Children of the Revolution: Year One

Chapter 6 - Genevieve Rosier

Most of the day went by quickly, admittedly. I was walking with Marlene, Violette, and Rosalie to our first flying lesson, which took place on a grassy field that laid in a valley of the castle. In all honesty, I had no desire to do much else with a broom than learn to fly for the necessity of it. I never grew up with quidditch or football or anything of the like and I had no plans to start such a hobby.

We made our way over walking outside of the school and to our designated class area. On the grass, the brooms were set up in two lines.

"Alright class, put down your bags and choose a broom," A woman with a pixie cut yelled. Based on her whole get up and stern look, I was guessing she was the quidditch coach. No sane woman would dress in such a way... And surely no sane woman would teach quidditch, of all things.

"I am Madam Hooch, the quidditch instructor."

Ah, correct I am.

As Madam Hooch explained the basics of flying on a broom- rules and such that a few unlucky students were sure to fail- I made sure to listen closely. No way that I would be the single student to fall off their bloody broom on the first day! Madam Hooch explained how to exactly hold the broom, showing each step of the process. I stole a glance around the rest of the class; many students seemed fairly excited, but quite a few (Neville Longbottom included unsurprisingly) looked quite green at the idea of flight.

Soon, Madam Hooch called out for us to begin rising.

I cleared my throat and straightened up, "Up!"

The broom merely wiggled on the ground.

"Up!" I called again, against the chorus of voices around me.

This time around, the broom began a confident rise before it plummeted back down. I huffed out an annoyed breath and glanced around. Fortunately, only a few students had successfully gotten their broom up into the air.

One more try...

"Up!"

The broom flew up into my hand with a shocking amount of force behind it.

I smiled with a smug sigh. Third time's the charm.

Madam Hooch then instructed us to sit on the broom and hover above the ground. I went on my broom and it slowly began to rise up. I only hovered for a few seconds before I landed safely. I held the broom with what I knew was well deserved confidence. Not a single fall quite yet, hm? Not ever.

Out of the corner of my eye, a boy's broom was out of control, jerking him left and right. I squinted at the sight, trying to make out who the boy was and—

Oh, Neville Longbottom, of course.

His broom was getting higher and higher until suddenly Neville fell off and landed right on his arm. The class gasped and winced at the fall as Madam Hooch rushed over to him. She helped him up and inspected his arm.

"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'!" She yelled at us, walking away with the boy.

I looked around at the students around me, but most seemed fairly distraught or confused. Maybe Weasley would be the next one to take a dive...

Draco broke through the crowd then, walking up to the front of the class and picking up a small ball. I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest and awaiting whatever show the blond boy was about to put on. He'd also been getting on my nerves a little bit today. He started off strong yesterday with his acting out in the Great Hall, but the stupid prick had to keep on going today. Obviously, he got some sort of euphoria from teasing other kids, but he couldn't just joke about family matters like Rosalie's!