The Ravenclaw Flying Lesson
At five in the afternoon, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students walked together to the lawn where flying lessons were held. From there, they could see Hagrid's hut and the Forbidden Forest in the distance, sometimes hearing strange noises from that direction.
Unlike the adventurous Gryffindors and the trouble-making Slytherins, Ravenclaws were adept at self-preservation and generally only tested boundaries within the rules. Hufflepuff students were well-behaved and wouldn't actively break rules. Most students from these two houses wouldn't step foot into the Forbidden Forest until they graduated in their seventh year.
About twenty Flying Broomsticks were neatly arranged on the ground, and Madam Hooch was already waiting there. With an eagle-like gaze, she watched the students vigilantly and critically, saying sternly, "I imagine you've heard about yesterday's incident! Mr. Longbottom of Gryffindor was lucky to only break his wrist, but if you act recklessly, it wouldn't be surprising if someone broke their neck! You'd best remember that!"
The young Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs meekly nodded in agreement.
"Alright! Now, everyone stand beside a Flying Broomstick!"
Under Madam Hooch's watchful eye, everyone moved quickly, without pushing or shoving. However, the school's Flying Broomsticks were of unknown age; each was battered, with branches sprawling untidily and uneven oak handles. Even for sweeping, they felt prickly.
But they were expected to fly on these things.
Wade suddenly felt that flying on a Flying Broomstick might not be very kind to one's tailbone.
He heard Michael mutter under his breath, "Comet — the cheapest broom..."
Wade glanced over; Michael's broom was even more tattered than his, looking completely as if it were cobbled together from weeds.
Madam Hooch said loudly, "Stick out your right hand, place it above the broom handle, and say — Up!"
"Up!" the students shouted in unison.
Wade's broom rolled twice on the ground before leaping into his hand. He gripped it, feeling he didn't need to exert much force, as the broom floated in the air on its own.
He turned to look at the others. Some succeeded immediately, while others — like Michael — had their brooms bouncing on the ground like beached fish, taking a long time to reach their hands.
Once all the students held their brooms, Madam Hooch then taught them how to sit on a broom without falling off and strictly corrected some students' incorrect postures.
Wade had originally thought this would be simple, as he remembered Harry Potter in the movies always just swinging his leg over and flying off. But it wasn't until he actually got on that he realized it wasn't so easy. After all, the broom handle was just a thin stick of wood, and maintaining balance while sitting on it required a certain skill.
Fortunately, the pressure on certain delicate bones wasn't as great as he'd imagined. Some spell had been cast on the broom, making it feel like sitting on a chair when riding it. It wasn't entirely comfortable, but it wasn't too bad either.
Only when everyone's posture satisfied Madam Hooch did she allow the students to proceed to the next step — flying.
"The moment I blow my whistle, you push off the ground with force," Madam Hooch said. "Grip your broom tightly, but don't lift too high, unless you want to fly into the clouds! Lift just a little, slowly rise a few feet, then glide slowly forward, and finally, slowly return to the ground."
Madam Hooch repeated "slowly" three times, then said, "Listen carefully for my whistle — three, two, one!"
As the whistle blew, the students immediately separated into layers — some flew too high, while others plunged towards the ground. Two students lost their balance and tumbled off their brooms with a gulp.
Madam Hooch frowned and swiftly waved her Wand, ensuring no one was hurt.
Suddenly, another shriek was heard — a Ravenclaw girl on her broom was hurtling towards the broom shed!
"Impedimenta!" Madam Hooch yelled.
The girl hovered in the air for a moment, and though she still hit the wall, the force had been reduced. However, her broom shattered upon impact.
Madam Hooch didn't scold her; instead, she used Accio to summon another old broom, allowing the girl to continue practicing.
Wade circled at a higher altitude on his broom, then tried to gradually increase his speed. Only five or six students, like him, could gradually control their brooms. Most were ordered by Madam Hooch not to fly higher than the broom shed.
Even so, accidents were constant.
For example, two students' brooms wobbled, then collided uncontrollably in mid-air. Another Hufflepuff boy flew well at a low altitude, but as soon as he tried to gain height, even less than five meters, he closed his eyes and fell off his broom — the poor student had acrophobia.
The first flying lesson was, to put it mildly, chaotic. Madam Hooch was like an octopus, "putting out fires" in all directions, her Wand swishing rapidly as she constantly rescued students from various neck-breaking crises. She herself was bumped by a reckless student, which infuriated Madam Hooch, turning her face ashen, and she deducted a full five points from Hufflepuff!
Wade finally understood why Madam Hooch always looked grim and seemed angry. Any experienced driver teaching new drivers, seeing them constantly making basic, foolish mistakes, would probably react like Madam Hooch.
Finally, the flying lesson ended, and students flocked to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing for various scrapes, sprains, and bruises. Wade and Michael, however, were perfectly fine. They walked together back to the Great Hall for dinner.
"Wade!"
Hermione, who was eating, saw them and immediately waved in greeting. Seeing her sitting alone at one end of the long table, Wade simply walked over and sat at the Gryffindor table.
Hermione scanned them up and down, asking, "Flying lesson not go well?"
"I'm exhausted," Michael said wearily. He felt he needed a lot of energy, so after taking two pieces of buttered bread, he added a roasted chicken leg to his plate.
Wade first poured a glass of juice and drank it down, then said, "Everyone's flying for the first time, so they're very unskilled. More than half of them sustained minor injuries, and some even fainted."
Hermione nodded. "I have to say, I'm not surprised at all. Flying in the air without any protection, getting injured is only natural!"
She clearly didn't like riding brooms, nor did she like Quidditch.
"This is a skill that requires diligent training to master! A skilled Quidditch player can fly more agilely than a bird."
After one flying lesson, Michael finally regained his energy. But Wade remembered that during the lesson, he had hovered at a low altitude. If he flew even a little higher, the broom — or perhaps Michael on the broom — would start to tremble.
He was a typical example of someone who was terrible but loved to play.
But Michael convinced him with just one sentence.
"Think about it, Wade." Michael said in a seductive tone, "We can fly directly to our dorms on our brooms and never have to climb stairs again! I've seen students on the Quidditch team do it!"
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