Chapter 44: Teaching You How to Fly
Chapter 44: Teaching You How to Fly
"I know, I'll go first!" One of the twins eagerly hopped onto a broomstick and, with a quick push off the ground, swiftly took off. He began circling the Quidditch pitch, flying around the poles.
"Not bad, passable," Charlie commented as he watched his younger brother's flight. In fact, the smile on his face showed that he was quite pleased.
After all, not every first-year student could fly with such stability.
After the twins had each taken a turn, it was finally Albert and Lee Jordan's turn.
Since neither of them had formally flown on a broomstick before, Charlie had to instruct them on how to use one. He demonstrated how to sit on the broomstick without sliding off.
"We never got this kind of treatment before," the twins bantered from the side. "Hey, are we really his brothers?"
"Shut up, cut the chatter," Charlie glared at the twins and turned his attention back to correcting Lee Jordan's grip on the broomstick.
"All you need to do is push off with your legs, and you'll leave the ground. As for controlling your speed, you'll get a feel for it once you try it yourself," Charlie explained patiently, like a professor teaching a class. "Hold the broomstick steady, and lift your body slightly to ascend. Likewise, tilt your body backward to descend vertically, and lean forward to move forward."
After about five minutes of instructions and demonstrations, Charlie let Lee Jordan take off for a trial flight. He himself stood ready with his wand, in case he needed to catch any of the first-years if they fell off their brooms.
Lee Jordan's flight was relatively stable.
However, he circled the Quidditch pitch at a slow pace and took about five minutes to complete his flight, landing with a face beaming with excitement.
His smooth flight was likely due to his previous experience riding toy broomsticks.
"Well done," Charlie said encouragingly and handed the flying broomstick to Albert beside him.
Albert reached out and ran his hand along the broomstick handle.
Hmm, it felt smooth and lacked cushioning.
He recalled that a spell called the "Cushioning Charm" or "Shock-Absorbing Charm" was usually cast on flying broomsticks.
However, he couldn't feel any magic as he ran his hand along the handle, and Albert wondered if his "privates" would feel sore if he sat on it.
There was no choice, as toy broomsticks had an obvious seat.
"What are you doing?" Charlie asked, puzzled by Albert's action of caressing the broomstick handle. He didn't understand what Albert was trying to achieve.
"It's nothing; I'm just trying to find the cushion," Albert replied. Before Charlie could figure out what he meant, Albert had already mounted the broomstick and pushed off the ground with force.
Indeed, the Shock-Absorbing Charm was in effect.
Sitting on the flying broomstick didn't hurt at all. There was a very soft layer between Albert and the broomstick handle, giving him the sensation of sitting on a soft cushion.
Well, if he had to describe it, it felt a bit like riding a bicycle.
As he flew on the broomstick, the wind immediately billowed his robe, making it flutter behind him. Albert felt elated, forgetting his awkward posture. Following Charlie's instructions, he slowly pulled the broomstick higher, flying a bit higher in the air.
Albert glanced down and estimated he was about ten feet above the ground.
Thank goodness.
He was glad he didn't have a fear of heights; otherwise, he might have let go and fallen from mid-air.
Albert grabbed the broomstick handle with one hand and slowly leaned forward, causing the broomstick to move forward. It felt like his first time riding a toy broomstick, but Albert flew very slowly, even slower than Lee Jordan. Nonetheless, he continued to circle the Quidditch pitch, relishing the joy of flight.
Charlie, watching from below, was astonished. He hadn't expected Albert to adapt to flying so quickly. Some newcomers who had never flown on a broomstick before would panic as soon as they were in mid-air.
Albert, a first-year student experiencing a broomstick flight for the first time, had achieved such a standard of flying in just a few minutes, which was impressive.
However, Albert, now accustomed to his current speed, no longer wanted to crawl like a snail in the sky. He opened his skill list and upgraded his Flying Technique (Broomstick) to Level 1.
Albert seemed to have an innate understanding of flying, and as he leaned forward, it was as if he had activated an acceleration switch. The broomstick's speed instantly increased.
His initially slow movements became agile as he maneuvered the broomstick through the poles, and the wind blowing in his face made him squint.
Faster! As his body instinctively leaned forward, the speed increased further, and the view in front of him rapidly retreated. Albert felt his heart racing, and it seemed like it might leap out of his chest at any moment.
The feeling of flying was fantastic! At that moment, Albert finally understood why wizards enjoyed this sport so much.
It was thrilling! Indeed, it was too thrilling.
It was similar to why some people enjoyed speeding in cars.
Albert flew around the Quidditch pitch several times, and with each circle, he flew faster and faster, almost reaching the extreme speed of a "Seven Sweep."
The four people below were stunned, their mouths agape.
"You're flying well!"
A few minutes later, Charlie stuttered in amazement as he watched Albert land. He felt it was incredible to witness the growth of this first-year student, from slow to fast and gradually adapting to the broomstick.
It had only been a short while.
Such talent was astonishing! In just a few minutes, Albert had roughly adapted to using the broomstick and overcome high-speed flight.
Lee Jordan, standing next to the twins, watched Albert with a complex expression. He had thought he flew well, but he hadn't expected there to be an even more freakishly talented individual.
Could there really be a legendary genius? Of course, if he knew that Albert had upgraded his Flying Technique (Broomstick) to Level 1 to enjoy the speed, he wouldn't have thought so.
"Sorry, I couldn't hold back," Albert apologized to Charlie as he stepped off the broomstick.
Speaking of which, the feeling of speeding on a broomstick was fantastic.
"You have a talent for this," Charlie said, patting Albert's shoulder firmly. "All of you have talent. Consider being reserve players for the team, and if you have time, you can join us for training."
Charlie was pleased with today's results. Both Fred and George, as well as their two friends, showed great flying potential.
The twins' faces lit up at his suggestion.
"We don't have our own broomsticks," Albert reminded him.
"It's fine; you can borrow school broomsticks," Charlie reassured them. "You can learn some techniques first and find your positions."
"However, I need to make one thing clear," Charlie cleared his throat. "If you want to become a real Quidditch player, you will still need to rely on your abilities to pass the player selection next year. I won't go easy on you in that regard."
"We understand," Fred said, giving a quick blink of his eyes.
"Good, that's settled then," Charlie said, satisfied. He intended to cultivate these four as the team's secret weapons.
(End of Chapter)
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