Elizabeth Lily Potter: The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 16: Malfoy Causes Trouble (Often)

The Monday after Halloween, all the first years were told to meet on the Quidditch pitch for our first flying lesson. I was excited, and I knew that Harry and Ron were too. Hermione... not so much. She spent all of breakfast reading about flying!

I smiled as I stood beside my school broom, thinking about stories of witches with warty noses, green skin, pointy hats, black cats, and brooms. Thankfully, I didn't look like that! Although, I did have a pointy hat...

Madam Hooch's voice brought me back to reality as she explained how to mount a broom. She instructed us to summon our brooms, lift up and hover for a few seconds, and land gently.

I nodded and took a deep breath, before calling out "Up!" in a firm voice.

My broom rushed into my hand like a servant rushes to his master's call. A wide smile crossed my face, and I looked around me to see who else was successful. But, no one else's broom flew into their hand, except for Harry and I. Not even Hermione's! And she's always one of the first people (if not the first) to do magic correctly! Harry gives me a sneaky thumbs up which I return, before turning to try and help a struggling Hermione. After a few more minutes, everyone was able to call their brooms, although Neville was the last one to do so.

Now, with Madam Hooch's instruction, we mount the brooms and prepare to fly. She counts down from three, but before she even finishes, Neville already shot into the air. He shouts in fear, calling for help, while Madam Hooch demands that he comes down.

"Neville!" I and the other students yell as our classmate flies higher and higher into the air. "Madam Hooch!" I call, turning towards the older woman. "Can't you fly after him?" She shook her head, as if seeing clearly for the first time, and mounted her broom, taking off after the young boy. However, she was too late, because the second that she got close enough to Neville, he slid off his broom. He reached up to try to grab her hand, but that action loosened his grip on the broom and he fell, their hands brushing against each other.

Madam Hooch chased after him, both flying down towards the ground. "Use your wand!" I yelled, but no one other than the students around me could hear. I saw Ron whip out his wand, preparing to use the only spell he had perfected, Wingardium Leviosa, but Neville was too far away for the spell to work. And so, we watched as Madam Hooch had to pull out of her dive at the last second, to avoid slamming into the ground as well. Neville hit the ground with a crash, and everyone cringed in pain before rushing after him. Madam Hooch jumped off her broom and ran to the boy, who was struggling not to cry.

We rushed to his side as Ron asked him, "Oi, you all right, mate?" Hermione cried out, "Oh, Neville, are you hurt?" He shook his head at Ron, while nodding in response to Hermione. Madam Hooch looked him over and announces that he'd be fine. Thankfully, it was only a broken wrist. As she escorted him into the castle, towards the hospital wing, the stern woman warned us that, if our feet didn't stay firmly planted on the ground while she was gone, then we would be expelled faster than we could say "Quidditch."

However, as soon as she was out of earshot, Malfoy started going on about what an idiot Neville is. My blood started to boil as I heard the despicable things coming out of his mouth.

"Longbottom, what a great lump! I swear, I've never seen such a fat little crybaby in my life! If I were his Gran, I would have -"

I couldn't stop myself at that point. I walked right up to the git and interrupted him.

"Hey Malfoy, didn't your mother ever teach you 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it'?" I heard Hermione hiss my name, trying to keep me from challenging the boy.

"Please Potter, didn't your mother teach you to mind your own business? Oh wait! She's dead!" He spat out the word like a curse.

The Gryffindors all gasped at this, shooting daggers at Malfoy. I heard Ron shout "Oi!" and I saw Harry walk up beside me.