Chapter 79 – Flying Lesson! Part -1
{Quidditch Pitch, Hogwarts}
{7th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
{Pansy Parkinson's POV}
It was a sunny day. Perfect weather to have your first flying lesson. Everyone was laughing and talking among their small groups and anticipation was in the air as the first flying lesson was quite important, if they could make an impact here, show even basic compatibility then they would be a shoo-in to at least have a chance to show much more for during their house quidditch team trials.
While the atmosphere was quite relaxed, Pansy was one of the few individuals who was not enjoying this moment. Standing with her classmates, she could see the divide as clear as day. Both Greengrass and Davis were sticking close to Black, a few steps away, Zabini was mingling with their group quite easily.
The two houses that were paired up together for the afternoon session were Griffindor and Slytherin, and somehow the Gryffindors showed more unity as they all circled around Potter. Pansy's nose scrunched up as she stared at the blood traitor as he was talking with Ron about quidditch.
'It's all because of black...' Pansy grumbled as she looked at the boy in question, he was quiet like always, his eyes scanning everyone, but the air of quiet confidence around him set a sharp contrast with someone like Theo, who just doesn't talk much. He stood tall, and even though he liked to wear loose robes, Pansy could tell he was a little better built than most of the boys from their year.
Zabini was the lanky type, and Theo was just too timid. Don't even get her started on Crabbe and Goyle. With the limited pick of companions that they had, she even entertained the idea of dating someone outside of their house or even her year, she had the natural advantage of being a ritual virgin so it wouldn't be that hard for her to pull this off. Still, it was the letter that her Father had sent her that was the cause of her latest ire.
Why did it have to be him of all people, and why would Father even ask her to do something like this when she and Draco had been pretty much engaged? She didn't want to do the ritual with someone like him when he was the real reason that Draco couldn't even be at Hogwarts with her.
She glared at him again. Her hostility and frustration made it difficult for her to concentrate when the professor in charge of the lecturer blew a loud whistle. She barely managed to stop herself from falling on her ass as the sharp-eyed Professor walked through the two files that they were in.
"Good Afternoon, Class" The professor started, her stern voice got Pansy's attention.
"Good Afternoon, Madam Hooch." Quite a lot of students replied and Pansy simply stood there as she had not known the Professor's name. Her pace was brisk as she walked from one end of the line to the other, her sharp eyes eyeing her new students.
"Welcome to your first flying lessons." Madam Hooch started, words flew from her mouth as she completed the sentence in record time.
"I'm sure this is not the first time for quite a lot of you, but we will start with the basics nonetheless..." Her confident words lingered in the air and after a moment's pause she continued, "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"Everyone steps up to the left side of your broomstick..."
"...Stick your hand over your broom and say 'Up!'..."
"...Up!"
"... Up!"
"... Up!..."
As the class descended onto a little bit of anarchy, Pansy watched as the broom simply sat there unmovin'. Even if she yelled the word it wouldn't budge. After giving her broom a frustrated glance she looked up at how her classmates were faring. Greengrass was still struggling which was good but her mood soured a bit at seeing both Black and Davies comfortable holding onto their broomsticks.
The futility of the exercise lasted for a bit longer and not many people managed to command their brooms to lift up into their hands. Pansy tried a couple more times and then gave up, with the quality of brooms that the school had, she was sure most of them, including hers, was a defective model.
"Alright for those who weren't able to command their brooms, pick it up and mount it by swinging your right leg around it. Make sure that your grip is tight as your right hand is essential to having good control over your broom..."
Another set of instructions whizzed past her and Pansy barely managed to comprehend what she was saying, her lack of interest in the activity being the main reason. She stared at the old broom with nervousness as she bent down to pick it up, her right hand clutched it in a death grip as she tilted the broom and adjusted the broom between her legs.
She had flown on a broom before of course, her Father would not allow her to make an embarrassment of their house in front of her batchmates. Still, the old wood that she was clutching upon gave away some nervousness as she waited for further instructions.
Madam Hooch looked at everyone's grip and then nodded.
"Good, now remember your wand hand needs to be the dominant one when you control your broom. A broom had several flight-related runes but they needed to be powered up by your own mana. Although having physical contact with any part of your body would do to fly around lazily, if you want to push your broom through its paces you need to grab it with both hands to channel mana into it." Madam Hooch gave everyone a basic rundown of what needed to be done.
Seeing that everyone was ready, she looked around at everyone and spoke, "Now, make sure to hold onto your broom and think about levitating. When I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off from the ground with a soft yet firm push, like you are jumping up."
The excitement among the Muggle-borns increased as she continued, "Remember to keep your brooms steady, your grip tight, hover in the air for a moment, and then tilt your broom forward while shifting your weight slightly which would allow you to touch back down. Any questions?"
Madam Hooch's explanations were met with a shake of heads, she pulled a whistle that was tied to her neck and spoke, "On my Whistle, Three, Two, One..."
*Piiiiiiiiii*
AN - I don't know if I should involve Rigel in quidditch, before continuing I think I should make a poll!
Anyway, thoughts on Pansy, she would be involved with Rigel soon, I wonder how much should I involve her?
P.S- 40 + Chapters on Patreon!