Chapter 15: The Flying Lesson Full of Mishaps (Part 2)

Mrs. Hoq did not seem to blame Ivan. Instead, she quickly ran over to Neville and started checking his injuries.

"Mrs. Hoq, is Neville okay?" Ivan asked.

He felt that his attempt to break Neville's fall should have prevented any serious harm.

"He's alright, just a few minor injuries," Mrs. Hoq replied after a brief check, helping the bruised Neville to his feet.

The moment when Neville fell from such a great height had almost terrified her, so even though Neville's injuries weren't serious, Mrs. Hoq insisted on taking him to the medical room.

"Alright, children, I'm going to take Neville to the hospital wing. Before I return, I expect all of you to stay here. No flying without permission!" Mrs. Hoq said as she led the tear-streaked Neville back toward the castle.

Once they had gone a little further, the Slytherin students burst into laughter, with Draco Malfoy mocking, "Did you guys see that? The big fool, the snot-nosed kid falling from the sky. I bet he'll never ride a broom again."

"Enough, Malfoy!" Harry couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward, telling Malfoy to shut up.

But Malfoy, far from feeling remorseful, only mocked more fiercely. "Oh my God, Potter's actually friends with that idiot!"

"We are friends, and you're not allowed to call Neville that!" Harry snapped, his anger rising.

Ivan frowned slightly at this. He'd always known Malfoy was a troublemaker after watching the movies, though he wasn't completely bad.

As Ivan was thinking this, he suddenly heard Malfoy pointing at him and saying, "Friends? You mean like him, the kind of friend who tosses an idiot off the sky after adding some points?"

Ivan's mouth twitched, and with a swift step forward, he rolled up his sleeves and punched Malfoy square in the face, sending him crashing to the ground.

Troublemakers are the worst...

"You dare hit me? I'll have my father expel you!" Malfoy yelled, clutching his swollen cheek as he scrambled to his feet.

Ivan wasn't concerned about Malfoy's threat. While Malfoy's father was on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, he didn't have the authority to expel students on his own, and Dumbledore wouldn't go so far over such a small matter, especially when Harry, the so-called "Chosen One," was Ivan's friend.

"Ivan, nice one!" Ron, grinning, stepped forward, having never liked Malfoy.

"Enough! Ivan, Ron, what will Mrs. Hoq think if she comes back and sees you fighting? You'll be expelled!" Hermione shouted angrily at them, looking a bit hysterical.

Meanwhile, Malfoy, seizing the moment when everyone was distracted, hopped on his broom and shot up into the sky.

Perhaps feeling a little safer in the air, Malfoy, having just been beaten up, seemed to have no intention of backing down. He pulled out a crystal ball and held it up, taunting the group.

"Look what I've got! That idiot's crystal ball! Let me think, where should I hide it? Maybe toss it into a tree? You guys are friends with him, right? Come get it!" he jeered.

"Malfoy!"

Harry, nearly ready to explode, disregarded Hermione's warnings and flew after Malfoy on his broom.

Although it was Harry's first time riding a broom, he handled it with surprising steadiness, and soon they were dueling midair.

Seeing this, Ivan immediately decided to help. He grabbed a broom, placed it between his legs, and tried to follow Harry's flying posture, eager to experience flying for himself.

However, the broom seemed to have a mind of its own. No matter how much Ivan shook it, it wouldn't budge.

"Come on, move! Why aren't you moving?" Ivan muttered, frustrated, as he patted the broomstick.

Then it hit him—he hadn't even completed the first step of learning how to control the broom.

Luckily, before Ivan could stand there in confusion for too long, Hermione appeared in front of him, hands on her hips.

"Ivan, are you planning to break the rules too?" she asked, giving him an exasperated look.

"No, I think Harry can handle it on his own," Ivan quickly replied, tossing the broom aside and shrugging nonchalantly, motioning for Hermione to look up at the sky.

Harry, confidently soaring above, was clearly in his element. Before long, he had Malfoy in a tight grip. Hermione even began to wonder if Harry had secretly been practicing before coming to school.

However, Malfoy wasn't ready to admit defeat. Realizing he was no match for Harry, he threw the crystal ball into the distance.

"Catch this!" Malfoy shouted maliciously.

The crystal ball soared through the air, and Harry immediately gave chase, almost colliding with the castle walls. He then dived to catch it.

"No, Harry, stop!" Hermione screamed in panic.

Malfoy's laughter echoed as he watched Harry chase the ball. But his grin froze when Harry pulled off a stunning dive and caught the ball in his hand.

However, neither Malfoy nor Harry noticed Professor McGonagall's shocked expression from a window far off.

Worrying about Harry's safety, Hermione and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ron, still fuming, pulled out his wand.

"We need to teach Malfoy a lesson!"

"Leg-locker curse!" Ron shouted, trying the leg-locking charm they had just learned in class.

In class, Ron had successfully used it once on a toad's legs, making it hop around for an entire lesson.

But this time, luck wasn't on Ron's side. His wand just emitted a puff of strange white smoke and nothing else.

Malfoy, flying high on his broom, was initially startled. He even braced himself to dodge, but when he saw Ron's awkward failure, he laughed even harder.

Ron's face turned beet red, and he was so angry that he felt like jumping into the air and shoving his wand into Malfoy's mouth.

"I'll do it," Ivan said, shaking his head with a sigh, clearly not willing to let things get out of hand. He had had a little rest, and casting a spell or two would be no problem.

But to be safe, he turned to Hermione, who looked a bit flustered from the recent commotion.

"Hermione, you remember the Levitation Charm, right?"

"Of course," she replied, raising an eyebrow at him, clearly confused. "Why are you asking?"

"Good," Ivan said, not waiting for her to figure it out. He raised his wand and prepared to act.