Flight and Potions

"Alright, when I blow the whistle, you push off from the ground with both feet—hard."

"Hold your broom steady, rise a few feet, then lean forward slightly and drop straight back down. Wait for my whistle—three—two—"

Madam Hooch continued the lesson, but Neville was so nervous, terrified of being left on the ground, that he didn't wait for the whistle to touch her lips. He kicked off with all his might, shooting up like a cork from a bottle—twelve feet—twenty feet—then slipped straight off the broom!

Thud!

With a fall and a violent crash, Neville lay face-down in the grass, curled into a ball.

The whole thing happened too fast. With Damon's current strength, he chose not to intervene rashly, lest he make things worse.

As Neville's arm broke, Madam Hooch's face turned as pale as his. After sternly ordering the remaining students not to move, she hurriedly took him to the hospital wing.

Amidst a burst of laughter from the Slytherins, Malfoy picked up Neville's Remembrall. Harry, wondering why Damon had stayed silent this whole time, rushed forward in righteous indignation and argued with Malfoy.

Soon, Malfoy was on his Flying Broomstick, and Harry bravely chased after him.

Damon watched the two soar into the sky, listening to the gasps of the other young witches and wizards, his gaze calm and unhurried.

In this dispute, Harry would display exceptional Quidditch talent and be specially recruited by Professor McGonagall to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Seeker.

This was a crucial comfort in Harry's miserable, difficult life, one of the few things he could genuinely be proud of. Damon naturally wouldn't stop it.

When an angry Professor McGonagall arrived, she couldn't help but glare at Damon:

"You just watched them fool around like that?"

"It's not his fault, Professor."

"Silence, Miss Pettigrew."

The Gryffindor class beauty beside him instinctively defended Damon when she saw Professor McGonagall questioning him, but was cut off directly.

Seeing Professor McGonagall still glaring at him, Damon smiled and said to Harry, who was worried and blaming himself:

"Nice flying, Harry. I have a feeling you'll become the best Seeker Gryffindor has ever had."

"You be quiet too, Damon! Haven't you caused enough trouble already?"

Professor McGonagall shot Damon a fierce glare, but it carried a hint of bluster—what Damon said was exactly what she was thinking.

Truth be told, most of the time, the mistakes children make are trivial in the eyes of adults. But from an educational standpoint, to keep these kids from becoming even more mischievous and unruly due to leniency, they had to put on a stern front, just to make the children realize the seriousness of the matter.

Damon wasn't buying it.

"Potter, follow me!"

Harry trudged after Professor McGonagall, thinking that in ten minutes, he'd probably be packing his things and getting kicked out.

Just then, he saw Damon mouth the words to him: Don't worry.

For some reason, Harry felt a little more at ease.

At dinner, Harry excitedly shared everything with Damon and Ron.

"Wood told me I'm the youngest Seeker in a century!"

Just then, the Weasley twins walked into the hall. Spotting Harry, they hurried over.

"Good one," George said quietly. "Wood told us. We're on the team too—Beaters."

"Let me tell you, we're definitely winning the Quidditch Cup this year," Fred said. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year, our team is going to shine!

You're going to be great, Harry. Wood was so excited telling us about it, he could barely get the words out."

Then they turned to Damon with a hint of regret. "Duelling Prince, too bad you couldn't join Quidditch too. How'd your day go?"

"So-so."

Damon brushed it off casually. If he joined Quidditch, he'd have to free up three evenings a week for training, not to mention weekends—something he simply couldn't accept right now.

"Well, looks like even our Duelling Prince has his weak spots," Fred and George exchanged a glance and quickly took their leave. "We've got to go. Lee Jordan thinks he found a new secret passage leading outside the school."

"I'm full too. Enjoy your meal."

Damon got up and left first, heading to the Room of Requirement to practice Charms.

After he left, Malfoy finally dared to show up. After provoking Harry and Ron, he challenged them to a midnight duel, which made Hermione furious with the two of them.

Later, the three of them somehow ended up in the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor, where they encountered the Three-Headed Dog, Fluffy, wide awake, yet escaped unscathed.

How magical, wasn't it?

Friday, Potions Class.

Hogwarts had a total of one hundred and forty-two staircases.

Some were wide and grand, others narrow and rickety, and to make matters worse, every Friday, some stairs led to different places.

Worth noting, thanks to Damon, Neville and Harry had kept up the habit of waking up early. Only Ron stubbornly insisted, often muttering, "I won't be late even if I don't get up early, mate. Why torture ourselves?"

When they reached the classroom, Harry secretly felt relieved—good thing he'd left early. Without Damon, he might have ended up like Ron, leaving in the last ten or twenty minutes, only to be delayed by the shifting stairs and arrive late.

Harry worried about Ron, who still hadn't woken up, when he suddenly heard the whispers of some young witches.

"There he is, look," one girl said in a low voice, a hint of excitement in her tone. "It's incredible. He's better-looking than any boy I've ever seen!"

"Yeah, he's really handsome!" another girl said dreamily. "Did you notice his profile? I dare say, even Quidditch star Leonardo isn't as good-looking as him!"

Harry's steps faltered slightly. For a moment, he thought the young witches were talking about him, but he quickly realized that his addition to Gryffindor as a Seeker was still under wraps. The girls were clearly discussing Damon, who was riding a wave of fame.

Perhaps because of the drastic shifts in House Cup points, all four first-year houses now knew that the Duelling Prince's talent in Transfiguration and Charms was terrifyingly strong—he'd already won Gryffindor a full ten points in the first week.

As for Damon, the subject of their heated chatter, he sat in the second row of the classroom, one hand propping up his chin, eyes lowered as he slowly flipped through Magical Drafts and Potions. His expression, however, seemed a bit weary.

Harry noticed that although the young witches were passionately discussing Damon, not a single one sat beside him. Hermione, meanwhile, was seated in the third row to the right, occasionally glancing back at Damon with fierce determination burning in her eyes.

As for Harry? She had already dismissed him outright—ever since the hellhound scare last night, she'd resolved to ignore both Harry and Ron, a decision the two boys welcomed. They'd had enough of Hermione's bossing around.

And Damon, whom Hermione saw as her rival, appeared to be reading his book, but in truth, the content in his field of vision had shifted.

[Potions—LV1 (Beginner)] 1/100

[Possesses the most basic knowledge of potion-making and herbology. Capable of successfully brewing some fundamental potions, suitable for treating minor wounds or alleviating simple ailments.]