The Four Courtyards Square fell silent.
As the voice echoed across the open grounds, both the Slytherin and Gryffindor first-years turned toward its source. A witch in dark robes and knee-high boots strode toward them with brisk authority. Her short grey hair framed a sharp face, and her bright yellow eyes resembled a hawk's.
"What are you all staring at?" she barked. "Move along. All of you."
The students instinctively obeyed.
Madam Hooch led the gathered first-years toward an open stretch of grass where rows of old broomsticks had already been laid neatly on the ground.
"I am your flying instructor," she announced crisply. "You may call me Madam Hooch."
Her tone was quick and efficient as she pointed toward the brooms.
"One broom each. Quickly now."
The students hurried forward.
Leo ended up beside Harry, who stared down at the broom in front of him with visible disappointment.
"This thing's ancient," Harry muttered quietly. "It looks like it's about to fall apart."
Leo nodded in agreement. The broom beneath his feet looked old enough to belong in a museum.
Still, he felt genuinely excited.
Although he had experimented with magical flight inside the cave before, using enchanted clothes and raw magical force was inconvenient. Flying on an actual broomstick was something entirely different.
Once everyone had chosen a broom, Madam Hooch demonstrated first.
"Place your right hand above the broom," she instructed sharply. "Then say, 'Up!'"
She extended her own hand over the broom beside her.
"Up!"
The broom instantly leapt into her grasp.
"Up!" the students repeated loudly.
Most of the broomsticks remained stubbornly on the ground.
Only a few flew up immediately.
Harry's rose perfectly into his hand on the first try. Draco and Rose also succeeded effortlessly. Leo's broom responded almost before he spoke.
The worst performers were Hermione, Neville, and several other students whose brooms either rolled around on the grass or twitched uselessly.
Leo observed quietly for a moment before speaking.
"Hermione, Neville, don't overthink it," he said calmly. "You need to want to fly."
He extended his hand over his broom again.
Before he even finished saying "Up," the broom smoothly flew into his palm.
"See?" Leo said, waving the broom slightly. "Don't be afraid of it."
Hermione took a deep breath after watching him.
She closed her eyes briefly and remembered the first time she had flown in an aeroplane. The nervous excitement, the thrill of leaving the ground, the freedom of being above the clouds.
Then she opened her eyes.
"Up!"
This time, her broom flew cleanly into her hand.
"Oh my God!" Hermione gasped excitedly. "I did it!"
She immediately turned to show everyone her broom with obvious delight.
Now only Neville remained unsuccessful.
"Neville, I believe in you," Hermione encouraged.
"Come on, Neville," Rose added impatiently. "Don't chicken out now."
"You can do it, Neville," Harry said.
"Don't be scared," Ron agreed quickly. "Just try."
Neville looked around at everyone encouraging him, and his fear seemed to fade a little.
Slowly, he raised his hand over the broom.
"Up!"
Then he squeezed his eyes shut immediately afterward.
One second passed.
Then another.
Neville felt nothing touch his hand, and disappointment slowly spread across his face.
Just as he prepared to open his eyes—
"You did it!"
"See? I told you!"
"Neville, look!"
Neville's eyes snapped open.
His broomstick was slowly floating upward toward his hand.
Although it moved more slowly than everyone else's, it eventually reached him.
Neville stared at the broom in disbelief, his eyes growing red with emotion.
"Thank you," he whispered while clutching it tightly.
Rose waved dismissively.
"Don't say embarrassing things like that if you're supposed to be a man."
Once every student had successfully summoned a broom, Madam Hooch began teaching them the proper posture for flying. She moved through the lines correcting grips, leg positions, and posture with strict precision.
Even Draco and Leo were scolded several times.
Hermione and Neville, despite struggling earlier, performed the positioning instructions very well. Harry and Rose earned direct praise from Madam Hooch for getting the stance right on their first attempt.
What surprised Leo most, however, was Ron.
Ron made only minor mistakes at first and corrected them perfectly by the second attempt.
Interesting.
"Now," Madam Hooch announced loudly once everyone was ready, "push off gently from the ground. Lean forward slightly and rise."
Under her instructions, the first-years slowly lifted off the grass.
"Good," Madam Hooch said approvingly. "Very good. Now, when I blow the whistle, lean forward and descend carefully."
She raised the whistle toward her mouth.
But before she could blow it—
Neville's Remembrall slipped from his pocket.
Instinctively, Neville reached for it.
His balance vanished immediately.
His feet struck the ground by accident, and the broom shot upward like an arrow.
"Neville!" Madam Hooch shouted sharply. "Come back! Don't let go!"
Unfortunately, Neville heard nothing.
His eyes remained tightly shut from fear until the rushing wind forced them open.
The moment he realized he was hundreds of feet above the ground, his face turned white.
The people below looked smaller than insects.
His hands weakened instantly.
The next second, Neville lost his grip.
He fell.
Screams erupted from below.
Before Neville could fully plummet, two figures shot upward after him.
One grabbed Neville's robes from behind.
The other caught the abandoned broomstick spinning through the air.
Leo gripped Neville's broom in one hand while holding his own with the other. Harry clung desperately to Neville's robes, slowing his fall slightly.
"Hurry!" Leo shouted while forcing Neville's broom back toward him. "Get back on it! These brooms can't carry two people."
Neville's trembling hands grabbed the broom again.
Leo immediately turned toward Harry.
"Let go!"
It was the only solution he could think of.
This was the wizarding world. Broken bones could be healed. Falling from the sky was better than three people crashing together uncontrollably.
More importantly—
Leo had already noticed pieces of Harry's broom beginning to fall apart.
"Ready?" Harry shouted desperately.
Neville, terrified beyond words, forced himself to nod.
Harry released him.
When they were still roughly fifty feet above the ground, Neville finally regained control of his broomstick.
For one brief second, relief spread through the three boys.
Then reality struck.
Harry's broom, battered by the chaos, finally lost most of its bristles. Only the wooden handle remained.
Neville's broom looked barely more stable.
Both boys immediately began falling again.
Without hesitation, Leo released his own grip.
He grabbed Neville with one hand and Harry with the other.
Now all three were falling together.
Leo tried controlling their descent by shifting his weight on the broom beneath him. Slowly, he straightened his body and adjusted his balance.
For a moment, it worked.
Then, barely thirty feet above the ground, Leo heard cracking.
His broom was breaking apart too.
The remaining bristles scattered into the air.
Only the handle remained.
In that instant, Leo remembered a flying technique from his previous life.
He gritted his teeth.
Standing atop the nearly destroyed broom handle, he bent his knees slightly and balanced himself while still dragging Harry and Neville downward.
On the ground below, Madam Hooch hurriedly estimated their landing point. With a sharp wave of her wand, the grass beneath them softened dramatically.
The three boys crashed heavily into the enchanted patch of ground.
A loud thud echoed across the field.
Then came applause.
Unfortunately, Harry and Neville were in far too much pain to appreciate it.
Both Gryffindors clutched their legs while groaning loudly.
"Mr. Potter! Mr. Longbottom! Mr. Nicholas!" Madam Hooch rushed over immediately. "Are you all right?"
Leo quickly checked himself.
Aside from sore muscles and a scraped palm, he seemed mostly unharmed.
"I'm fine," he said honestly. "But you should probably check them first."
There was good news and bad news.
The good news was that Harry and Neville had avoided serious upper-body injuries.
The bad news was that both had broken legs.
Madam Hooch immediately instructed Hermione, Ron, and two other Gryffindors to escort Harry and Neville to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing.
Before leaving, she laid down strict flying restrictions for everyone remaining behind.
After witnessing Neville and Harry nearly die, the rest of the lesson became far more cautious. Madam Hooch limited all students to roughly five feet above the ground.
Leo examined his scraped palm several more times and confirmed he didn't need medical treatment. Unfortunately, his broomstick had been reduced to useless debris, and there were no spare brooms available.
So while Draco and Rose continued practicing low-altitude flight, Leo sat beneath a nearby tree watching the students wobble awkwardly above the grass.
For some reason, only one thought appeared in his mind as he watched them hover uncertainly near the ground.
They looked like dogs paddling through the air.
....
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