"Ah..." Draco stared at Ron, who had suddenly stepped forward, and struggled to process what was happening.
Hadn't he challenged Tris? What was Ron stepping forward for?
"What?" Seeing Draco freeze, Ron immediately grew smug. "You're not scared, are you?"
Of course Draco wasn't scared. Slytherin might not pride itself on bravery, but being afraid of Ron would have been downright humiliating.
"Of course not." Little Dragon stiffened his neck. "Since your brother's hiding back there and doesn't dare come out, you'll do just as well."
As he spoke, he kept glancing at Tris out of the corner of his eye, hoping his words would goad Tris into stepping forward. He had seen Ron make his broom jump up on his first try, so Ron probably knew how to handle one.
He wasn't certain he could beat Ron. He would much rather pick on an easy target like Tris.
The easy target in question knew his own limits very well. Tris knew he was no good at flying, so he didn't say a word, simply watching Ron and Draco face off with a smile.
He certainly wasn't going to charge out and confront someone in a field he was bad at just because of one remark from Draco.
He had known how to goad people like that when he was six in his previous life.
Seeing that Tris merely smiled without reacting, Draco had no choice but to turn back to Ron. "Then let's have a race..." After quickly surveying their surroundings, he pointed at the tallest tower of Hogwarts Castle.
"We'll fly over there, go around that tower, and come back. Whoever lands first wins. Do you dare?"
"Like I'm scared of you!" Ron said, stiffening his neck.
In truth, he was feeling a little unsure.
Although he had made his broom jump up on his first try, he had never ridden a real flying broom before today. There was a children's training broom at the Burrow that Charlie and the others had used when they were little. Ron had ridden that, and had even broken it once, triggering the Spider Fear Incident.
Now that he was using a real flying broom, he felt a little nervous.
It's the same. They're pretty much the same. This broom's just a little bigger.
Ron frantically reassured himself.
Watching Ron's reaction, Draco began to relax a little. Ron looked as though he didn't have much flying experience. Admittedly, Draco's own experience wasn't all that impressive either, but he was confident.
"Come on, then!" Convinced victory was already his, Draco swung onto his broom, and Ron mounted his own.
"No, Ron!" Hermione grabbed Ron just as he was about to take off. "Madam Hooch said no one was allowed to fly before she came back."
"Well..." Ron hesitated.
Tris watched from the sidelines, finding it all very entertaining. In the film, Harry had gotten worked up and clashed with Draco over Neville's Remembrall. But now, even without the Remembrall business, Ron and Draco were already at each other's throats.
Hermione had tried to stop Harry in the film too, but her main argument had been that Harry couldn't fly.
With Ron, though, Hermione probably assumed he could fly, so her argument was that Madam Hooch had forbidden it.
If she had said Ron couldn't fly as well as Draco, he might have rushed straight into it in a fit of temper.
A man couldn't stand being told he couldn't do something!
But a teacher forbidding it was another matter entirely.
"What's wrong, Weasley? Why do you listen to her so much? Want to make her your little wife? I hear the men in the Weasley family are all rather scared of their wives." Draco smirked wickedly at Ron, who was being held back by Hermione.
Pansy loyally joined Draco in mocking him. Crabbe and Goyle hadn't quite figured out what was happening, but if Draco and Pansy were laughing, surely they couldn't go wrong by laughing too!
Even on the Gryffindor side, quite a few people developed odd expressions.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about?" Hermione's little face flushed red with anger.
At this point, she was still entirely focused on her studies and had not developed even the slightest interest in Ron.
Ron was even angrier than Hermione, his face now redder than his hair. "Malfoy, what rubbish are you spouting? Want me to break your nose?"
If Hermione currently had no romantic interest in Ron, Ron's romantic feelings toward Hermione were firmly in the negatives. They were friends, and fairly good friends at that, but Ron absolutely, positively, definitely did not like the sort of girl Hermione was right now.
The one who occupied his thoughts was Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks...
Hermione, as she was now, was simply not his type. Not in the slightest.
Tris desperately wished he could conjure up a slice of watermelon, sit down, and start munching. This was far too entertaining!
Come to think of it, had there been a Prophecy Master among the Malfoy family's ancestors? Did Little Dragon have a talent for that sort of thing? Could he already see the first signs of it?
Of course, Little Dragon hadn't seen any signs at all. He was simply running his mouth.
Seeing that his taunts had Ron practically hopping mad, he grew even smugger. "If that's not it, why are you listening to her? Come on, let's settle this and see who's the better flyer."
"Fine, let's do it!" By now, Ron had no attention to spare for Hermione-and Hermione had none to spare for him either. With a light push of his toes, his broom rose into the air. "Who's calling the start?"
"Anyone! Let Potter do it, so you can't say I'm taking advantage of you," Draco said smugly.
Watching the way Ron rose into the air, he became even more certain that Ron's flying skills were thoroughly average.
If he didn't give Ron a proper trouncing, wouldn't all those practice sessions at home, all those falls that had left him bruised and in tears, have been for nothing?
Harry was getting a little carried away too. If he hadn't been completely unable to control a broom yet, he would have wanted to join in himself. Hearing Draco suggest that he call the start, he immediately agreed. "Then get ready..."
"What are you doing?" A shout carrying a trace of anger came from a distance. A moment later, Madam Hooch flew into the middle of the crowd on her broom, carrying another broom in her hand.
Tris immediately felt a little disappointed. Now the race wouldn't happen.
They had taken too long, and the teacher was already back.
It wasn't just Tris. Quite a few other young witches and wizards who enjoyed watching trouble unfold-especially those on the Gryffindor side-also looked disappointed.
"Get down, Malfoy, Weasley, both of you!" Madam Hooch said angrily.
Neither Ron nor Draco had the courage to defy a teacher yet. Seeing Madam Hooch angry, both obediently landed. Their feelings, however, were somewhat different.
Draco was simply frustrated. He had been about to get a chance to show off his skills in front of Potter and the younger Weasley, only for it to vanish just like that. He might not get another opportunity like this.
Ron, on the other hand, actually breathed a sigh of relief.
He wasn't confident he could beat Draco. He had really just been forced into it and tried to put on a brave face. Now that the teacher was here, he felt relieved instead.
"Taking off without permission and disregarding your teacher's instructions. Five points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin," Madam Hooch said sternly.
"Ah..." Hermione's face fell at once, and she glared fiercely at Ron. Apart from her, though, everyone looked fairly unconcerned. The Gryffindor students in particular wore expressions of calm acceptance.
Wasn't it just a few points?
Was there a single Potions class where Snape didn't take some away? They were used to it.
Besides, both sides had lost points this time. If everyone was down five points, wasn't that the same as losing none? As for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, well, how could the little lions think of so much all at once?
Once both boys had obediently landed, Madam Hooch's anger subsided. She placed the newly fetched broom in front of Neville. "Mr. Longbottom, try again."
Earlier, Neville had been so nervous and worried that his legs had gone weak.
But after all this commotion-first discovering that his broom had been broken, then seeing that even the impressive Tris couldn't summon his broom-his nerves had eased considerably. Add Ron and Draco's little scene to that, and he was no longer nervous at all.
He raised his hand over the broom. "Up!"
The broom rolled over and lifted its front end slightly, but it didn't jump straight up.
"Not bad. Put some feeling into it!" Madam Hooch prompted.
Neville took a deep breath and spoke again, this time with a hint of command in his voice. "Up!"
This time, the broom shot up and settled firmly into Neville's hand.
"Nice!" Quite a few Gryffindor students who were normally friendly with Neville applauded to encourage him.
Neville's usual performance in class was less than ideal. In Charms and Transfiguration especially, he always struggled to keep up with the others and consistently came last. His grades in History of Magic and Astronomy weren't very good either. He seemed to have some trouble with his memory and couldn't remember far too many things.
The only subjects in which he could be called decent, or even very good, were Herbology and Potions.
Yes, Neville was surprisingly good at Potions, a subject that more than eighty percent of the Gryffindor students couldn't get their heads around.
Many people found this hard to understand, Tris included.
He remembered that in the original story, Neville's Potions grades had been dreadful because he was afraid of Snape. Even his Boggart had turned into Snape.
But now, Neville was actually among the better students in Potions. Among the Gryffindors, he was second only to Hermione, which Tris couldn't understand. Had he somehow influenced things? Yet however much he thought about it, he couldn't see what he had changed.
With Neville having succeeded, Madam Hooch naturally turned her attention to Tris. "Young Mr. Weasley, have you kept trying?"
"Professor, I think I've figured out where the problem lies," Tris said obediently, gathering his thoughts. At the same time, he raised his hand over the broom that had previously refused to obey him and commanded in a low voice, "Up!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the broom sprang up and landed in Tris's hand.
"Mm, good." Madam Hooch nodded. She merely assumed that Tris had practiced and experimented while she was away, and had now succeeded. She had no idea he had spent that whole time watching the commotion.
In fact, Tris had already worked out what was happening when Madam Hooch left.
The Thought Maze!
Just as the Sorting Hat had been unable to access his emotions and thoughts, a broom, which was far less capable than the Sorting Hat, naturally had even less chance of sensing them. Since it couldn't feel Tris's emotions, it wouldn't obey him.
The solution was simple too. Just as when he had communicated with the Sorting Hat, he only needed to let a little of his thoughts reach outside.
He was still regretting that Madam Hooch had returned so quickly. He hadn't gotten to see how the drama ended.
Still, some things really were destined to happen. Tris soon discovered that for himself.