15 Chapter 15: Flying Lesson
AN: I am very sorry that I posted an unedited chapter before, here is the new one.
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An hour after the transfiguration class, the Gryffindor's students went out to the greenhouse behind the castle to have their Herbology lesson with Professor Sprout. Herbology was all about taking care of various plants and fungi, be it magical or mundane. They also learned the properties of each plant.
Kent found the lesson very relaxing. He was also praised by Professor Sprout along with Neville.
After the Herbology lesson there was no other class that day.
With nothing better to do, Kent went to the library. There were only about fifty books in the transfiguration section left to be recorded.
It took about three hours to complete the task. Having free time in his hand, Kent went to the section with books on Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA).
It was a popular subject as Kent found a lot more student in this section compared to others.
Seeing so many students, Kent went to the relatively empty sections related to Charms and spells.
He spent rest of the free time in this section recording all the information contained in the books. There were relatively more books here than in the transfiguration section.
...
Kent's day to day life fell into a strange routine. He would wake up early, have breakfast, attend the scheduled classes and spend rest of the time in the library.
Despite having very little interaction with the students, his performance in every class made him a known genius among the first years. He was both an object of envy and scorn.
Professor Flitwick, the shortest professor in Hogwarts, who taught 'Charms' would sometime jokingly say that Kent should be in Ravenclaw House.
Even Professor Snape couldn't find any fault in Kent. His precise movements, the attention to every details and also creative ways to prepare ingredients left no chance for the professor to upbraid Kent.
Kent wasn't worried that Snape would peek into his mind. He was an occlumens, although not as good as Hermione but it was enough to protect your mind from legilimency.
Hermione also had taught him a few tricks about manipulating surface thoughts. Unless the professor uses force legilimency, he will not be able to find that Kent practices occlumency.
On another note, unlike what he assumed before coming to Hogwart, Kent didn't feel much danger from the students or the teachers in Hogwarts.
Upon pondering a bit, he figured it was natural. Being a first year who just joined the Wizarding society, he neither had any enemies nor had he hurt or insulted someone. Although his status as a muggleborn earned him a little hostility from the students with preconceived hatred toward Muggleborn. The only place he felt real threat was when he was near Professor Quirrell.
Kent knew perfectly well what caused his sense to flare up whenever he was near the Professor Quirrell.
The innocent looking Professor was harboring the dark lord Voldemort in the back of his head. His stuttering wasn't even real.
If not mandatory, Kent and Hermione both wouldn't attend the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. As in the classroom, their sense would sometime warn them of grave danger. The source was likely the the dark lord hidden under the turban of the professor.
...
In third week of September, there was a new notice hung on the walls of Gryffindor common room. It made the first-years a bit unhappy. They would be having their flying lesson with the Slytherins.
Kent was looking forward to the flying lesson though. Being reborn in a muggle household he never had a chance to fly on a broom.
After having their lunch and about an hour of rest, Kent along with the rest of the first-years in the Gryffindor house went to the grass field near the forbidden forest. The day was clear and breezy. The dark trees of the forest were swaying lightly under the breeze.
The Slytherins were already there along with twenty or so broomsticks lying neatly in a line on the ground.
Their teacher Madam Hooch soon arrived. She had a short, gray hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.
"Everyone stand by a broomstick," Madam Hooch said loudly.
Students lined up side by side with each having a broomstick by their side.
"Now, hand above your broomstick," she instructed, "and say 'UP!'"
Everyone shouted "UP!"
Kent's broom jumped into his hand immediately.
He looked at his side to see Harry's broom was already in his hand. Ron's was slightly moving while most of the Slytherins already had the broomstick in their hand.
Kent found it natural. Most of the 'half-blood' or 'pureblood' children were already exposed to brooms from childhood in one way or another. It was not surprising that some of them had already flown using brooms.
He and Hermione were not actually children, so it was not difficult for them to take control of their broom. As for Harry, he was what they call 'natural'. Maybe it was an hereditary instinct of the Potters.
Madam Hooch instructed the students who were still struggling with the broom. After a few more tries, all the students more or less had their broom in the hand.
Then she showed the proper way to mount a broom, so as to avoid slipping or getting thrown out of the broom.
"Now, when I blow the whistle, you kick off the ground, hard enough to lift your body. After you lift off the ground, lean your body backwards to gain height. As for coming down you have to lean forward." She instructed. "And remember don't lean too much, otherwise you will be thrown off the broom."
"Ready?" She asked. "Okay then. On my whistle – three – two – one –"
Before the whistle reached her lips, Neville in his nervousness had hit the ground too hard. He flew up straight.
"Come back, boy!" She shouted. But Neville didn't seem to hear her. He was trembling with fear. The broomstick seemed to feel his fear as it started to wobble violently.
Neville's grip wasn't strong enough as he was thrown off the the broom after few seconds.
In the meantime, Kent was having a hard time deciding whether to save Neville or not. He knew that, in the movie Neville had broken his hand which was not life threatening.
But he didn't get much time to decide as Neville was flung off the broom at a height of about 20 feet.
Kent, fearing that Neville might get seriously injured after falling from such height, took out his wand which was in the pocket under the robe's sleeve and casted the levitation spell.
Neville came to an halt in mid-air, few feet above the ground.
'If only I knew the spell to stop momentum,' thought Kent as he saw that despite preventing Neville's hard fall, he was still bleeding from the nose.
Levitation spell can't stop the momentum from affecting moving human or object. You might break an egg if you want to catch it using levitation spell.
Madam Hooch checked Neville's injury. Finding nothing too serious she sighed with relief.
"Good job, boy," she said to Kent. "Five points to Gryffindor for saving your fellow student."
She turned to the rest of class.
"Don't try out your brooms while I take this boy to hospital wing! Leave the brooms where they are or you'll be expelled!" She warned and took Neville away.
"Look, what we have here," Malfoy picked up a glass sphere out of the grass, "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."
The Slytherins laughed.
"Give that back, Malfoy," said Harry quietly.
"Don't. You know our plan." Kent stopped Hermione from interfering, "I will step in, if necessary."
"I think I leave it somewhere high up, like a tree?" Malfoy leapt onto his broom and took off.
"Give it here!" yelled Harry as he also mounted on the broom and kicked hard on the ground to shoot up in a high speed.
'He really is natural,' Kent admired Harry's flying skill.
Kent also mounted on his broom and took off. He didn't fly much higher, just hovering five meters above the ground. The Gryffindors were puzzled by his action while Theodore Nott, a rather tall and thin boy from the Slytherin house taunted, "want to play hero, Granger?"
Kent paid him no mind and concentrated on the boys in the air above. He had his eyes on the remembrall as he knew that Harry would certainly chase behind it.
Meanwhile, getting ignored by Kent, Nott fumed and was about to throw a curse at Kent when Blaise Zabini, another tall, dark skinned boy from the side stopped him and whispered something.
...
Up in the air, Harry said angrily, "Give it back, Malfoy or I will knock you off your broom."
"Oh yeah?" sneered Malfoy but had to somehow move out of the way as Harry came shooting toward him.
"Want it?" Malfoy laughed and threw the ball, "catch it, then."
Harry leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down toward the direction of the falling ball. The next moment, he dived and streaked through the air like an eagle chasing its prey.
Kent, who was hovering near the ground, was already in the place of ball's trajectory.
He wasn't here to catch the ball but to stop Harry from having life-threatening injuries as promised to Hermione.
Harry didn't seem to notice Kent at all, as he stretched his hand and caught the ball and stopped dangerously close to the ground.
"HARRY POTTER!"
Professor McGonagall came running toward them. Kent had already mounted off the broom before she reached them.
Kent wasn't sure if Professor watched him flying or not, but she only took Harry away.
After the lesson, they found that neither Harry was in any trouble nor was any points deducted from the Gryffindor house. Malfoy was very unhappy with that.
