A Small Conflict in Flying Class

Eli got a taste of what it felt like to be taught one-on-one by Snape.

Although Snape treated him somewhat differently from the other students, when it came to Potions, Snape was absolutely a strict teacher.

"Eli, have your eyes gone blurry with age? If you drip in any more, I think my office will need redecorating."

"Have you caught Potter's stupidity? You actually couldn't tell the difference between these two things?"

"I think if you make that mistake again, you might as well stop studying Potions and go feed pigs. Then you won't have to worry about dosage."

Eli's head was already full of black lines.

This damned old bat—if he couldn't talk properly, could he just not talk?

Snape truly deserved to be called Hogwarts' greatest verbal assassin. Without even using profanity, he reduced little trash-talker Eli to a complete rout.

Could he talk back?

Sorry, Eli chickened out.

But foul-mouthed as Snape was, Eli had at least learned plenty of Potions knowledge from him.

Just one afternoon was worth more than half a term of ordinary classes.

Snape's teaching was not all that different from the cramming education of Eli's previous life.

He started by having Eli memorize a massive number of potion recipes and the properties of different ingredients.

Luckily, Eli had a photographic memory. Otherwise, it would have taken him an entire term just to memorize all that knowledge.

Eli did want to learn the effortless potion brewing Snape had demonstrated for him before.

Snape glanced at him, then fell silent for a while before suppressing the urge to start insulting him.

According to Snape, Eli would have to gain a deep understanding of potion ingredients and reach a certain level of control over his magic before he could learn it.

Still, Snape took the time to teach Eli how to control his magic.

That was far faster than when he had practiced on his own at the Leaky Cauldron!

But the greater the gains, the greater the cost.

After one full round of training, throbbing pain began to pulse through his head.

That was the consequence of overusing his soul power.

Fortunately, Eli had always focused on strengthening his soul, so he could train longer and harder than ordinary people. Naturally, he improved more quickly as well.

It could be said that Snape had nearly brought out all his most closely guarded tricks, and Eli had benefited enormously.

If this counted as Snape judging people by appearances, then heh, he hoped there would be more of it!

"Ron, why are you so excited?"

On the way to Flying class, Ron's joy was so obvious that he practically looked ready to start jumping.

"Do you know what Flying class means?"

Ron spoke mysteriously, with a hint of expectation. It was obvious that he really wanted to introduce it to his friends.

"Quidditch?"

Eli blurted it out. Come on, you were trying to show off in front of me—what was I supposed to show off for then?

Let me make this clear: in all of Hogwarts, I, Eli, am the king of showing off.

Ron's expression instantly froze, and the young Wizards around them burst into laughter when they saw him get shut down.

Ron's face turned red. "Eli, you're no fun!"

"Then why don't you tell us what Quidditch is, Ron?"

As expected, Harry was the kindest. He gave Ron a chance to speak, assuming one ignored the smile on his face.

Eli stopped interrupting. He knew how much Ron loved Quidditch. In fact, Ron had already been constantly telling them all kinds of Quidditch news.

Which team had won the championship that year, or where some promising new player had appeared.

Eli only felt that if Ron gave even a fraction of his passion for Quidditch to Potions, he would not get yelled at until he howled every Saturday.

Ron had finally found his chance. He even cleared his throat and put on a profound expression.

The group chatted and laughed as they headed toward the flying grounds.

One Slytherin mixed in with a group of Gryffindors was certainly quite a strange sight.

At first, the little lions might have been wary of Eli because of the divide between their Houses, but after truly getting to know him, they quickly cast aside their prejudice.

Which was to say, so-called House prejudice was nothing more than something exaggerated by people who liked stirring up trouble.

Still, some people treated it as gospel.

For example, Draco Malfoy stood some distance away, followed by a group of Slytherins as he glared coldly at Eli.

As the heir to the Malfoy family, one of the top pure-blood families, Draco held no small amount of status among the reputation-conscious, clique-loving Slytherins.

And Draco, who had always grown up surrounded by admirers, was used to being fawned over. He did not even have a friend who treated him as an equal.

Flying class was once again shared by Slytherin and Gryffindor, so sparks were inevitable.

Madam Hooch strode over briskly. Her grayish-white hair and hooked nose made her look exactly like an owl.

"Each of you has a broom beside you. In a moment, all you need to do is place your hand over it and say, 'Up!' The broom will fly into your hand automatically. Remember, say it with feeling."

At Madam Hooch's command, the grounds immediately echoed with strange, oddly intoned cries of "Up!"

Saying it with feeling did not mean saying it in some bizarre tone, hey!

"Up!"

Harry gave a light shout, and his broom immediately flew into his hand, obedient as a pet.

Well, the protagonist was the protagonist. That kind of talent was simply beyond anyone else's reach.

Take Hermione, for example. She was excellent at studying, but flying brooms apparently had little respect for top students.

"Up, up, up..."

Eli saw that Hermione seemed to be straining with her entire face. She was practically singing the word "up," yet the broom still refused to cooperate.

Heh, let helpful Eli give you a hand!

With a thought from Eli, the broom beside Hermione was forcibly pulled up by his magic and flew into her hand.

Hermione thought it was because of her own efforts and proudly lifted her little chin again, her top-student dignity on full display.

Ah, and Ron. It looked like he had not succeeded either. Should Eli help him too?

Eli did the same thing, preparing to send Ron's broom into his hand.

But just as he activated his magic, the broom seemed to suddenly respond to Ron's call and flew upward on its own.

Eli did not react in time. With the force of his magic added to the broom's own power, it became far too fast—at least too fast for Ron to catch.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out across the grounds.

"Ah... my head..."

Eli awkwardly turned his head away and pretended nothing had happened.

Fortunately, Ron was fine. He had only gotten a small bump.

With a light beckoning motion, Eli summoned his broom into his hand.

"Whoa, impressive."

A little snake beside him praised him.

"Not at all, not at all. Just a small trick."

Was I proud? Was I arrogant?

There was actually nothing special about it. It mainly depended on willpower—that was, the soul.

People with strong willpower generally also had stronger souls, and they were often more suited to sports, though that was not always the case.

So this method could not really be used to judge someone's talent.

After a round of shouting and yelling, everyone present had basically gotten hold of their brooms.

Madam Hooch nodded in satisfaction. At least no one in this year had picked theirs up with their hands.

"Good. Now, when I count one, two, three, and blow the whistle, you will push off gently from the ground, try circling once, then return to your starting position. Now, one, two..."

Before she could count to three, one unfortunate fellow had already taken off.

"Mr. Longbottom! Please come down!"

Obviously, this was not something Neville could control himself. He was terrified and could only cling tightly to his broom to make sure he did not fall off.

"Mr. Longbottom, Longbottom..."

"Ah..."

With a cry of alarm, Neville was carried away by the broom.

The young Wizards all watched Neville fly off anxiously. Only Draco and his little followers looked delighted by his misfortune.

Eli had already drawn his wand. This professor's reaction speed truly disappointed him—she had actually failed to stop Neville from taking off.

Neville was practically about to wet himself by then, okay?

The out-of-control broom sent him through several death-defying rolls in the air, and it was only thanks to his tight grip that he held on.

Otherwise, he would definitely have been flung from the broom and fallen to his death.

"Oh, he's over there!"

Everyone hurried over. Neville was now hanging from the pointed tip of a rooftop statue.

His clothes tore with a ripping sound, already unable to bear his weight.

"Oh!"

Neville suddenly fell, and some of the young Wizards below covered their mouths in fright.

"Stop!"

Madam Hooch swung her wand, but failed to make him float.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

A firm, quiet shout came from Eli.

He held his wand out, pointing it at the falling Neville.

A huge amount of magic quickly caught the still-screaming boy.

As Eli lowered his wand, Neville was gently lowered to the ground as well.

Madam Hooch immediately rushed forward to examine him.

The young Wizards around them stared in astonishment at Eli, who calmly put away his wand.

Weren't we all first-years? Why did he know that spell?

Professor, I want to learn that!

The Gryffindor students looked at Eli with admiration. That had been unbelievably cool!

Look at Eli with one hand in his pocket—how stylish was that?

Harry and Ron practically had stars in their eyes. I want to show off like that someday too!

The little snakes of Slytherin also looked at him appreciatively. Only Draco wore an expression of regret at failing to enjoy the spectacle, along with a little... displeasure?

"I am taking Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. He has some scratches. When I return, I do not want to see a single one of you in the air. Otherwise, you will be thrown out of my class before you even hear the word Quidditch!"

She supported Neville as she came over to Eli.

"Mr. Hall displayed excellent spellwork. Ten points to Slytherin!"

After Madam Hooch left, Draco picked up a ball.

It was Neville's Remembrall.

He intended to hide it, but Harry stepped forward to stop him.

Draco flew into the air, and Harry, despite riding a broom for the first time, refused to back down. Hermione could not stop them at all.

Eli did not interfere. It was precisely because of Draco's prank that McGonagall would see Harry's extraordinary flying talent.

Harry would become the youngest Seeker!

"Enough, Draco. There's no need to keep picking on him."

After Harry retrieved the ball, Eli finally could not stand it anymore and tried to persuade Draco.

Having been humiliated in public, Draco immediately could not hold it together when he heard Eli's words.

Holding his broom, he glared at Eli with disgust. "What did you say? How can you, a Slytherin, keep helping that bunch of stupid Gryffindors? You are the shame of Slytherin!"

His little followers immediately echoed him, while the other little snakes nodded as if it made perfect sense.

Many of them had also disliked how close Eli had been getting to Gryffindor.

To Slytherins, Gryffindors were nothing but a bunch of reckless, foolish idiots.

"Shut up, Malfoy!"

Ron immediately stepped forward and spat at Draco, while the other Gryffindors gathered around as well.

That was absolutely in keeping with Gryffindor style: when words failed, they went straight in.

Besides, these people had not only insulted their friend but also cursed Gryffindor from top to bottom.

No Gryffindor could tolerate that!

The tension between the two groups grew thicker and thicker, and a House-wide battle looked ready to erupt.

If they actually started fighting, it would definitely become huge news.

A brawl between two Houses was rare even in the history of the school.

Then, a faint voice brought the confrontation to a halt.

With an unconcerned expression, Eli played with his pale white wand.

"I appreciate everyone's support, but I'll handle today's matter myself. I alone am enough."

Slytherin instantly erupted.

Too arrogant!

"You're looking down on me, Theodore Nott!"

Eli smiled softly, his expression a little cold.

He truly was a little angry. Being kind to others did not mean he could endure repeated insults again and again.

"I'm not targeting you. I'm saying... everyone here is trash!"

Whoosh!

The Slytherins were all stunned. This was arrogance beyond all bounds!

Eli looked at Draco Malfoy and pointed his wand at him. "I think I need to teach a lesson to someone who dared to speak so rudely."

Draco Malfoy took a frightened step back. When had anyone ever pointed a wand at him?

"If you dare do anything reckless, I'll tell my father!"

Eli let out a scoff. "Then perhaps, as your father, I should teach you how Wizards settle problems!"

Several Slytherins had already raised their wands, preparing to attack.

Eli swung his wand forcefully, and a powerful burst of magic erupted. The Slytherins were forced to stagger backward again and again.

The little lions watched in stunned silence.

Eli had not used any spell at all. It was merely an application of magical power.

The Slytherins who had been knocked back in one blow looked extremely grim. They had strength in numbers, yet they had not even lasted a single move.

The shrewd Slytherins began weighing things up. Was it really necessary to confront someone this terrifying?

"I don't think there's any need for this!"

The speaker was a Slytherin.

As soon as he spoke, the Slytherins around him quickly echoed his words.

In an instant, the attack fell apart on its own.

Draco Malfoy's face was especially pale. He felt as though he might die.

He really could call his father to deal with the problem, but if he truly enraged Eli, could he hold out until his father arrived?

He regretted being so loose-tongued more than ever—especially when he had mouthed off to the one person he absolutely should not have provoked.

"Eli, forget it! If this keeps going, it'll draw the professors' attention!"

Hermione Granger grabbed him.

Harry and Ron Weasley also came over to persuade him. They had not expected Eli to be this fierce.

A group fight was one thing, but if Eli acted alone, expulsion might be waiting for him!

Eli looked coolly at Draco Malfoy, who had turned into a chameleon again. "Do you know how to speak properly now?"

Draco Malfoy nodded tremblingly.

"What are you doing?!"