Pandora Black: DemiWitch

Flying and Why in Olympus is Cerberus here?!?!

After my IM session with Silena, I joined the rest of the Gryffindor first years to head down to the first Flying Lesson.

"Pandora! There you are!" Ron called me over. I hurried over to him and Harry. "Are you excited about the lesson? It's the only one I actually wanted to do." He said.

"I'm actually kind of nervous. I've never flown on a broom before." I said.

"It's okay, Pandora. I haven't either." Harry said in a comforting way. I smiled at him as Hermione caught up to us. I noticed that she was looking at me a little funny, but I let it go for now. We all got down to where the lesson was going to be and saw a bunch of broomsticks lined up in two lines. The Slytherins were already standing along one line so the rest of us went to the opposite one. I was between Ron and Neville with Harry and Hermione of Ron's other side. Poor Neville looked so nervous.

"Good afternoon class!" Madam Hooch, the Flying Instructor, strode between the brooms.

"Good afternoon Madam Hooch!" We all greeted her.

She muttered something to herself before she turned to face us. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick." We all followed her instructions. "Come on now, hurry up. Stick your right hand over the broom and say, up!" She ordered.

I held my hand over the broom, feeling stupid, and ordered the broom. "Up!" The broom did nothing. I kept ordering it before I got irritated. "πάνω!" I said angrily, accidentally putting Charmspeak into my voice. The broom shot into my hand. Ron looked at me confused.

"What did you just say?" He asked.

"Sorry, I sometimes speak Greek when I'm angry. Πάνω means Up." I said sheepishly.

Harry, Draco and I were the only ones who actually had their broom. Hermione was repeating "up" but the broom just rolled around on the ground, which was kind of funny.

"Up!" Ron whined and the broom shot right up, smacking him in the face, which made me burst out laughing. Ron's ears and cheeks were pink as a couple of us laughing. "Shut up you guys." He said embarrassed. I stopped laughing but I couldn't wipe the grin on my face.

"Now, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it. And grip it tight, you don't want to be sliding off the end." Madam Hooch ordered. "When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, and then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle...3...2..." She blew her whistle and Neville nervously kicked off too hard and was rising jerkily.

"Mr. Longbottom! Come back down this instant!" Neville was about 15 or 20 feet into the air and must have slipped or something because he fell back down and as he landed, I heard a sick CRACK, letting me know he just broke something. I quickly dropped my broom and knelt down beside him. Madam Hooch quickly joined me.

"He broke his wrist, Professor." I informed her.

"Come along, Miss Black. Lift him up." I nodded and helped a whimpering Neville to his feet. "Everyone's to keep their feet firmly on the ground while Miss Black and I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say, Quidditch." She said. I followed her down the halls.

"Don't worry Neville, I'm sure the nurse will fix it faster than you can say Ouch!" I said, trying to cheer him up.

"I know. It still hurts though." He whimpered.