(29) Crazy Broomstick

"What do we do now?" Theodore asked, turning to Ian. "Should we fly up too? What if Potter and Draco fall..."

"What are you thinking, Theodore!" Blaise interrupted him. "Fly up there just to fall down with them?"

Ian's eyes lit up at the suggestion. With his Quidditch talent maxed out, if he were discovered...

Could this be his chance to join the Quidditch team as a first-year? Another opportunity to shine in front of everyone!

With that thought, Ian mounted his broom.

"Ian! Where are you going?" Cassandra, ever observant, spotted Ian's reckless move and grabbed him. "Are you planning to go crazy with those two as well?"

"Cassandra, don't worry. I've got this," Ian said with a confident smile. "I'll fly up and bring them both down safely."

Hermione's eyes turned red with anxiety. "Ian! What are you doing! I absolutely won't let you go!"

"Hermione, trust me. When have I ever done something I wasn't confident about?" Ian said softly. "Just wait and watch my brilliant moves. Don't forget to cheer for me."

With that, Ian kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.

"Ian!" Hermione and Cassandra clenched their fists in frustration, but all they could do was watch as Ian flew higher and higher.

"Look! Ian Potter has gone up too!"

A young wizard shouted, and everyone on the ground instinctively looked up toward the sky.

In the air, Harry and Draco were flanking the wildly flying broom from opposite sides, both closing in on it, while Ian followed closely behind them.

"Oh! Merlin's beard!" Ron exclaimed, staring at Ian's figure in awe. "Ian's gone mad too! But wow, that's so cool!"

Theodore and Blaise nodded in agreement. "Absolutely, it's amazing!"

Their comments, however, instantly ignited the fury of the two girls nearby.

"You think it's cool?"

Hermione turned on them with a fierce glare. "If Ian falls and breaks his neck, I'll use your three heads for a transplant! Then you can find out just how 'cool' it feels!"

Cassandra, for once, sided with Hermione. "Exactly! And if you say one more word, I'll make sure you never speak again!"

"..."

Ron, Theodore, and Blaise immediately fell silent, exchanging terrified glances. They could all see the same fear reflected in one another's eyes.

These two are terrifying!

What kind of life is Ian living?!

While chaos broke out on the ground, the trio in the sky began taking action.

Harry took the lead, surging toward the rogue broom. Stretching out his hand, he tried to grab the wildly flying Remembrall.

Seeing this, Draco immediately sped up, trying to beat Harry to it.

Ian flew steadily behind Harry and Draco, ready to act at any moment.

Just as Harry was about to grab the Remembrall, the rogue broom suddenly made a sharp turn and charged straight toward Draco!

"Draco! Watch out!"

Seeing Draco in danger, Ian reached out, attempting to grab the rogue broom that was heading straight for Draco. However, the broom was too fast, and Ian only managed to snatch the Remembrall off of it.

Draco, realizing Ian hadn't managed to stop the broom, panicked. He quickly turned his broom in an attempt to dodge the oncoming broomstick.

But he was a moment too late. The rogue broom slammed into Draco, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling off his broom.

"Draco!" Harry, seeing what happened, accelerated toward him and grabbed hold of Draco's robe, pulling him onto his own broom.

"Harry!" Draco, still shaken, clung tightly to Harry's waist. "Thank you…"

"Don't talk!" Harry shouted. "Hold on tight, I'll pull you up!"

But before Harry could lift Draco back onto his broom, the rogue broom came charging again—this time targeting Harry!

Ian, who had been keeping a close eye on the two, immediately sped up. He darted toward them and grabbed Harry's arm just as the rogue broom was about to hit.

"Ian?" Harry looked at Ian in surprise. "How did you…?"

Ian's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth as he said, "This broom isn't normal. It looks like it's been cursed."

He didn't need to think too hard to figure out that it was probably Quirrell, taking advantage of the three of them being in the air, trying to eliminate them.

After all, among the three, there were two Chosen Ones and a young Malfoy—a family that had once betrayed Voldemort. They were all perfect targets.

Hearing Ian's words, both Harry and Draco's faces paled.

"What do we do now?" Draco asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry. I'm here," Ian said firmly. "We'll head back to the ground first."

With that, Ian began guiding Harry and Draco toward the ground.

However, the rogue broom pursued them again, this time moving even faster than before!

"Don't panic," Ian said, glancing back toward the castle. "This broom is locked onto us. If we keep heading for the ground, it'll crash into the other students. We need to land inside the castle. It should be safer there."

Harry nodded. "That's our best option."

With that, the three worked together, flying toward the castle.

On the ground, the young witches and wizards watching the scene gasped in astonishment.

"Oh my goodness! They're flying so high!"

"That's too dangerous! They won't fall, will they?"

"Shouldn't we go get a professor?"

Hermione and Cassandra tightly clasped their hands, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the three figures in the sky.

Even Ron, Theodore, and Blaise, who had initially thought the three people flying were cool, now looked worried as they saw Ian and the others in such a perilous situation.

As the tension on the ground grew, the trio in the sky finally made it over the castle.

Ian glanced at the rogue broom pursuing them, a cold smile curling on his lips.

Want to kill us? Not that easy!

Ian aimed his wand at a window on the castle and shouted loudly, "Harry! Draco! Get ready to jump through the window!"

Hearing this, both Harry and Draco nodded, gripping their brooms tightly.

Ian took a deep breath and waved his wand forcefully. "Aqua Mirror!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the trio's brooms shot forward like arrows, accelerating toward the window, which had now turned into a shimmering liquid.

With a loud "bang," the three of them, along with their brooms, crashed through the transformed window into the castle. Behind them, the window returned to its solid form.

The crazy broom was traveling too fast and had no time to stop. It slammed heavily into the castle's hard glass window, making a loud noise.

It then fell to the ground and turned into a pile of debris. Ian subconsciously curled the corners of his mouth.

He dared to say that this glass window must have been made by a flower grower.