The Flying Lesson
The first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins stood in neat rows facing one another on the grounds of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, each beside a school broomstick. The wind carried the scent of the damp earth, and the sky overhead was a bright, cerulean blue. It reminded Vi of– she stopped that thought as soon as it came. Apart from the normal three hoops at each end, there were larger rings levitating at different altitudes throughout the pitch.
Vi shifted eagerly from her heels to her toes as she stood waiting. This—this—was the lesson she had been waiting for.
Madame Hooch, their instructor, paced along the rows of students, yellow eyes scanning each of them with a look that had them sucking in their breath as she passed. Once she reached the end of the row, she blew hard into the whistle around her neck, and all lingering chatter stopped.
“Welcome, children, to your first flying lesson. I have two rules for you. The first is that your feet are to remain firmly on the ground until I instruct you otherwise, and the second is that you are to come down immediately when I call you. Understood?”
A chorus of “Understood, Madame Hooch!” rang out amongst the students, eager to begin. Caitlyn met Vi’s eyes and offered a shy smile. Vi felt heat rise in her cheeks, though she didn’t understand why.
“Wonderful. Now, hold your hand over your broom and firmly command, ‘Up!’” At her word, the broom beside Madame Hooch flew up to her hand.
As the command echoed across the field, it was met with varying degrees of success. Mylo’s hit him square between the eyes, sending Claggor into a fit of hysterics despite the fact that his own broom would not raise more than a few inches off the ground to his hands.
However, there were a select few students, no more than three, whose broomstick immediately obeyed their command. Among them was Vi.
Caitlyn shot Vi a look of shock when she saw it happen, while hers hovered slightly on the ground for a few seconds before obeying her second command.
From a few feet away, Maddie Nolen scoffed. “Surprised it listened to you, Lanes. Must be a defective broom.” Maddie seemed to have something against Vi from the moment they had arrived at Hogwarts. She was always egging Vi on, and if it weren’t for Caitlyn stopping her, Vi probably would have swung on her at least a few times.
Vi clenched her jaw but didn’t bite. She smirked at Caitlyn instead. “Not bad, Kiramman. I was half expecting it to ignore you.”
Caitlyn arched a brow, surprised at Vi’s restraint. “Not bad yourself, Lanes.”
Maddie huffed. “Oh, please. I’ve actually flown before. You lot look like babies holding a broomstick for the first time.”
Vi rolled her eyes. “Congratulations, Nolen. Want a trophy for knowing what a broom is?” Vi knew that Caitlyn had been flying since she was a kid, and had to chuckle at the idiocy of the ginger's insult.
Before Maddie could retort, Madame Hooch blew her whistle again. “Well done, children! Now. You are going to mount your broomstick, and when I blow my whistle, and only when I blow my whistle, you will kick off gently. I don’t need any of you in the hospital wing today.”
Vi could barely contain her excitement as she kicked her leg over her broomstick. The moment the whistle blew, she kicked off—perhaps a little harder than she should have—and shot several feet higher than the others.
“Oh, fuck yes!” Vi breathed in deep as the rush of the wind against her face sent an exhilarating jolt through her body.
Caitlyn, of course, had risen controlled and evenly with a steady grip. She gave Vi a pointed look. “You know, you’re supposed to listen to instructions.”
Vi gave a toothy grin. “Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?”
She leaned forward slightly, making her broom swoop in a lazy arc around where Caitlyn was hovering. She had never felt more natural in anything she’d done thus far during her time as a wizard.
To her surprise, however, Caitlyn narrowed her eyes and matched her movements with precision and control.
“Oh, you think you’re better than me?” Vi challenged lightly, her tone lacking in bite.
Caitlyn’s lips curled upward into a rare playful smirk. “I know I am. I’ve been flying for years in the garden. Even play Quidditch. Though I must say, you’re quite a natural, Vi.”
From below, Maddie clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Oh, please. You’re both acting like a couple of show-offs.” She took off at a sharp angle, hovering just below them still, but with an effortless ease that was infuriatingly smooth. “You do realize it’s not that impressive, right? Flying’s hardly difficult if you have actual talent.”
Vi smirked. “Come up here, then, Nolen.”
Maddie’s face flickered with irritation for a fraction of a second before she scoffed. “Not worth my time.”
Madame Hooch’s whistle blew again. “Enough circling like hawks, you three! Feet on the ground.”
Vi and Caitlyn exchanged a look before carefully descending. Maddie rolled her eyes and followed, muttering something under her breath.
Once their feet were on the ground, Madame Hooch approached them. “That was some decent flying you two,” she said, eyeing Vi and Caitlyn. “Let’s see how you get on with the next activities.”
Maddie made a dismissive noise as she stalked back toward her group, trying, and failing, to toss her short hair over her shoulder. Vi made a note of just how stupid her hair looked and chuckled to herself.
At that point, the gray-haired witch split the class up into two different groups based on her observations over the previous ten minutes. The more timid students stayed with her, but those who had a better grasp of things were given more leeway and allowed to utilize the levitating hoops to practice flying through, with the only rule being to stay within the confines of the pitch. Vi was the only Muggle-born in the select group, she noticed. Not that it mattered, but she felt proud considering that was her first time on a broom.
The group raised into the air and hovered around the far end of the goalposts, where they took turns racing each other in pairs. The first person to fly through all the hoops, circle the far goalposts, and race back would win. As their turn approached, Vi looked over at Caitlyn.
“Ready to lose, Kiramman?”
Caitlyn smirked. “That’s funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
Vi shot forward, leaning low over her broomstick. The first hoop came fast– she twisted her body and zipped through, relishing at the wind that whipped at her face. Caitlyn was right beside her, mirroring her movements with annoying precision. Where Caitlyn looked trained, Vi allowed herself to fly entirely off her instincts, as they were all she had.
The next set of hoops began to shift in midair, forcing them to adapt quickly. Vi’s path forced her into a steep upward climb, whereas Caitlyn’s had her bouncing up and down sort of like a wave. Caitlyn came out with a slight lead over Vi as they headed into the final set of hoops. This one would force them to pitch into a nose-dive, then pull back up sharply to ensure they circled the goalposts before sprinting back. Vi, deciding that she had to pull ahead now, angled her broom down hard and sped through the hoops towards the ground. She pulled up right before she hit the pitch, and shot up and around the goalposts. Daring a glance to her left, she saw that she was just barely ahead of Caitlyn.
“Eat my dust, Kiramman!” She called over her shoulder as she urged her broom further and further ahead. Vi did end up winning their race, but not by much. Caitlyn was able to catch up tremendously fast, but she lost a lot of speed on her more reserved nose-dive. Vi looked over at Caitlyn who pouted cutely.
“Rematch?” Caitlyn challenged.
Vi smirked. “You’re on.”
The two of them sailed through neck and neck, until the nosedive. Vi, anticipating that Caitlyn would take it faster this time, also decided that she should take it faster than last time. That was a mistake. The second she realized she had no control over her broomstick, she knew she was in trouble. The ground rushed toward her at a terrifying speed.
“Violet!” Caitlyn’s voice rang out from above right before Vi hit the ground. Pain exploded through her shoulder and head as she tumbled unceremoniously across the pitch, skidding to a stop against the stands in a heap of tangled limbs.
Maddie burst out laughing.
“Oh, that was brilliant,” she snickered. “Top-notch flying, Lanes. Really proving yourself out here.”
Caitlyn landed beside Vi in an instant, scowling. “Shut up, Maddie.”
Maddie raised an eyebrow. “Touchy, are we?”
“At least Vi gets back up,” Caitlyn snapped, her voice edged with steel. “I doubt you’d be able to say the same.”
Madame Hooch approached then, looking thoroughly unimpressed. “That,” she said dryly, “was a prime example of the benefits of control over speed when it comes to flying. Off to the hospital wing with you now.”
Maddie’s smirk faltered, her jaw tightening. “Enjoy the hospital wing, Lanes,” she sneered. “Try not to make it a permanent residence.”
With that, she turned and stalked off, her entourage in tow.
Vi groaned as Caitlyn hauled her up. “You’re completely reckless, you know,” Caitlyn huffed.
Vi grinned, despite the searing pain. “And yet, you’re still walking me to the hospital wing. Almost like you care.”
Caitlyn sighed. “Just keep walking, Vi.”
Vi simply hummed bemusedly.