Chapter 46: The Aftermath of the Bloodline Incident
Soon after all the Gryffindors had arrived, Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, showed up.
She had sharp, yellow, eagle-like eyes and short gray hair.
As soon as she reached the lawn, she told the students to choose brooms and line up. "Hurry up, don't waste time!"
Ethan casually picked up a broomstick and stood waiting for the next instruction.
He glanced at the worn-out broom and realized why no one wanted it. It was old and battered, with more twigs on one side than the other, leaving it visibly unbalanced.
Once everyone was in position, Madam Hooch called out, "Extend your right hand over your broom."
Then she shouted, "Up!"
"Up!" Ethan shouted along with the others.
The old broom immediately leaped from the ground and slapped into his palm. He tightened his grip.
He glanced at Hermione. Her broom had merely twitched on the ground, failing to jump up as she'd hoped.
She was still too nervous. If she relaxed a bit, things might be very different. Ethan watched as Hermione kept trying, but the broom wouldn't cooperate, wouldn't jump up into her hands.
Madam Hooch gave a few more instructions until everyone had completed this step, then demonstrated how to mount the broom without sliding off.
"Watch my hand. Hold it like this," she shouted.
As the first years practiced on their own, she moved through the group, correcting their grips.
"Malfoy, no. Change your grip. It's still wrong. You should do it like this." Draco, who prided himself on his extensive flying experience, resented being corrected by Madam Hooch.
As she moved on, he whispered to Ethan, "I've ridden a broom this way since I was a kid. She doesn't know the whole story."
As he spoke, he glared at Harry and Ron, who were watching him gleefully.
Draco had brought this on himself by being so impulsive. He'd already had issues with the two of them, and after what happened that morning, they were officially enemies.
Hermione had told him that morning that Neville had received a Remembrall from his grandmother, a glass ball filled with white smoke that turned red when squeezed, if he'd forgotten something.
He thought to himself, "This is perfect for someone as forgetful as Neville, even if he can't remember having forgotten anything."
He didn't know why Draco had walked over to the Gryffindor table and snatched the Remembrall from Neville.
Harry and Ron, who already disliked him, had decided to stand up for Neville and beat Draco up.
Although Professor McGonagall eventually broke it up, both sides were furious.
Ethan still remembered Hermione's angry words: "Malfoy is a bully, a piece of trash. Don't defend him anymore!"
He had no choice but to keep quiet, since Draco was clearly in the wrong for crossing two entire tables just to play a prank on someone who was already forgetful.
Knowing trouble was bound to erupt in this class, Ethan could only try to avoid the events of the film.
"But if I actually do that, will Harry Potter's Quidditch career have to wait until second year?"
Ethan, still somewhat torn, heard Madam Hooch's voice and set the thought aside.
The important thing was to get through Flying class in one piece. If he fell from a great height and died because of some freak accident, it would be the most ridiculous way to go.
"All right, listen for my whistle. As soon as you hear it, push off from the ground with your legs."
"Note that you need to push off hard."
"Next, hold the broom steady and rise a few feet, just a few feet, then lean forward slightly and drop straight back down."
Before the whistle even sounded, the nervous Neville pushed off with all his might and shot into the air.
"Come back!" Madam Hooch called after him.
But Neville had lost control. He shot straight up as if launched by a cannon, quickly climbing more than twenty feet.
Neville's face was pale, his mouth open in ragged gasps as he stared at the ground falling away beneath him. His hand slipped from the broom, and he tumbled off, crashing heavily to the ground and curling into a ball.
The out-of-control broom flew toward the Forbidden Forest, but by then no one was paying attention to it.
Madam Hooch's face had gone pale as well. She rushed to Neville's side, checking him over to make sure he was still alive.
"He's broken his wrist, but he's alive." Her expression softened slightly.
"All right, child, up you get, you're all right now," she whispered to him.
"I'm taking him to the Hospital Wing. No one else is allowed to fly, or they'll be expelled!"
Lucky Neville managed to stand, limping away with Madam Hooch supporting him.
"What a miserable life, Neville. He's only been in school for three weeks and he's already been to the hospital twice." Ethan shook his head as he watched them leave, put his broom aside, and started toward Hermione.
He'd barely taken a step when he heard the two of them arguing.
He sighed. He really didn't want to deal with this mess.
"Remembrall! How about I put it up a tree and let Longbottom fetch it?" Draco laughed.
"Draco, don't cause trouble. Wait for Neville to come back, then return it to him," Ethan really didn't want to get involved, but Hermione was watching him.
"Why are you listening to him?" Pansy Parkinson yelled at Draco.
Draco ignored her, hesitating over whether to give in.
"Did you hear me? Bring the Remembrall over here!" Harry's words added fuel to the fire, instantly erasing Draco's hesitation.
The two of them mounted their brooms and took off, racing and chasing each other through the air.
Hermione shouted anxiously from below, "Come down quickly! Madam Hooch said we're not allowed to move. You'll get in terrible trouble!"
The two were trading taunts in the air when Draco suddenly threw the Remembrall. Harry plummeted toward the ground, catching it just before impact and landing safely.
"That was too dangerous! Too close!" Hermione kept muttering, her face pale.
"Harry Potter!" It was Professor McGonagall's voice.
She angrily called Harry away while the remaining students reacted in various ways, some worried for him and others gloating.
After his moment of triumph, Draco stood silently beside Ethan.
Ethan didn't mince words. "Draco, don't pull this kind of stunt again. I know you have a grudge against Harry Potter, but this isn't how to settle things. Just wait; you'll get punished soon enough."
"Hmm." He nodded, not looking at Pansy, who was still indignant.
Ethan had no idea what the girl was so smug about; he simply kept watching her.
Under Ethan's watchful gaze, Pansy recalled the red light in his eyes at the West Tower and finally calmed down.
Soon, Madam Hooch returned. She was furious about what had just happened, but since no one was injured and the other student had already been called away by Professor McGonagall, she simply deducted ten points from Slytherin as punishment.
The flying lesson was over, and Ethan had learned how to mount a broomstick and hover in the air, which made him even more determined to learn real flight without any tools.
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