More harm than good

The flying class turned out to be the most exciting so far for Harry. The broom rose on his first command, and as he held the old wood of indeterminate age, he could feel his blood stir, as if something inside him was awakening.

It was later, when Neville had an accident and had to be taken to the infirmary by the flying teacher, that he had a little chase with Draco Malfoy to retrieve the Remembrall that had fallen from Neville during his crash to the ground.

Fortunately, his robe got caught on a torch, greatly slowing his fall, or who knows what else might have broken.

Although he managed to recover the magical artifact, it seems his actions caught the attention of his house's matron, and he was summoned. But contrary to the imminent punishment he thought he was going to receive, in reality…

Did they want him to become the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?

Ron had mentioned to him before the Flying lesson that only second-years could apply, so he was a bit moved that they were giving him the opportunity to bypass the rule.

"That's great, Harry!" Ron almost jumped out of his seat when he heard the news.

"Nothing's confirmed yet, the Headmaster has to approve Professor McGonagall's request," although they told him there wouldn't be a problem with the request, he was a bit nervous in case someone opposed the matter.

After all, rules were rules, and bending them at will would make them lose their value.

Harry still had doubts that the Headmaster would agree to it, being the greatest white wizard and all that he knew of.

Hermione was a few seats to his right, and the people at the Gryffindor table could almost feel the bad mood of the young witch radiating around her after hearing the conversation.

Why reward a student who broke the rules by breaking another rule?

People felt sorry for the chicken being cruelly shredded with skill and fury on Hermione's plate, feeling that it was undergoing a torture even in the afterlife.

"What do you think, Barnaby?" Hagrid asked his son his opinion about Harry getting a privilege for the Quidditch team.

"You know I'm not very interested in that sport," Barnaby shrugged while taking three more fried empanadas filled with tuna and tomato sauce. "But even if he has talent, I don't think it's a good idea."

"And why is that?" Hagrid asked, puzzled.

"Setting aside that it would be breaking the rules and setting a bad precedent," Barnaby gestured with his hand to emphasize the obvious, "he literally just had his first Flying lesson, whereas to participate in Quidditch, you need a lot of practice and experience handling a broom. There's a reason why you have to wait at least until the second year."

There are only Flying lessons during the first year, and after that, unless you want to play Quidditch, Barnaby had never seen an adult wizard or witch using a broom for anything other than enchanting it to sweep.

To travel to other places, they preferred to use Portkeys, Floo Powder, or Apparition.

"Well, he would just need to practice a bit, right?" Hagrid thought his son's points made sense, but he didn't see it as a big problem.

"Which brings me to the next two issues," Barnaby finished chewing the empanada and swallowed before speaking to avoid being rude, raising two fingers, "First, first-years aren't allowed to have their own brooms, so he would have to use the old models the school has, and as we just saw with the boy who ended up in the infirmary, they have faults and need urgent replacement."

Hogwarts charged a large amount of Galleons every year; changing the brooms to a relatively newer model with better functionality would make them safer and more stable. They didn't even need to be the latest model like the Nimbus 2000; any manufactured in the last thirty years were better than the century-old brooms currently available.

Why they hadn't changed them yet was something Barnaby never understood.

It certainly wasn't for lack of money, although he didn't manage the school's accounts, he knew there was a certain surplus saved that could, with a fraction, cover that problem.

"He could also borrow a broom from his teammates, right?" Hagrid thought of a tentative solution.

"Those are their personal brooms, and if the 'rookie' breaks them… I don't think many people would be willing to do that," Barnaby shook his head.

Brooms weren't cheap, and many students didn't come from wealthy backgrounds, so losing their only broom could leave them "crippled" for competitions.

"Besides, there's an even more important point," Barnaby mentioned as he considered whether to take more empanadas or save space for dessert. "Harry has grown up on the Muggle side of the world and needs to catch up on many things that are common sense to those who grew up on the magical side. His study time is quite important in this first year of adaptation, and broom practice will take many hours throughout the year to do homework or prepare for exams. And if he doesn't establish a good foundation in the first year, the following years he will suffer greatly, maybe even ruin his future."

Hagrid was speechless. He had just casually asked, and his son had exposed that instead of winning, Harry would actually suffer a great disadvantage if he joined the Quidditch team in his first year.

Because everything he said was true, Hagrid simply hadn't thought about the long-term consequences, he just believed Harry could have a good time and make some more friends.

The teachers' table wasn't large, and the others sharing the meal could clearly hear the conversation between father and son, seeing the matter from a completely different perspective.

Snape was particularly pleased, eating his mushroom and onion omelet with the corners of his lips raised imperceptibly.

If Harry didn't play Quidditch, he would be less like James, be less likely to get hurt, and might even improve in Potions; after all, he was Lily's son.

On the other hand, the four house tables were engrossed in their own conversations, and the noise blocked their ears.

Professor McGonagall paled a bit, realizing she had almost harmed one of her lion cubs, carried away by the excitement of discovering that Harry seemed to have as much talent for Quidditch as James did.

She was even willing to take money out of her own pocket to buy the latest model broom for Harry, ensuring he got the best treatment possible to give his all on the Quidditch field.

Fortunately, Barnaby had a more impartial approach and realized the problem before she decided to act. This made her feel grateful to him; he had just saved a student's future.

"No, I have to find Albus immediately," Minerva stood up with a fire of determination reflected in her eyes. "Harry can't join the Gryffindor team until the second year, and I won't allow exceptions, over my dead body!"