Flying Class

During the lunch break, Breeze lay on his bed and read through the Master of the Turret's notes. Some of the spells in it were very useful, while others were lost or no longer in common use. He also learned Levicorpus and its counter-spell, Grounding Bell.

With the boost from Natural Magic Power, those spells would unleash even greater force. Breeze's abilities had improved by leaps and bounds, and the magic within him was still growing.

"Some of the older Slytherins are no match for me anymore, but the Little Snakes love to strike from the shadows. Who knows what tricks they've got up their sleeves... If they come after me again, I won't care about house harmony. Might makes right."

After resting a little, Breeze waved his wand and cast Chronos Reveal. Seeing that it was almost three in the afternoon, he prepared to head downstairs for class. Flying had always been a human dream, and wizards were no exception. But riding a broomstick was just ridiculous, and supposedly the Ministry of Magic had banned flying carpets. He had no idea why. Was it because of Quidditch matches?

He couldn't imagine a bunch of wizards zooming around the sky on broomsticks, chasing after one another. Didn't their bottoms hurt?

Breeze had no interest in Quidditch. He even thought that flying this way was pointless. But Flying Class was compulsory for first-years, and anyone who failed even one class at the end of the year had to repeat it. He didn't want to still be out on the lawn with a bunch of first-year brats in his second year, holding broomsticks and standing around, waiting for Madam Hooch.

Especially not with a certain someone constantly bragging that his Quidditch skills were on par with a Muggle airplane.

When had Malfoy gotten so childish?

Today's Quidditch class was with Gryffindor. Maybe that was why.

Breeze glanced at the Little Lions and saw Harry and Ron looking doubtful as Malfoy sang his own praises. He could also hear the students muttering.

Of course, Ron's envy was hard to miss, while Harry seemed nervous. It was as if Harry had been... less than impressive in every class this past week.

It would have been nothing, if he weren't the Boy Who Lived, a Savior. Without enough ability to back up his reputation, fame didn't mean everything...

Breeze's expression shifted.

"Who said that again...? Snape?" Snape had been warning Harry Potter at the time. Breeze thought he must be crazy. Snape was the greasy old bat who was always giving Harry Potter a hard time.

He pushed the strange thought aside, just as he heard Hermione beside him, endlessly reciting the important points of flying. The girl was practically walking into a nest of snakes.

"Hermione?"

"Oh, Breeze. I mean, what is it?"

Seeing how nervous Hermione looked, Breeze chuckled. "It's only one class. It doesn't matter if you're not good at it. There's a saying in the East: nobody's perfect. Sometimes, flaws make you seem more genuine and make people like you more."

"Huh...?" Hermione looked at Breeze, then thought it over. "I heard you sleep through History of Magic, from the beginning of class to the end. Is that what you mean by nobody's perfect...? I suppose it's true that people with flaws are more likable. In the library, I heard some Ravenclaws who had class with you Slytherins say you were adorable that day. They all wanted to pinch your chubby little cheeks."

"They?"

"Mm-hmm. Ravenclaw has always had more girls. Besides, what boy would want to pinch another boy's face?"

Hermione seemed to have calmed down. Perhaps she was thinking that even excellent Breeze Order had flaws, so maybe she could surpass him by studying even harder!

It gave her hope. Breeze was simply too good at all his other classes, and she'd been so discouraged that she'd lost confidence in herself.

"Heh. All right, as long as the ladies are happy. Besides, I don't think I'll do very well in Flying Class today either. It's not that I dislike flying. It's just that broomsticks, you know... In the Muggle world, they're for sweeping floors."

"Mm, nobody's perfect, Breeze. Don't lose heart."

Hermione grinned so widely that her smile reached her ears, showing off her front teeth as she comforted him. Breeze felt a little helpless. Couldn't she even hide how happy she was?

He had no idea that Hermione was already looking forward to Flying Class.

She had completely forgotten her earlier lack of confidence, and her opinion of broomstick flying—a thing she'd thought dangerous—was soaring.

Soon, all the young witches and wizards were lined up on the flying field. The several dozen broomsticks had been arranged in two rows.

As you'd expect, the Slytherins and Gryffindors exchanged knowing looks, deep hostility in both sides' eyes.

"These broomsticks are even worse than the ones in the stairwell." Breeze looked thoroughly disgusted. Millicent, the only one brave enough to stand beside him, blocked the other Little Snakes' view with her tall, sturdy frame. She spoke to Breeze in a low voice.

"I'm sorry. They were keeping an eye on me, and they know where I live. My sister married a Muggle-born wizard. After I spoke to you in Potions Class that day, they caught on to me..."

"It's all right, Millicent. It's in the past." Breeze smiled, but his heart was cold. He didn't need an explanation; it was already over. Besides, he hadn't cared much about Millicent anyway. As long as she wasn't an enemy, that was good enough—but they wouldn't be friends, either.

"But you'd better not come near me for a while. Learning how to be a Slytherin is what you should be doing." Without strength, you had to follow the rules set by the strong. It was something every Little Snake had to learn. Breeze had already stepped outside the older students' circle of rules, and he didn't want to get involved in it anymore. He just wanted to study, not scheme against people.

Millicent said nothing. She wasn't foolish, but she was still very upset. She was only an eleven-year-old girl, after all. Maybe if she'd dared to warn Breeze despite the danger, she wouldn't now have no reason to go near him again.

"All right, what's everyone waiting for?"

Madam Hooch had arrived. She was a brisk, short-haired woman dressed in a comfortable, practical robe.

Her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

With her arrival, everyone quickly got into order.

"Good. Stand in two rows and don't move. Put your broomsticks down. This isn't how it's done. I'm going to teach you from the very basics..."

"Hmph." Malfoy tossed his broomstick onto the ground. It was as if the person who'd been so eager a moment ago wasn't him. Now, with its twigs tangled haphazardly around the handle, it seemed to bring out his true feelings.

"All right, hold out your right hand. Now place it above your broomstick. Stand up straight—don't bend over!"

Madam Hooch looked over each student's face before continuing. "Then say, 'Up.' You have to believe in your broomstick!"

"Up!" Everyone started to try. Malfoy and Harry got their broomsticks up at once, and several of the young witches and wizards who had tried flying before succeeded one after another.

Strangely enough, Hermione was the third to do it, even though she'd started later than Malfoy and Harry.

Hermione looked at Breeze and lifted her chin proudly.

Breeze turned his head away without looking at her and called to the broomstick on the ground in front of him. "Up!"

The broomstick rolled across the ground twice, then slowly floated up, as if it were angry.

What was it angry about?!

Looking at the battered broomstick in his hand, Breeze fought the urge to throw it away. He had no idea what it had to be angry about, though it was probably an alchemical creation, right?

Breeze grew curious and wanted to take it apart to see how it worked.

But when he saw it trembling as if it were about to fall apart, he put the idea aside for now. At the very least, destroying school property in public would cost him house points. He might even have to pay for it. He'd heard those things weren't cheap.

"All right, now I'll teach you how to hold a broomstick... Those who didn't get theirs up, bend down and pick them up."

With Madam Hooch's instruction, Breeze soon learned how to hold a broomstick while flying.

"I like this kind of flying even less." Breeze straddled the broomstick and sighed when it began to dig into him. Malfoy had just been reprimanded for the way he held his own broomstick, but that did nothing to cheer Breeze up.

"Now, listen for my signal. When I count to three, kick off hard!"

"One, two..."

"Ah!" A panicked cry rang out, and a figure shot into the sky on a broomstick.

"Come back, child!"

It was Neville Longbottom, who'd been standing beside Hermione!

He paid no attention at all to Madam Hooch below. How reckless.

"Ah!!!"

All right, watching Neville fly around with a deathly pale face, bumping into the castle and climbing higher and higher, Breeze understood. The broomstick had gone out of control. What an idiot!

After thinking it over, Breeze pulled out his wand and aimed it at Neville.

Was Madam Hooch a Squib? Why wasn't she using magic? Instead, she was running all over the place after Neville's broomstick!

Just then, Neville could no longer hold on to his broomstick and fell out of the sky.

"Whoosh!"

"Ah!"

"Levicorpus!" Breeze's spell struck Neville in an instant. Just before he hit the ground, the spell caught him and left him hanging upside down in midair.

The sudden inversion startled Neville all over again, and tears streamed down his face.

Breeze had done it on purpose. The boy needed to learn his lesson. Breeze wasn't about to use the Levitation Charm to lower Neville safely. He barely knew Neville, and this was already a much better outcome than cracking his head open. He had only...

"Oh, Merlin!" Madam Hooch ran toward Neville. She was just about to speak when she realized he was hanging upside down.

"Grounding Bell." Neville got dropped to the ground for no reason, but it wasn't a great distance, and he wasn't hurt.

"All right, you should thank this young man. Now..." Madam Hooch looked at Breeze's clothes, then said, "Ten points to Slytherin. I need to take him to the Hospital Wing now. The rest of you stay here and don't move..."

She seemed to spot a tall boy not far away and called out, "Mr. Oliver Wood, could you do me a favor and keep an eye on these students? They're only allowed to fly low."

With that, she led the sniffling Neville toward the castle.