Professor Potter

Chapter 42

Chapter 42 

Spring was making a strong, early showing at Hogwarts. The winter snows deposited in just a few short, ferocious weeks had long since melted away and the strong sun and warm breezes felt good as Harry sat in a cloth folding chair that had been provided for him. He was sitting near the edge of the lake listening to Una O'Connor describe their current test. They had less than two months to complete their project. From what Harry had heard already he felt they had a very good handle on the magic that resulted in one of his favorite aspects of being a wizard, broomstick flying, but they had also demonstrated some of the issues with the practical reality of building a high speed prototype. 

Miss O'Connor had already crashed twice. Once during the Christmas break which got her a dunking in the cold lake and another time that had her buried in a snow drift until her compatriots could dig her out. But being the smallest and lightest member of the team she had assumed the role of test pilot and adamantly refused all offers of substitution. 

"So, Professor, we are quite confident that this should be the breakthrough we've been looking for. The small cone we first described to you has now been expanded to create a shell that completely covers a flier when she or he is stretched out over the handle. My robe barely moves at high speed," she said with great excitement. 

"And you're sure you've got the bugs worked out of the broom itself? You've already had two crashes," Harry said. 

"Oh, yes, sir. I'm quite confident." 

"Very well, let's see what you've got," Harry said, trying to keep the resignation out of his voice. 

"Yes, sir," the young witch said. 

She hurried over to her two teammates who were holding the test broom. It looked like any other Nimbus 2000 that Harry had ever seen. She gave it a thorough visual examination and then with a nod she mounted and took to the air, quickly followed by the two wizards who were going to be flying 'safety patrol'. Harry settled back in his chair but had his wand out and ready in case he might need it. 

He watched as the witch put the broom through some maneuvers and from where Harry sat it appeared to be moving normally. Then she pointed it toward the farther end of the lake and took off at a fair clip until she was almost lost to view. Harry could see the small figure make a sweeping turn and then make the first high speed run down the length of the lake. The visual sense of acceleration was alarming and as she rocketed past at about fifty feet above the water Harry had little chance to check to see if indeed her robes weren't flapping in the slipstream, but from what he could see it looked like she was right. 

Her turn at the end of the lake was wide and sweeping, and to Harry looked a little ragged. He thought she should have bled of some speed before making the turn. She got straightened out and settled in for another high speed run heading in the opposite direction. Only this time something didn't look right to Harry. It appeared to him that the broom was unsteady, and worse, it looked as if twigs were starting to fly off the back of the broom. 

Harry stood up and began moving toward the water but it was too late. In a sudden spray the entire bundle of twigs scattered behind the broom and began falling towards the water. The now completely unstable broom bucked once or twice and began to tumble. He also saw the drogue chute flare out behind the young flier and her forward speed slowed dramatically as she plunged into the lake below. As the two wizards began to rush towards her, Harry pointed his ironwood wand and shouted 'Wingardium Leviosa' and the young witch began to rise up out of the water. Holding the wand steady he floated her toward the damp ground at the water's edge and let her drift down. He noticed she was still holding on to the now bare shaft of the broom.