Look at how Harry dealt with the Auror stalking her at the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley – that's real professionalism. Even when Flourish and Blotts exploded, she didn't realize she'd been outsmarted by Harry.
The morning classes ended uneventfully. Quirrell closed his lesson plan, briefly assigned a paper on the differences between Dark Magic and ordinary magic, and then dismissed the class.
As Herman packed his bag and left the classroom, he caught a glimpse of Neville still sitting in his seat, seemingly waiting for Quirrell to leave before discussing something.
He shook his head, not looking in that direction again, and quickened his pace to catch up with Draco and Harry, who had already walked out of the corridor.
The afternoon class was the long-awaited physical education class—no, Hogwarts calls it Flying Class.
When Herman walked onto the playground, he could see a row of brooms neatly arranged on the ground in the distance.
Those brooms looked quite old; the paint on the handles was almost completely worn away, and on some they even showed cracks in the wood itself. The branches at the ends were uneven, with a few scattered, withered branches drooping over the edges.
Draco stood next to Herman, arms crossed, her expression towards the row of brooms even more unpleasant than when she saw the Pumpkin Juice she usually disliked.
" Shooting Star. My dad said they've been using these brooms since they were in school, and they're still using them. Can't the school just get a new batch? I was thinking of bringing my own Nimbus 2000, but the notice says we can't bring our own. Dad and Dumbledore should talk to them and get this useless school rule changed."
She added, "Besides, riding a broom requires straddling, which is not elegant at all; ladies always sit sideways."
Before Herman could reply, Harry's voice came from the side. "Then you'd better sit tight when you're flying, so you don't fall off."
Draco glared at her. "What's it to you? I can ride more steadily than you guys even when I'm sitting sideways."
Herman, caught between the two, wisely refrained from interjecting.
Experience told him that if he interrupted at this point, the two girls would unite against him, and that "against" was him.
After a brief introduction, Madam Hooch, the short-haired gray Flying Class instructor, quickly began to guide everyone to their brooms according to standard procedure, then called out, "Get up!"
Herman followed the instructions and said "Get up" to the old Shooting Star in front of him. The broom bounced on the ground and then wobbled into his hand.
It wasn't a smooth ride, but at least I didn't get hit in the face with a broom like that Gryffindor boy next to me.
Draco's side was quite lively. She managed to get the broom up, but she sat on it sideways, with one leg draped over the side of the broom handle. Her posture was indeed elegant, but also quite unstable.
Madam Hooch stood a few steps away, glanced over, and immediately frowned. " Miss Malfoy, the correct riding posture is straddling; sitting sideways is very dangerous."
Draco showed no sign of getting down. "That's not elegant at all. Ladies always sit sideways; that's what my France etiquette teacher told me. And this broom is too old. Can I ask my father to donate a batch? At least get a 'Sweeping Cleansweep Eleven; I remember there's a witch's version."
Madam Hooch glanced at Harry, who was deftly straddling a broom beside her. "Miss Potter has the perfect straddle posture. You could cut the Potter and learn from her."
Harry straddled the broom, one leg over the handle, her posture as perfect as a textbook illustration.
Hearing this, she turned her head to look at Draco, then at the professor. Whether it was a sudden outburst of rebelliousness or out of support for Draco, she then said something that made Madam Hooch's face freeze, "But sitting sideways does look better."
Draco immediately became smug, raising her chin as she glanced at the professor. "See? The student you just praised is saying the same thing herself."
Several Slytherin students nearby also started laughing. Some even tried to sit sideways on the broomstick like Draco. Crabbe was one of them. He hadn't even been sitting on it for a second before he flipped backward and rolled off the flying broomstick, causing everyone to burst into laughter. The scene was a little out of control for a moment.
Madam Hooch reprimanded loudly with a stern face, but the students from both academies were not so obedient, and the scene became even more chaotic.
The noise was so loud that it startled the professor in the distant tower. A loud knocking sound came from the window, causing everyone to instinctively look up.
Professor McGonagall was standing at the window of the tower, holding a document in her hand, her gaze sweeping across half the playground onto the group of students taking Flying Class.
She didn't say anything, she just stood there watching, and the penetrating power of her gaze was enough to quickly silence the laughter in the room.
She closed the file, turned and left the window. Less than two minutes later, she appeared at the edge of the playground, her steps quick and steady, heading straight for the group of people taking Flying Class.
" Madam Hooch, I'm here to deal with some disciplinary matters." Professor McGonagall's tone was calm but uncompromising. She glanced at Draco and Harry, then looked at Herman, who was standing to the side and hadn't yet managed to distance himself from the situation.
"The three of you come with me. Madam Hooch, I'd also like to trouble you to come with me. We need to have a serious discussion with Head of House Snape about this disciplinary issue."
Before Herman could even say, "I'm just standing here," Professor McGonagall had already turned and walked towards the castle.
Draco climbed off the broom sideways, her expression one of self-righteous indignation, as if to say, "I only said a few words."
Harry didn't show any expression; she simply put the broom aside and followed McGonagall.
Herman sighed and followed helplessly.
Before long they were taken to Snape's office, where Madam Hooch told Snape about what had happened in Flying Class.
Herman stood in the office, smelling the scent that was a mixture of herbs and some other indescribable aroma, and watched Snape sit behind his desk, slowly raising his head after listening to Professor McGonagall's statement.
His gaze lingered on Draco for a moment, then moved to Harry's face, and finally swept over Herman.
Herman suddenly remembered Snape's earlier warning. Should he now emphasize that he hadn't done anything and that it was all Draco's fault?
"Yes, I understand, Madam Hooch. But children are bound to make mistakes, and sitting sideways is indeed not very elegant." Snape added, "And she's not wrong in a way; those brooms are indeed quite old."
After saying that, Snape glanced at McGonagall, "I've almost forgotten what the Shooting Star looks like."
Madam Hooch's face turned very ugly when she heard Snape's words. She knew that Snape favored Slytherin students, but this was going too far.
Professor McGonagall's expression remained unchanged, but Herman could feel the air temperature around her slowly dropping. " Professor Snape, arguing with Flying Class instructor is punishable by points deduction and detention."
"Deducting points is acceptable," Snape said. "Detention is unnecessary; they're still just children." He glanced down and scribbled a few lines on the paper. " Slytherin, ten points deducted for talking back to a teacher. As for Miss Potter, she merely repeated the truth; that's not a violation."