4

It's half past 8 in the morning, and it's cold and grey outside. Dark clouds cover the entire sky and there's still no ray of sunshine to see. I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes but of course that doesn't help. I've never been a morning person, and today is just another reminder of that fact.

"Sometimes I wonder if you even sleep at all." Harry says when he sees me yawning for the thousandth time.

"Says who. You've never had a quiet night in your life."

Harry laughs. "Touché."
It was true, Harry was always up for one reason or another. Despite of all those sleepless nights, he was always present in every lesson and never in a bad mood. I kind of admired him for that.

"It's just early." I yawn again. "Too early for flying at least." The big doors that lead to the Quidditch field open and we walk outside with a small group of Gryffindors. We are welcomed by cold breeze that makes me shiver immediately.

"Why do we have extra flying lessons anyway?" Harry says.

"I guess not everyone can handle a broomstick all that well. But you shouldn't be complaining, you could still be in bed right now, if you wanted to." Last week we were told by Professor Dumbledore that there were some extra flying lessons scheduled, but he didn't say why. The Quidditch teams got permission to skip these lessons, 'cause obviously they know how to fly. But Harry came voluntary, he will take any chance to get on his broomstick.

"I'm not complaining." He smiles.
Then I see something that makes me even less excited about this morning then I already was. A group Slytherins are already waiting for us on the field. And of course, Draco is there.

"Malfoy." Harry says and I nod.

"Just ignore him, he might leave us alone for once." It wasn't that I actually believed it, he had been messing with us all day.
Calling Ron and Harry names, making fun of Hermione for her big front teeth, purposely bumping into me in the hallway. I had no idea what his deal was yesterday, but it had been worse then the usual.

As it appears, Madame Hooch isn't a morning person either. She's not in the mood for messing around and snaps everything she says, using the imperative in every sentence.
"Stop talking.", "Listen.", "Get on your broom."
Within a minute or so, we're all up in the sky, hovering above the ground.

Someone next to me squeals as he can't keep his broomstick straight. I look at my left and see Neville struggling.
"You alright?" He just nods as an answer.

"Here, try this." I push my hands down a little, making me move forward and then turn around so I come to hover right next to him.
"Your left hand goes up here," I say as I move his hand and scoot it upwards. "and your right one here. Make sure your thumbs are on the upper side of the broomstick."
I'm not a professional at all when it comes to flying, but Harry taught me some basics so now I can just pretend I know all about it.

"Thanks." Neville whispers and smiles awkwardly. I see him staring at something behind me and I turn around. Draco is looking at us and he scoffs.

Again, I decide to be the bigger person here and act like he isn't even there.
Madame Hooch blows on her whistle and we all gather around her in a circle, back on the ground.
"We'll be doing a small competetion between Gryffindors and Slytherins today."
I groan but all the Slytherins seem to be happy to get yet another chance to beat us.
"The rules are simple: you start flying when I say so. You fly over to the Quidditch Goal Hoops, go around, and the first one to arrive back on the ground wins. No touching."
Hooch emphasizes the last two words as she looks at the green team.
"The first two up: Neville Longbottom and Claire Jones."
Claire is a tall, blonde girl who I only know from walking past each other in the hallways. I can't remember taking the same class as her.

Neville desperatly looks around, hoping for something that will save him from failing in front of the whole class. "You'll be fine." I whisper and Harry gives him a friendly tap on the shoulder. "Just remember what I told you; thumbs on the upper side."

Claire lets out an annoyed sigh. "I'm waiting."
Neville walks over to her without saying a word and lifts his one leg over the broomstick, now ready to go.

"On your marks. 3. 2. 1." The deafening noise of a whistle fills the air, so loud that I have cover my ears.
The two students bend their legs, and then fly away with high speed. Although Neville seems to be trembling, he's doing alright, off with a great start.

"Whooo Neville! Come on!" Everyone starts cheering and clapping in excitement.
"Faster! Come on!" They now have arrived at the hoops and are on their way back.

Suddenly Claire's hand slips of her broomstick, and she tumbles down a few inches. Although she manages so stay in the air, she definately lost some speed. You can see the anger on her face as she realizes that Neville is now in first place.

"This is your chance, come on!" Harry shouts. Neville pushes his hands down, making him gain even more speed and he's getting closer and closer to the ground. Then his feet touch the grass and because of the sudden stop, he trips and falls.

For a second everyone is completely silent and Harry and I hurry over to him. "Are you okay?"
A few people behind us are laughing.
Then Neville gets up, a huge grin appears on his face.
"I won." He says. And with that, all the Gryffindors start cheering and congratulating him.

Claire is now back on the ground too and she's not amused. A few of her friends try to comfort her but comfort is not something she's looking for right now. Again, Hooch's blows her whistle and all the chanting stops immediately.
"Next up; Malfoy and Potter."

"She's kidding, right?" I whisper in an annoyed tone. "Why do teachers still think it's a good idea to put you guys into one pair?"

Harry shrugs. "I got this, I'm a way better flyer then him. I was a seeker in my first year, remember?"

"Attention seeker yeah." Harry chuckles and pushes me away.

"One your marks. 3. 2. 1." The shrill whistle sound tells the two boys to rise and that's exactly what they do. These two are incredibly fast compared to the two before.

Harry is in the lead with only a few inches and is almost on his highest point, close to the hoops, when something weird happens. A small movement, barely noticable, from Draco's side makes Harry fall of his broom. There's no scream, he's not trying to get hold of his broom or waving his wand. It's like he's unconscious. I want to do something but I completely freeze where I'm standing.

With a loud thud Harry collapses to the ground and finally my legs are working. I run over to him, but his eyes are closed and he's not responding to a word I say.