Okay, when I blow the whistle, kick your legs off the ground and push hard.
Hold the broom steady, rise a few feet, then lean forward slightly and come back down to the ground. Listen for my whistle—three—two—
Madam Hooch continued to teach, but Neville was too nervous and afraid of being left behind. He kicked hard before the whistle touched Madam Hooch's lips, shooting up like a cork from a bottle—twelve feet—twenty feet—then slid right off the broom!
Bang!
With a rough fall, Neville landed face-down in the grass, curled up in pain.
It all happened so fast. With Damon's current abilities, he chose not to step in, worried he might make things worse.
Neville's arm was broken, and Madam Hooch's face turned as pale as his. She sternly told the other students to stay put and rushed him to the infirmary.
Amid the Slytherin students' laughter, Malfoy snatched Neville's Remembrall. Harry didn't understand why Damon stayed quiet. Furious, he rushed forward and argued with Malfoy.
Soon, Malfoy hopped on his broom, and Harry bravely chased after him.
Damon watched the two soar into the sky, hearing the gasps of the other young wizards, his expression calm.
This argument would let Harry show his amazing Quidditch skills, and Professor McGonagall would bend the rules to make him Gryffindor's Seeker.
It was a huge comfort in Harry's tough life, one of the few things he could truly be proud of. Damon had no reason to stop it.
When an angry Professor McGonagall arrived, she glared at Damon. "You just stood there and let them mess around?"
"It's not his fault, Professor,"
Parvati Patil said.
"Quiet, Miss Patil,"
McGonagall snapped.
Seeing Professor McGonagall still glaring at him, Damon smiled and said to Harry, who looked worried and guilty, "Fly well, Harry. I've got a feeling you'll be Gryffindor's best Seeker."
"Enough, Damon! Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Professor McGonagall shot him a fierce look, though part of her seemed to agree with him—she thought the same about Harry's talent.
Kids' mistakes often seem small to adults. But to keep them from getting too wild, teachers have to act strict to show the seriousness of it all.
Damon wasn't buying it.
"Potter, come with me!"
Harry followed Professor McGonagall, head down, thinking he might be packing his bags in ten minutes.
Then he saw Damon mouth, *Don't worry*. For some reason, Harry felt a bit better.
At dinner, Harry excitedly told Damon and Ron everything. "Wood says I'm the youngest Seeker in a century!"
The Weasley twins walked into the dining hall. Spotting Harry, they hurried over.
"Nice one," George said quietly. "Wood told us. We're on the house team too—Beaters."
"This year, we'll win the Quidditch Cup for sure," Fred said. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but our team's going to shine! You'll be awesome, Harry. Wood was so excited he could barely talk."
They glanced at Damon with a hint of pity. "Prince of Dueling, shame you're not on the Quidditch team. How'd you do today?"
"So-so," Damon replied casually. Joining Quidditch meant giving up three nights a week for practice, plus weekends. That wasn't for him right now.
"Looks like our Prince of Dueling isn't great at everything," Fred and George said, grinning at each other before heading off. "Gotta go—Lee Jordan thinks he's found a new secret passage out of the school."
"I'm full too. Enjoy your meal." Damon got up and left for the Room of Requirement to practice spells.
Only then did Malfoy show up. After taunting Harry and Ron, he challenged them to a midnight duel. Hermione was furious with them over it.
Later, the three somehow ended up in the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor. They ran into Fluffy, the three-headed dog, who wasn't asleep. Miraculously, they escaped unharmed.
How wild is that?
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**Friday, Potions Class**
Hogwarts has 142 staircases. Some are wide and grand, others narrow and wobbly. Worst of all, on Fridays, some lead to different places.
Thanks to Damon, Neville and Harry had a habit of getting up early. Ron, though, was stubborn, often grumbling, "I won't be late even if I sleep in. Why torture ourselves?"
As Harry reached the classroom, he felt lucky he'd left early. Without Damon's influence, he might've waited until the last minute like Ron, gotten caught by the shifting stairs, and been late.
Harry worried about Ron, who still hadn't shown up, when he overheard some girls whispering.
"Look over there," one said, excited. "He's so handsome—better than any boy I've seen!"
"Yeah, he's dreamy," another said. "His profile? Even Quidditch star Leonardo isn't that good-looking!"
Harry paused, thinking for a second they meant him. But his Seeker role was still a secret. They were clearly talking about Damon, the talk of the school.
Thanks to his House Cup points, first-years in all four houses knew Damon was a star in Transfiguration and Charms, earning Gryffindor ten points in week one.
Damon sat in the second row, chin in hand, lazily flipping through *Magical Drafts and Potions*, looking a bit bored.
Harry noticed the girls gushing over Damon but not sitting near him. Hermione sat in the third row, glancing at Damon with a competitive spark in her eyes.
As for Harry? Hermione ignored him. After the three-headed dog incident, she'd sworn off talking to him and Ron, which suited them fine—they were tired of her bossiness.
Damon, who Hermione saw as a rival, seemed to be reading but was actually focused on something else.
[Potions – LV1 (Beginner)] 1/100
Master basic potion-making and herb knowledge to create simple potions for minor injuries or illnesses.
Read 20+ chapters ahead at Patreon
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(End of chapter)
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