ambitious, cunning, adaptable | hp x dm

chapter four: first flying lesson

A short while later the Slytherin and Gryffindor First Years were gathered in the Quidditch Pitch, each standing next to one of the brooms Madame Hooch had set out for them. Harry spotted Ron farther down the line and gave him a little wave and a smile. Honestly, the other boy seemed all right, other than the thing he had against Slytherins. And really, Harry had no desire to create enemies for himself here - he had plenty of people who didn't like him back in Surrey, after all. Ron's eyes narrowed like he wasn't sure if this was some sort of trick, but he waved back anyway, before turning around to talk with the round-faced brunette standing next to him.

Hooch snapped at them to get started and gave a quick set of directions at how to get the brooms ready. Harry held his hand over his and commanded, "Up!". The broom flew up into his hand immediately, and he found he liked the way the wood fit into his hand. He had dealt with plenty of brooms before, but Harry thought he could feel a pleasant tingle coming off this one. Maybe it was the magic?

Next, to him, Draco's broom was now up in the air and the blonde was mounting it. He smiled at Harry, who copied the movement. Once he was settled, he started watching the other students. Across from him, Pansy's broom was wriggling around like there was an earthquake, and the longer it refused to get up the redder her face got. Ron's didn't move at all at first, but then overshot completely and hit his face. Grabbing it with a sheepish expression, Ron turned to the other boy, whose broom hadn't moved at all, and patted him on the shoulder, saying something that looked encouraging. Hermione Granger was a bit farther down, and she's refused to do more than twitch, causing her to stamp her foot in frustration. It was strange to see her do poorly at something for once- the Slytherins and Gryffindors had several classes together, and she was always one of the first to get it right.

Finally, most everyone was ready, and Hootch began counting off for them to lift off. When she reached 2, Ron patted Neville hard on the back, too excited to be gentle, and the brunette launched into the air, going a full 20 feet off the ground before flipping over and losing his grip, making him crash back down with an ugly cracking noise.

Harry grabbed his own arm in sympathy. He knew the sound of a breaking bone when he heard it.

The professor was over to the boy's side in a moment, making tutting sounds over Ron's shout of the boy's name. (So it was Neville, then. He was probably a Pureblood. They had strange names) The redhead dashed over, apologizing frantically, but Hooch pushed him away and dragged Neville up, telling him that he could make it up to the other boy later. She leads the brunette towards the castle, barking out a threat about anyone stupid enough go flying while she was gone.

Once she was out of sight, Draco let out a bark of laughter. "Well done, Weasley." He sneered, and Harry frowned severely at him and elbowed him subtly. He was trying to get along with the Gryffindors, not antagonize them! Draco gave him a betrayed look in response and made his way over to the redhead, whose eyes were bright with emotion.

"Lay off, Malfoy!"

Draco made a disdainful noise. "Very clever. I'll just run back off then since you told me to 'lay off.'" The blonde's eyes slid towards the ground where Neville had landed, catching sight of something sparkling. He leaned down and picked up a little shiny ball.

Ron made a grab for it, but Draco jumped back out of his reach. "That's Neville's remembrall! Give that back!"

"I don't think I will." Draco sneered. Harry snapped his name, but the Malfoy heir only seemed to tense up more at his words. "In fact, let's play a game. If you want it, you have to come and get it." With that he mounted his broom and started to glide smoothly into the air, grinning smugly.

Before Ron could get back to his own broom, Harry was in the air, following the blonde. Some small part of his was doing somersaults because wow. Flying was the best thing Harry had ever done. But most of him felt vaguely sick. He hated to see his best friend acting like such a bully. Like Dudley. There was also a little voice in the back of his head also whispered about what a great way this was to get in Ron's good graces, and he'd be lying if he said that wasn't part of why he was up here.