Neville Longbottom had a terrible memory—that was the first impression almost everyone got when they met him.
And it was true.
So his grandmother had sent an owl with a Remembrall just for him.
If you held it and the ball turned red, you'd know you'd forgotten to do something.
Neville was showing it off when Malfoy, full from lunch, happened to pass by. Then, for some reason, he reached out and snatched the Remembrall...
Yes, as hard as it was to understand, that was exactly what happened.
After hearing the whole story, Glenn felt like smacking his forehead.
They were all children, of course, but this sort of childish behavior was hard to believe from a Slytherin!
"Malfoy, do you have a terrible memory?"
"At least it's better than that chubby kid's, who forgot to wear his school robes." Malfoy lifted his chin as he spoke to the furious Harry and Ron.
"Then give it back. You don't need it, unless you want to cost Slytherin more points."
Professor McGonagall was walking toward them from nearby.
At that, Malfoy's face darkened. But, surprisingly, he said nothing. He simply handed the ball to Glenn and walked away.
He didn't even make an infuriating face before leaving.
"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall asked as she came over.
Harry opened his mouth, but when he saw Glenn holding the Remembrall beside him, he shook his head.
"Nothing, Professor. We were just fooling around."
"Very well. Be careful not to go too far."
Leaving them with those words, the sharp-eyed professor turned and walked away.
After that, Harry, Ron, and Neville—friends who had known one another even before being sorted—naturally brought their food over to Glenn's table.
"If you and Malfoy weren't in the same house, I'd have made him lose points too, to get revenge for you," Harry said regretfully.
He'd thought he'd never find anyone more unpleasant than his cousin Dudley, who had bullied him since childhood. But Draco Malfoy had turned out to be the exception.
"Mate, I feel for you. If I'd been sorted into Slytherin and had to share a common room with Malfoy, I'd have dropped out for sure," Ron said sympathetically.
"So, has Malfoy bullied you since the Sorting?"
Glenn thought about it. If what had just happened counted as bullying, then no.
"Gemma, our prefect, keeps a pretty close eye on things in the common room. Bullying is strictly forbidden."
"That's good," said not Harry or Ron, but a girl with bushy brown hair.
"I wish you'd be more sensible when you act, instead of looking like you're about to start a fight." Hermione set her food on the table.
"Here we go again," Ron muttered under his breath.
Ignoring Ron's complaint, Hermione asked Glenn, "Did you hear? We're having Flying Lesson with you today."
As she spoke, she glanced anxiously at the book on the table, Quidditch Through the Ages.
"I'd hoped to find some flying instructions in this book, but unfortunately, it only talks about the barbaric sport of Quidditch."
"What?! Barbaric Quidditch?" Hermione's words immediately drew the ire of Ron, a Quidditch fanatic.
"Quidditch is the most popular and exciting sport there is! It's wild, sure, but there's nothing barbaric about it!" Ron said, eyes wide.
"Really?" Hermione retorted without a hint of politeness. "Then why did it make the Golden Snidget an endangered species?"
"What's that got to do with Quidditch?" Ron instinctively shot back, then frowned. "What's a Golden Snidget? Is it anything like a Golden Snitch...?"
"It's a small, agile flying bird," Glenn said with a smile, the corners of his mouth lifting in a rare expression.
He might not know much about Quidditch, but when it came to the Golden Snidget, he had plenty to say.
Poppy Sweeting was a very sweet and kind friend from Hufflepuff.
A century ago, she and Glenn had been partners in protecting Fantastic Beasts. Together, they had overcome many challenges that others thought impossible.
Freeing a dragon was only one of their many accomplishments.
But what he remembered most was the Golden Snidget.
They were among the few left in the world. They had only just hatched from their eggs, but poachers had already set their sights on them...
Luckily, he and his Hufflepuff friend had saved them, keeping the poachers from killing the lovely creatures.
On this subject, Glenn showed unprecedented enthusiasm, talking endlessly about the Golden Snidget and what made it special.
His explanation made Hermione's eyes shine, and even Harry, who had known nothing about the wizarding world until recently, listened with rapt attention.
Even Ron had to admit that, setting Quidditch aside, this bird—the original model for the Golden Snitch—did sound interesting.
"All right, Glenn. I suppose you do have some Slytherin in you after all. You can make an explanation sound so persuasive. I'm starting to feel sorry for them."
Glenn smiled and said nothing more.
"So, how are we supposed to ride the brooms in Flying Lesson?" Neville picked up the conversation and asked timidly.
Although he came from a wizarding family, he was even more worried than Harry, who had never been near a broomstick before.
He'd never ridden a broomstick in his life, and his grandmother wouldn't even let him go near one.
Perhaps it was because of Glenn's fascinating explanation just now, or perhaps because of what had happened on the train. Either way, Neville felt that this boy his own age was much more mature than him, so he asked without thinking.
The others didn't find the question strange, either. They all pricked up their ears, ready to hear this Slytherin's flying advice.
Glenn paused, recalling the techniques for riding a broomstick.
"Pick up the broom, mount it, push off hard, then lean forward and dive..."
After carefully noting down Glenn's advice on flying a broomstick, Neville decided to put it to use in the afternoon Flying Lesson with Slytherin.
Then he would learn one important lesson: never take flying advice from Glenn as a beginner.
As the Slytherins and Gryffindors stared in stunned silence, Neville shot off like a rocket.
He flew straight into the sky, picking up speed with every passing moment.
Madam Hooch, their Flying Lesson teacher, let out a piercing shriek. Without saying a word, she mounted her broom and chased after him.
Watching Neville hurtle away at incredible speed, Glenn narrowed his eyes and thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
"He could probably go even faster..."
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