Hermione replied playfully, "What's there to be afraid of? Isn't someone here?"
Draco was taken aback at first, then feigned a helpless and resigned look, and said:
"I just wanted to quietly live off you, how did I end up... being a kept man?"
Hermione chuckled at his antics, her cheeks flushing slightly, and gently poked his chest.
"Stop being so cheeky. Who told you to come up to me like that?"
Draco put his arm around her shoulder and asked softly, "Do you want to continue practicing, or go back now?"
Hermione glanced down at the soft cushions beneath her feet, then looked up at the vast, empty flight space, and said firmly:
"Come on, it's not curfew yet, let's practice a little longer."
Draco asked her seriously, "So you want me to sit behind you and carry you while we fly?"
Hermione glared at him immediately, then confidently raised her head and said, "I can do it myself!"
This time, she moved about with ease, her grip on the broom steady.
Takeoff, turning, and hovering were all smooth and precise, with none of the initial panic and timidity remaining.
She practiced with increasing enthusiasm, and when the wind brushed against her cheeks, she could even feel an unprecedented sense of freedom and exhilaration.
Before I knew it, I had actually come to love the feeling of flying on a broomstick.
The curfew only began to sound faintly from the castle tower.
Hermione then landed, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, and together with Draco, they cleaned up the brooms and walked out of the Room of Requirement side by side.
Sunday passed peacefully and easily. The new students gradually adapted to the pace of Hogwarts ' classes and castle life, and everything proceeded smoothly.
Time flew by, and soon it was Thursday of the second week. The Gryffindor lion cubs' eagerly anticipated and nervous Flying Class finally arrived as scheduled.
Before class, Draco deliberately walked up to Neville and whispered a reminder:
" Neville, if you're particularly nervous right now, it's best not to touch the broom. Wait until you're calmer."
Neville nodded blankly, but judging from his shifty eyes and tense limbs, he clearly didn't take what he said to heart at all.
Madam Hooch happened to overhear this and said sternly to the whole class:
" Mr. Malfoy is right."
"Students who are afraid of heights, have psychological fears, or are overly nervous should not rush into action."
"Listen carefully to each step I explain, observe how others operate, and only take off once you've built up confidence. Safety is always the top priority."
After speaking, Madam Hooch began the formal instruction, explaining everything in great detail, from the way to hold the broom, the center of gravity, the way to exert force, to the takeoff command.
Throughout the process, she kept her eyes on Draco, constantly going up to correct his posture.
Wrist angle wrong, shoulders too stiff, center of gravity too far back, leg power generation not standard... Again and again, with almost harsh patience.
The surrounding Slytherin students couldn't help but chuckle and whisper among themselves.
" Malfoy, didn't you always brag about how amazing you were at flying?"
"Exactly! Now, you're the one who gets called on and corrected by the professor the most!"
Draco remained unfazed, glancing indifferently at the jeers.
"What do you know? I'm trying to get as much guidance as possible from Madam Hooch, so that the stronger my foundation, the safer and more stable I'll be when I take off later."
"Stop making excuses!" someone scoffed.
"Wrong is wrong, how can you claim it's right? Fine, then we'll wait and see how you perform later, lest you fail to take off."
Draco ignored them.
Only he knows that he usually flies in whatever way is most comfortable.
Madam Hooch taught the most standard and professional Quidditch stance, with numerous rules and strict constraints.
He naturally needs to be corrected in every way, not because he actually flies poorly.
After the explanation and demonstration were finished, Madam Hooch took a step back and loudly ordered, "Alright, everyone—ready, attempt takeoff!"
As soon as he finished speaking, most of the freshmen were still hesitating and testing the waters, but Neville gritted his teeth, not wanting to be looked down upon.
In a state of extreme tension and stiffness, he suddenly gripped the broom tightly, frantically shouted the takeoff command, and his whole body leaped up.
The broom went out of control instantly, shaking violently from side to side, carrying him crookedly into the air, completely out of his control.
The surrounding students immediately erupted in an uproar.
"Oh my god! The broom is out of control!"
" Neville flew too high! He simply couldn't control it!"
Some in Slytherin gasped, while others shrank back in fright, and a few timid girls covered their mouths.
Gryffindor was in complete chaos. Ron was pale and kept muttering, "It's all over, it's all over."
Madam Hooch shouted sternly, "Steady! Don't panic! Loosen your grip a little—"
Neville was already frozen with fear, gripping the broom tightly.
The broom carried me higher and higher, farther and farther, and I could fall down at any moment.
Almost at the same second.
Draco, Hermione, and Harry moved simultaneously.
Without a word, Draco mounted his broom, uttered the spell crisply, and instantly leaped into the air, moving as fast as a shadow, his target the out-of-control Neville.
Hermione followed almost immediately. Usually calm and collected, she was tense at this moment. Ignoring her fear, she pushed her broom with all her might and rushed forward, trying to stabilize Neville's broom from the side.
Harry instinctively took off, his eyes fixed on the swaying Neville, and flanked him from the other side, ready to provide support.
Three figures simultaneously took to the air, rapidly approaching the out-of-control Neville.
All the students below looked up, their breaths stopped, and the entire room was filled with a tense, deathly silence.
Neville's broom went out of control and shot into the air. He screamed in terror and kicked wildly, and the scene instantly spiraled out of control.
Madam Hooch was startled at first, then her face darkened, and she shouted sternly, "Don't move! Stay where you are! I'll handle this—"
But Draco and the others had already flown away.
The students below were in complete chaos:
The Gryffindor students screamed in terror. Ron clenched his fists, his face pale, and kept shouting, "Watch out!"
There was an uproar in Slytherin; some were gloating, some were shocked, and most were just watching the spectacle.
Many people stared in disbelief at the air in mid-air.
Harry and Hermione were flying so steadily and so fast; they didn't seem like freshmen who had just started Flying Class at all.
Their friends stared at the three of them with worried eyes, fearing that something might happen to them as well.
In mid-air, the three coordinated extremely quickly.
Draco restrained the broom from the front, Hermione stabilized the balance from the side, and Harry gently supported Neville from behind.
The three men, one on each side, one in front and one behind, managed to control the wildly shaking broom and slowly brought him to a safe landing.
This scene was witnessed by Professor McGonagall, who was keeping an eye on Gryffindor's flying talent.
She frowned, immediately went downstairs, her expression serious, clearly having also witnessed the dangerous unauthorized flight.