Riding a Flying Broomstick

Riding a Flying Broomstick

The sky was clear today, with white clouds against blue.

As Harry ate breakfast, Hermione not being by his side seemed to make some girls think they had a chance.

So Harry was immediately surrounded by a group of girls.

With so many girls crowding around Harry in the middle, he felt immense pressure. Even when he had first entered the Great Hall at the start of term, he had not felt this awkward.

Every move Harry made was watched by them. From time to time, they would ask him gentle questions, their burning gazes seeming ready to melt him.

Of course, they would not do anything excessive. If they annoyed Harry, that would be terrible. They carried themselves like young ladies, backs straight, smiling without showing their teeth, chewing slowly as they ate, looking at Harry with gentle, bold, or curious eyes.

Surrounded by girls—this was both a pleasure and a torment!

That morning, Neville's grandmother had mailed him a Remembrall.

When someone touched a Remembrall, it would turn red if its owner had forgotten to do something. This magical object made everyone around Neville quite curious.

The ridiculous part was that when Neville touched the Remembrall, it turned red, yet Neville had forgotten what it was that he had forgotten!

While Neville and the others were fooling around, Malfoy seemed to want to snatch Neville's Remembrall. But just as he was about to act, he instinctively looked toward Harry. Harry seemed to have guessed what he intended to do. He merely smiled at him, shattering Malfoy's idea completely!

With his heart trembling a little, Malfoy walked to the table in front of Harry. Putting on an arrogant expression, he said, "During Flying class today, I hope Harry Potter doesn't fall off his Flying Broomstick..."

Harry smiled. "Since when did Malfoy from Slytherin start caring about people? A friendly reminder: Gryffindor seems to have more points than Slytherin right now. You haven't forgotten what the loser has to do, have you?"

Harry's words pierced Malfoy like an arrow. Malfoy trembled all over, then let out a disdainful snort—the sort of threat a villain would leave behind after being humiliated—and departed.

Harry quickly finished eating and left the Great Hall. After breakfast, a girl who shared a dormitory with Hermione returned to wake her up.

After getting more than an hour of extra sleep, Hermione finally felt somewhat refreshed.

The first class was Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration, but it was clearly the least attentive the students had been since the start of term, because the next class was Flying.

Before class...

"Why isn't there a spell that can make people feel energetic?" Hermione complained to Harry. A few droplets of water still clung to her rosy cheeks. It looked like she had come straight to class after washing her face.

"Spells aren't omnipotent. Professor Snape's potions probably have that effect, but they definitely come with side effects!"

"This is the breakfast I brought for you. Hurry up and eat before Professor McGonagall arrives." Harry took out the three slices of toast and a plump chicken leg he had saved for her that morning.

"Wow..." Hermione cried in surprise. She had been prepared to go hungry all morning, but she had not expected Harry to have food ready for her.

Hermione lowered her head and quietly chewed her bread. Fortunately, they sat in the front row, so no one saw her.

Hermione secretly ate the bread while Harry shielded her. For some reason, her nose stung...

The chicken leg was still giving off steam. As Hermione began eating, its enticing aroma drifted throughout the classroom. The students all turned their heads, trying to find whoever was being so awful, but to no avail.

After Professor McGonagall entered, her nose twitched. She stepped onto the platform and looked around before finally stopping at Hermione's face.

Hermione tried hard to sit up straight and stare ahead, showing no sign of guilt whatsoever.

"Miss Granger, next time, don't forget to wipe the grease from your mouth after eating." Professor McGonagall mercilessly pointed out who had been eating in class.

The students below could not help laughing, and Malfoy deliberately laughed especially loudly.

Hermione's face had already been extremely red. Now, it practically started steaming...

Then, because Hermione had eaten in class, Professor McGonagall deducted five points from Gryffindor.

After class, the students quickly poured out of the classroom and rushed outside the castle, cheering as they went.

There was a light breeze today. As they stepped across the grass, it rose and fell like waves, stretching into the distance. From the castle entrance, they could see Hagrid's hut and the dark trees along the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Madam Hooch taught Flying. She had short gray hair and yellow eyes, like an eagle's.

She spoke quickly and sharply, somewhat like Snape, though her voice was far more pleasant than his drawn-out, halting manner of speech.

The brooms on the ground were somewhat old and worn, arranged in two rows with Gryffindor and Slytherin facing each other.

After Madam Hooch taught them how to command their brooms, she blew a whistle. Then cries of "Up! Up..." rang out without end.

Harry only shouted once, and the broom at his feet obediently jumped into his hand. Gripping it, Harry felt impatient to try flying.

But not everyone could be like Harry. Seeing how easily Harry had done it, Malfoy, standing opposite him, felt angry inside.

That did not prove anything. Harry would definitely make a fool of himself later. Definitely...

Hermione and Neville did not perform as badly as they had in the original story. On their third shout, their brooms landed in their hands as well.

Ron had been shouting beside them for ages, and he was the loudest of them all, but... heh heh...

Next, Madam Hooch began teaching them how to fly. "Be careful. Don't grip the broom too tightly because you're nervous, or you might keep flying upward. But don't hold it too loosely either, or you won't have enough control over the direction. All right, now try flying. Don't go too high or too fast. Practice slowly."

After hearing the teacher's words, the students did not eagerly mount their Flying Broomsticks at once. Instead, they looked at each other, all waiting for someone else to fly first.

Holding his broom, Harry felt a sense of familiarity, as if he could control it with ease. He whistled and spun the broom in his hand, yet did not mount it.

Seeing this, Malfoy thought Harry definitely lacked confidence, or perhaps he was afraid of heights...

He cheered inwardly, mounted his Flying Broomstick, and pushed hard with his feet. His body and legs left the ground. He was in the air! But judging by his nervous appearance and slow speed, one could guess that his claim about dodging helicopters was most likely nonsense.

Luo Bei:

Part One:

"Daisies, sweet cream, and sunshine turned this silly fat old rat yellow." —Ron

Alohomora: Alohomora. alohomora —Hermione

Levitation Charm: Wingardium Leviosa. wingardiumleviosa —Harry, Hermione, Ron, Seamus, and others

Leg Locker Curse: Locomotor Mortis. locomotormorts —Hermione, Ron

Petrificus Totalus: Petrificus Totalus. petrificustotalus —Hermione

5 spells