The days at Hogwarts

The good news is that flying lessons start on Thursday, the bad news is that Gryffindor students and Slytherin students will take them together.

The freshmen became excited and started to act in a flamboyant manner.

Seamus said he spent most of his childhood flying around the wilderness on a broomstick.

For several days in a row, Ron told people around him what he knew about Quidditch, bragging that he once flew on Charlie's broom and almost hit a hang glider.

Malfoy went up a level in this version, dodging a helicopter on a broomstick.

Harry and Hermione became anxious during these stories. Harry was very worried that he would make a fool of himself riding a broom in front of Malfoy, and would definitely be ridiculed by Malfoy, or even whipped repeatedly. Harry learned the word whipping from Loren, and he thought it was very appropriate.

Hermione began to read all the introductory books on flying that she could find in the library, but it was of no use because the books did not tell her how to fly, although she had tried.

Loren listened to all kinds of bizarre stories and tried hard to hold back his laughter. Even if those bragging people were tied together, they couldn't even outlive Harry's exhaust fumes.

He himself didn't really care about flying, and being good at flying on a broom didn't matter. He wasn't very interested in Quidditch, and there were more convenient and faster ways to travel if he wanted to.

In this way, Loren tried all kinds of tricks on the Transfiguration Charm, hugged his thighs in the Herbology class, tried new spells in the Charms class, was bullied in the Potions class, and slept in the History of Magic class.

In his spare time, he reads big books in the library and basks in the sun by the lake. He doesn't have any big goals, he studies when he should study. His life is plain but fulfilling, and Loren enjoys it very much.

On Thursday afternoon, the long-awaited flying lesson began.

The teacher was Professor Huo Qi, who had short grey hair, yellow eyes, spoke in short and powerful sentences, and held a whistle, looking like a physical education teacher. In theory, this was indeed a physical education teacher.

In the open space, Gryffindor and Slytherin students were divided into two teams, each with a flying broom.

"Put your right hand on top of the broom handle," Madam Hooch called from the front, "and say 'Get up!'"

Harry moved quickly, and Ron yelled so loudly that the broom handle hit him directly on the nose.

"Ouch!" Ron cried out in pain. Several people nearby laughed happily.

"Hey! Are you still friends?!" Ron looked at his roommates with resentment.

Except for Harry and Malfoy, everyone else was similar, and it took them a long time to get their brooms. The same was true for Loren, who didn't seem to have much talent for flying. Hermione and Neville were the last two.

This result made Hermione a little frustrated. She wanted to be a witch like Professor McGonagall and had high expectations for Quidditch and flying. Professor McGonagall was very good at flying, but she had no talent in this area.

Then Madam Hooch showed them how to mount a broom without sliding off their heads, and Malfoy tried to show off his skills, for which Madam Hooch scolded him, which secretly pleased Harry and only made Malfoy angrier.

After adjusting everyone's posture, Madam Hooch said, "Okay, when I blow the whistle, you will push off the ground with your legs. Push hard. Hold the broom steady, rise a few feet, then lean forward slightly and fall vertically back to the ground."

Loren has been watching Neville, a timid and forgetful fat boy, but kind and helpful.

After several classes, Loren asked Neville to help take the books back to the dormitory. Neville always agreed happily. He seemed to think that this was a sign of Loren's trust in him, and he enjoyed this trust very much.

The last time Neville was in so much pain that he couldn't get up, he left a deep impression on everyone. This kind little fat boy didn't have to be so unlucky, Loren thought.

"Listen to my whistle, three, two, one!"

Neville was so nervous that he leaped out, but before his broom had risen a few inches, Loren grabbed Neville's robes, ripped him off and threw him to the ground.

The broom flew up into the sky for a distance, then fell vertically, hit the tree and broke into two pieces.

Neville was sweating profusely as he watched. He suspected that if it weren't for Loren, he would have been the one broken into two pieces, and now only his clothes were dirty.

The classmates around him also felt uneasy.

Neville kept repeating to Loren: "Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Dean and Seamus picked up Neville's memory ball, handed it to him, and then kept comforting Neville. It took a long time for him to calm down.

Madam Hooch did not blame Neville. She brought him a new broom, but Neville refused to fly again.

So the others continued their flying lessons, and Neville watched from the side. In fact, many people wanted to give up after seeing what happened just now, but they didn't say it out loud.

Hermione was nervous, as her flying talent didn't seem to be that good, but she still gritted her teeth and continued with the class.

After several vertical takeoffs and landings, everyone felt relieved. What happened to Neville was just an accident and the flying broom was not that dangerous.

Madam Hooch let the students fly freely and slowly in the open space, and their height could not exceed the third-floor window. Then she came to comfort Neville and tried to persuade him to continue studying.

Neville just kept shaking his head.

Chapter 25 An Accident Still Happened

In the sky, Harry found that flying was much easier than he thought, almost like walking or running. After a few simple straight lines, he began to circle around the Gryffindor students.

Following Madam Hooch's arrangement, Harry's speed was not fast, but he changed directions frequently, wandering around his roommates.

"Ron, you don't look as flexible as I do!" Harry teased happily.

As for Loren and Neville and the others, they can't even fly, only Ron is better.

Hermione looked jealous. I knew he was talented, the little witch thought.

The flying broom doesn't hurt your butt or any other part of your body. Sitting on it feels like a force is acting on your whole body, supporting you from all directions.

Loren was flying slowly on his broom, and was in the last echelon with Hermione. He was thinking that if he saved Neville, there would be no Memory Ball plot, and Harry would have to join the Quidditch team a year later. But this was not a loss.

It was not the first time for Malfoy to ride a flying broom, and he flew very smoothly. He had been looking forward to the flying lesson for a long time, hoping to amaze everyone and get everyone's praise in the flying lesson. But first he was criticized by Madam Hooch, and now Harry stole the limelight, so he was in a bad mood.

Malfoy looked at Harry and felt annoyed. He pressed the head of the broom down with both hands and rushed towards Harry.

Harry was changing direction when the broom tail brushed past his hair. From his perspective, a shadow flashed before his eyes, and his heart skipped a beat. This unnecessary provocation made Harry furious, and he was about to scold.

Vincent Crabbe, the taller of Malfoy's two lackeys, saw Malfoy attack Harry, and rushed towards him with a sly grin, while the Gryffindors around him screamed in shock.

Harry dodged in time, feeling even more angry. He grabbed the broom head, raised it, increased speed, turned it, and kicked Crabbe towards Malfoy.

"what!"

Crabbe and his broom were forced toward Malfoy, but luckily the speed was not very fast and the two men just staggered a few times in the air.

The Gryffindors laughed.

"What a shame, Malfoy." Harry said with a smile and a relaxed tone.

Malfoy was so angry that he rushed towards Harry at several times the speed before.

Harry had been paying attention to him, so he quickly rose up to avoid him, and taunted, "I think Hedwig can fly better than you!"

Malfoy said nothing, turned around and rushed towards Harry again. Harry also accelerated to distance himself from him, and the two of them changed speed and turned in the air, sometimes getting closer and sometimes getting farther away.

Malfoy was experienced and could close the distance with his skills. Harry was a little nervous at first, but he flew more and more smoothly, and could close the distance quickly. He would not be fooled by Malfoy's skills a second time.

The two of them quickly flew out of the range of activities designated by Madam Huo Qi, and their height had already exceeded the third floor.

Madam Hooch only then noticed the two insolent people, waved her wand to add a loud voice to her throat, and shouted: "Stop, come down quickly."

Malfoy didn't care, his father was the school director, so he didn't have to worry, he had to teach Harry a lesson.

Harry hesitated for a moment, but Malfoy's malicious eyes made his back ache.

Professor McGonagall in the office saw this scene through the window, her eyes sparkling as if she had seen some treasure.

Harry was on the broom, the wind blew his hair into a mess, but he felt his mind was exceptionally clear. If he slowed down, he would definitely be knocked down and broken into several sections like Neville's broom. But he couldn't keep flying like this, he had to think of a way to get rid of Malfoy.

Harry sped up and flew towards the clock tower, his speed getting faster and faster until he was about to hit it.

Malfoy was still chasing behind, and he thought he had guessed Harry's thoughts: the scarred man thought he would not dare to speed up and crash into the clock tower, and when he slowed down and turned, Harry would have been ready to turn and go directly to Madam Hooch. It would take time for him to speed up again, so he would not be able to catch up with Harry and teach him a lesson.

Malfoy was secretly pleased with himself, thinking how could he fall for this trick of the stupid Gryffindor. He made up his mind that if the scarred man didn't turn around, he wouldn't turn around either, and even if he crashed into the clock tower, Harry would be the one to take the blame.

The two of them were running faster and faster and were about to crash into the clock tower.

People from both colleges screamed, some girls covered their eyes, and some couldn't bear to watch what happened next.

Finally, Harry turned, almost a 90-degree turn from a vertical wall, quickly climbed towards the sky, and finally turned back and stopped on the eaves.

Harry was panting. He enjoyed the process of flying quickly in the sky, enjoying every sharp turn, descent and ascent. He liked the feeling of flying.

Malfoy was unable to react and hit the wall and fell down.

There were some trees that cushioned the fall, but the broom still broke into several pieces. Malfoy groaned a few times and passed out.

Harry landed and felt a little bewildered. He just wanted to get rid of Malfoy, but he didn't expect things to turn out like this.

Madam Hooch rushed over quickly and did not blame Harry. Instead, she checked Malfoy's injuries first.

Harry heard her whisper, "A broken arm, a leg and some ribs, but it's okay."

Madam Hooch asked everyone to put their brooms back in their place and then dispersed. She used a levitation spell on Malfoy's robes and carried Malfoy to find Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Hooch didn't blame Harry, but he felt bad now. Malfoy was injured and got the punishment he deserved, so why did she feel guilty now, thinking that there might be a better way to get out of the situation.

Ron rushed over and saw a dejected Harry. He didn't think much about it and just thought that he was scared. He reached out and patted Harry's shoulder: "Harry, are you okay?"

Harry looked up at his friends and forced a smile: "I'm fine, Malfoy is injured."

Hermione interrupted at this time: "You may be in trouble. Professor McGonagall may expel you from Hogwarts."

Harry turned even paler when he heard this, and Ron didn't know how to comfort her.

"Harry Potter!" Professor McGonagall ran towards them, and Harry felt his legs go weak.

Professor McGonagall looked straight at Harry: "In all my years at Hogwarts... I have never..."

Professor McGonagall was so surprised that she couldn't speak. Her glasses flashed with anger: "How dare you...you'll break your neck..."

Professor McGonagall took Harry away. Ron, Neville and Seamus were all very sad. They thought Harry would definitely be expelled.

Only Loren had no such worries. He watched the whole show in amazement.

Turtle, does this have any plot-correcting power?

Chapter 26 Triggering the Pre-Instance Tasks

For wizards, breaking some bones is not a big problem. In the potions class the next day, Harry saw Malfoy came to class well, which made him feel a little better.

This thought did not last long. After class, Malfoy mocked Harry for not answering Professor Snape's question and said that his head looked like a giant monster. Harry was so angry that he wondered why he didn't throw him to death.

Loren is improving Snape's favorability, laying the foundation for the potion issue later.

"Professor, would it be better to squeeze the juice from the beans with a knife rather than slicing them?" Loren asked Snape, pointing to the book "Common Methods of Processing Potion Materials".

Snape stopped organizing his equipment and looked into Loren's eyes: "I admit that you do have some talent."

"But I can't hide your ambition from you."

"Don't try to get anything from me, Loren Morgan!"

However, Snape still abided by his duties as a potion professor. He gave Loren a long list of books and asked him to find the answers himself. Before that, the content of the book was the standard.

Loren also looked at those eyes, which were like a deep pool of water, without a ripple. They said words of rejection to you without a trace of emotion, staring straight at you, as if they could see the deepest part of your heart. He almost suspected that Snape used Legilimency on him.

Loren didn't know how he walked out of the classroom, and he admitted that he was a little scared.

In the corridor, Harry told Ron that he was chosen as the seeker. Ron was also very happy. He taught Harry all kinds of Quidditch knowledge and arranged Harry's training plan in a serious manner. The smile on his face was almost flying.

However, he was soon exposed by the Weasley twins. Ron's knowledge and training plan were all hearsay. He didn't even know how many direct attacks a batsman could make without fouls. Some of them were simply wrong. Ron was still stubborn until he walked out of the courtyard.

Harry was very worried that he would make a fool of himself. A Seeker does more than just fly; he almost determines the outcome of a game.

Hermione suddenly came over and interrupted the conversation between the two: "I know Harry will be an excellent Quidditch player. It's in his blood."

"Bloodline?" Harry asked doubtfully.

Hermione led the two to the trophy display room, in front of the shield engraved with "Seeker, James Potter, 1971".

Ron shouted, "Oh, Harry, you never told me you had a Seeker father."

Harry laughed unconsciously: "I, I don't know either."

Twenty years later, he became a player for the Gryffindor team like his father. This coincidence made him feel a sense of companionship and warmth.

As the three of them walked up the stairs, Harry couldn't help but laugh and joke to himself: "Even Hermione knows my parents better than I do."

Hermione denied it: "I just saw your father's name in passing."

She didn't mention that Professor McGonagall was also a Quidditch player. It was not something that couldn't be said, but she didn't intend to share it. She wanted to keep it to herself.

Just then, the stairs suddenly swayed from side to side, and then rose and fell.

Feeling the familiar feeling of weightlessness, the three of them complained in unison: "Damn these stairs!"

The staircase turned to a door on the fourth floor, and they pushed it open and went in. They were not familiar with the pattern of the stairs here, and if they didn't get out soon, they didn't know how long they would be trapped.

Harry led the way, followed by Hermione. After entering the room, the environment suddenly became dark. In the middle of the room stood a statue in a strange posture, covered with spider webs, which looked eerie.

"Does anyone else think we're in the wrong place?" Ron shuddered.

"This is a restricted area on the fourth floor. Dumbledore emphasized at the beginning of the school year that we are forbidden to enter!" Hermione spoke in a low voice, fearing that she would be discovered.