Dandelions

SOMERSAULTS OF VARYING KINDS

"Up!" Rory commanded for the third time, staring angrily down at his broom that was still lazily napping on the ground by his feet. His posture was textbook, his hand the perfect amount of distance from the broom handle--yet the thing was stubborn as a damn mule.

"Perhaps try being nicer," Lee said from beside him, "Up, please?"

Rory glanced down at Lee's unmoving broom with an unimpressed stare.

"Was worth a try, I suppose," George mumbled from Rory's left. "Though, you've really gotta command it up--like, up!"

George's broom flew up into his hand firmly, shaking his arm a bit as he stabilized his grip. He turned to Rory with a shit-eating grin, if his ego were visible it'd probably be the size of the moon. Rory couldn't help but roll his eyes to relieve some of his irritation, looking back down at his broom with a glare strong enough to melt steel.

"Up," he said, more forcefully this time. Some sort of foggy heat filled his head as he willed with all his might for his broom to meet his palm.

A satisfying smack sounded as the broom jumped upward into his hand--Rory's mind barely having time to react, so his fingers could wrap around the handle. He stared, dumbfounded, at the fact he'd managed to get it to finally listen.

"Right on!" Fred cheered from over on the other side of Lee, "Now, all we've got to do is get this bonehead-"

"I'm right here," Lee snipped, nudging Fred harshly in the arm. "Up!"

"Having some trouble, Mr. Jordan?" Madam Hooch approached, hands on her hips as she towered over the boys. "Here, plant your feet firmly, like so-"

She had Lee completely reevaluate his stance, and most likely all his life decisions up until that point as well. Rory would have laughed if he wasn't listening to her advice so intently.

Madam Hooch just had that air about her, like she was an expert in everything she cared to put her mind to. Her words were chosen carefully, but spoken with a confidence that made Rory feel inadequate every single time she glanced his way. She stepped back from Lee, giving him a once over before nodding with reluctant approval.

"Alright, try now," she gestured at his broom before placing her hands back on her hips.

"No pressure," Lee shakily mumbled under his breath. He shifted slightly, his body rolling through a readjustment before he looked down with a stony expression at his broom. "Up!"

Lee's entire body shook violently as his broom raced up to meet his hand, his expression clearly startled from the broom moving so quickly. Fred subtly nudged him and muttered 'congratulations' as Lee turned to look back up at Madam Hooch.

"There you go!" She clapped him on the back roughly before moving onto other students who were having similar issues.

"See, we knew you weren't hopeless," George teased, "You've got some wizard in you, after all."

"Yeah, yeah," Lee muttered, lips pursing in embarrassment.

They practiced a few more times, making sure they were able to get the broom to obey their commands, until Madam Hooch ended the exercise. Once every student was able to get a broom in hand, she began demonstrating how to properly sit on one without sliding off to your untimely death.

"We haven't had a quidditch related death in years, and that's much more dangerous than regular flying," she dismissed. "Just pay attention and you'll be just fine."

Rory was hoping she'd say decades, or maybe even centuries, but no such luck. For now, though, all he had to do was hover maybe a few feet off the ground. Nothing could have prepared him for the somersaulting his stomach was doing in reaction to floating on top of a weak little stick and some bristles. It felt like he was on a rollercoaster that was only made of upside-down loops, one right after the other.