Chapter 85: Flight Class
Chapter 85: Flight Class
Several days prior, a notice regarding the upcoming Thursday's flight class had already been posted in the Gryffindor common room.
Unsurprisingly, flight had become a hot topic among the first-year students. Ever since the announcement, words like "flying" and "broomsticks" could be heard every day.
However, this matter didn't create much of a stir among the Gryffindor freshmen.
After all, everyone knew that Fred, George, and Angelina were training with the official players as substitutes for the team, preparing to try out for a formal spot on the team next year.
Albert and Lee Jordan occasionally joined the training sessions as well, and both of them displayed impressive flying skills. As for Aaliyah, the witch from a wizarding family, she had naturally been exposed to broomsticks at a young age and wasn't as enthusiastic about flying as the others.
As a result, when the flight class notice was posted, most students didn't react much, and they even discussed flying less frequently than students from the other houses.
There was only one exception: Shannon, who was born into a Muggle family and had never ridden a broomstick before. She was undoubtedly the most nervous freshman in Gryffindor.
To prepare for her first flight class, she had even borrowed a book called "A History of Quidditch" from the library, hoping to learn some flying techniques on her own.
Unfortunately, Shannon didn't have a system interface like Albert, so she couldn't directly upgrade her skills. The book also proved to be of little help in teaching her how to ride a broomstick.
"Don't worry, riding a broomstick isn't as difficult as you think," Albert said, understanding Shannon's anxiety. It was like how people felt nervous before their first flight on an airplane. "Have you ever ridden a bicycle?"
The most important thing was that Shannon lacked confidence in herself. To be honest, confidence was crucial.
Albert's confidence stemmed from his system interface. He knew that he wouldn't fail, so he dared to try new things, and even if he encountered difficulties, he could always rely on his system to allocate points and improve. After all, he still had a substantial amount of stored experience to draw from, which was the source of his self-assurance.
"Yes," Shannon replied, taking a deep breath.
"Riding a broomstick is just like riding a bicycle," Albert reassured her. "Someone will guide you at first, and if you try a few more times, you'll definitely get the hang of it."
"Really?" Shannon asked, her doubt evident.
"Really," Albert nodded. "You should have more faith in yourself."
Lee Jordan, standing beside them, rolled his eyes. He himself had never ridden a so-called bicycle, but he could assure Shannon that Albert was full of hot air as usual.
Sure, Albert might be good at flying, but Shannon wasn't him! Afternoon, a few minutes before the flight class.
Albert and the other Gryffindor students hurried to the class venue. The Gryffindor and Slytherin students had their flight classes together.
"Why don't we have our flight classes in the Quidditch stadium?" Fred expressed his confusion once again. Their class was being held on a flat lawn outside the castle.
"Who knows," Lee Jordan shrugged, not particularly concerned about the location. It didn't really matter where they had the class.
"Come on, let's go, or we'll be late," Angelina urged, clearly eager to attend her first flight class.
"Relax, we still have five minutes. That's more than enough time for you to walk over there," Albert said nonchalantly, looking up at the lawn ahead.
The Slytherin students had already arrived and were helping Madam Hooch set up the broomsticks.
Madam Hooch was a short-haired woman with a hawk-like nose and sharp, eagle-like eyes. When she rode her broomstick, she gave off the uncanny impression of a hawk that could swoop down and capture its prey at any moment.
The content of the flight class was quite similar to what Charlie had taught them.
First, they had to get their broomsticks to jump into their hands. Most of the Gryffindor students succeeded after a few attempts, except for Shannon, who was the odd one out. Her broomstick remained stubbornly on the ground, and she eventually had to bend down and pick it up, eliciting laughter from her classmates.
Madam Hooch, witnessing this, gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.
"Don't worry, only a few will find it easy," Angelina said, motioning for Shannon, whose face was flushed with embarrassment, to look at the Slytherin students. Their situation wasn't much better than hers; those who had been mocking her earlier were now struggling with their own broomsticks.
Next, Madam Hooch taught them how to ride the broomsticks and the correct way to grip the handles with both hands. She walked among the students, correcting their mistakes. She was surprised by the high level of skill displayed by the Gryffindor students and even awarded five points to the house, much to the displeasure of the scolded Slytherin students.
After that, they practiced taking off and landing.
Shannon's situation didn't improve much. Her broomstick trembled slightly, and it was unclear if it was the broomstick or Shannon herself doing the shaking.
Once the basic tutorial was over, Madam Hooch allowed the students who had mastered the basics to practice freely. With her keen eyes, she could easily tell that Albert and a few others had already skillfully grasped the technique of flying on broomsticks.
Fred watched with delight as the Slytherin students continued to receive guidance. He took off after George, flying in a playful manner in the sky behind his brother.
Albert shook his head repeatedly, well aware that Fred was doing this to provoke the Slytherins.
After all, the Slytherins in this class were far less talented in flying compared to the Gryffindors.
There was nothing they could do about it. Aside from Shannon, who was struggling and had been asked to stay back by Madam Hooch, most of the Gryffindors were already flying in the sky.
"To be honest, we didn't really need this flight class," George said to Fred as they performed a cross-spiral flight, earning a round of applause.
"You're flying well," Lee Jordan commented. He hadn't gone to the Quidditch stadium to practice as often as the Weasley twins. Even when he went with Albert, it was more about enjoying the ride or playing games with the others.
"But the Slytherins are terrible!" Lee Jordan added as he landed, deliberately saying it in front of the Slytherin students and earning their glares.
"I'm not wrong, am I?"
"Let's just say we're far superior to them in this regard," Albert said indifferently, twisting the knife in the Slytherins' chests.
"Go, Warrington! Beat the Weasleys!"
In the sky, a Slytherin student who was flying quite well was trailing behind George and Fred. With the encouragement of his housemates below, the friendly competition evolved into a race.
It became a contest of speed and stability.
Compared to the Weasley twins, who often practiced flying around the Quidditch pitch, Warrington of Slytherin fell behind by a lap and ultimately lost miserably.
Afterward, all three were reprimanded by Madam Hooch, but it was clear that Fred and George didn't care. They were more concerned about the fact that they had beaten Warrington.
"We won!" Fred announced happily.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Albert said, giving them a look. They had never stood a chance from the beginning.
However, when these words reached the ears of the Slytherin students, they stung. Why was it so "normal" for Slytherin to lose?
Anger rose within them, and they felt an urge to punch Albert.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
