Aymee Parker - The Secret Tournament

Chapter 11 : Flying Lesson

*Warning, the end of this chapter can have a trigger effect on people sensitive to violent scenes and deaths*

The following Thursday, the Ravenclaws had their first flying lessons and it was in common with the Slytherins. Grant and Duncan, who had by then become Quidditch pals, kept talking about the lesson with fascination. Obviously, they were very eager to get on a broomstick and make figures in the sky.

"It's too bad that this course stops after the first year," declared Grant. "It should be offered among the course choices."

Then began a debate on the need to know how to fly on a broomstick and with what degree of talent. The boys, with the exception of Kenji, were particularly involved in this debate, which the girls later joined. Aymee, on the other hand, pretended to have homeworks to do in the library to avoid the conversation. Megan joined her fairly quickly.

"I've never fly and, anyway, I tend to get dizzy easily," explained Megan with a shrug. "This kind of conversation is not really my thing. Plus, I have homeworks to finish. What about you?"

"Same," Aymee muttered, wanting to change the subject. "What is your homework about?"

"Astronomy," admitted Megan with a guilty smile. "Rosalie told me that you helped her a lot. Could you help me too? Please?"

"Of course," Aymee smiled, delighted to change the subject.

They entered the library and Megan had to narrowly avoid Arvel Casey coming out. The boy blushed before apologizing and striding away. Megan and Aymee exchanged a surprised look before returning to their first topic of conversation.

Thursday came way too quickly for Aymee's liking. That very morning, at the Ravenclaw table, her friends, those who had already flew, kept bragging about unlikely exploits and/or misadventures, such as Grant boasting of escaping the pursuit of a muggle war plane. Megan and Aymee raised an eyebrow: they doubted that there were still fighter jets on patrol.

"If only Quidditch were allowed in the first years," Grant concluded with a sulky pout. "Aaaah, can't wait for the second year!"

"For you to break your neck?" Rosalie asked. "I'd rather not have to tell Mom in a letter, so, you know, don't."

She was also responding to the letter their mother had just sent them. Aymee glanced at the envelope out of curiosity. The stamp and the address indicated that Rosalie's family lived in Ireland. A piece of cardboard fell as she turned the letter over.

"Ah! Rosalie, you forgot that," Aymee told her, handing her the tiny piece of blank cardboard.

"Mmh? AH! It's Arnold!"

"Eh?"

Rosalie turned the card in her hand to show the side Aymee hadn't seen. There was an inked animal footprints on it.

"Those are his footprints! He's a niffler who was born this summer. Mom breeds and I help her," Rosalie clarified. "Arnold is a little cutie and he's A-DO-RA-BLE!" Rosalie cheerfully explained, emphasizing each syllable of 'adorable'. "I would have taken him with me, but the admission letter clearly stated that only owls, toads or cats were allowed. Well, I saw some with ferrets and rats... But anyway, he still has to stay with his mother for a few weeks. It wouldn't have been good for him to come with me."

Rosalie continued to extol Arnold's beauty and merits until the end of lunch. Around her, the other students seemed fed up, but Aymee loved to talk about anything other than the flying lesson, so she listened very carefully to everything Rosalie had to say about Arnold, such as than his stubbornness to prefer diamonds to gold.