The Dark Lord's Daughter (Book 1): Song Bird

Flying Lessons

I squint through the sunlight- It was a perfect day to learn to fly and a part of me had always yearned to. I had many dreams where I was soaring through the air, but I never had a broomstick. Mum and dad always found that curious.
"Good afternoon, class." A woman with brilliant yellow eyes and a stylish pixie cut greets all of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years.
"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch." We chime back.
"Good afternoon, Amanda, good afternoon." She greets a girl a little ways away from me.
"Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick. Come on now, hurry up. Stick your right hand over the broom and say, Up!" I eagerly step up to it and will it into my hand.
"Up!" It shot straight into my hand and I beemed- seeing Harry was the only other one to managed it so far.
"Whoa." He looked at the broomstick with a mix of awe and pride and grinned at me.
"Up!" I look over to Malfoy smugly raising his hand over his broom and I very much hoped it smacked into his nose.
"Augh!" He clutched at his nose but quickly recovered hoping no one noticed he sneered when he saw my smirk.
"With feeling!" Said Madam Hooch to the stragglers.
"Up. Up. Up. Up." Hermione was desperately and haughtily- almost like scolding a small child calling her broom.
"Up!!" Ron finally got his broom into his hand.
"Now, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it. And grip it tight, you don't want to be sliding off the end." The class mounts their brooms and Harry looks on at Madam Hooch eagerly. I can't help but snigger at him a bit and he shoots me a confused look.
"Most excited I've ever seen you in class since Malfoy dribbled boil-remover all down his cloak." I half whispered to him and he reminiced at the memory. Watching Malfoy dance swiping at his cloak had been the highlight of week.
"When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, and then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle...3...2..." she blows her whistle.
Neville kicks off too hard and shoots too quickly up and immediately turns a pale shade of green.
"Oh..." he was too far from the ground and you could see him start to panic.
"Mr. Longbottom." Madam Hooch! Dont just stand there hes a super klutz- and I mean that in the most affectionate way- but he was always hurting himself even this early in the year.
He'd sent himself or another student to the infirmary, at least 7 times.
"Neville, what are you doing?" A Gryffindor girl asks.
"Neville...Neville..." all the Gryffindors and I start calling out to him."
"We're not supposed to take off, yet." I hear Seamus yell. Neville is at least 20 feet above the ground by now.
"M-M-Mr. Longbottom Mr. Longbottom!" We all jump trying to reach him.
"AHH!" Neville squeaks and clings to his broom.
"Lean forward Neville! We'll catch you!" I shout but he doesn't hear me over the other Gryffindors.
"Mr. Longbottom!" Madam Hooch get on a damn broom.
Teachers are so useless aren't they Nottie?
Leave me alone.
"Down! Down! Ahhhh!" Neville trys to direct his broom but to no avail.
"Neville!" Harry shouts.
"Help!!!" All the color has drained from his face. He drifts higher and higher.
"Come back down this instant!"
"Madam Hooch he doesn't know how! Go get him!" She pales at my words.
"AHH!" Neville suddenly gets a burst of speed and gains altitude.
"Oh Merlin" I begin to feel a bit sick imagining the crack of a wrist bone.
Neville suddenly swerves to the castle walls and repeatedly hits up against it- screaming and holding on for dear life. His broom swerves back to us.
"Help!" He swoops into the crowd of students and I pull Harry out of the path of fire.
"Mr. Longbottom!" Madam Hooch dives to avoid a broomstick to the face.
"Ahhhh! Whoa! Ahhh!" Neville is back along the wall and is circling and bucking around a statue of a man with an intimidating looking spear. He falls.
"Oh. Ah...help!" His cloak catches on the spear tip and I exhale- maybe she'll get there in time.
"Ahh!" His cloak rips through and he falls- catching on a torch and I watch in horror as he falls to the ground.
"CRACK" we hear his wrist snap.
"Everyone out of the way! Come on, get up." She pulls him carefully to his feet.
"Is he alright?" I ask knowing already what the answer is.
"Owowowow." Neville is near tears and I don't blame him.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh dear. It's a broken wrist. Tch, tch, tch. Good boy, come on now." I watch as Malfoy swipes Nevilles remembrall from the ground and sniggers with his friends.
"Everyone's to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say, Quidditch." They hurry off to the infirmary.
"Did you see his face? Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he'd have remembered to fall on his fat ass." Draco says smugly making his goons laugh.
"Give it here, Malfoy." Harry holds his hand out for it and I mentally thank him, I wouldn't have asked so politely.
"No. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." Draco climbs on his broom stick and takes off.
"How 'bout up on the roof??" Hes hovering about 10 feet above us looking down on us.
"What's the matter, Potter? Bit beyond your reach?" He sneers at Harry.
Harry climbs onto his broomstick but Hermione trys to pull him back.
"Harry, no! You heard what Madam Hooch said! Besides, you don't even know how to fly"
Harry takes off anyway and zooms to Draco.
"What an idiot." I hear her say but I kept my eye trained on Harry.
"Give it here, Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!" We faintly hear Harry shout at Draco. Harry is rather good at flying for his first time.
"Is that so?" Draco asks. Harry lunges at Draco who circles around to avoid Harry.
"Have it your way, then!" He and his goons laugh as he chucks it towards the castle. Harry zooms to catch the ball before it shatters against the stone wall. He goes into a deep dive- again rather impressive flying- gaining speed as it falls. He catches it moments before it hits the wall!
"Good job, Harry!" Ron shouts as Harry flies back to us and he lands.
"Pretty impressive Potter!" I clap him on the back and grin.
"Harry Potter? Follow me." We hear an all too familiar voice- McGonagall. My stomach sinks as Harry loses his smile but follows her throwing sullen look back to us. Draco and his friends snigger and I make a mental note to knock him off his broomstick someday.