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Chapter 12: Flying Lessons
Chapter 12: Flying Lessons
Over the entire weekend, Liam spent Saturday morning taking a walk around Black Lake, but the rest of the time, Hermione dragged him to the Library to read books. Liam initially didn't want to go, but after a few days of observation in the Common Room, he realized that the entertainment options in the Wizarding World were mostly limited to card and board games or Quidditch. For someone from the Information Age, this was rather boring. In comparison, the various magical books were far more interesting.
Apart from reading, Liam spent his evenings in the Common Room, chatting with classmates by the fireplace. Sometimes, students would come to ask for help with their homework, and Liam patiently assisted them.
It was during these moments that Liam finally understood why professors got so angry when marking assignments. Some students copied large chunks of text directly from the textbooks, others had completely illogical paragraphs, and the most extreme cases involved adding a Potions assignment to their Transfiguration homework to meet the word count. Not to mention the numerous grammar and spelling errors that even Liam, in his previous life, rarely made.
Liam could only conclude that the teachers at Hogwarts had remarkably good tempers. If he were a teacher, he would have definitely swatted the hands of a few of these sneaky kids.
Seeing the pleading looks in the eyes of his classmates, the soft-hearted Liam could only sigh and gently guide them through their homework, teaching them the formatting techniques he had learned from writing papers in his previous life.
However, on Sunday evening, Liam firmly rejected the requests of a few students who wanted to copy his homework.
Days passed, and Liam gradually established himself as a principled and kind person among the Gryffindor students. Of course, Hermione Granger also solidified her image as a somewhat introverted bookworm. Liam had hinted to Hermione a few times about this issue, but she remained steadfast in her ways.
Finally, after more than a month of school, a notice was posted in the Gryffindor Common Room: flying lessons were to begin on Thursday, with Gryffindor students sharing the class with Slytherins. Aside from the somewhat disheartening prospect of sharing the class with Slytherins, the news was quite exciting.
In the days following the announcement, every student from a wizarding family chattered endlessly about Quidditch, except for Neville Longbottom. Liam heard many stories but couldn't quite grasp the appeal of the game.
From the conversations with his classmates, Liam learned that every few years, one or two young wizards would be forced to apply for an exemption due to insurmountable acrophobia, and would then be socially shunned in their house as cowards. He silently prayed that he wouldn't be one of these unfortunate souls.
Amidst the enthusiastic discussions, Thursday arrived. During breakfast, Hermione kept reciting flying tips she had read from a Library book called "Quidditch Through the Ages." Everyone, except Neville, found her constant chatter a bit annoying.
Seeing the situation, Liam made a gesture for Hermione to be quiet. "It's actually like swimming. Learning too much theory isn't very useful; the most important thing is to try it out." Hermione opened her mouth as if to argue, but an owl's letter interrupted her.
Neville's grandmother had sent him a Memory Ball, which almost got snatched by Malfoy. Fortunately, Professor Mcgonagall arrived quickly to handle the situation.
At half past three, the first-year students from Gryffindor and Slytherin gathered on the field to prepare for their first flying lesson. The weather was perfect, ideal for flying.
Neatly arranged on the ground were dozens of broomsticks. According to the older students, these brooms had been around for a while, with some even considered antiques.
Liam scanned the brooms and noticed that many of them had lost a significant number of bristles, and the handles were worn smooth from years of use. It was clear that the condition of these brooms was concerning.
Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short gray hair and sharp yellow eyes, much like those of a hawk. She looked like a competent and no-nonsense woman.
“Alright, what are you all waiting for?” she barked. “Each of you, stand next to a broomstick. Hurry up, hurry up, time is of the essence.”
Once everyone was in position, Madam Hooch called out, “Extend your right hand over the broomstick and say, ‘Up!’”
“Up!” the students shouted in a jumbled chorus.
Only a fraction of the brooms responded to the command. Liam was part of the majority; his broom merely rolled on the ground.
Fortunately, after several attempts, the broom finally jumped into his hand.
Next, Madam Hooch demonstrated how to mount the broom without sliding off. Liam watched carefully, even though he knew that Madam Pomfrey was skilled enough to regrow an entire arm in a single night. However, as a normal person, he certainly didn’t want to experience the advanced medical capabilities of the magical world firsthand.
After correcting everyone’s technique, they moved on to the practical part. At the sound of Madam Hooch’s whistle, everyone rose into the air, hovering about a meter above the ground. After a few minutes of testing, Liam realized he might not be particularly adept at flying; he might just be able to manage the basics.
Just as Liam was following Madam Hooch’s instructions and returning to the ground, a gasp of alarm came from nearby. Neville had become so nervous that his broom had gone out of control, causing him to rise rapidly. He then lost his grip and fell from the sky.
Based on his memory of the original story, Liam had expected Neville to fly up and crash before Madam Hooch’s whistle. He had been prepared to act in advance to prevent the incident. However, everything went smoothly until the whistle, and Liam had even thought his efforts to change the outcome had worked.
When Neville started to ascend, Liam instinctively pulled out his wand. As Neville fell, Liam cast the Levitation Charm.
Unfortunately, Liam’s self-taught spell was not very effective. Neville only paused in the air for less than a second before crashing heavily into the grass.
Madam Hooch rushed over to check on Neville.
“Wrist injury, possible hairline fractures,” she murmured, audible to everyone. It seemed the Levitation Charm had some effect, as it was better than a full fracture. However, the change was minimal, so the System did not react. Still, Liam felt a sense of satisfaction from helping someone.
“Alright, dear—nothing to worry about, you can get up now,” Madam Hooch said as she helped Neville to his feet.
She then turned to the rest of the class and warned them to return the brooms to their original positions. After that, she took Neville to the Hospital Wing.
(End of Chapter)
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