Author's Notes and Disclaimers are at the bottom of the page.

One Magic Moment

By Alaynthe

Chapter One:  Flying

           "Ron, can we go back down now?" Hermione Granger asked, barely disguised fear making her voice shake. 

           "Aw, come on, Hermione," Ron Weasley whined.  "How often does Harry actually let us ride the Firebolt?"

           She had to admit, Ron was right.  Harry had always been protective of the broom, especially since Sirius had died almost two years ago.  But as the rest of the Order continued to work in secret, it was easy to forget, more than ever on beautiful autumn afternoons like this.  But Hermione couldn't forget one very important fact:  she was still afraid of heights!  How did she get talked into this?  And why did Ron have to fly so fast?

           She held his arms tighter.  "Can't you slow down?" 

           "Um… no?"  Ron said.  She began to feel as if an icy hand had reached into her chest and was squeezing, making her breath come out in short, shallow gasps.  Panic, she realized.  She was so afraid of falling.  As he continued to fly fast, she knew he couldn't control the Firebolt.  Then, she noticed the large Evergreen directly in front of them.

           "Ron.  Tree,"  she managed to say.

           "Bloody hell!"  was his response as he banked to the right sharply.  She hadn't been expecting such a fast move and the next thing she knew, she had lost her grip on Ron.  She started to panic again as she realized she was no longer on the broom behind him.  She was getting very dizzy, as if she were falling faster.  It was almost like she had felt when she used her Time Turner.

           Time Turner!  She hadn't taken it off after going to Advanced Ancient Runes that morning!  As she landed on solid ground, she knew this could only mean one thing:

           She was in very serious trouble.

~

Author's Notes:

Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers.  No copyright infringement is intended. 

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