Chapter 24: Natural Flyers

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It was now time for the boys to have their first flying lesson. After what happened during Potions, Blaise made sure to stick close to Draco, Hadrian glaring when one of the girls tried to get too close. Crabbe and Goyle were sticking close behind them.

Walking out onto the Hogwarts Grounds, they are joined by the rest of the Slytherins. The group of Gryffindors, containing Ron and Hermione, were standing on the other side of the grounds. In the middle of the grass, was a barrel full of brooms.  A woman with short grey hair and hawk-like eyes walks onto the grounds and towards the barrel. 

She calls out, "Alright, line up, line up! Two lines facing each other. Let's go!".

She waves her wand and the brooms fly out of the barrel, laying on the floor in two lines.  

As the students walk up, she announces, "My name is Madam Hooch. Welcome to your first Flying Lesson. Well, what are you all waiting for? Everyone step up to a broomstick. Come on now".

They all step forward with a broom at their feet. Hadrian glances up to see Hermione standing opposite of him with an almost obsessive look on her face. He noticed she was focusing on where his scar was hidden by his hair.

He whispers to himself, "C'est bien ma chance" (Just my luck).  

Madam Hooch shouts, "Stick out your right hand, over the broom, and say 'Up!'".

Everyone repeats the phrase out loud, some having better luck than others on their first try. Hadrian, Draco and Blaise barely had to whisper the command before their brooms snapped into their hands. The three had been flying together since they were little. Regulus was the one who first taught them all the thrill of flying.  

Hadrian smirked as he noticed that Hermione was really struggling. She kept shouting 'Up!' but the broom did nothing except for rolling around slightly. The Slytherins all struggle to keep in their laugh as Ron's broom flies up and hits him in the face.  

Madam Hooch nods, "Now. Once you've got hold of the broom, I want you to mount it. And grip it tight. We don't want you sliding off the end".

As she walks down the middle, Draco speaks up, "Excuse me, Madam Hooch. Given that a few of us have been on sticks for years, would it not make sense to separate the expert flyers from...". He glares at Hermione, "...the neophytes?".  

Madam Hooch shakes her head, "Thank you, Mr Malfoy, but I'm sure even an expert flyer such as yourself can appreciate the benefits of reacquainting oneself with the basics".

As she continues walking, Blaise smirks at Draco and whispers, "Neophytes? What the hell kind of grammar lessons did you take while I was gone?".  

Draco glares at him playfully, "Shut up".

Madam Hooch continues, "Now when I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground. Hard". The students start to straddle their brooms, "Keep your brooms steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle...three...two...".  

All of a sudden, Neville shoots straight up into the air, like a cork out of a bottle. He was flying around the grounds barely holding onto the broom.

Madam Hooch calls out to him, "Mr Longbottom! Exactly where do you think you're going?".

He clutches his broom desperately as he rockets past the students on the court, soaring into a mad spiralling climb.

She shouts, "Come down here this instant!".  

Hadrian turns to Draco, "Nous devons l'aider" (We need to help him).

Draco sighs, "Est-ce vraiment nécessaire ?" (Is that really necessary?).

He smirks, "Je croyais que nous étions des experts en vol ?" (I thought we were expert flyers?).

Draco glares, "Je te déteste, mon frère" (I hate you, brother).  

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