Flying ((First to Third Years))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

The school year had come and in with it was a whole new batch of first years. These young students were Hogwarts’ future in Madam Hooch’s opinion and therefore needed to be immersed in Hogwarts society as soon as possible. That was one of Madam Hooch’s favourite parts of flying class, that she got to introduce many of them to flying and playing Quidditch. Some of the children from wizarding backgrounds had flown before a few had even played Quidditch but it was different with the room to fly as high as they like, within reason of course, and the players for a real game when they got god enough. For others, who grew up in cities or came from muggle backgrounds, it was all new to them.

Flying this year would be an option for all students first to third year and Hooch was hoping that they could learn enough to have a real Quidditch game at the end of the year without anyone falling off their brooms. Today, though, they were just going to be focusing on the basics such as getting your broom to come up into your hand and proper mounting technique.

Madam Hooch walked onto the field outside the castle and looked up at the darkened sky. Wouldn’t exactly be the best flying conditions, especially for those new to it, because of the slight drizzle but at least they could still conduct the class. Everyone would have to be extra careful about holding on, though, and she was grateful for the gripping charms she had placed on all the school brooms knowing how difficult new flyers found clinging when high in the air.

Everyone would show up soon and Madam Hooch had all the brooms arranged already in two lines facing each other with an isle in between for her to walk down. All years had been told that they would be using school brooms even if they were in their second or third year and still chose to take the course again just to be fair to all.

[Darren Gibbs S1]

Flying next, Darren thought to himself. Probably wouldn't be the worst lesson-well, it was one of the more active classes the school offered, and he would like to be on the school quidditich team in the future, if possible. He hadn't flown before-his parent's didn't trust him with their brooms, and his brother was always at school with his, and he wouldn't let Darren touch it a all when he was around...and Darren wasn't allowed his own broom-he was thought to be too irresponsible. So today was going to be a new beginning in his life-hopefully if his parents were to receive a good report about his flying, he'd be allowed his own broom soon, and could fly all he wanted. He couldn't wait for that day!

But now, Darren looked out of the window...it was pretty dark, and cloudy, and the rain drizzled...probably not the best condidions for flying, but it could be worse-it could be foggy and throwing it down with rain, or snowing even. So he decided that the best thing to do was to dress for the cold, and wear his thick cloak and boots with his uniform and robes. No doubt he would warm up anyway, but he felt that it was always best to prepare for the worst, as you never knew what was about to happen. So he left his bag by his trunk in the dormitory-there'd be no need for it now, being an outdoor, practical lesson-and made his way outside and over to where the lesson was going to be.

He soon found out that he was the first there. Well, at least he wasn't late, and he would get on the teacher's good side, hopefully, soon into the year. So he walked over to the lines of brooms and the teacher, with a polite "Hello, Madam Hooch", and stood next to one of the brooms next to her. Today was going to be an exciting day, and hopefully he would soon find out whether he would be likely to make the Slytherin Quidditch team anytime soon.

[Zeak Nitesh G2]

Could a blind student really manage to fly? This had been the main though in Zeak's mind as he made his way out of the castle in tow of a small group of fellow Gryffindors. He had heard some of the older students talking about flying. Some had said it was easy, the most important aspect was the feeling. Using your senses to guide the broom. Others said it was extremely hard and required a keen eye and sharp reflexes. Even before entering the school Zeak had vowed to overcome his disability and become a great and renowned wizard. Flying was something a wizard did, so it was something Zeak was going to learn. Whether it killed him or not!.

He had hung around the entrance to The Gryffindor Common room and had questioned each student comming out untill finally he found a fellow first year heading off to the flying lesson. Even with his worries weighing in on his mind Zeak kept the presence about him to memorize the path they had taken. He was going to attempt to make it back to the room by himself. Before he knew it the boy he was towing along with stopped. "We are here." He said and than quickly told Zeak the layout of the class.

Tapping his stick in front of him he quickly found a broom and than stood next to it. He could hear more students approaching and picking brooms. He stood quietly by and waited for the class to begin.

[Annabella Valentine H3]

Annabella frowned as she walked towards where the flying, class was to be held. It was dark and cloudy with a light drizzle of rain, not really ideal conditions to be flying. But if she remebered correctly from her first year, all they would be doing today was the basics. Learning how to call your broom to your hand, and how to mount your broom correctly. Annabella had taken flying her first year, but shamefully she had not even flew once and she had forgotten, alot of the stuff. So this was going to be like a refresher course for her.

Upon arriving she noticed that besides Madam Hooch, there was only two other students preset. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, she smiled as she made her way and stood in front of a broom, beside the Gryffindor after she had nodded a hello, to Madam Hooch. She turned to the Gryffindor boy and said "Morning...horrible weather we're having huh?" her eyes then trailed down to the stick, that the boy was holding out in front of him. Hmm this must be the boy, who is blind that I heard people talking about.. she thought to herself.

She sighed quietly and looked around as she waited, for the boys reply and other students to show up.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Flying. Again. One would think having taken it last year, the need to take again this year would not be…well…needed. But that wasn’t the case. Not at all. Ingrid decided to take an extra course, wanting to keep busy so she couldn’t think. She had realized that thinking had come to be a bad thing now. After she had been hospitalized for Anemia, Ingrid looked at how she was treating life. Prancing around as if she were five was not something that she benefited from, not something her family benefited from. In fact, with Ingrid acting like a five year old, it just made it that much harder for her mother to raise her children. There was already a nine year old the house, no need for another young one. After all, Ingrid was 12. It was time she started acting like it. Perhaps she went a bit over the edge, though. Perhaps she was acting too old, not just 12.

Ingrid pulled her cloak on over her uniform and grabbed her rucksack before making her way out of the common room and down to the grounds. Her blonde hair, which was usually pulled up into some cute style, was down today. She had let it grow out, quite a lot actually, and her naturally bright blue eyes turned a lighter blue – making them appear to be a bit grey. She looked paler than she ever was before, and a bit thinner too. Ingrid was always a small girl, but this just made her that much smaller. She always walked around with a frown on her face, but every now and then a soft smile would appear. It would disappear just as quickly as it had appeared, however. Right now, Ingrid looked very angry at the world. Her grey blue eyes were sparking with hatred as she pushed open the double doors and made her way toward the flying area.

She could see many other students already there, chatting about merrily. She didn’t see any of her friends, so she made her way toward a secluded area and sat down. Waiting for the class to really begin.

[Gavin Armstrong H6]

Flying! Gavin took flying last year when he was a first year but he decided to take it again as well. Gavin really wanted a place on the Hufflepuff quidditch team but besides being a fumbling first year on a broom last year he had never flown in his life. Heck, before he came to Hogwarts he didn't even know it was physically possible to fly without an airplane to support you. This year flying had been given as an option to all the younger students, third years and below, so Gavin was anxious to get there and see how many other people chose to take it again, as well. One person he was guaranteed to know was Sita, one of his closest friends from last year and a fellow second year Hufflepuff, and they had arranged to walk to class together.

"Sita, flying! Flying, Sita!" Gavin said happily bounding over to his friend the moment he came into sight of her. Grabbing her arm Gavin tried to pull her toward the main door out into the grounds. "I wonder how many others our age will be here. I don't think that many of them would pick up an extra class they have already done... but I think Hooch will make it a little different, right? And maybe this year we can start learning about Quidditch. I want to play so badly. You think if I try out I will make the team? Maybe after I take this class I can because I will be a super-duper extra good flyer after this. I guess that means I will have to buy a broom. Jheylon will be so jealous if I get a broom. Do you think muggles can ride brooms? It's not like Jheylon doesn't know that brooms fly so maybe he can fly mine? Well, that's if I get one. But I really want one so I can be on the Hufflepuff team." he babbled as they made their way toward the brooms.

Finding a broom that looked half-way decent Gavin stood beside it. "Morning Professor!" Gavin yelled across the class to Madam Hooch before turning to grin at Sita. Out of the corner of his eye Gavin spotted another of his friends sitting alone, very not like her, well not like the old Ingrid of course. Ingy was different this year, and Gavin wasn't sure he was very comfortable with it. She was almost intimidating, in fact the only thing that really kept him being scared of her was how sweet and nice she had been the day before and remember the first day they met in Diagon Alley. "Ingrid!" Gavin called waving her over but not ready to say anymore until she was nearer.

[Sita Mehadi H7]

Sita frowned. It had been said in the past that wherever Ingrid was, Sita would be, and whatever mood was prevalent for one of the girls, the other would also be showing signs of. She was frowning today, but it wasn't in sympathy with her friend - rather it was because Ingrid had gone off on her own, again. And Sita could tell she would be fed up, she could just tell, but it did kind of hurt that Ingrid never told her about it. She just went off instead. Sita wouldn't have gone off to Hogwarts had Ingrid not been able to come... of course she wouldn't! The separation would have been something she couldn't have coped with. They'd never kept anything from each other before... well apart from Sita hadn't been allowed to tell Ingrid she was a witch. Would her friend have believed her anyway? It was all a bit of a fantasy in the Muggle world. But now Sita could perhaps understand a little of why Ingy hadn't liked it to start with that Sita hadn't told her about being a witch, and she didn't like it. It wasn't right that her friend shouldn't tell her - this was something that was making her unhappy! It was the most illogical thing possible to do, and Ingrid had always been the more logical one on their detective expeditions when they were younger.

Sita brightened up as Gavin accosted her, her shoulder bag falling down from her shoulder as he dragged her sideways. "Gimme a minute!" she gasped as she pulled free of him to readjust it. "Right okay, let's go!" she said a moment later, and they were off towards the brooms. Sita nodded at Gavin's non-stop talk, feeling that some of it was made up of valid points and some she disagreed with, although she didn't say so. "Of course Muggles can ride brooms," she said, "They do it every Halloween. Wouldn't be very safe to ride an enchanted one though. Most enchanted objects don't like Muggles very much and I'm not sure but I think you need magic to be able to control them. And dexterity of course and stuff like that." Sita picked up a broom for herself and smoothed the tail bristles down.

Sita followed Gavin's gaze and shout. He was a very loud person as far as talking went. She wasn't sure he ever did anything in a normal voice - he either went at double speed or talked at double volume, or both. Ingrid was sitting there all alone, and that was the kind of thing Sita would have baulked at in horror not long ago. It was the kind of thing they never allowed to happen to one another. But it seemed to be what Ingrid wanted. Was Sita not good enough for her anymore? Had Ingrid finally realised she would just never be able to match her in brains, ingenuity and bubbliness? Was Sita just too plain and boring? She'd asked herself all these questions, she'd cried over it for all the good it had done. Ingrid was too self-absorbed to have noticed, or else she just didn't notice. "Well you're not gonna be a super-duper hero just standing there," Sita told Gavin bossily, brandishing her broom at him. She thrust that at him and went off to talk to Ingrid. "Are you coming?" she asked, in the way she'd always done while they'd been friends, despite all the questions in her head as to whether that was still of any value to Ingy.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Ingrid watched as Gavin and Sita came out of the school, talking and smiling. For a moment a flash of longing appeared in her grey eyes. There was a time when she had that once, when she was able to talk and live without a care in the world. Now she had too many responsibilities. If she forgot to take cetain pills, there was a good chance she would pass out. If she ate too little of certain foods, there was a good chance she would end up in the hospital again. There's just too much to not care about. Her eyes followed Sita, the girl she had told everything to. Sita was her best friend, they did everything together and went everywhere together. Lately, that wasn't so. Ingrid felt, after she had been into the hospital, that being so close with everyone else or just one person even - wasn't intelligent. Even if Ingrid was weaker than ever before, she still thought clear enough. She still thought logically. Even if her friends didn't think so. Ingrid sighed and turned her gaze toward the lake, wondering what it was like being completely isolated like the giant squid. The memory of trying to catch the giant squid seeped into her mind uninvited, quickly Ingrid shook her head and got rid of the memory as fast as she could.

It was only moments later that she heard Gavin's voice shouting her name. She looked up at him and saw that Sita was walking toward her. When she asked if she was coming, Ingrid looked at the lake once more and then nodded, "Yep. Let's get this class on the roll... again." She walked toward the brooms and picked one up, waiting for the class to begin completely. And contemplating whether or not to tell Sita why she was the way she was.

[Sierra Greene S6]

Sierra pulled her timetable from her bag and checked her schedule. Flying was next. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. Sure, she loved flying. She loved Quidditch even more. However, she knew that with the first flying class, there came the long and boring lesson of learning how to summon the broom to your hand and basics like that. She remembered last year when she took the class for the first time. Even then, being almost a natural at it, she found the lesson to be boring and let her thoughts wander to other things.

As she walked toward the courtyard, she tried to remain positive by thinking of how the class did seem to become more interesting as the year went on. She also hoped the the new first year flyers would pick up on it quickly so that they could work on more advanced things before long. However, she knew that there would most likely be a handful of muggles who had never flown before. They would slow the class's progress no doubt.

As she stepped into the outside air, she looked up at the gloomy sky. The flying conditions could be better she thought, of course they could be worse too. Sierra set her bag and books aside and then walked to where some students were already waiting. "Hi Ingrid," she said, walking up to a second year Hufflepuff that she recognized from other classes. "Ready to learn from my stellar flying skills?" she asked with a small smile. Her arrogance wasn't intentional, yet it was merely how Sierra often acted around others. Adoring attention and admiration, she loved being the center of interest.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patricia walked on to the field. “Oh great another year of flying” Sure Patricia loved flying, It was fun and exhilarating. She never felt so alive. She was a good flyer no doubt about that. But she never really played quidditich, so she wasn’t one of Madam Hooch’s favorites to say the least.

She noticed all the groups taking and laughing. She held her new Scarlet hawk 5000 close to her, she couldn’t wait to start the class. She watched as all the first years were so excited and remembered her first time riding a broom; how scared she was. But then again she was 7 not eleven like the other students.

She then spotted a first year Slytherin, who had blond hair. She Picked up her broom and walked over to him, stood by him “Hello, I’m Patricia, What’s your name love.” She asked with a smile.

She could tell he was excited, “Hey aren’t you in my History of Magic class.?” She asked peering at him while holding her broom close.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony already saw the masses of pupils swarming around the outdoors as she neared her lesson’s destination. Flying. Well, she’d done all the basics last year, and was currently trying out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. She didn’t mind Madam Hooch, and she really loved flying – so wonderfully relaxing. She could let her head float in the clouds (literally) as she felt the familiar sensation of rising. However, the thought of having to go over the basics again with first years was going to be slightly… boring. She wondered why she still had to take the lessons, and with a defeated sigh tucked a lock of black away behind her ear and came to a halt a few metres from the main body of people. Afraid to socialise with them, Harmony stood and waited for the lesson to begin. Maybe it wouldn’t be as uninteresting as she had imagined… Maybe…

[severusmagic]

Ashakiran was being cool about flying and not running, as she walked casually to the field she smirked at the first years. She had been able to fly like a seventh year by the time she was nine, let alone now.