Harry Potter and the Reluctant Rebirth

Chapter 5

Hopping back into the air, Draco was the only one to have the guts to fly close to Harry, "It's okay, just close your eyes and I'll drive your broom so you don't have to, that alright?" The most he got as a response was a whimper and Harry squeezing his eyes shut. Draco made a mental note to himself to inform his father about this in case Harry ever comes to visit; 'Keep Potter away from the brooms.'

With Harry putting his whole trust in Draco, he lightly pushed down on the broomstick so it descended down at a slow pace. Hermione and Pansy were the ones to remove Harry from the broom and both were hugging the sobbing boy when a stern voice shouted from nearby.

"Potter!" Everyone looked to the door to see a furious McGonagall storming over, "Why on earth would you be on a broom without a teacher present- why are you crying?"

The hysteric Potter tried to breath normally, and failed, "N-Neville dropped h-h-his r-r-rememb-brall a-and i-it rolled off the roof! T-then I flew, t-then there was the stuck." Then he breathed, "And the yelling and the stuck and the falling and the brooms and I couldn't get down and the- the- I'm so sorry!"

McGonagall let out a long exhale but kept her composure. It's been a while since she's seen a student so frantic over something that wasn't a test, let alone brooms. The last person she was expecting to be afraid of brooms was James Potter's son. "Come along Mr. Potter, let's get you a calming potion then we can discuss your punishment for flying."

That seemed to trigger another wave of panic, "Don't punish them though!" Harry waved frantically through the girls hugging him to his classmates. "They were just trying to help, it's my fault for flying in the first place, I'll take full responsibility!"

Well, that was new, "I don't have any intention of punishing them, in fact... 5 points to both Gryffindor and Slytherin for putting aside house differences to solve a problem. That's better?" McGonagall watched the green-eyed boy nod, "Then follow me to the hospital wing if you would. Everyone else will remain here to complete your lesson."

McGonagall walked briskly for the hospital wing, occasionally looking behind her to make sure Harry was still following as she heard him stumble a few times already. Opening the door, she sees Madam Hooch with one of her own students, Neville Longbottom, "Rolanda, I can take care of Mr. Longbottom. You should watch the class."

"Right, thank you, Minerva." Madam Hooch notices Harry's fast breathing, "He went on a broom, didn't he?"

"Indeed, and got stuck out of fear of falling based on what I gathered from his incoherent yelling. He needs a calming potion less he faints from all his breathing." McGonagall nods her head at Madam Pomfrey as she rushed Harry to a bed and give him a potion to drink, "I suggest coordinating with Severus about alternate assignments. It seems to me that Mr. Potter will not be able to learn how to fly anytime soon."

"One of those kinds of students? Seem to get at least one every year. This is the first time a Slytherin has had a fear of flying... very well, I'll talk with Severus on the matter." Madam Hooch looked to Neville, "Get some rest, Mr. Longbottom." With that, she left the hospital wing.

Once Harry was relaxed McGonagall cleared her throat, "I know you're not telling the whole truth, Mr. Potter. I suggest you tell me so your punishment is not as severe." She's not going to expel him of course, she can tell when a student is breaking the rules for the wrong reasons and this certainly was not the case. But he was risking his own safety by being as reckless as one of her Gryffindors and he needs to learn his lesson. But the boy didn't say anything, "Nothing good ever comes from protecting others like this."

"Please don't punish him too hard Professor!" The nervous shout from Longbottom made both McGonagall and Harry look at him in shock. "I-I mean... I'm okay because he told me to get my robes, th-they caught on the castle and helped me o-only get a broken wrist. That... that should be good enough to balance the rule breaking... right?"