The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

Flying Lessons

The first years were clustered on the pitch, looking about excitedly. Wind came down off the mountains beyond the castle and whistled through the stands, whipping the large house banners so that they fluttered gently in the air far overhead. The grounds were warm and dry and the grass green and bright.

There couldn't be better conditions for flying, James thought, as he lowered his broomstick to the ground. He'd gotten to the pitch early to do some warm up himself before training the firsties. He'd already laid out the school's old broomsticks on the field, made some obvious repairs (they were terrible old broomsticks - old even when he and Sirius had been first years, he recalled - and Dumbledore ought to be ashamed of the state the brooms were in). When he'd finished preparing the pitch, he still had a bit of time before the firsties were due to arrive, so he'd started flying laps and was in the middle of a series of loop-de-loops that were flooding him with a deep nostalgia (he'd not done them since leaving Hogwarts), when the youngsters had arrived.

"Wow-wow-wow no wonder you teach flying!" shouted the tiny Malfoy boy - Aofie. Odd, seeing a boy with the Malfoy pale hair and complexion wearing Gryffindor robes and tie, James thought.

"That was really cool," said Noah Bell, wide-eyed and grinning, his eyes as blue as his Ravenclaw Robes. Another odd thing. To see what amounted to miniature Derek in Ravenclaw blue. "I've never seen flying that grand before!" Noah added and James wondered if he remembered Derek - must not, James thought, or else Noah never would've said James's loops were the best flying he'd ever seen... Derek Bell had been a bloody broom whisperer, and James knew he owed all his own talents to Derek's skill. It was sacreligious to speak as though Derek was anything but the best flyer that had ever lived - at least in James's opinion, that is. Derek's loop-de-loops put any that James could fly to utter shame.

"Are you going to show us how to do THAT?" asked Logan Ollivander, his hand clutching his twin sister's hand directly beside him, their robes unmatched.

"Well, let's get you lot airborne and then we'll talk about tricks like that, alright?" James suggested.

"Alright!" Logan cried and he looked at Aofie Malfoy with excitement. "We're going to learn tricks!" he said, as though Aofie might not have heard James's words for himself.

James laughed at the excitement as it contrasted against the nervous expressions being passed between the firsties that clearly hadn't been on broomsticks before. "Okay calm down you lot," James declared. "We'll learn tricks eventually - but only after everyone is comfortable being on the broomsticks to begin with, and that'll take a few classes! The best way to get to the lessons you want to have with the tricks and stuff is to be really helpful to your classmates who mightn't be as used to broom handling as you are."

Aofie glanced around himself, realizing not everyone there was celebrating the idea of tricks, and settled down a bit, as did Logan and Noah.

"HEYYYYY ICKLE FIRSTIES!!!" came a shout across the pitch, "ANYONE FALLEN OFF THEIR BROOMS YET?"

James looked up and saw Wally, Ollie and Dexter high up in the stands. It was Wally who was hanging over the boards, shouting down at the cluster of kids on the grass below. Ollie and Dexter were sitting back, talking and eating what looked like popcorn.

"Hey, anybody ever told you to mind your manners?"

"I mind 'em they just don't listen," Wally cackled.

James rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry firsties - somebody heckled us during our first flying lesson, too!" yelled Ollie.

"Yeah and now Ollie's the star quidditch player of the whole school!" Dexter added.

Ollie flushed.

Wally grinned at Oliver, then turned back to the pitch, "HEAR THAT? A bit of hecklin' will do you lot good!"