“Good afternoon, everyone.” “Welcome to Flying class.
My name is Rolanda Hooch, though you may call me Professor Hooch.” A witch with short grey hair and sharp yellow eyes like an eagle’s stepped forward to face them.
Flying lessons were held outdoors.
The young wizards stood in two rows, each with a broomstick placed in front of them.
“Before we begin, I must remind you all that riding a broomstick is dangerous.
You are required to follow my safety instructions at all times.
Anyone who breaks the rules will be immediately grounded.” Professor Hooch stood between the two rows with her hands on her hips, speaking sternly.
Although she repeatedly emphasized safety every year, accidents still happened regularly.
Some students were reckless, while others were simply too frightened and unsuited for flying.
Still, she had to warn them properly.
The performance of a broomstick depended on both its craftsmanship and the strength of the magic placed upon it.
The school-issued broomsticks for first-years were the most ordinary kind available.
More accurately, they were an outdated model known as the Shooting Star.
Their performance could hardly be called good.
In fact, they were terrible.
Still, they were more than sufficient for teaching beginners.
“Alright now, everyone step forward and stand to the left of your broomstick.” After explaining the safety rules, Professor Hooch finally began the practical lesson.
“Although I’ve spent so much time talking about safety, there is one thing that overcomes every limitation.” “That is courage!
A broomstick does not care about blood status or talent.
It responds only to courage!” “As long as you have enough courage, you will be able to master a broomstick!” Before beginning, Professor Hooch enthusiastically encouraged the students.
“Now then, everyone, let me see your courage.
Stretch out your right hand over your broomstick, focus on it, and say ‘Up!'” The young wizards immediately followed her instructions, and cries of “Up!” echoed across the field.
John also focused on the broomstick at his feet and calmly shouted, “Up!” At once, he felt a connection form between himself and the broomstick.
The broom immediately leapt upward into his hand.
The feeling reminded him of Thor summoning Mjolnir with an outstretched hand.
The moment he grabbed the broomstick, he could feel a faint upward force coming from it.
The force was not strong and was easy to control.
It seemed that the more magic he poured into it, the stronger the lifting force became.
Curious, John tried exactly that.
As he fed more magic into the broomstick, it became harder and harder to hold down, until it was actually strong enough to lift his entire body into the air.
“Oh!
Mr.
Merrick, quickly relax your focus!
Don’t let the broom go out of control!” The scene was impossible to miss.
Everyone else was still trying to summon their broomsticks into their hands, while John’s broom had already shot upward.
He was now hanging from it one-handed as it lifted him off the ground.
To everyone watching, it looked as though John’s broomstick had completely gone out of control.
“Uh, alright.” Only then did John come back to his senses and quickly stop feeding magic into the broomstick.
The broom immediately descended as expected, though it dropped rather suddenly.
Fortunately, he had only been hovering a few inches above the ground.
Otherwise, that landing would have hurt quite a bit.
It seemed that stopping the flow of magic also needed to be done gradually.
“Mr.
Merrick, you need to relax.
Your broomstick is your partner, not some dangerous beast.
The more forcefully you try to suppress it, the more likely it is to lose control.” Professor Hooch walked over and advised him patiently.
In her eyes, John had simply been too nervous.
Feeling the broom lift him into the air, he had instinctively tried to suppress it, accidentally pouring too much magic into it and causing the broom to drag him upward.
Her conclusion was mostly correct, though the reason behind it was completely different.
John had actually done it on purpose out of curiosity.
He simply wanted to test how much power the broomstick could produce.
Still, he did not bother explaining.
It was hardly important.
Professor Hooch then loudly reminded the other students to relax and stay calm so that nobody else lost control of their broomstick.
“Very good.
Next, hold onto your broomstick and mount it carefully.
Make sure not to slip off.” Soon, everyone had successfully summoned their broomsticks into their hands and moved on to the next step.
John adjusted himself into what he felt was the most comfortable position before sitting astride the broomstick.
For now, it did not feel too uncomfortable.
“When you hear my whistle, kick off from the ground firmly and allow the broomstick to lift you into the air.” “Maintain your balance once airborne, and do not move around recklessly.” “Now then, three…
two…
one…
wheeeet!” The instant Professor Hooch blew her whistle, everyone pushed off the ground and rose into the air on their broomsticks.
However, many students immediately lost their balance.
Some flipped upside down and ended up dangling beneath their broomsticks.
Others spun wildly in circles, while a few instinctively shoved the front of the broom downward too hard and dropped back to the ground with a thump.
The entire field instantly turned chaotic.
Still, since nobody was seriously hurt, Professor Hooch simply watched the screaming students and allowed them to get used to flying on their own.
John, meanwhile, experienced no problems whatsoever.
He flew steadily around the practice field, freely rising and descending as he pleased.
He leaned smoothly through turns, drifted effortlessly, performed sudden stops and sharp spins, controlling the broomstick as naturally as though it were an extension of his own body.
Honestly, flying truly did feel incredible.
The only problem was that the broomstick itself was terribly uncomfortable.
After circling the field twice, John calmly landed and stepped off the broom on his own.
“Mr.
Merrick, it seems you have remarkable flying talent.
Have you ever considered joining the Hogwarts Quidditch team in the future?” John’s performance throughout the lesson had naturally not escaped Professor Hooch’s notice.
After he dismounted, she walked over and asked him directly.
“Quidditch?
I haven’t really thought about it.” “Then you should seriously consider it.
I believe you would definitely stand out.” John nodded but gave no further response.
Quidditch was the most popular sport in the Wizarding World.
It had developed to the point of hosting massive international events like the Quidditch World Cup, attracting countless witches and wizards.
But John genuinely had little interest in it.
In his view, although the Wizarding World had laws, order, and a governing system, true authority still ultimately came from strength.
No matter how skilled someone was at flying, or how many admirers they had, it was nowhere near as valuable as possessing real power.
John had no ambitions of becoming invincible.
He only wanted enough strength to protect himself.
To him, the time spent practicing Quidditch would be far better spent learning more spells from Professor Flitwick.
…
“Good evening, John.
What are you reading?” “Good evening, Luna.
I’m reading Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, tomorrow’s Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook.
Just preparing in advance.” After the afternoon lessons ended and dinner time approached, John and the others sat in the Great Hall reading together.
Titus had attended Defence Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, and he was enthusiastically describing how interesting Professor Lupin’s lesson had been.
Instead of teaching directly from the textbook during their first class, Professor Lupin had apparently introduced them to a Dark creature called a Boggart.
However, Titus deliberately kept everyone in suspense and refused to explain exactly what a Boggart did.
Curious, John began searching through the textbook for information about them.
Unfortunately, Boggarts were not mentioned anywhere in the first-year curriculum.
Clearly, this had been something Professor Lupin specially prepared to broaden the students’ horizons, meaning it was probably not an especially dangerous Dark creature.
The first-year textbook mainly focused on theory, teaching students how to identify Dark creatures and protect themselves from them.
The only spell that seemed remotely practical was the Knockback Jinx.