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⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙ chapter four ✷ three heads, one body
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APOLLO COULDN'T BELIEVE HIS EYES WHEN HE READ THAT GRYFFINDOR, HUFFLEPUFF AND SLYTHERIN WOULD BE TAKING FLYING LESSONS TOGETHER. The notice was pinned at the Great Hall during breakfast, and Apollo immediately wanted to just sleep in for the day; but he knew if he even took a step near the stairs, Hermione would drag him back.
"Typical," Harry said darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."
"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself," Ron said reasonably, "anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."
"Hopefully he'll fall flat on his face." Apollo said darkly and Harry laughed while Ron looked absolutely terrified. "What?"
"Where's my sweet boy gone...?" the boy said shakily, making Apollo only snort at him.
Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first-years never getting in the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang-glider on Charlie's old broom. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas about football. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.
Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one.
Hermione was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd got out of a library book called Quidditch through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the post (even Apollo if she had to admit it. He did love Hermione, but he couldn't hear another word of this book).
A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.
"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh..." his face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet. "...you've forgotten something..."
