Like most of her classmates, Millie really enjoyed Charms. McGonagall was awesome, but frightening, Sprout was motherly but a bit scatty, and there was a greater chance of falling asleep in the greenhouses than she liked, Binns was just out and out boring, and Snape was … well, he was just evil.

But Flitters? He was great! There was always a bit of good-natured acting up in class, but the old boy kept order so you didn’t get annoyed, and he always had something to do; something practical. You always came away with something new. But somehow he didn’t make it feel like you were learning. You just …did stuff, and then you knew it.

So when the glass balls were passed out, she leaned over to Hazel and whispered, “What are the chances at least one of these puppies gets broken? Bet you Hadley drops hers.”

As the others set their glass orbs to floating, Millie studied hers. It looked pretty old, with the glass kind of rippled and bubbly. There was a little dot on one side, which probably had something to do with how it was made. She tapped it idly with her wand, and nothing happened. There didn’t seem to be anything magical about the glass at all, so raising her hand she called out, “Professor, are these Muggle made? Or Wizard?” Not that it mattered, of course, just that she was curious.

She didn’t get an answer, though, because just then there was a crash, and one of the baubles exploded on the floor.

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