Pandora Malfoy and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Twenty-Six: Taking Flight

I couldn't hear Draco's response to the threat Harry had called, but I knew just from the slight change in how he was holding himself that he was worried. After all, he probably hadn't been expecting Harry to get more than five feet off the ground before bailing or falling off, let alone the expert flying that the Boy Who Lived was able to achieve purely through intuition.

Harry leant forwards, and shot towards Draco like a javelin; Draco barely managed to get out of the way in time. Harry made a sharp about turn and held the broom steady. Most of the other Gryffindors were clapping, but I was completely terrified. If either of them were to fall now...

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy!" Harry called.

"Catch it if you can, then!" Draco shouted back. He threw the Remembrall high into the air, then streaked back towards the ground.

Harry leant forwards and pointed his broom handle down — next second, he was gathering speed in a steep dive, his eyes fixed on the barely visible Remembrall as it fell. Quite a few of the people watching were screaming now. Harry stretched out his right arm — and then finally, a foot from the ground, his hand closed around the tiny glass ball. He pulled his broom straight just moments before it would've crashed, and toppled gently onto the grass.

With the right training, he'd make a good Seeker, I thought offhandedly.

"HARRY POTTER!"

I ducked by instinct, cringing away from the source of the yell — Professor McGonagall was running towards us, her lips pulled into a thin line. Harry got to his feet, visibly trembling.

"Never — in all my time at Hogwarts—" Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her eyes flashed furiously behind her glasses. "How dare you — might have broken your neck—"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor—"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil."

"But Malfoy—"

"That's enough, Mr Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

Harry followed Professor McGonagall, moving away from our group and towards the castle. As soon as they were out of earshot, I rounded on Draco, anger bubbling inside me.

"DRACO MALFOY!" I yelled, striding over to him. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking, you idiotic git?!"

"Dora—"

"Don't you 'Dora' me! You're being a jerk to my friends, and you could've got Harry killed, for Merlin's sake!"

"I—"

"The next time you see Harry and Neville, you are going to apologise to them, otherwise I'm writing to Mother," I hissed.

A small amount of worry and fear crossed Draco's face. He knew I hardly ever let my anger show as much as this — Father's negative reactions to it in the past had made sure of that — so seeing me let it all out had genuinely scared him. Not to mention my threat to write to Mother, and the underlying meaning of 'Mother will be so very disappointed with you if she finds out you've been bullying my friends, no matter who those friends are'.

"Fine."

Madam Hooch soon returned, and after a quick explanation from about half the class about where Harry had gone and why his broomstick was over on another part of the lawn, she gave us the same instructions as she had before.

"If any of you push off before my whistle, I will not be impressed," she warned us. "Ready? Three — two—"

This time, everyone's feet stayed firmly on the ground until a shrill whistle rang out. Then, we all pushed off the ground, and twenty or so brooms rose into the air, hovering at various heights. I felt exhilaration rush through me, and a smile settled on my face. I was flying!

I allowed the broom to rise until I was a few feet off the ground, glancing around to see how everyone else was doing. Draco had flown higher than everyone else — no surprises there, he did love to show off — and had a bored look on his face as he expertly kept his balance. Hermione, on the other hand, was wobbling, and couldn't seem to be able to keep her broom level. A few people fell off their brooms completely, but luckily they were so close to the ground that there weren't any more injuries like Neville's.

"And back down!" Madam Hooch said.

I quickly tilted my broom towards the ground, knowing almost automatically the exact right angle for the height I was at. Clearly, I'd absorbed more of Hermione's tips at breakfast than I'd thought.

"Very good," Madam Hooch said, looking particularly at myself, Draco, and a few of the other people who'd grown up in wizarding families. "Now, as some of you have clearly had practice flying before—" she called out some names, of which mine was one— "I want you to help those that are having trouble."

We all nodded, some more reluctantly than others.

"On my whistle, you will all repeat what you've just done — push off hard from the ground, hover, and then touch back down at my call. Three — two—"

The sound of the whistle filled the air, and we all took off once more. This time, people called out tips to others nearby, and as a result, only Crabbe and Goyle fell off.

"Try moving further back on the broom," I said to Hermione, who was still wobbling around beside me. "You're only on the edge of the Cushioning Charm right now, that's what's throwing off your balance."

I wasn't sure how I knew this — perhaps from one of my books? — but when Hermione slid back a little, she managed to hover with her broom more or less level.

"Thanks!"

She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"No problem!"

The rest of the lesson was much of the same thing, as Madam Hooch wanted to get everyone up to an acceptable standard on a broom before we started to learn how to make it stop, start, and change direction in the next lesson.

"I hope Neville's alright," Hermione said, as we walked back up to the castle with the rest of the class.

"Oh, he'll be fine," I assured her. "It was only a broken wrist, and there's a spell to heal those in a matter of seconds. I'm more worried about Harry, to be honest."

Hermione looked scandalised at this. "But he went against Madam Hooch's instructions! If he gets expelled, it's his own fault for not listening."

"He was standing up for Neville, and trying to stop Draco leaving the Remembrall in a tree, after which it would likely never have been found again," I said, glancing back at my brother, who gave me a bit of a sour look.

Clearly he's still not over the fact I yelled at him earlier.

"But Madam Hooch said—"

I quickly cut her off, wanting to make my point clear.

"Mione, I agree that he shouldn't have gone flying around when he'd never even had any practice at it before. But it's not fair for him to be expelled for that — especially as Draco's going to get off scot-free." I hesitated, then added under my breath, "As usual."

Luckily, Hermione didn't seem to hear my last remark.

"But he still shouldn't have broken the rules!"

"No, he shouldn't," I agreed. "I expect Professor McGonagall will say that as well. But I just hope Harry gets a chance to explain what happened. McGonagall's fair, she wouldn't expel him if she knew why he did what he did — I expect she'd just give him detentions or something. But if Harry can't explain himself..."

"I suppose," Hermione conceded. She glanced at her watch, and gave a quiet exclamation. "It's gone four-thirty! We'll have to hurry if we want to get some of our homework done before dinner!"

"We still have about an hour and a half—" I started, but Hermione had already set off at almost a run. With an exasperated sigh, I quickened my pace, following her up to the castle.

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A/N: tysm for 5k reads!! 😊🖤

Word count: 1336