Neville and Hope walked onto the grassy field, the glass squelching under their feet with the moisture from the early morning dew, nervous yet excited for their first mandatory Quidditch practice. Neville had grown up hearing stories about Quidditch from his family, whereas Hope had only learnt about the sport when she came to Hogwarts. This lack of experience made her enthusiastic for the lessons because it meant that she could finally learn something new at Hogwarts. Her other classes had proved to be quite dull and useless as she already knew the spells and potions that they were being taught.
"There is no need to be so nervous, Nev. Madame Hooch is going to be there the whole time; nothing bad can happen to you." Hope tried to reassure Neville when she noticed how shaky his hands had become and how pale his complexion had turned as they neared the two neat rows of scruffy broomsticks.
"Good afternoon, class," Madame Hooch announced a few minutes later when she entered the area. She smiled when she noticed that both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors were standing behind a broomstick, looking ready for the lesson. "Everyone, step up to the left of the broom," Hooch instructed, becoming frustrated when everyone was messing around with their friends instead of taking the lesson seriously. She gently smiled at Hope, Neville, and Hermione, who had all followed her commands. "Hurry up, or I'll start deducting house points," she spoke again, her voice slightly louder, scaring the rest of the students, who moved quickly to stand next to their broom. "Now, place your dominant hand over the broom and say up."
Harry and Draco's brooms immediately shot into their hands, a smug smile spreading across Draco's face and a shocked expression appearing on Harry's. Hermione was trying her hardest to make her broom rise, saying the demand in her clearest loudest voice, yet, the broom was merely wriggling around on the floor, tormenting her. Hermione became more frustrated as the time stretched on, not understanding why the broom wasn't rising. She wasn't used to not knowing the answer, and she hated it, almost as much as she hated the idea of failing this lesson. Ron was having a similar problem; however, when his broom finally moved, only the handle came off the floor, smacking Ron in the forehead. The Gryffindors laughed as Ron's hand came up to rub the reddening mark, and his other hand grabbed his broom before it could fall back to the ground.
Hope looked over to Neville and gave him a sympathetic smile when she noticed that his broom wasn't even moving around on the floor. "You're commanding it; you need to ask it," Hope whispered, trying to help. She slowly raised her left hand, causing the broom to fly straight into it without the need for any words when Neville looked down at her broom in irony. Neville hesitantly raised his arm, muttering the word under his breath, his tone taking on a slightly pleading aspect as the broom rose off the floor and into his hand.
"Once you've got a hold on your broom, I want you to mount it. Don't forget to grip it tightly, or you'll be sliding off the end," the Professor informed the class, causing everyone to rush and straddle their brooms before awaiting their next order. "When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to push off the ground, hard. Hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly before touching back down to the ground." The class made a slight noise of surprised eagerness as the Professor raised her whistle to her pursed lips, ready to blow.
Neville's broom shot from the ground before the ringing of the whistle stopped echoing around the field. Slowly rising, Neville's face became a mirage of scared fear as Hooch demanded that he return to the ground, trying to assert power and control over the situation. She quickly realised that Neville had lost complete control over his broom as he swooped through a tunnel and into a different area. The other students followed after him, gripping their brooms tightly as if afraid that the same would happen to them. Hope was at the front of the group wanting to reach her friend, worried for his safety. The ensemble of students emerged on the other side of the tunnel just in time to see Neville smack into the ground; a loud crunch sounded, followed by a small whimper from Neville.
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Black's Lost Daughter//A Harry Potter Love Story (Book One)
FanfictionHope Black was kidnapped when she was six months old, the same day she lost her mother. Ten and half years later she is finally free and able to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her time at Hogwarts was interrupted by many dangerou...
