Brave - Lily Luna

Three

Hugo
:::
After lunch came flying lessons with Slytherin, and Lily was thrilled. Of course, she'd been flying since she could walk, what with her parents being who they were. But that was with a toy broom, as first-years were not permitted to use a broomstick. Her mother had informed her that the real thing was in fact, very different.

Lily practiced Quidditch with James back home, and in result she had grown to have very good balance and hand-eye coordination. Her older brother had been informed of his captaincy of the Gryffindor team by owl that summer.  However, Albus had never shown much liking towards Quidditch, preferring to keep both feet safely on the ground.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years marched together out onto the Hogwarts grounds, to where fifty-or-so broomsticks lay on the ground in rows. Professor McGonagall stood next to the stone walls of the castle, observing the class. The instructor, Madam Hooch, had a striking appearance, with her whitish spiky hair. Her brilliant yellow eyes reminded Lily of those of a hawk. Each student stood next to a broom as instructed, and waited.

"Everyone hold your right hand out over your broomstick and say 'Up!'"
The rows of young witches and wizards simultaneously commanded "Up!" Lily was almost startled at the speed the broom rose off the ground and into her waiting hand. The wood was smooth and fit perfectly in her small fingers. It felt right. She looked around. Miles Finnigan's looked as if it was fighting him, rising very slowly off the ground. When he quickly grew frustrated, it dropped dead on the grass. Alice Longbottom's broom hadn't moved an inch. Hugo's was flipping over repeatedly on the ground, collecting dirt. Stella's had obeyed on her second try.

Soon enough, every student had learned that patience and confidence was key, and had their brooms in hand. Madam Hooch continued the lesson, showing how to mount a broom correctly, and then walked up and down the rows correcting people's grips.

"Now, once I blow the whistle, kick off the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise off the ground just a little, and stay put until I say. On the whistle...one...two...three."

Everyone did as told. Lily wanted to fly higher, she felt the urge to zoom as fast as she could across the lake, to feel the wind whistle in her ears, to feel the rush--but far too soon, she obediently came to a half in midair. Alice Longbottom, however, appeared to be rising significantly higher than 'just a little'.

"Come back here, young lady...lean forward!"  Madam Hooch shouted in the air. Alice's face drained of color, and she was frozen in place. Lily panicked.

"Alice, lean forward! It'll be alright!" She tried to influence Alice. Other kids caught on, and started to shout encouragements to her. After about thirty seconds, Alice was nothing but a speck in the sky. As far as anyone could tell, she had remained still as a statue. Madam Hooch, after much consideration, decided to mount her own broom and go on a rescue mission.

"Stay put all of you, or face immediate expulsion." She said wearily, before streaking up into the sky after Alice.

Nobody was quite sure what to say. Everyone remained about a meter in the air, some bobbing up and down slightly in impatience. Lily tipped her head back and watched the two specks move, contrasting with the deep periwinkle sky. Out of the corner of her eye, she witnessed the most peculiar thing.

Something was falling quickly from the sky. It was small and red—and most importantly, heading straight for Hugo Weasley's unsuspecting head. Lily had no time to puzzle about why an apple was soaring toward a herd of unexperienced wizards and witches. Her reflexes kicked in before she could think it over, and she leaned in. As quickly as a lightning bolt strikes the ground, the apple was in her reach. She snatched it out of thin air when it was just an inch away from touching Hugo's fiery red hair.
"Hugo," she asked breathily, "Did you manage to make any enemies in only one day?" Hugo just stared wide-eyed at Lily, as did the other students. Lily stared at the top of the castle, trying to sort out where the apple could have come from. She could've sworn she'd seen a hand hanging out of one of the higher windows.