A Hands-On Guide to Taking to the Skies

"Got it, I'll go first!" One of the Twins swung onto a broom, pushed off hard with both feet, and quickly left the ground before circling the Quidditch Pitch.

"Not bad. Barely passable."

Watching his younger brother weave around the goalposts, Charlie gave a simple assessment. Yet the smile on his face made it clear that he was quite pleased.

After all, not every new student could fly so steadily.

After both Twins had taken a lap, it was finally Albert and Lee Jordan's turn.

Since neither of them had ever properly handled a Flying Broom before, Charlie had no choice but to personally teach them how to use one. He demonstrated how to sit on a broom without sliding off the front.

"We never got this kind of treatment before," the Twins joked from the side. "Are we really his brothers?"

"Shut up and quit talking nonsense." Charlie shot the Twins an annoyed glare before correcting Lee Jordan's grip.

"All you need to do is push off with both legs, and you'll leave the ground. As for how much force to use, you'll get a feel for it once you try," Charlie said, seriously teaching them the basics of riding a broom like a professor. "Hold the broom steady and lift your body slightly, and the broom will rise. Likewise, lean down slightly and it'll descend straight back to the ground. Lean forward, and the broom will move forward."

After spending about five minutes explaining the precautions, Charlie had Lee Jordan take a test flight. He himself drew his wand, ready at any moment to catch a First Year who might fall off a broom.

Lee Jordan flew fairly steadily.

However, he flew very slowly around the Quidditch Pitch, taking about five minutes to finish. When he landed, his face was full of undisguised excitement.

Being able to fly so smoothly was truly thanks to having ridden toy brooms before.

"Nice flying." Charlie offered a token word of encouragement and handed the Flying Broom to Albert beside him.

Albert reached out and ran his hand along the broom handle.

Hmm, very smooth. No soft padding.

He remembered that Flying Brooms were enchanted with something called a Cushioning Charm, or perhaps a Shock Absorption Charm.

But he couldn't feel any magic from touching it. Albert was a little doubtful whether sitting on it would leave him with some rather painful worries down there.

There was no helping it. Toy brooms had obvious seats.

"What are you doing?" Charlie watched Albert gently stroking the broom handle, completely unable to understand what he was doing.

"Nothing. I was just wondering where the cushion is." Before Charlie could make sense of that, Albert had already swung onto the broom, pushed hard against the ground with both feet, and flown into the air.

Sure enough, the Shock Absorption Charm existed.

Straddling the Flying Broom didn't hurt at all. A layer of something exceptionally soft separated Albert from the broom handle, making it feel as though he were sitting on a cushion.

Well, if he had to describe it, it felt somewhat like riding a bicycle.

As the broom flew through the air, the wind immediately caught Albert's robes and sent them flapping behind him. Albert had never felt so delighted, and he even forgot his current awkward posture. Following Charlie's instructions, he slowly raised the broom's head and flew a little higher.

Albert glanced down. He was about ten feet above the ground.

Thank goodness.

Fortunately, he wasn't afraid of heights. Otherwise, he might have let go and fallen from midair.

Albert gripped the broom handle with one hand and slowly leaned forward. The broom began moving ahead, just like when he had first ridden a toy broom. But Albert flew very slowly, even slower than Lee Jordan. Still, he began circling the Quidditch Pitch, enjoying the pleasure of flight.

Charlie, watching from below, was astonished. He had never expected Albert to adapt to flying so quickly. Some newcomers who had never touched a Flying Broom would panic the moment they rose into the air.

For a First Year using a Flying Broom for the first time, reaching this level after only a few minutes was already quite impressive.

But after adapting to his current speed, Albert, flying through the air on his broom, no longer wanted to crawl along at a snail's pace. He opened the Skill List and raised Flight Technique (Broom) to Level 1.

Albert seemed to understand without being taught. He leaned forward as though he had triggered an acceleration switch, and the broom's speed immediately increased.

His previously sluggish movements became nimble as he maneuvered his broom between the goalposts. The wind rushing at him made him narrow his eyes.

Faster! His body instinctively leaned forward in response to the thought, and his speed increased again. The view ahead rapidly swept backward, and Albert felt as though his heart might leap out of his chest at any moment.

Flying felt absolutely incredible!

At that moment, Albert finally understood a little why wizards liked this game so much.

Thrilling!

That was right, it was far too thrilling.

Much like why some people enjoyed speeding in cars.

Albert flew several laps around the Quidditch Pitch, getting faster and faster until he was nearly reaching the Cleansweep Seven's top speed.

The four people below stared with their mouths open, nearly dumbstruck.

"You flew well!"

A few minutes later, Charlie looked at Albert after he landed, speaking with a slight stutter. He found it unbelievable that he had personally witnessed this First Year's progress, from slow to fast, gradually adapting along the way.

How long had that taken?

That kind of talent was simply astonishing!

In just a few short minutes, Albert had more or less adapted to using a broom and overcome high-speed flight.

Standing beside the Twins, Lee Jordan looked at Albert with a complicated expression. He had thought he flew rather well, only to discover there was someone even more freakishly talented.

Could there really be geniuses like those in the stories? Of course, if he knew Albert had raised Flight Technique (Broom) to Level 1 just to enjoy the speed, he would not have thought so.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself for a moment." Albert immediately apologized to Charlie after getting off the broom.

Still, speeding on a broom felt really good.

"You have a real talent for this." Charlie gave Albert's shoulder a hard pat. "All of you are talented. You could consider becoming reserve players for the team. When you have time, you can join us for training."

Charlie was very pleased with today's gains. Whether it was Fred and George or their two friends, they all had a talent for flying.

The Twins beamed at the words.

"We don't have brooms of our own," Albert reminded him.

"That's all right. You can borrow the school's brooms," Charlie reassured him. "You can learn some techniques first and find your own position."

"However, there's one thing I need to make clear first." Charlie cleared his throat. "If you want to become actual Quidditch players, you'll still need to rely on your own abilities to pass next year's player tryouts. I won't go easy on you in that regard."

"We understand," Fred said with a wink.

"Good. As long as you understand." Charlie was satisfied with that. He planned to train them and make them the team's Secret Weapon.