Flying on a broomstick

Neville Longbottom was never the most confident student at Hogwarts. He struggled with many aspects of magic, from spells to potions, but there was one thing that seemed to terrify him more than anything else: flying.

As we gathered on the Quidditch pitch for our first flying lesson, Neville's nerves were palpable. He fumbled with his broomstick, dropping it several times before finally managing to mount it. I could see the fear in his eyes as he soared into the air, his broomstick wobbling unsteadily beneath him.

Madam Hooch, our flying instructor, demonstrated how to control the broomstick and perform basic manoeuvres. She made it look easy, but I knew from experience that flying was anything but simple. I had only managed to hover by myself a few times, but I can't really fly yet. Now, I could perhaps experience it with a broomstick.

Our first task was to hover above the ground. As Madam Hooch blew her whistle, Neville seemed to start struggling. His broomstick seemed to have a mind of its own, and he couldn't seem to get it to do what he wanted. It dipped and swerved erratically, nearly crashing into several of his classmates.

"Mr. Longbottom! Mr. Longbottom!" Madam Hooch called out, trying to encourage Neville. But he was too terrified to listen. He clung to his broomstick for dear life, his knuckles turning white. Suddenly, Neville's broomstick started to fly like a jet, launching him straight into the sky. I had forgotten about this incident. As Neville tried to control the broomstick, it suddenly jolted to a stop, throwing him off and sending him tumbling to the ground. My heart raced as I watched him fall, but thankfully, his robes got caught on a statue, slowing his descend as he fell to the ground, allowing him to avoid instant death. What a scary sport, why wasn't there better safeguards for students?

Madam Hooch rushed over to check on him, and I could see the embarrassment and shame etched on Neville's face. He had failed miserably at flying, and it was clear that he didn't want anyone to see him in this state. She announced that she was going to bring him to the nurse and told the rest of us to stay on the ground.

But I couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy for Neville. Flying wasn't easy for everyone, and it was especially difficult for someone like him who lacked confidence. I knew that he would need a lot of encouragement and support to overcome his fear of flying. But more than that, why did Madam Hooch leave us here? Couldn't she get another student to send Neville to the hospital? Or an elf?

Nonetheless, just like the movie, Draco found Neville's Remembrall that he had dropped while flying. "Fancy a go at it? Potter?", Draco said, hoping to test my flying skills.

"Sure," I replied, "but I've never flown before this". I scanned the surrounding and found Professor McGonagall's study.

"Try throwing it in that direction as hard as you can," I urged him on, "and I will try to catch it. Don't make it too easy now, Malfoy".

Draco gave it his best shot, launching the ball to the far end of the field. I blasted off after the ball, feeling the wind and air resistance caressing my cheeks. Right before the ball was about to smash through the window, I made a 360 flip and caught the ball with my hands. How did Harry actually do this in the movie? It's actually a little difficult, even for me…

"Your turn now!" I cried out to Draco, as I exerted a little strength in my throw. The ball flew past him, and he stumbled a little as he tried to turn around and chase after it. I knew that ball was going to fly pretty far…

I took a quick glace back and saw Professor McGonagall peeking through the window. Looks like I will become the youngest seeker of the century. Well, to change the world, we have to change the little things, like the rules of Quidditch.

Ever heard of the Snitch? The Snitch is too powerful. In Quidditch, catching the Snitch awards the team 150 points and ends the game immediately. This means that the other aspects of the game - scoring goals with the Quaffle, blocking shots with the Bludgers, and defending the goalposts - become somewhat secondary. As a result, a team that is behind by a significant margin can still win if their Seeker catches the Snitch.

I suggest that there should be a change to the point value associated with catching it. Instead of awarding 150 points and ending the game, catching the Snitch could be worth fewer points and only act as a tiebreaker if the game is tied after a certain amount of time.

This would make the other aspects of the game, such as scoring goals with the Quaffle and blocking shots with the Bludgers, more important and would require teams to focus on a more well-rounded strategy to win. It would also make the outcome of the game less dependent on luck, as a team that is behind would still have a chance to come back and win through skill and strategy.

Or.. we could remove the snitch and just let it be a game of who scores more points by the end of 90 minutes or something...

But those stubborn wizards probably won't listen to me, unless I keep winning every game by catching the Snitch in the first 30 seconds. I mean, it shouldn't be that hard, given my dynamic Super Vision and reaction speeds...