At nine in the morning, Kyle, Hannah, and the other Hufflepuff students descended the steps and arrived at the grounds in front of the castle, ready for their first Flying lesson.
It was a clear, breezy day.
As they hurried down the sloping lawn toward a flat stretch of grass on the other side of the grounds, the grass rippled gently beneath their feet.
Beyond the lawn lay the Forbidden Forest, its dark trees swaying in the wind in the distance.
Their Flying instructor, Madam Hooch, had long since been waiting there. She had short gray hair and yellow eyes like an eagle's.
The moment he saw her eyes, a name surfaced in Kyle's mind—Joracoal Mi Hooch.
More than twenty flying brooms were neatly lined up on the ground.
Eagle Eyes—no, Madam Hooch—swept her gaze over the young wizards.
"All right, what are you all waiting for? Everyone stand beside a broomstick. Hurry, hurry, let's not waste time."
Kyle glanced down at the broom by his feet, his eyes full of disdain.
This rotten wooden stick with a few twigs stuck into it can actually fly?
And these brooms have to be antiques from decades ago, right?
What kind of safety guarantee could they possibly have?
Dumbledore really has some nerve. Isn't he afraid a young wizard might fall to their death in Flying class every year?
"Stretch out your right hands over the broom handles," Madam Hooch called from the front. "Then say, 'Up!'"
"Up!" everyone shouted.
The broom at Kyle's feet immediately leaped into his hand, coating his palm with dust.
This thing must have spent the entire summer gathering dust in a storage room!
With a look of distaste, Kyle tossed it back onto the ground, drew his wand, and cast Scourgify on it. He cleaned Hannah's