Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 17 Flying Lessons

Flying has always been the biggest dream of mankind, and Vader is no exception. In his opinion, one of the biggest benefits of learning magic is that you can fly freely in the sky. Of course, you can also fly in an airplane, and it is more comfortable than riding a broom or riding a Pegasus. But there is no doubt that the latter is much cooler.

Ravenclaw's flying lesson was on Friday afternoons with Hufflepuff, and before that, Gryffindor and Slytherin's flying lesson was on Thursday afternoons.

Since Monday, all the first-year students have been talking about flying, including Michael.

"You know what? My most thrilling experience was swooping down from a cliff on a broom, racing with an eagle!" Michael boasted, with a sausage stuck on his fork: "We swooped down from a height of 1,300 meters and finally hovered only 15 centimeters above the ground! The grass on the ground could touch the tip of my nose!"

"That's amazing, isn't it?" Theo at the next table believed it and exclaimed, "Michael, you should play Quidditch. You must be good at the Wronski feint! Many famous players can't do that!"

Michael blushed slightly, and said with all his strength, "Of course! I have to say that after Professor Flitwick sees my wonderful performance in the flying class, he might invite me to join the Quidditch team in advance!"

"Of course! You're a genius!" Theo praised loudly.

Michael blushed even more.

At the long table, some senior Ravenclaw girls looked at Michael and chuckled, obviously seeing through his lies.

In order to hide his embarrassment, Michael turned around and said, "Wade, do you need me to give you some flying instructions in advance? In case you get nervous when you ride on the broom. I'm an expert in this area. I was already flying on a broom at home when I couldn't even walk."

"Really? I think we need some guidance too." Hermione pulled Neville over quickly and sat next to them. She was holding a pile of books in her arms - "The Origins of Quidditch", "The Miracle of Wigton Tramps", "He Flies Like a Madman" and so on.

"You borrowed so many books?" Wade asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but it doesn't help much," Hermione said irritably as she put the books on the table. "They're mostly about the barbaric sport of Quidditch, and they don't say anything about how to fly more smoothly."

The girl's words immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of Quidditch fans. Michael raised his eyebrows and said, "Barbaric? Hermione, you probably don't understand. Quidditch is the most popular and exciting sport. Everyone loves Quidditch! It has nothing to do with barbarism! No, it should be said that you don't understand its wild charm at all!"

"Really?" Hermione asked bluntly, "But it makes the Golden Snidget a protected species! It's on the verge of extinction!"

"There's nothing wrong with Quidditch!" Michael shouted first, and then asked curiously: "...What is the Golden Snidget? It sounds a bit like the Golden Snitch?"

"It's a small bird that flies quickly." Wade happened to have read this part before, and he said, "In the past, a Golden Snidget would be released during Quidditch matches. The game would end when the team's hunter killed the bird. As a result, the number of Golden Snidgets went from being as common as sparrows to being extremely rare, and protection areas had to be established to prevent them from becoming completely extinct. Although the Golden Snitch was later invented to replace the Golden Snidget, Quidditch teams in some countries seem to have retained the old customs. So until now, the Golden Snidget is still a protected animal."

Hermione raised her head and said, "That's right, so Quidditch is a barbaric sport built on the lives of countless Golden Snidgets. It's a pity that not many people pay attention to the poor Golden Snidgets now, and only cheer for a sport that can kill people!"

The girl completely forgot why she was sitting at the table, and left angrily with her book, leaving the boys looking at each other. After a while, Neville said timidly: "So...flying instruction...is there any?" He said with a sad face: "I've never flown before, and my grandmother won't let me get close to a flying broom - not even a toy broom."

"Well, of course." Michael said enthusiastically, "It's actually very simple to ride a broom. You just need to hold the stick in front of you with your hands, and then push the ground with your feet, and you can fly. Keeping balance is the most important thing, and you must be flexible when turning. There are big differences in the models of various flying brooms. It's good to have a Sweeping Seven Stars broom provided by the school, but the best one at present must be the Nimbus 2000..."

Michael's "flight instructions" only lasted two or three sentences, and the rest of the time he talked endlessly about the performance of the Light Cycle series. Theo was very supportive and believed every word he said. Neville stared with his big round eyes and tried to write down everything he said, but in the end there were only a few lines on the paper - [Hold the handle, push hard on the ground, and keep your balance].

Ryan whispered to Wade, "I'm sure Michael has only ridden a toy broom before."

"Why do you say that?" Vader asked, "Have you ever ridden a real one?"

"I've never ridden a broom by myself because my mom wouldn't let me, saying it's too dangerous," Ryan said. "But my dad has a Comet, and he once held me and flew me around in the sky a few times. He said that at first it's good enough for beginners to sit on it steadily, and you can't rush to fly, because the speed of a flying broom is much faster than a toy broom, and there is no limit on the height."

He looked at Michael's eloquent appearance and shook his head slightly.

"There's nothing to worry about." Wade comforted, "The professor is here!"

Although he had no impression of the detailed plot of Harry Potter, he remembered that Neville had a brilliant performance in the final battle. What could go wrong in an ordinary flying lesson?
Come to think of it, I have the impression that... there does seem to be a plot about flying lessons.

Vader stroked his chin, trying to dig out useful fragments from his memory.

Hmm... it seems that Neville was bullied by Draco? And then Harry Potter stood up for him?

That should be the case.

On Thursday afternoon, Ravenclaw only had one spells class with Slytherin. After class, the Slytherins happily ran to the lawn - that was where the flying class was. The Ravenclaws didn't have any classes afterwards, so they just went to watch.

It was rare for Wade to move with the main group - after all, it was a flying class. Students gathered in the corridor in twos and threes, eavesdropping on the speech of Madam Hooch, the flying class professor, hoping to learn something in advance so as not to embarrass themselves in the formal class tomorrow.

It wasn't long before they saw Neville - yes, Neville - soaring into the sky like a cannonball while everyone else was still standing on the ground!
"Ahhhh-"

There was a terrified scream from the sky, followed by a figure falling straight down. Before anyone else could react, he slammed violently into the grass with a "bang"!
There was silence among the crowd.

(End of this chapter)