looked at them expectantly.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." Charlus was excited and soon did what the teacher asked. Then he looked in front of him and saw the Gryffindors. Harry was in front of him. They made eye contact and he looked away quickly, glancing at the Malfoys. "Stick out your right hand over your broom."  called Madam Hooch at the front. "and say, 'Up!'" "UP!" Everyone shouted.

Charlus' broom jumped straight into his hand at once, and the same with Harry, but they were two of the few that did. Charlus even smiled victoriously at this fantastic act. Hermione's had simply rolled over on the ground, Neville's hadn't moved at all and Alistair's began to spin on itself, almost hitting his feet. "With feeling!" yelled Madam Hooch.

"UP!" shouted Ron, so loudly that there was a high chance people from the castle heard him. And the broom did certainly go up, just not exactly where he wanted it to go. It hit him right in the nose, making him cry out in pain.

Harry and Charlus burst out laughing at their ginger haired friend. Ron rubbed his nose, but couldn't stop a quiet laugh, "Shut up,Harry,Charlus!" he grinned at the two Potters, with his nose still hurting. He repeated the exclamation with which the broom landed in his hand.

Alistair tried his best to sound clear and calm. "Up!" And, to his happiness, the broom slowly floated up towards his hand. He smiled proudly, and resisted the urge to jump in joy. "Brilliant!"

"Now, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it. Grip it tight, you don't want to be sliding off the end." the woman explained after everyone's broom was in their hands. "When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground. Hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly, and touch back down."

She walked through the center aisle of the students and looked at each one individually to see if they had understood and then nodded with satisfaction.'"On my whistle! 3...2..." 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, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Charlus saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling
away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and –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 and out of sight. Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.

 The moment Neville fell, Matthew ran towards him. "Hey, are you okay?" the black-haired boy asked him with concern. The Gryffindor students began to murmur, for them, it was new for a Slytherin student to care about someone.

"Broken wrist." Charlus  heard the teacher mutter. "Come on, boy – it's all right, up you get." She helped him get up, and 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.'" She turned back to Neville. "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 Draco Malfoy burst into laughter. "Did you see his face?" His comment earned chuckles from the Slytherin students, except Alistair,Adrian,Matthew and Charlus.

" Shut up, Draco. " snapped Adrian at his twin brother. " He broke his wrist, have empathy...." "Look!" Draco grabbed everyone's attention, finding a round ball in the grass where Neville fell. " Maybe if the fat lud had given this a squeeze, he would've remembered to fall on his fat arse." He held it up and it glittered as the sun hit it.

"Watch out Malfoy, the smoke is turning red. Did your father forget to give you your brains?" Alistair asked him with mock sadness and now Draco scowled at him while the students around them laughed again.

"Give it here, Malfoy." Charlus said with a serious tone while he moved closer to him. He could hear that everyone stopped talking to watch them. The blond-haired Slytherin boy turned to Charlus with a grin. "No, I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up a tree?"

"Draco..." Adrian warned him. "Give it here!" Harry yelled, stepping up next to Charlus. Draco had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He could fly very well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it,Potters!"

Charlus gritted his teeth irritated while calculating his chances. He then took his broom and saw his brother doing the same. "Harry,Charlus, no way!" Hermione shouted. "You heard what Madam Hooch said! Besides, you two don't even know how to fly!"

Harry ignored her. Charlus gave her a sympathetic look but didn't say anything. Blood was pounding in his ears. Charlus mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared with Harry beside him; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught—this was easy, this was wonderful.

They pulled up their broomsticks up a little to take them even higher, and Charlus heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron. Alistair pursed his lips to try and hide his smile — it seemed Harry and Charlus Potter had another talent.

Harry and Charlus each took an opposite side of Malfoy, so that he was sandwiched in between them and couldn't move. "Give it here, Malfoy!" Charlus shouted at him, while holding his broom still. The blonde boy just smirked. "If you want it, come and get it." And with that, he threw the ball over Harry's head.

Without hesitation, Charlus flew after the ball as fast as he could and caught it elegantly. His head snapped up and he just managed to dodge Malfoy, who tried to block him, and he threw the Remembrall to Harry. To Charlus' surprise, the boy caught it with one hand.

The two Potters flew back to ground,feeling victorious. Charlus threw his arms around his brother. "We did it! We actually did it!" Harry laughed and put his free arm around his brother, holding the other one up to show everyone the Remembrall.

The Gryffindors and a few Slytherins cheered and congratulated them until Professor McGonagall und Professor Snape came storming out of the castle. "HARRY POTTER!" "CHARLUS POTTER!" Charlus looked at Harry. "Oh, this can't be good."

McGonagall and Snape reached the crowd. " Follow us. Now." The two boys gave each other a nervous look before they followed quickly behind them. Minerva und Severus escorted the two boys to a classroom. McGonagall opened the door and her and Snape stepped inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" McGonagall asked. "And may I see Flint?" Snape drawled. Wood and Flint? Charlus thought, bewildered; was Wood a cane they were going to use on them, and was Flint something to light Wood on fire?

But Wood and Flint turned out to be people, two burly fifth years who came out looking confused what they calledthem out of class for and looking as if they hated each other. "Follow us, you four." said McGonagall, and they marched up the corridor, Wood and Flint looking curiously at Harry and Charlus. "In here."

Professor McGonagall and Snape pointed them  into an empty classroom. "Charlus Potter and Marcus Flint please go with Professor Snape to that side of the classroom, Harry Potter and Oliver Wood, follow me to this side."

Charlus followed Flint and Snape. "Potter, this is Marcus Flint. Flint, I have found you a Slytherin seeker." Snape told Flint. Flint's face changed to delight, and Charlus furrowed his brow. "This isn't a joke?" he asked. "No, it's not." said Professor Snape crisply.

As Charlus walked down the hallway with Harry,Alistair and Ron, he overheard Sir Nicholas speaking to another ghost. "Have you heard that Harry Potter is Gryffindor's newest seeker and Charlus Potter is Slytherin's newest seeker! I always knew those boys would do well!"

The oldest Potter smiled to himself. "Seekers?" Ron stammered. "But first-years never—you two must be the youngest players in the—" "A century! At least that's what McGonagall and Snape told us." Harry cut him off, excitedly. "That's amazing!" smiled Alistair. "Congratulations, Harry,Charlus!" "Thanks!" they smiled back.

As the four boys walked beside one another, Fred and George had approached them, "Well done, Harry! Wood's just told us. Of course you did well too, Charlus!" Harry and Charlus looked at the two ginger twins confused, before Ron explained, "Fred and George are on the team too. Beaters."

"Yup! Our job is to make sure that you don't get bloodied up too bad. Can't make any promises of course, rough game Quidditch." Fred joked. "Brutal!" agreed George. "But no ones died in years! Someone will vanish occasionally." "But they'll turn up in a month or two!" The twins said together before they walked down the corridor laughing.

Harry and Charlus looked as white as chalk on their faces while they walked with Ron and Alistair into the courtyard.  "Don't listen to them!" Alistair said immediately, but they remained pale and now Ron agreed with him. "Come on guys, Quidditch is great! Best game there is! You both'll be great too."

"Neither of us have ever even played Quidditch!" Harry told them and Charlus nodded in agreement. "He's right. What if we make a fool of ourselves?" he asked. Suddenly Hermione joined in as she began walking with them out. "You won't make a fool of yourself. It's in your blood."

The four boys looked at each other before they turned back to her. The bushy haired girl  smiled and rolled her eyes before she ran off, but she heard the footsteps of the four  boys following closely behind her.

Hermione took the four of them to cabin full of medals and trophies. There she pointed to one of the trophies that had the name of the Gryffindor Quidditch team on it. "Woah!" Ron exclaimed as he read the name on the trophy. "Harry, Charlus, you never told me your father was a seeker too!"

"We never knew ourselves." Charlus replied a little more quietly now, but had to smile when he read the name James Potter. "No way!" Ron exclaimed again. " Alistair, why didn't you tell me your father was a seeker too?"

Alistair looked at him, confused as to what he meant. "He's right. " Hermione said and pointed to another trophy that had the name of the Slytherin  Quidditch team on it. He glanced over and read the name Regulus Black. "I didn't know either. " he replied, and touched the glass where his father's name was written.

"Come on, let's go. We have other lessons." Charlus said  after a few minutes of silence and the five of them started walking again. Well, actually Hermione ran after them.

" Don't you think it's a bit spooky? She knows more about the three of you than you three do!" Ron said to his three friends. He, of course, was talking about Hermione, who had just rolled her eyes at his comment. Alistair laughed before he looked at him. "Yeah, well who doesn't." he said.

The five all smiled at one another before suddenly the staircase began to shift. They startled and had to hold on tight. "What's happening?" Harry asked in a panic tone. "We're going to fall." Charlus said sarcastically and held on to the banister, moaning. "Well, the stairs are moving, just like we were told!" he added and calmed down again when the staircase came to a stop and positioned the five of them in a different direction.

"Come on! Let's go this way." Alistair said quickly and pointed to a door that was in front of them. "Yeah, before the staircase moves again." Ron said, as he,Charlus,Harry and Hermione followed behind Alistair.

The three Gryffindors and the two Slytherins opened the door blocking their path, and walked through. They entered a dreary and dark corridor. The floor was full of dust that rose as they stepped on it. There was an eerie silence that brought shivers down Charlus' spine.

"Does anyone else feel like we shouldn't be in here?" asked Ron in a whisper as he looked around the room. "That's because we aren't supposed to be in here. I think this is the third floor." answered Alistair to his friend after he looked around as well. Hermione gasped, "But Dumbledore said that this floor was forbidden!"

They exchanged looks for a moment, and they continued walking forward. Suddenly a light lit up , which gave light to the room, causing them to gasp in fear. "We should get out of here." Harry said in a nervous tone. "Right." agreed Charlus with his brother.

The five turned back around towards the door which they once came from, but a really ugly cat with googly yellow eyes was now blocking their path. It was Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. "Uh that's not good." Alistair gulped. "Run!!" shouted Harry as he ran in the opposite direction. Ron, Hermione, and Charlus followed after him quickly.

Charlus was the fastest and so he reached the end of the hallway first, closely followed by the rest. Once again, there was another door blocking their path. The oldest Potter yanked at the handle with all of his strength. "Damn, it's locked!" he remarked.

Harry and Ron looked nervously behind them. "Maybe you have to push instead of pull. " Alistair suggested. Hermione, who was standing at the back, pushed her way past Ron and stood next to Charlus "Oh move over!" She took her wand out and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora!"

It instantly opened with a click and the four boys looked at one another before piling into the room behind Hermione. Charlius closed the door behind them to make sure that Mrs. Norris would stop chasing them. "Alohomora?" he heard Ron ask Hermione. "Standard Book of Spells, Chapter 7." She explained him.

Alistair pressed his ear up against the door. Charlus assumed he was trying to hear if Filch made any noise "I don't hear anything. I think Filch's gone." "Probably thinks this doors locked." Ron suggested. "Because it was closed." said Hermione and rolled her eyes at him.

"And for good reason." Harry said with panic in his voice and when Charlus looked questioningly in the direction he was looking, his eyes grew wide. "Now that's what I call a mutt." he just said it and looked at the sleeping three-headed dog, which Hermione, Alistair and Ron now also saw.

One of its six eyes opened and, when the five others opened too. The three pairs of eyes looked down at them furiously, while the three mouths growled, showing a lot of incredibly sharp and big teeth. At the same time, the five  children screamed and rushed to the door to get away from the huge barking dog.

Breathing heavily and in mortal fear, Charlus closed the door again and ran out of the corridor with the others. "What do they think they're doing!" said Ron, still out of breath. "Keeping a bloody thing like that locked up in a school!"

"You don't use your eyes, do you?" asked Hermione him as they walked back down the corridors. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" "I wasn't looking at it's feet! I was a bit preoccupied with its heads! Or maybe you didn't notice. There were three!" Ron yelled back at her.

" I think she means that it clearly wasn't there by accident. It's guarding something."Charlus said. "At least one of you has brains." Hermione said as Charlus came to her defence. Harry turned to his brother. "Guarding something?" he asked him. Charlus simply shrugged.

 "It doesn't matter! " The bushy haired girl said sharply. "Now, if you four don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed- Or worse, expelled!"

The four boys were taken aback by the girl's sudden outburst as they watched her call the Gryffindor password and run up to the common room through the talking picture.

"Always nice to talk to her." Alistair muttered, making Harry smile a little next to him. "Well, one thing is for certain. That girl needs to sort out her priorities. " Charlus scoffed as he shook his head and now the four boys all had to laugh quietly.

━━ AUTHORS NOTE

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! We're getting closer and closer to the end of the philosophers stone! Thank god ahaha.

While you're here, I'd appreciate it if you could like, comment, vote and share this story with your friends!

Until next time! Much love to you all!