Cordelia was down in the Great Hall. She was waiting for Alvie to come - she was doing a Quidditch tryout because she wanted to try and get keeper for the Slytherin team.
After five minutes of waiting and reading the Daily Prophet, she came running into the Great Hall.
'Cordelia! I got to be the Keeper!' she said happily.
'Good on you!' said Cordelia. 'Look,' she brandished the Daily Prophet at Alvie, 'It said someone's in Azkaban? What's that?'
'Really? Someone's in Azkaban?' She looked down at the Daily Prophet, craning her neck. 'Wow - Bellatrix Lestrange is in Askaban! Well, no surprise..'
'What's Azkaban?' Cordelia asked again impatiently.
'It's a prison - Dementors guard it - it's a really horrible place,' Alvie said.
'What are Dementors?'
Alvie sighed. 'A Dementor is a gliding, wraithlike Dark creature, widely considered to be one of the foulest to inhabit the wizarding world. Dementors feed on human happiness and thus generate feelings of depression and despair in any person in close proximity to them.'
'Eugh!' Cordelia said. 'That's....horrible. I feel sorry for Bellatrix Lestrange.'
'Well...maybe, but she did murder, you know,' Alvie said, tossing the Daily Prophet back to Cordelia.
'Oh. Well, in that case... who did she murder?'
'Er, Sirius Black.'
'Who's he?'
'Well, the Ministry used to think that he was a murderer himself, but actually they found out that he was innocent.'
'Oh, yeah! I think my dad told me about that.' Cordelia sighed and stood up. 'I might go out into the grounds - get some fresh air... and maybe do my Potions assignment.'
Alvie shrugged. 'OK.'
'Do you wanna come with me?' Cordelia asked.
For some reason, Alvie blushed. 'Um..well....I - I said I'd meet someone..'
'Ohhhhh.' Realisation flooded into Cordelia. 'Who are you meeting?'
'Just a friend.' Alvie said.
'What's his name?'
'Who said it was a he?' Alvie said angrily. 'I told you - we're just friends! And nothing will change that!'
'OK.' Cordelia shrugged, then started out of the Great Hall.
She went out into the grounds and sat down in a shady spot under a tree. She had just started writing her assignment when someone shouted, 'Hey Slytherinnneeee!'
Cordelia looked up, to see a group of boys and girl Gryffindors standing there.
One Gryffindor boy shouted, 'Tarantallegra!'
Cordelia started to dance wildly and her assignment slid off her lap and onto the ground.
A girl purposely stepped onto it, and said, 'Oopsie daisy!'
Cordelia tried to stop herself from dancing, but it was useless.
A few Gryffindors laughed while a huddle of Ravenclaw girls that were looking at a piece of paper looked up and started to stare.
'Oi! Stop it! She did nothing to you!' a voice shouted from behind Cordelia. The voice muttered an incantation and her legs stopped dancing immediately.
She looked around to see a Gryffindor boy standing there. Even though he had helped her, she felt a bit angry towards him. The other Gryffindors were apparently friends with him, for one said, 'Oh, come on, man! She's a Slytherin!'
That doesn't mean that you should just bully her when she did nothing to you!'
'Well, OK,' said the Gryffindor boy who had shouted Tarantallegra. He and his other Gryffindor friends moved away.
Cordelia had a suspicion that they were going to bully another Slytherin first year.
'Are you OK?' asked the Gryffindor boy, moving towards her.
'I'm fine, of course,' Cordelia answered stiffly. She resumed the writing of her assignment.
'Sorry about that.'
'Well why should you be friends with such people, then?'
'They were just being silly, you know, boys -'
'I'm trying to do my assignment, thank you!' said Cordelia. 'Thank you for helping me, but really, I have to finish this by tomorrow,' and she turned away from the boy.
'OK. Um, names Hector, by the way.' Then he stood up, and walked away.

The next day, Cordelia decided that she wanted to join the Slytherin Quidditch team. She asked Montague, who said gruffly, 'I'll see.'
A few days passed, then finally Montague turned up again, and said, 'You can try out for a Chaser.'
'OK, great! Thanks! What time should I come down to the Quidditch training grounds?'
'Today at six o'clock.'
'Fine, good.'
Cordelia joined Alvie at the Great Hall.
'I'm going to tryout for a Chaser,' she explained to Alvie.
'Oh good,' said Alvie, but apparently not taking in at all what they were talking about. She was staring at her plate with a strange expression on her face.
'What's up?' Cordelia asked.
Alvie jumped, like she had just seen Cordelia. 'Oh, um, nothing!'
Cordelia raised her eyebrows.
'Its not your business!' snapped Alvie.
'Oh, well, OK,' said Cordelia, draining a glass of water.

Three hours passed, and in the common room Cordelia said to Alvie, 'I need to go and try out for a Chaser now. Um, are you sure you're all right, Alvie?' For Alvie had just tipped a whole glass of orange juice all over herself.
'I'm fine!'
'I'm sure it's something to do with Lucas, isn't it?' Cordelia was referring to a boy she was sure Alvie secretly liked.
'How did you know that -' then Alvie clapped a hand to her mouth. 'It's nothing to do with him, I mean -'
'I know you, Alvie! You're my best friend! I know when you're hiding things from me,' Cordelia said, smiling.
'Well, fine, it has got something to do with him.' Alvie swallowed and continued. 'Um, I kind of liked Lucas, you must have figured that out by now, but he - he said he hated would never like me only because my brother - my brother was a Squib!' Then Alvie burst into tears.
Cordelia patted her back. 'Well, he was a bit of an idiot - always showing off - always going out with the only pureblood families,' said Cordelia. 'But Alvie, I have to go now - you know, I'll be late for the tryout.'
'Yeah, you go,' said Alvie. 'I'll be fine.'
So Cordelia left the Slytherin common room, and headed for the Quidditch training ground.
Montague was down there, alone.
'OK, you know the rules of Quidditch, don't you?' he asked.
'Yes, I do, Montague,' said Cordelia.
'Well, I'm going to aim the Bludger at you, and you have to dodge them while holding the Quaffle. Try and score, while I'm aiming the Bludger at you, OK?'
'OK.'
Cordelia mounted and old Shooting Star, then kicked off the ground.
'Ready?' Montague shouted up at her.
'Yes!'
Montague threw up the Quaffle, and Cordelia just caught it with the tip of her fingers.
Then Montague threw the Bludger at Cordelia.
Cordelia narrowly dodged it. She flew towards the goalposts, all the while Montague aiming Bludgers at her.
One time the Bludger hit her hand, but she kept flying. Her hand was really stinging, could she be able to the throw the Quaffle with that hand? Then....'GOAL!' she shouted, and flew down to the ground.
'You did really, really well,' Montague admitted.
'Thanks!' Cordelia said happily.
'You're in for a Chaser,' Montague said.
'Oh, thanks, Montague!' Cordelia said.
'Now run along for dinner, it's starting now.'
Cordelia felt as happy as she had been when she had first started Hogwarts.