Chapter 14: The Flying Lesson Full of Mishaps (Part 1)

Is there an extra reward when the exploration task reaches a certain value? Ivan was curious. The reward wasn't directly given; instead, it required going to the Forbidden Section of the library in the middle of the night to find it. This process always gave Ivan a creepy feeling.

But since it was a reward, Ivan decided to go for it. After all, he had seen ghosts and spirits before, so what was there to fear in the middle of the night?

In the hall, Harry and Ron were sitting at the round table, eating lunch. When they saw Ivan standing there frozen, they quickly called out.

"Ivan, over here!"

"Where did you go this morning? You look so exhausted," Harry said, noticing Ivan's drained appearance with curiosity.

"I was just finding a place to practice some spells," Ivan rolled his eyes and stabbed a piece of grilled sausage with his knife, shoving it into his mouth. He had spent the whole morning using up all his energy and hadn't eaten a thing—he was nearly starving.

For the past few days, this was the first time Ivan had pushed his magical energy so intensely. Even now, he still felt a bit dizzy.

While Ivan devoured his meal in the hall, Harry and Ron excitedly discussed flying techniques. After listening for a while, Ivan suddenly remembered that there was a flying lesson in the afternoon, which piqued his interest a little. After all, flying was almost everyone's dream, and even if it meant riding a broomstick, it didn't diminish the enthusiasm.

Over in Slytherin House, things were even livelier. Surrounded by a crowd, Draco Malfoy was loudly boasting about his flying experience before Hogwarts.

"I could already ride a broomstick before coming to Hogwarts. My dad took me flying all the way back home, and one time, we even flew past a Muggle airplane! If I hadn't dodged quickly, I would have crashed right into it!" Draco said smugly.

Ivan almost spat out the goat's milk he had just taken a sip of. Crash into an airplane? Really? Why not fly straight to the moon while you're at it?

Flying that high on a broomstick with no protection, he'd probably freeze to death.

"Ivan, have you ever ridden a broomstick?" Harry, already irritated by Draco's boasting, quickly asked when he saw Ivan's reaction.

"No." Ivan shook his head decisively, and even if he had ridden one before, he had long forgotten it.

"What about you, Ron?" Harry asked, holding on to a tiny hope.

Ron didn't disappoint Harry, and enthusiastically started recounting his experience practicing with Charlie's old broomstick back at home.

Ivan just quietly listened to Ron and Draco's boasting. After all, when it came time for the flying lesson, they would all show their true colors.

As expected, during the afternoon flying lesson, when Madam Hooch blew her whistle, the twenty or so young wizards in attendance were surprised to find that only Harry immediately summoned his broomstick from the ground.

Draco Malfoy, who had been bragging about almost crashing into an airplane, tried several times but failed to get his broom to obey him. Fortunately, at the last moment, the broomstick finally listened and obediently flew into Draco's hands, saving him from embarrassing himself in front of Harry.

Ron, however, was in for a disaster. Perhaps because he shouted too loudly, his broomstick suddenly shot up and slammed into his forehead.

"Up!" Ivan called out, mimicking Madam Hooch's demonstration as he summoned his broomstick. However, his broomstick just stayed on the ground, lazily spinning around with no intention of rising.

Ivan felt anxious inside and couldn't help but regret not reading more books on flying. He could have worked on his skills and familiarity.

It wasn't until Madam Hooch had finished walking around that Ivan had a sudden idea. He hooked his broomstick with his foot and kicked it gently into his hands, becoming the third student to successfully grab their broomstick.

Madam Hooch, seeing that Ivan had the broomstick under control, nodded approvingly before moving on to teach the others.

Harry watched in stunned silence as Ivan's little trick had worked. Ivan put a finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture toward Harry, while silently breathing a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't get a bad evaluation in this lesson.

As long as there were some grade points, riding a broomstick wasn't that hard.

However, Ivan couldn't help but grumble about the system only offering a "Top Student Experience Card" for exchange. Why wasn't there anything to enhance his natural talent?

His talent was mediocre, and if someone exposed him as a fake top student, what would he do for grade points?

To secure his classroom evaluation, Ivan, while Madam Hooch was instructing the others, imagined hundreds of cool ways to ride the broomstick and all the possible problems that might arise during flight. He silently prayed that his worn-out broomstick would at least cooperate. If it didn't fly, things would get awkward.

"Everyone, look here. I'll only demonstrate once," Madam Hooch said once everyone had their broomsticks under control. She then walked to the front and demonstrated the correct riding posture.

"Wait until I blow the whistle. Then, push down hard with your feet. Remember to grip your broom tightly, and try to rise to a few feet off the ground."

Madam Hooch called out loudly, and Ivan, too, mounted his broomstick, preparing to experience his first flight.

However, before Ivan could try, Neville, not far from him, suddenly shot up into the air with a "whoosh," letting out a loud scream as he soared to an alarming height.

"Ahhh~" Neville screamed in terror, at least twenty feet above the ground. The other students below panicked, and Ivan remembered that Neville would probably fall. He quickly pulled out his wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ivan cast a levitation charm toward Neville, who was rapidly plummeting.

The magic immediately stopped Neville's fall, and he hovered about three meters off the ground.

Madam Hooch, who had been anxiously watching, visibly relaxed. She had been so worried—if something had happened to Neville during her flying lesson, she didn't think she could face anyone at Hogwarts again.

"Good job, Gryffindor, five points!" Madam Hooch nodded approvingly at Ivan.

At the same moment, Ivan received a notification about his grade points going up, which made him smile inwardly.

The Gryffindor students, led by Harry and Ron, clapped enthusiastically.

However, before they could clap much more, Neville fell straight from the air, creating an awkward scene.

"Sorry, Madam Hooch, I think I've run out of magic," Ivan's smile froze on his face, and he shrugged helplessly. After all, he had spent the entire morning practicing spells. Catching Neville falling so quickly was impressive enough.

At least he had earned the grade points—if necessary, they could always take back the five points.