Chapter 7 - Flying Class

The next day, Lucifer noticed a poster in the common room stating that Flying Lessons would be starting on Thursday. Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. He was quite curious using a broomstick.

He certainly flew before without it many times.

Also, Malfoy certainly talked about flying a lot, and complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.

He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnegan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood. zooming around the countryside on his broomstick.

Even Weasley would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on one of his brothers old broom. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Apparently Weasley had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about football.

Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.

Hermione was very nervous about flying and she was clearly not happy with that stupid smirk on her best friend's face.

Lucifer and Hermione were up early on the following Thursday morning, like usual, but Hermione was not ready for this class at all.

"Why not? It could be useful, learning to ride on a broomstick," Lucifer said, which still felt weird to say, despite having enough time to get used to the Wizarding World.

"I just don't like the idea of getting very high off the ground that 's all ..." Hermione said with uncertainty.

"So, you have a phobia of height or....just don't like being on a high ground without any safety belts?" he said with a smile plastered stupidly on his face.

After some thinking, she said dismally "Maybe both"

Lucifer was not that much interested in playing Quidditch but curious about flying without using his wings.

He was brought from his thoughts when Hermione suddenly walked away from him, "Where are you going?"

"The Library," was all she said, exiting the Common Room now that the curfew had been officially lifted. Lucifer didn't quite know what Hermione was going to find there, but even after just a week, he knew to not try and stop her.

Later at breakfast, he found out why Hermione went to the Library. She read up, rather quickly at that, a book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Had he known, he actually would have tried stopping her, because you can't read on how to fly. It's like riding a bike or driving a car, you can read up all you want, but until you actually try, you don't know how easy or difficult it will be.

Hermione had been explaining to everyone what the book said, and Neville was hanging on every word, since he didn't know how to fly either. Lucifer analysed the looks on everyone's faces and decided to intervene, "Granger," he said, drawing her from her speech, everyone thankful she stopped, "I don't want to sound rude saying this, but you can't learn how to fly from reading a book. It's something that comes with experience."

She seemed to realize her error and stopped talking about the book, "It's still a good read, for anyone interested in Quidditch....but there are also spells to wake people up after being unconscious and vice versa," she said quietly before going silent altogether.

The Owl Post soon arrived, Lucifer wasn't expecting anything from Maze, at this point.

He did, however, hear Malfoy gloating about his 'father' sending him things every morning. Lucifer still hasn't gotten any chance to meet him yet but he sounds like a "pampered prince" who reminded him of a certain someone in his celestial life.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Neville had a package dropped off in front of him. He looked over and saw Neville opening the package which contained a Remembrall , "It's a Remembrall!" He exclaimed excitedly, "Gran knows I forget things, this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red it - oh.."

His face fell in despair, because the white/grey smoke inside the Remembrall suddenly turned red, "means you've forgotten something... the worst part is when you can't remember what you've forgotten..."

Lucifer finally decided to help the poor boy,"You have forgotten your tie, Longbottom."

Neville looked down and indeed he forgot his tie but then suddenly Draco came strutting over, passing the Gryffindor table and snatching the Remembrall out of his hand.

Lucifer was quietly watching him, curious about his next action, but the Professor is coming over here.

Harry and Ron had jumped to their feet, and to Lucifer, it looked like they wanted to fight Malfoy, despite the size of Crabbe and Goyle.

When McGonagall arrived, she was quick to let them know of her presence, "What's going on here?"

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," Neville explained to her.

Malfoy quickly put the Remembrall back on the table, his face had a scowl plastered onto it, "I was just looking at it," he said and skulked away.

Before he got out of earshot, Lucifer had to speak up, "Yeah, without asking the owner of the damn thing."

He saw Malfoy look back and sneer at him before they went back to the Slytherin table.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Lucifer and Hermione, and all of the other First Years, hurried down the front steps into the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their shoes as they marched down the sloping lawns towards the smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

Lucifer was intrigued by the Forbidden Forest and wondered if Dinosaurs were housed inside it.

"Hey Granger, do you think there are Dinosaurs in the forbidden forest?" Lucifer asked, he was very curious about this sacred topic.

Hermione again smacked him on the shoulder, and took his hand so he won't go anywhere.

He noticed that the Slytherins were absent among the other First Years, and he realized quickly that it was because they were already down there, along with several dozen brooms on the ground. Lucifer walked up to one of the brooms, him being the only one to do so, when Madam Hooch, their instructor arrived. Her hair was short and grey and she had yellow eyes like a hawk, "Well, what are you waiting for? Your classmate has already taken the initiative. Follow his lead and stand next to a broomstick!" She barked at them. Lucifer felt a smirk on his face at heing the only one next to a broomstick when she arrived, even if it was by pure accident because he wanted to see the Brooms up close.

"Now, we're going to jump straight into it, stick out your right hand over the broom," she demonstrated it with her own broom, "and say, 'UP!'" Her broom jumped straight into her hand.

"UP!" was the collective sound that could be heard.

Lucifer calmly said "UP" and saw that his, Harry's, and no others had jumped up in a single use of the word.

He saw Hermione and noticed her broom rolled around a bit and Neville didn't move at all. He caught her eye when she looked up from not hearing him a second time, seeing his broom in his hand. Her eyes widened and she glared at him; that was the second time he'd shown her up in a lesson, not counting Potions because Hermione didn't get a chance to answer the questions.

When everyone finally did get their broom to rise into the air and into their hand, Madam Hooch showed them all how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end of it. She walked around, correcting anyone who was gripping the broomstick wrong;

Lucifer smirked when he heard her correcting Malfoy, that made a lot of people realize how full of it Draco really was.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard, understood?" She looked around at all of them. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle! Three, Two-" she didn't get to finish as Neville, nervous, jumpy, and frightened of being left on the ground, suddenly pushed off hard before the whistle even came close to touching her lips, "Come back, boy!"

"Professor... I don't think he knows how to," Lucifer said to her. He looked back up at Neville, knowing that it wouldn't be too hard for him to come back down, but with how jittery Neville was, trying to get him to lean slightly forward would be like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.

Neville kept rising higher, and soon he reached about thirty feet off the ground. Lucifer saw his scared expression and Neville's eyes almost bulged out of his head when he suddenly slid off.

Lucifer took out his wand and used the spell,"Arresto momentum" to slow down his fall.

Even though he managed to wipe out most of his speed, they still heard Neville's painful return to the ground.

You could hear a 'crack' sound just as he hit the ground, meaning something had probably broken in his body. Upon looking back up at the broom, Lucifer didn't see it anywhere, wondering where exactly it went.

"10 points to Gryffindor, Mr. Morningstar for using the proper spell for helping your house mate," said Madam Hooch.

Lucifer looked back to Madam Hooch when he heard her speak, "Broken arm... come on boy, up you get, you'll be alright once I get you to Madam Pomfrey,"

'How could he still get his arm broken....even after that? Does this woman have no sense?' He again flicked his wand lightly, "Episkey"

There was a crack sound, and the internal damage was fixed instantly, it looks like there was nothing wrong with this boy at all.

Madam Hooch was surprised to say the least, of a first year knowing this advanced level of magic, and even used it properly, "20 more points," she said, while looking over at him with curious eyes.

The students who were busy watching this whole tragedy, looked at this amazing Gryffindor in awe.

A girl named Daphne was looking at him with her eyes narrowed, as if she was thinking very deeply.

But, Hermione couldn't hold herself any longer, and immediately walked towards her friend and hugged him tightly.

She started cheering sweet things into his ears, for getting such a high score, making them lead this year's House cup.

And even after, breaking the hug, she was still looking at him with her moist eyes.

Hooch then turned and addressed the rest of the First Years, "None of you are to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! For a proper examination. You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts faster than you can say Quidditch!" She proceeded to take Neville, even though he was looking fine but slightly scared away from the rest of the First Years.

"...." Lucifer. 'What do you want to check this time? Didn't I just get 20 points for patching Longbottom up?!'

No sooner than they were out of earshot, he heard Draco burst out into laughter, "Did you see his face, the great lump?" And of course, the other Slytherin joined in.

"Yeah, real easy to make fun of someone when no teacher is around, isn't it?" Harry challenged Draco, stepping forward.

"Sticking up for Longbottom are you, Potter?" The Slytherin girl named Pansy asked him.

Lucifer who thought a fight was going to break out, took out a packet of popcorn from who knows where and just started watching the entire scene with a huge smile, on his face.

Hermione who was standing next to him, was looking at him with a dangerous look.

Lucifer clearly misinterpreted the entire thing and nicely offered her, "What...do you want some too?" he wasn't a petty one after all. There's no problem with sharing his things now and then. 

Hermione, who seemed to forget the entire Neville incident, obviously has no intention of letting him cause more trouble.....and deduct the hard earned points of Gryffindor.

On behalf of everyone, she decided to act for the greater good, and snatched Lucifer's property away quite violently, "The fuck...I didn't give you the permission to eat the whole thing by...."  She gave him a cold look, and hid the packet away inside her robes.

"...." Lucifer. 'It would be wise to hide the rest of my treasure.....'

"I don't remember Harry talking to you, pug-face," Ron said, getting 'ooh's' from the non-Slytherin. Pansy's face burned in frustration at that.

Draco ignored them and quickly darted forward . "Look!" He exclaimed, picking something up, "it's that stupid thing that he said his gran sent him!"

Lucifer, who didn't dare to open his clothes again, saw that it was Neville's Remembrall, "Give that here, Malfoy," he heard Harry say behind him, his voice getting closer when he spoke.

Malfoy smirked nastily at the Remembrall in his hands, "I think I'll leave it somewhere instead, somewhere that Longbottom will have a hard time getting to it. How about... up a tree?" Everyone watched as he got onto his broom and started to rise into the air, "Come and get it, Potter."

Lucifer was watching the entire entertainment with twinkling eyes, even though his refreshment was taken away.....he can still enjoy this, but Harry took the bait and mounted his broom, almost causing Hermione to go insane and intervene, "No! Did you not hear what Madam Hooch said? You'll get into trouble, Harry, if you go after him!"

Harry had, predictably, ignored her and Lucifer watched him rise into the air. He heard his friend muttering beside him, "What an idiot," which caused him to chuckle.

They hovered level with each other for a moment when Lucifer saw Harry lean forward and lunge towards Malfoy.

He missed, but turned back around without effort, like he'd been doing it for years, despite it being his first time riding a broom. Draco suddenly turned and chucked the Remembrall, throwing it a surprising distance. Harry darted after the Remembrall, everyone could see that he was quickly gaining on it, but also on a window, and if Lucifer memory was right, that was Professor McGonagall's office.

Harry started to return to them after catching the Remembrall, everyone but the Slytherin's cheering for him.

Draco tried to return to the surface once he saw Professor McGonagall coming towards them, but it was too late, she had seen him up on his broom, and Madam Hooch was nowhere to be seen, "HARRY POTTER! DRACO MALFOY!" Everyone, literally everyone, went dead silent, they could hear their hearts pounding in their heads. "Never, in all my time at Hogwarts-" she was seething with anger, "Fifty points from Slytherin for reckless behavior! As for you, Potter, you'll have to follow me." she said with a squint of her eves as she

glared at Harry. Parvati and Ron tried to defend Harry, but McGonagall wasn't hearing it.

Lucifer could only wonder what trouble awaited Potter.

At dinner that night, Prefect Percy came to congratulate him and Hermione on winning Gryffindor so many points.

"I must say, Morningstar," the prefect said, "while your previous lackadaisical attitude towards The House Cup was unbecoming for a Gryffindor, I'm proud that you've begun applying yourself."

That was... rude, Hermione thought. But not necessarily untrue.

Lucifer, on the other hand, gasped in offense, but in an obviously over the top, humorous, hand on his heart way. "Lackadaisical? Weasely, I'll have you know that there is no one more gung-ho about earning those bragging rights than I am. I mean, seriously, the opportunity to win a cup we don't even get to keep? Who wouldn't want that?"

Even Hermione had trouble keeping a straight face.

Prefect Percy meanwhile, turned red in anger and stormed off back to his seat.

"That was mean, Lucifer," Hermione said, as soon as she was sure she had her laughter under control.

"Oh, get off him, Hermione," Ron said, who was with Harry at the table, "Percy's a git. You know he said he was hoping I wouldn't get in Gryffindor, because he didn't want me causing him trouble?"

Hermione had not known that.

"Yes, our beloved Percy is a ray of sunshine when you get to know him," one of the twins said, as they suddenly walked up and squeezed into the group.

One on Hermione's right, and the other on Lucifer's left, effectively squishing the two of them together.

The twin beside Lucifer said, "yes, but our ickle Lucykins here knows how to keep the Big Bad Prefect Percy away, doesn't he?" while he ruffled the boy's perpetually messy hair.

"You know I'm friends with a giant dragon, right?" Lucifer asked casually.

The twin ruffling his hair froze, then he peered at Lucifer closely. "Huh. I can't tell whether you're joking or not."

Lucifer smiled a friendly little smile. "Good, it'll keep you on your toes."

"This one is dangerous, brother," the twin beside Lucifer said to the one beside Hermione.

"Indeed, brother," the twin beside Hermione replied.

Then Lucifer spoke up again, "so, Bread and Porridge, what brought you guys here?"

It took everybody about five seconds to get the joke, and within two days, the whole school called the twins Bread and Porridge.