Chapter Eight; Flying Lessons
"I'm sorry Severus, truly I am." Professor McGonagall spoke softly as Harry noticed the worried expression on her face and suddenly couldn't contain himself.
"What is it?" he questioned anxiously as Snape turned to look over at him. "What happened?"
"Uh Harry, why don't you put your book down for a moment?" he suggested. "I need to speak with you alone." He told him as Harry nodded before he closed his book and got up from his desk. "The rest of you finish working quietly until I get back." He told them as he left McGonagall in charge before guiding his son out of the room and into the hallway.
"Harry I need to tell you something." He began while taking a deep breath before he squatted down in front of him.
"What's going on Dad? What did my mother say?" he questioned him worriedly as Snape took a deep breath again.
"Listen Harry, I wish that I didn't have to be the one to tell you this. But your mother had the baby." He began again while Harry continued glancing up at him. "And I'm sorry son but she didn't make it. It was a stillbirth." He told him.
"No." Harry whispered with a gasp.
"I'm sorry Harry but she wasn't breathing, her lungs didn't work right." Snape told him.
"No!" Harry yelled before he turned around and ran away.
"Harry wait, come back!" Snape cried while he slowly stood back up on his feet.
…..
Harry continued to sob while he sat upon his parent's old treehouse. "Harry," his father's voice began as he started climbing up the steps before finally reaching the top. "son are you up here?" he questioned him before he turned his head and saw Harry sitting underneath the roof of the house sniffing and rubbing his nose on the back of his sleeve.
"Harry,.." he began soothingly. "it's alright." He told him while ducking his head and sitting down next to him.
"No it's not!" Harry yelled angrily at him. "First my grandmother died and now my sister when she didn't even have a chance to live yet!" he hollered while hot and angry tears stung his eyes.
"It's alright son, you're allowed to feel angry, I know I am." His father reassured him.
"It's just not fair! Why couldn't it have been me!? Why didn't God take me instead!" he shouted before he found himself wrapped tightly inside his father's arms.
"Don't you dare say that, do you understand me?" he questioned him as Harry sniffed again and then nodded. "We don't always understand the reasons why the Lord does the things that He does, but you deserve to live." He told him.
"So did Gianna." Harry said inside a muffled sob before beginning to choke over his tears.
"Oh son, I know. I know." Snape reassured him while beginning to rub his back while starting to hush him as he continued to sob inside his arms before he rested his chin on the top of his head as he began to hold him tighter and continued to rock him gently back and forth.
…
Later on that day Harry told Ron what had happened to him a lunch. "Gee, that's too bad. I'm awfully sorry about what happened to you mate. I can't possibly even imagine what it would be like to go through something like that." He told him when suddenly Hermione sat down from a crossed the table from them.
"Boy I can't believe how much homework we've already gotten! Between Snape's essay, and Quirrell's cure for dragon burns!" she cried.
"What's the matter with you!?" Ron snapped at her. "Harry's not interested in homework right now, he just lost his baby sister!" he yelled.
"What?" Hermione questioned him worriedly with complete and utter shock and disbelief.
"Not that I'd expect for someone like you to understand since you're an only child, and believe it or not I've only just found out why!" he snapped.
"Gee Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't know." Hermione told him.
"It's alright, sometimes bad things happen that's all. And there's nothing that you can do about it." Harry told her while he continued to hang his head while Ron rubbed his back soothingly.
"Well cheer up mate. At least we've got our first flying lessons after lunch." Ron told him as Harry slightly nodded at him before glancing up at him.
"You're right. Maybe that will take things off my mind." He told him.
Later on that afternoon Harry, Ron, and Hermione all followed Madam Hooch out onto the grounds. They stood together in two separate rows with broomsticks beneath their feet before she lifted her head and acknowledged them. "Good afternoon children, welcome to your first flying lesson." She began.
"I want all of you to step up to the right side of your broomstick and place your right hand over it and say up." She told them as Harry stepped up beside his.
"Up!" he ordered and as quick as a flash his broom shot up inside his palm. Harry beamed proudly as he was one of the only two that did along with Malfoy. He turned his head to see Hermione having a rather hard time getting hers to do something more than roll around in the dirt and Neville's had barely moved.
"Up!" Ron hollered impatiently before the handle shot off the ground and whacked him in the face as Harry began to snicker. "Oh shut up Harry!" he hollered and when everybody else had finally managed to grab ahold of their brooms they swung their legs over and waited for Madam Hooch's next instruction. That is except for Neville who immediately lost control of his broomstick and found himself lifted off the ground and soaring away with a runaway broom.
"Mr. Longbottom, come back down here this instant!" she shouted up at him before she rushed over to help him as he fell off his broom and started plummeting to the ground.
"Serves him right, he's a poor excuse for a Gryffindor if I do say so myself." Malfoy said with an evil sneer before Hermione stepped closer to him.
"And you're a poor excuse for a human being." She told him as Malfoy's grin suddenly vanished. "It wasn't Neville's fault that he was stuck with a bad broom!" she snapped angrily at him.
"Yeah, that's right! You tell him Hermione!" Ron hollered just when all of a sudden Madam Hooch picked up Neville and turned to face the rest of the class.
"If you all will excuse me for a few minutes Mr. Longbottom has a broken wrist and I'm going to take him to the hospital wing. If I see a single broom in the air when I get back, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before you can say Qudditch." She told them before she led Neville away. That's when all of a sudden Malfoy squatted down on the ground.
"Wait a second,.." he began. "what is that?" he questioned before he walked over to the bushes and bent down to pick a small ball off the ground.
"I know what that is," Ron began. "it's a rememberall, when the smoke turns red, it means that you've forgotten something." He finished as Malfoy picked it up and grinned before tossing the ball up into the air.
"That's interesting, if Longbottom would have given this a squeeze, maybe he would have remembered to fall on his fat ass." He said.
"Give it here Malfoy." Harry told him as he stepped up towards him.
"No," Malfoy began before he turned over to look at him. "I've got a better idea. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." He said before he mounted his broomstick and hovered high into the air. "What's the matter Snape? Is this too high above your reach?" he questioned while Harry glared up at him before starting to take his broom inside his hands.
"Harry, no way!" she snapped. "You heard what Madam Hooch said, and besides, you don't even know how to fly!" she told him before he quickly mounted his broomstick and shot up into the air.
"Give it here Malfoy or I'll knock you off your broom!" he demanded.
"Oh really?" Malfoy questioned him with a sly little grin. "Well, have it your way then." He told him before he turned to toss the ball away from him. Harry took off faster than the speed of light without realizing what he was doing and rushed straight towards the castle next to McGonagall's window. She quickly looked up from her work to see Harry catching the rememberall inside his right hand before steering his broom back towards the ground.
Harry was then greeted by his other classmates running over to him screaming and cheering.
"Well done Harry!" Hillary cried while her twin sister patted him on the back.
"Yeah, great job Harry, that was brilliant!" she exclaimed when suddenly Harry heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Harry Snape!" she cried as Harry quickly glanced up to see Professor McGonagall calling him. "follow me."
