CHAPTER 10 - THE ACCIDENT

Knowing that they had flying lessons today, everyone was anxious, Harry, Neville, and Hermione much more than most, since they never touched a broom in their lives, they had no idea if everything would go well or if they would end up embarrassing themselves in front of everyone.

Harry was a little more nervous about it, he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of Malfoy.

Andrew could only sigh as he watched his friends worried about this, if this were their reactions in such a simple class, he couldn't even imagine how they would react in their first Care of Magical Creatures class...

However, he almost laughed when Hermione started to tell them some tips that she read in Quidditch Through the Ages, while other's were bothered by her actions, only Neville and Andrew didn't mind it, Neville was more because he was even more afraid of flying than Hermione, so he tried to remember every word she said.

Unfortunately, her lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail, in their side of the table, only Neville received an owl, it was a package his grandmother sent to him, inside there was some sort of glass ball, he was almost asking what was it when Neville told them what was it by his own.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this, and if it turns red — oh... " His face fell because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "... you've forgotten something..."

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.

Before others could react, Andrew hit the table making a loud sound as he stood up and shouted, "What do you think you're doing Malfoy! That beating I gave you on the train wasn't enough!?"

Malfoy was fuming, but before he could even speak, Professor McGonagall's voice sounded through the Great Hall.

"What's going on?"

Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.

"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. But before he left the Great Hall, he looked back to Andrew, clearly enraged with the boy, however, that only last for a second, in the next moment, there was a smile on his face.

'What is he up to?' Andrew observed as the rat-boy left the Great Hall.

Neville looked at Andrew gratefully and after thanking him he stored his Remembrall on his pockets.

...

At three-thirty that afternoon, the Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Andrew chose the broomstick next to Hermione, and just after he positioned himself, the professor spoke once again.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!' "

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Andrew's broomstick jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did it. Hermione's broomstick had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all.

As the class went on, Andrew was surprised by Hermione progress, he only had to give her a single tip, and she instantly managed to do it, to tell the truth, he didn't think it was his help that made her succeed, that book she read must have truly helped her from the beginning.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —"

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Everyone could saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom, and — WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.

"Broken wrist," She said. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get."

She turned to the rest of the class.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

Andrew sighed as he watched them disappearing, he felt sorry for not being able to help Neville.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

The other Slytherins joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Malfoy, you are truly asking for a beating now!" Andrew said as he walked towards them.

"What, are you going to start a fight here? what do you think will happen with you? Be careful to not got yourself expelled." Malfoy smirked with a victorious gaze.

Andrew could only greet his teeth, he wasn't stupid, with so many people as a witness, he would get himself expelled if he tried to fight him.

"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly.

Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leaped onto his broomstick and taken off.

Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry grabbed his broom.

"No!" shouted Hermione. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble."

"She is right Harry! Don't listen to the rat-boy, he wants to get us expelled!"

Unfortunately, Harry ignored them and leaped onto his broomstick, proficiently maneuvering through the air, as if flying was like walking in the park for him.

He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair, who in turn was stunned.

Andrew could only watch while Harry fired forward trying to get Malfoy off the broom. Unfortunately, the rat boy managed to escape at the last moment.

At that moment, enraged, he shouted, "Catch it if you can, then!"

He threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.

When everyone realized, Harry had already shot towards the ground at high speed, making it so that almost everyone shouted afraid of something bad happening. Fortunately, he managed to catch the Remembrall and land perfectly.

Soon after, everyone heard a woman's voice in their ears.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Looking behind, Andrew saw Professor McGonagall running towards them.

"Never — in all my time at Hogwarts —"

Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— 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."

Andrew could only watch helplessly as Harry was dragged by her, turning to the Slytherins, he looked at Malfoy with clenched fists.

"MALFOY!" Andrew's shout awoke everyone. "If Harry is expelled... Don't let me catch you alone, otherwise, I'll make sure not even your mother recognizes your face after I'm done breaking all of your teeth!"

"Let's see who's going to beat whom!" Said Draco, as he and his group smiled.

"You —" Before Andrew could finish, Madam Hooch interrupted him.

"Alright everyone, let's continue our class!"