Ravenclaw's Flying Lesson

Ravenclaw's Flying Lesson

At five in the afternoon, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students headed together to the lawn for their Flying Lesson. From there, they could see Hagrid's hut and the distant Forbidden Forest, where strange sounds could sometimes be heard.

Unlike the adventure-loving Gryffindors and the troublemaking Slytherins, Ravenclaws understood the art of self-preservation and generally only tested boundaries within the rules. Hufflepuff students were all good children and even less likely to break rules on their own. Most students from these two Houses would not set foot in the Forbidden Forest even by the time they graduated in their seventh year.

More than twenty Flying Broomsticks were lined up neatly on the ground, and Madam Hooch was already waiting there. She watched the students with alert, scrutinizing eyes like an eagle's and said sharply, "I suppose you've heard about yesterday's accident! Mr. Longbottom of Gryffindor was lucky to have only broken his wrist, but if you act recklessly, it would be no surprise if someone broke their neck! You'd best remember that!"

The little eagles and badgers meekly nodded in agreement.

"All right! Everyone, stand beside a Flying Broomstick!"

Under Madam Hooch's watchful gaze, everyone moved quickly without fighting over them. The school's Flying Broomsticks were of unknown age, and every one of them was battered. Their twigs stuck out in disarray, and their oak handles were so uneven they would have hurt one's hands even for sweeping.

Yet they were supposed to sit on these things and fly.

Wade suddenly felt that flying on a Flying Broomstick might not be very friendly to the tailbone.

He heard Michael mutter under his breath, "Shooting Stars—the cheapest Broomsticks..."

Wade glanced over. Michael's Broomstick was even more battered than his, looking entirely as though it had been bundled together from Weeds.

Madam Hooch shouted, "Hold out your right hand, place it above the broom handle, and say—up!"

"Up!" the students shouted together.

Wade's Broomstick rolled around twice on the ground before leaping into his hand. He reached out and gripped it, finding that he did not need to use much force, since the Broomstick floated in the air by itself.

He turned to look at the others. Some had succeeded at once, while others—like Michael—had Broomsticks bouncing on the ground like fish out of water, refusing to reach their hands for quite some time.

Once all the students had their Broomsticks in hand, Madam Hooch taught them how to mount them without falling off, sternly correcting several students' improper sitting postures.

Wade had originally thought it would be simple, since he remembered Harry Potter in the films always casually swinging a leg over a Broomstick and flying away. But only after mounting one himself did he realize it was not so easy. After all, a broom handle was only a thin wooden stick, and balancing on it required a certain degree of skill.

Fortunately, the pressure on certain delicate bones was not as great as he had imagined. Some sort of Spell had been cast on the Broomstick, making it feel as though one were sitting on a chair. It was not particularly comfortable, but neither was it unbearable.

Only after everyone's posture satisfied Madam Hooch did she allow the students to proceed to the next step—flying.

"When I blow my whistle, push off the ground hard," Madam Hooch said. "Hold tightly to your Broomsticks, but don't rise too high unless you want to fly into the clouds! Lift off just a little, rise slowly a few feet, then glide forward slowly, and finally return slowly to the ground."

Madam Hooch said "slowly" three times in a row before adding, "Listen for my whistle—three, two, one!"

The whistle sounded, and the students immediately divided into different levels—some flew too high, some plunged headfirst toward the ground, and two students lost their balance and rolled off their Broomsticks with a thump.

Madam Hooch frowned and waved her Wand in time, ensuring that no one was hurt.

Then another scream suddenly rang out—a Ravenclaw Girl was riding her Broomstick straight toward the broom shed at high speed!

"Impedimenta!" Madam Hooch shouted.

The Girl stalled in midair for a moment. Though she still crashed into the wall afterward, the impact had been reduced, and only her Broomstick was smashed apart.

Madam Hooch did not scold her. Instead, she summoned another old Broomstick with Accio and had the Girl continue practicing.

Wade circled at a higher altitude on his Broomstick, then tried gradually increasing his speed. Only five or six students like him could slowly gain control over their Broomsticks. Madam Hooch strictly ordered most of them not to fly higher than the broom shed.

Even so, accidents continued without end.

For example, two students' Broomsticks wobbled crookedly before colliding uncontrollably in midair. Another Hufflepuff boy flew well at low altitude, but the moment he rose to less than five meters, he shut his eyes and fell off his Broomstick—this poor student was afraid of heights.

The first Flying Lesson could be described as utter chaos. Madam Hooch was like an octopus, putting out fires in every direction. Her Wand swished constantly as she repeatedly rescued students from all manner of neck-breaking dangers. She was even struck by one reckless student, leaving Madam Hooch livid as she deducted a full five points from Hufflepuff!

Wade finally understood why Madam Hooch always looked so sour and angry. Any experienced driver teaching a novice how to drive would probably look just like Madam Hooch after watching the novice make one basic, idiotic mistake after another.

At last, the Flying Lesson ended. The students headed to the Hospital Wing in groups to have Madam Pomfrey treat their scrapes, sprains, and injuries from falling. Wade and Michael were unharmed, and they returned together to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Wade!"

Hermione, who was eating, spotted them and immediately waved in greeting. Seeing her sitting alone at one end of the long table, Wade simply walked over and sat at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione looked them over from head to toe and asked, "Did the Flying Lesson not go well?"

"It was exhausting," Michael said wearily. Feeling that he needed to replenish a great deal of energy, he took two slices of bread thickly spread with butter, then added a Roast Chicken leg to his plate.

Wade first poured himself a glass of juice and drank it in one go before saying, "It was everyone's first time flying, so no one was very skilled. More than half of them suffered minor injuries, and someone even fainted."

Hermione nodded. "I have to say, I'm not surprised in the slightest. Flying through the air without any protective measures, of course people would get hurt!"

She clearly did not like riding Broomsticks, nor did she like Quidditch.

"It's a skill that can only be mastered through diligent practice! Skilled Quidditch players can fly even more nimbly than Little Birds."

After one Flying Lesson, Michael had finally regained his energy. But Wade remembered that Michael had spent the entire class hovering at low altitude. The moment he flew even a little higher, the Broomstick—or perhaps Michael on the Broomstick—would begin to tremble.

A classic case of being bad at it while loving it anyway.

But Michael convinced him with just one sentence.

"Think about it, Wade," Michael said in a tempting tone. "We can ride Broomsticks straight to our dormitory and never climb stairs again! I saw the Quidditch team students doing it!"