Flying Lessons (Part Two)

Flying was probably every human being's dream.

Vaughan, who had not been particularly enthusiastic before, still let out a loud cheer when he truly mounted a broomstick and soared into the sky.

The exhilaration of leaving everything on the ground behind, slicing through the air with robes snapping in the wind, felt as though it could make one forget all their troubles.

After getting Madam Hooch's permission, Vaughan and Harry flew a few laps around the pitch.

By the time they returned, Ron, Malfoy, and the others had successfully taken off as well.

A few young wizards remained on the ground.

Neville was among them.

Madam Hooch had been continuously teaching him the proper posture and how to hold his broom, but Neville could never remember. The Remembrall hanging from his chest flashed like a stage light.

Malfoy and his cronies laughed loudly at him.

Ron and Seamus were confronting them, and Harry quickly flew over.

At that moment, Neville, who had barely managed to rise into the air, seemed to forget something again. His face suddenly went pale, and his whole body wobbled as he fell.

Madam Hooch, who had been prepared, had just drawn her wand when two spells from above struck Neville.

"Impedimenta!"

"Leviosa!"

Neville was held fixed five feet above the ground, his limbs spread wide.

The snot and tears flung loose by inertia smeared across his face, but at least he had not slammed straight into the ground.

"Well done, Mr. Vaughan Weasley. Five points to Slytherin!"

Madam Hooch breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly lifted the spells to lower Neville down. The chubby boy was already scared out of his wits.

Worried about his mental state, Madam Hooch gave a few hurried instructions before taking Neville to see Madam Pomfrey. Watching Madam Hooch leave, Malfoy became even more unrestrained. He rode circles around Harry on his broom, loudly mocking him as he went.

"Potter, did you see Longbottom? Boo-hoo-hoo, Mommy, I'm so scared... Oh, sorry, I forgot. Longbottom doesn't have a mummy or daddy!"

Those words completely enraged Harry.

Even Vaughan was amazed by Malfoy's talent for courting death.

How did that brain of his manage to spit out such vicious words without even thinking?

Harry rammed Malfoy hard, while Ron shouted encouragement from the side.

The two of them had long been looking forward to getting into a fight with Malfoy.

Now they were in the air, with no professors around, and Crabbe and Goyle, those two little trolls, were crouched on their brooms like quails.

The timing was perfect!

Malfoy seemed to realize his disadvantage as well and hurriedly fled, the two flying one after the other toward Hogwarts Castle.

"Harry! Harry!" Hermione cried anxiously. She shot Ron a furious glare, then begged Vaughan, "Vaughan, please, go bring them back. If the professors see them, Gryffindor's and Slytherin's points will both be finished."

Vaughan had already wanted to go watch the excitement. Hearing that, he nodded and chased after them.

By the time Vaughan arrived, Harry and Malfoy had already woven around the tops of Hogwarts' towering spires in a full circle.

Even now, Malfoy refused to give in to Harry. "Come catch me, Potter! Didn't you eat?"

"You and Longbottom must be really close. After all, neither of you has parents!"

Vaughan sighed. Honestly, in that instant, he wanted to hit Malfoy with a nasty curse. That mouth was far too poisonous.

Sure enough, Harry let out a furious roar.

No longer holding back, he suddenly accelerated and slammed Malfoy right off his broom.

But he regretted it immediately. He was angry, but he had never meant to kill Malfoy.

Harry hurriedly turned around, caught up with Malfoy, and caught him.

The poor old school broom had to bear a weight it was never meant to bear.

With a puff, it spewed out a cloud of black smoke and plunged toward the ground.

Just as the two screamed and were about to hit the ground from a height of roughly ten feet—

Vaughan, chasing from behind, and someone in an open window of the tower ahead cast spells at the same time.

"Impedimenta!"

"Cushioning and Stopping Charm!"

The two boys clung tightly to each other, frozen in midair.

Vaughan quickly waved his wand and cast another Levitation Charm, floating them toward the open window. Then he halted his broom and bowed to the figure appearing behind the window.

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall!"

Professor McGonagall's face had turned green. Her stern, imposing expression looked ready to devour someone. "It is not good at all, Mr. Vaughan Weasley. If you had not arrived, if this had not happened to take place near my office..."

Even the hand gripping her wand was trembling as she took deep breaths.

"Those two foolish children would likely have had to stay with Madam Pomfrey for a month!"

"Merlin, in all my years, I have never seen anything so appalling. Two first-year students, flagrantly disregarding classroom discipline and fighting on flying brooms."

"And you nearly caused a serious accident!"

As she spoke, she shot an angry glare at Harry and Malfoy, who had landed at her feet and were still clinging to each other under the spell's effects.

Then she said to Vaughn, "Mr. Weasley, although you also failed to follow classroom discipline, your actions merit twenty points for Slytherin."

"Now go back and continue your lesson. Also, inform Madam Hooch of the full details."

"Yes, Professor."

Vaughn nudged his broom and flew away. Even from far off, he could still hear Professor McGonagall roaring.

It was the first time he had ever seen Professor McGonagall this angry.

"This is much more exciting than the original. I wonder whether Professor McGonagall will still let Harry join the Quidditch team..."

Vaughn had never intended to interfere with Harry's fate. He preferred to act according to his own judgment and let things take their natural course.

For example, he had saved Neville today and kept him from getting hurt because he had a good impression of Neville.

On the other hand, conflict between Harry and Malfoy had been unavoidable. The two of them were naturally incompatible, and even Vaughn had not expected Malfoy's mouth to be so foul.

Unless he was willing to babysit Harry and suppress Malfoy every day, their conflict was bound to erupt sooner or later!

Back at the Quidditch pitch, Vaughn shook his head at Hermione, who was staring at him anxiously.

He explained what had happened.

Hermione's face immediately went pale.

After asking whether Harry had been hurt, she began trembling all over. "I! Knew! It! They were bound to cause trouble!"

Ron was frightened too and hurried over to Vaughn. "Harry... Harry won't be expelled, will he?"

Hermione snapped, "Now you know to be scared? Then why did you encourage him before? Just wait and see—even if he isn't expelled, Gryffindor's House points are finished!"

For once, Ron did not dare argue with her.

When the flying lesson ended, the two of them dragged Vaughn to look at the House hourglasses.

Gryffindor had lost sixty points, while Slytherin had lost forty. But Vaughn had also earned twenty points.

The reason was that although Malfoy had provoked Harry, he had not attacked first. Harry was the one who had made an improper move and nearly caused an accident.

In an instant, the gap had widened by another forty points. Hermione was nearly in despair!

Later, Harry was finally released by Professor McGonagall, bringing back the good news that she had allowed him to join the Quidditch team.

But Hermione did not want to hear it, and Harry was not happy either, because there was another piece of bad news—

He and Malfoy had to serve detention together!