Flying Lesson

Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday -- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

It looks like He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

"I agree with Ron," You said joining the conversation from sette. "You might be better than him, Its not that hard." Trying to reassure him.

"Easy for you to say you're now on the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Harry Said back

"Well then, you could be better than me." You quckily responded getting a smile from him.

Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams execpt for you and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.

Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. You could tell Hermione was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book, You took a guess that she might have tried.

At breakfast on Thursday she bored everyone including you about flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. You could tell Neville was hanging on to her every word, **** for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later it would be easier for you to teach him than a book, everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. You looked as he opened it excitedly, he showed you a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things -- this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red -- oh... " His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet,

"... you've forgotten something Neville..." You said after seeing the colour of the ball

"But that's the problem, I don't know what I have forgotten." He said while a few students started to snigger behind his back. You looked to see if there was anything you could see that he was missing when you saw it.

"Neville you don't have your robes." He looked down before turing to run, you heard him say 'Thanks' as he ran presumably to go get his robe. The other students started to laugh as they saw him run, You just sat down and continued waiting for lesson

At three-thirty that afternoon, You, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto 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 toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. you had already flown a school broom and you knew they were bad, You had notice when practicing that they started to vibrate if you flew too high.

Your teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Welcome to your first Flying lesson at Hogwarts." She announced.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP" everyone shouted.

Yours and Harrys instantly jumped into your hands, A few students looked over at you and Harry when this happened in shock. You looked along the line of Gryffindor students to see what their brooms did Hermione's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all, Ron's smacked him in the face which got a few laughs.

Madam Hooch then showed everyone how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end (not like you needed it), and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. You could see Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle -- three -- two--"

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. slip sideways off the broom getting caught luckly but his robe on a statue then his robe ripping causing him fall with a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight. Lucky that you told him that he had forgot his robes otherwise that fall might have been alot worse, the fall made you have an uneasy feeling inside.

Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. "Broken wrist," You heard her mutter. "Come on, boy -- it's all right, up you get." She 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.' Come on, dear." Well apart from me you thought to yourself. Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, Hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Malfoy laughed

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find -- how about -- up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!" Harry grabbed his broom.

"Harry No Way!" shouted Hermione Granger. "You heard what Madam Hooch said Besides you don't even know how to fly..." You could tell Harry wasn't listening you could see it in his eyes, He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up he soared into the sky, you smirked a little, but you could tell Hermione wasn't impressed

"What an Idiot." She mutted under her breath

"Looks like he's a natural." You murmured to Ron, he nodded back before cheering Harry on.

In the air Harry turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair you couldn't tell what they were saying to each other when Harry speared towards Malfoy just missing, Malfoy then threw the Remembral, You watched as Harry Zoomed through the air past Malfoy the Remembral plummeting to the ground, a foot from the ground he caught it just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.

"HARRY POTTER!"A voice yelled, Your smirk disappeared from your face as you saw Professor McGonagall running toward Harry. He got to his feet, trembling.

"Never -- in all my time at Hogwarts--" Professor McGonagall Coulden't speak she seemed almost speechless with shock, " -- how dare you -- might have broken your neck--"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor--" Parvati Patil trying to defend Harry but was Interupted by McGonagall

"Be quiet, Miss Patil--"

"But Malfoy--" Ron Pleaded

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, Gaunt follow me, now." She Snapped

"Wait, Me what have I don--" You tried to reply

"Quiet." She interupted again, You looked back confused to the other students, people just shrugged there shoulders. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at Harry or You, Am I going to have to defend him from getting expelled. throughts rushed through your head.

Ten minutes of following Professor McGonagall lead you outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" You heard her say, It clicked on she wasn't telling him off but rewarding him Wood was only the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain.

"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry. "In here." She ordered

Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.

"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood -- I've found you a Seeker." She said delighted with herself

You saw Wood's expression changed from being puzzled to delighted. "Are you serious, Professor?" His Scottish accent Bouncing with every word.

"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural Just like Gaunt Here. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?" Harry nodded silently.

"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" Wood asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team, and Gaunt as I think you already know is the new Seeker." Professor McGonagall explained.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say." You were about to say somthing about getting a Nimbus Two Thousand yourself.

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule for you two. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..." You watched as Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry and then to you.

"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." Then she suddenly smiled.

"Your father would have been proud," she said directing er conversation to Harry. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."

Harry looked towards you, You smiled and whispered "Congratulations".