Chapter 10: A Flying Lesson and Plans

As everyone made their way to the field where the Flying lesson was going to be taught, many students began to talk about their experiences with flying a broom and how they wanted to make some good impressions to get on the house teams. Harry, on the other hand, was not really bothered about flying at the moment. First years weren't allowed to be on their Quidditch house teams anyway, which suited Harry fine as he didn't have a place for Quidditch in his plan for his Hogwarts education.

Madam Hooch, the Quidditch referee at Hogwarts, was there to greet them and give them their Flying lesson.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to your first Flying lesson! Well, what are you waiting for?! Put your right hand over your broom and say up!" Madam Hooch ordered.

The students all began to struggle to get their brooms to float up into their hands, except for Harry. As usual, he was able to do the task first time and his broom flew into his hand as he grasped it firmly.

Ron started to get frustrated with his broom and shouted at it before it flew up and hit him in the face, amusing Harry greatly. Soon, everyone finally managed to get their brooms in their hands, so Madam Hooch could continue the lesson.

"Now, I want you to mount your brooms. When I give the signal, I want you to push off from the ground hard, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle...3...2...1...Go!" Madam Hooch ordered as she blew her whistle.

As soon as the whistle blew, Neville began to hover in the air. The problem was that he didn't seem to be able to control his broom, which soon sped him off around the area, knocking him against the walls. Madam Hooch tried to stop the broom, but it shot into the crowd, causing everyone to dive away.

Eventually, the broom flew towards one of the walls and Neville's robe got caught on one of the statues. The broom had flown well away by the time that Neville's robe rips, sending him falling to the ground. Thankfully, his robe caught on a steel lantern, stopping his fall so he didn't drop down too far in the end. Everyone then ran over to Neville and Madam Hooch checked him over to see if he had sustained any injuries. Unfortunately, Neville had broken his arm from the fall and had bruises on his arms and legs from the broom's erratic behaviour.

"Now, I will take Mr Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. Class is dismissed! Leave the brooms here and if I catch anyone riding one, they'll find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say Quidditch," Madam Hooch ordered before walking away with Neville.

Harry would've thought that everyone would be doing as Madam Hooch ordered, until he noticed Malfoy kneel and pick something up from the ground, broom still in hand, before sneering and talking to his cronies loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Looks like the idiot dropped his Remembrall! Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze; he would've remembered to listen to his teacher and control his broom! Then again, he would've also remembered to fall on his flat arse and then he would've have needed saving due to falling head first!" Malfoy sneered.

As Malfoy and his cronies began to laugh at Neville's expense, the other students there either looked at them with anger or disgust, but didn't show any attempts at confronting him. Harry was having none of that though. If there was another thing that he hated; then it was a pompous bully. He walked right up to Malfoy and held his hand out with a blank expression on his face that most people with a brain would realise that he meant business. Malfoy, unfortunately, didn't realise this.

"Give the Remembrall here Malfoy so I can take it back to its rightful owner," Harry demanded.

"No...I think I'll leave it for Longbottom to find...Like on the roof!" Malfoy sneered as he mounted his broom and flew up into the air, "What's the matter, Potter?! Bit beyond the reach of the 'Boy-Who-Lived'?!"

That did it. Harry saw red as he mounted his broom, ready to go after the blond fool before Hermione stepped in to try and stop him.

"Harry, wait! You heard what Madam Hooch said! She'll get you expelled if she catches you in the air! You don't even know how to fly either! You'll get yourself hurt!" Hermione cried, trying to get Harry to see reason.

"And what would you have me do, Hermione?! Let Malfoy win and gloat about besting me while throwing Neville's Remembrall away somewhere where he may never find it?! No! I'm going to make him regret even thinking of doing that to Neville!" Harry retorted angrily as he mounted his broom and flew up to be level with Malfoy after only a couple of seconds.

Everyone was amazed by Harry's instantaneous control over his broom as they saw him seem even more comfortable than Malfoy on his broom.

"I'd suggest that you give up and give the Remembrall to me now, Malfoy. I won't hesitate to do what I say," Harry warned.

"And what do you say, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, not understanding Harry.

"If you don't give up, I will knock you off your broom," Harry stated bluntly.

"Is that so? I'm afraid that I decline your offer," Malfoy replied with a laugh, not believing in Harry's conviction.

"Then so be it..." Harry said.

Harry then shot forward and grabbed the front of Malfoy's broom before turning and hurtling back down to the ground along with Malfoy. As a last ditch effort, Malfoy threw the Remembrall as hard as he could to try and get it to go far away and change the target of Harry's attention. Unfortunately, this only made Harry angrier as he went faster and threw the broom down to the ground before heading back up into the air after the Remembrall.

Malfoy's broom hit the ground and flung him across the field until he finally landed sprawled out on the ground. Harry did have a glance back and grinned as he saw the blond on the floor before focusing on the Remembrall again. Sabrina also poked her head out of his collar and saw Malfoy.

~You could've handled that better, you know? What if he tells someone what you did? You could still get into trouble for attacking another student~ Sabrina chastised.

~He won't say anything. With how prideful he is, there's no way that he'd let people think that he was weak. It won't be the last time we see him, but this may just make him stay away, for now~ Harry responded.

~If only it would be so easy with Ron~ Sabrina commented.

~Malfoy isn't the one being forced to befriend me though, is he?~ Harry retorted.

~Good point. Anyway, you best hurry and catch that ball. Malfoy had a good arm on him and the ball's heading straight for that tower~ Sabrina said.

At those words, Harry sped off until he was just close enough to reach out and grab the Remembrall, managing to do a U-turn and 180 degree spin to right himself just before hitting the tower. He then slowly flew back down to the ground where all of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were cheering for him. Malfoy and the Slytherins, however, were livid as Harry had successfully showed Malfoy up in front of everyone. Unfortunately, the celebration was cut short as a booming voice could be heard from the nearest entrance into the castle.

"Harry Potter! Follow me inside, please!" McGonagall's voice rang out across the field.

The Slytherins began to smirk as they watched Harry walk over to McGonagall, thinking that he was going to get in trouble for flying unattended, meaning that Malfoy had the final laugh. Harry ignored them and looked over at Hermione, who had a worried expression on her face. He smiled at her nodded his head to try and make her feel less concerned before he turned back towards McGonagall and went inside with her.

"Before you say what you wish to say, Professor, can we deliver Neville's Remembrall back to him in the Hospital Wing first? He dropped it as his broom went out of control-" Harry began to ask before being cut off by McGonagall.

"I am well aware of what happened, Potter. I did watch you catch it after Mr Malfoy threw it away as you were bringing him back down. I take it that you were trying to get it off of him before he flew up with it?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Professor. He began to insult Neville and I asked him, politely, to hand Neville's Remembrall over so that we could give it back to him. He refused and threatened to throw it on the roof. I told him that either he gave it back or I would ground him. You saw the rest," Harry explained.

"Quite. Even though you're intentions were noble, using violence should never be the answer, Potter. I think that it should be 5 points from Gryffindor for use of violence, but then 10 points to Gryffindor for defending a fellow classmate. As for giving Mr Longbottom his Remembrall back, you may do so after I finish my business. And don't worry, I will be having words with Professor Snape and Mr Malfoy over his behaviour and giving the necessary punishment," McGonagall replied.

Harry was actually surprised that his actions had technically given Gryffindor a net 5 points increase and hadn't landed him in detention. However, even with his surprise, he wasn't blind to subtle excited expression on McGonagall's face. She was planning something. But it didn't seem like it was going to mean bad news for him after all.

Eventually, McGonagall led Harry to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, confusing him as he wondered what business she had here. She soon answered this as she posed a request to Quirrell.

"Professor Quirrell, excuse me, but can I borrow Wood for a moment, please?" McGonagall asked.

"Y-yes. Of c-course," Quirrell answered, gesturing for Wood to go outside.

Now Harry was curious. During the feast yesterday, he overheard people talking about Oliver Wood. He was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Why would McGonagall need to see Wood while he was still here? What did Wood have to do with him?

"Wood, I know that you have been having some trouble with filling the final position for this year's team, correct?" McGonagall questioned.

"Yes, Professor. Why do you ask? Wait...have you found a new seeker?!" Wood replied excitedly.

"Yes, I have indeed. This is Harry Potter. I just saw him flying and he was just like his father when he first rode a broom here. The boy is a natural," McGonagall explained.

"But isn't Harry a first year, Professor? He's not allowed to be on the team according to the rules," Wood asked.

"Usually, he wouldn't be...But I think that I may be able to convince Professor Dumbledore otherwise. I shall arrange a session where you can teach Mr Potter about Quidditch shortly and I hope that you will do your best to make our newest seeker feel welcome," McGonagall said.

"Of course, Professor. I guess that I shall see you soon, Harry. I best get back to my lesson now. Goodbye Professor, Harry," Wood replied before heading back into the classroom.

"Now, we can deliver Mr Longbottom's Remembrall, Potter," McGonagall said.

"Yes, but are you truly serious, Professor? How will you be able to convince the Headmaster to let me be on the Quidditch team?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I have a feeling that Professor Dumbledore will make an exception when I tell him of your seemingly effortless flying and catch even though this was your first time flying on a broom. He will find it hard to say no, I assure you," McGonagall answered.

"Well in that case, thank you very much, Professor," Harry said, trying to show as much enthusiasm as he could, even if he truly wasn't.

"Your very welcome, Potter. Now, when this is cleared with the Headmaster, I shall inform you of the time of your meeting with Wood and expect you to be there on time. I hope that you will do Gryffindor proud," McGonagall informed.

McGonagall then led Harry to the Hospital Wing and he gave Neville his Remembrall back. Once Neville thanked Harry for finding his Remembrall, McGonagall dismissed Harry and told him to head back to the common room to see his classmates, but advised him not to tell everyone of the news yet until it was cleared.

Harry then left the Hospital Wing and followed the corridors and staircase up to the seventh floor, stopping and hiding when he saw the Gryffindor students enter. He then called for Sabrina to show herself so that they could talk privately before going in.

~Well, that was unexpected~ Sabrina finally said bluntly.

~As interesting as the sport is, getting on the Quidditch house team was not part of my plan. What am I supposed to do now?~ Harry questioned.

~You're just going to have to incorporate Quidditch into your plans now. You've barely escaped punishment here. Don't give McGonagall a reason to change her mind now~ Sabrina replied.

~Good point. I guess that it won't be all bad. I might even gain some support and allies in Gryffindor this way~ Harry said.

With the short discussion over, Harry walked into the common room to find his fellow first year Gryffindor ask him what happened and whether he was given any punishment. Harry explained about the net point increase, which made everyone smile, but he neglected to mention the seeker position as per McGonagall's advice. Soon, everyone dispersed as they were happy with his explanation. However, one student remained and had an angry look on their face. It was Hermione, which only meant bad news for him.

"Don't you dare do something like that again! You could've gotten seriously injured! You could've landed Malfoy in the Hospital Wing and gotten more points lost or worse; expelled! What were you thinking?!" Hermione chastised.

"I told you, Hermione. I wouldn't let Malfoy insult and bully Neville behind his back. That boy needed to be taught a lesson in humility and taught that bullying someone never pays. I've seen people like him who think that they can walk over others just because they consider themselves to be better before. Their kind sicken me and I won't allow people like that to get away with their actions," Harry explained as calmly as possible, even with his bubbling anger at being chastised for defending someone.

"You speak from experience then?" Hermione enquired.

"Yes, I do speak from experience. When I was younger, my stupid arse of a cousin would gang up on me with his friends and bully me for no reason other than I was different because I could perform magic. My aunt and uncle were the ones who even encouraged it and would do worse! All because I was magical and was an abnormality in their perfectly normal world! Dudley may have bullied me for so long and would occasionally attack me, but he still never beat me over and over again until I was shoved into the cupboard under the stairs bleeding! It got even worse when it was obvious that Dudley was the dumbest in the class and I was the smartest. Yeah, Dudley gets the lowest scores and there's nothing wrong with him, but me getting the highest scores? I must be cheating as there's no way that I could be better than wonderful, sweet and kind Duddie-kins! That is why I won't allow others to get away with bullying. I won't let anyone experience what I did if I can help it," Harry ranted, trying to remain calm for Hermione's sake.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know," Hermione said sympathetically.

"Yeah, well now you do. I'm sorry that you had to hear about that, but it was the only way to make you understand. In our first conversation, you mentioned how I was completely different to how I was portrayed in those books. Well, you were right. I didn't grow up in a lavish home with adoring relatives and fight all those monsters before coming home for dinner. Nor was I waited upon and constantly worried about by my relatives either. I'm not the wondrous hero that I have been portrayed to be, Hermione. That's just not who I am, neither will I ever be that," Harry explained darkly.

"No, you're not. You're much more realistic. And after what you did today, and with your reasoning, you're probably more noble than your book counterpart. I'm sorry for doubting you. Anyway, I best go to bed. It's been a long day. See you tomorrow then?" Hermione replied.

"Yes, see you tomorrow," Harry said as he watched Hermione go up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

~See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?~ Sabrina asked playfully.

~What do you mean?~ Harry asked back in confusion.

~You actually opened up and answered her properly. I'm impressed~ Sabrina answered.

~Well, it's like what I said. It's the only way for her to understand. You were right before. Maybe it won't be such a bad idea to open up to her and Ginny after all~ Harry said.

~That's better. At the end of the day, all that Hermione cared about was whether you were alright. She was completely genuine about it too, I could tell. Now, I think that we should head upstairs ourselves and see whether Hedwig is back with Ginny's response~ Sabrina said.

Harry couldn't believe that he had forgotten about that and rushed upstairs to find Hedwig waiting for him. Fortunately, he had left the window open in case she came back during his lessons, so she was able to get inside and wait on his bed.

"Thanks girl. Let's just hope that we get some good news," Harry said, stroking Hedwig as he took the letter.

Hedwig gave Sabrina, who still had her head poked out, a knowing look, making Sabrina grin as she knew that Ginny's reply was going to be interesting. Harry, on the other hand, didn't see this and had already started to read the letter.

Dear Harry,

You don't know how happy I was when I read your letter. My mother did exactly what you said she would and told me that you had befriended Ron and cast me aside. Thank you for defending me and standing by me against Ron. I don't understand what happened and why he and my mother started to be so cruel, but they started acting like that towards me many years ago. I only really have Fred, George and my dad on my side now. And now you are. If what you've told me is true, and I have no reason to doubt you, I have lost all respect for my brother, my mother and Dumbledore. How could he do such a thing?! He's been telling everyone that you were looked after and happy with your relatives! Yet you've just said that being with them was against your parents' wishes! And to put blocks on you that halves your power?! You can surely sue Dumbledore for his crimes! Why haven't you already?! More to the point, how did you find all of this out if you've been living in the muggle world for all of this time? The goblins of Gringotts don't just call someone up out of the blue. I may be a Weasley, but I'm not stupid like my pig-headed brother. I'm only asking as I'm worried about you. You sounded like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and that you're the only one who can stop the growing darkness. Just don't grow up too soon, Harry. You need to make time to have fun; to be a kid. As for being friends, you have nothing to worry about. I won't give up on you just because my family is being manipulative. I believe you completely. Thank you for your friendship. It really means a lot.

Love Ginny

Harry had a massive grin on his face after reading the letter. Ginny believed him. She still wanted to be his friend. Finally, things were going right again.

~Now all we need to do is stop whatever Ron and Dumbledore are planning on next~ Harry said.

~How are you going to find out what they're planning? It'll be too late to catch them talking~ Sabrina asked.

~It's simple; I'll use Legilimency on Ron when he gets in. He has no mental protection and they'd never suspect anything as they have no idea about how much I can do, let alone the mind arts~ Harry replied.

~But you showed that you have strong walls around your mind when Snape entered your mind earlier. He'll tell Dumbledore everything, removing your perceived advantage~ Sabrina reminded Harry.

~He won't tell Dumbledore anything. He won't want to be reminded about how he failed, especially by Dumbledore of all people. I highly doubt that, even with his grudge against the Potters, he's in on this plot against me. He's motives are too personal. He'll try something again, don't get me wrong, but I'll be ready~ Harry said.

~Just be careful with how much you use Legilimency. Only use it for as long as necessary or Ron will notice one way or another if you're in his mind for too long. And especially don't use it around Dumbledore. He'll definitely notice the signs~ Sabrina warned.

~I know, I know. I'll be careful, don't worry. Speaking of being careful, I'll need to start training Ginny in the mind arts when I see her next year and Hermione once she knows the full truth~ Harry said.

~They seemed to be strong-willed, so training them shouldn't be too bad as long as you make sure that every aspect of the mind arts is clear to them~ Sabrina commented.

~I will, don't worry. I won't do anything that may jeopardise their learning. They'll need to learn as quickly as possible, so hindrances will not be helpful at all~ Harry replied.

A while later, Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room and Harry caught him as he went back down. As he caught Ron's eye, he wasted no time in using a small Legilimency probe to pick out the recent conversation with Dumbledore.

Ron made his way up the staircase and knocked on Dumbledore's office door. He was not looking forward to this conversation at all.

"Come in, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore called.

Ron gulped and slowly pushed the door open to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk. He then made his way up to Dumbledore and tried not to give his nervousness and fear away.

"Now then, Mr Weasley, what do you have to report on Potter. Have you managed to become friends with him yet?" Dumbledore questioned with his grandfatherly voice.

"N-no, sir. Potter won't accept my friendship for some reason. Something about me insulting my brat of a sister behind her back or something like that," Ron said, slightly cracking at the beginning.

"That won't do at all. Have you attempted to rectify the problem your sister seems to pose?" Dumbledore enquired, slowly losing the usual twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah. I sent a letter to Mum telling her to tell the twerp that Harry was now my friend and that he didn't want her anymore. Hopefully, he'll realise soon that she's nothing and I'll finally convince him that he needs our help," Ron explained.

"I hope so, Mr Weasley. Maybe, if we can get Potter shunned by enough people, he'll become desperate and accept your offer then. Do you think that you can manage that?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'll do my best, Headmaster. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Potter's got a pet snake of all things! Can you believe it?! It's already scared all of the other boys in our dorm! It's obvious that it's corrupted him somehow!" Ron suggested.

"A snake, you say? That's not right at all. I'll have to have words with Potter about it tomorrow about getting rid of it as it goes against school policy to have more than one pet. Now then, what about his abilities. I haven't heard back from the professors yet, so I'll need you to tell me in advance. Is he decent with spells at all?" Dumbledore enquired.

"Umm...he's...uh..." Ron tried to say, but his fear got the better of him.

"Spit it out, boy! Is the brat good, weak or what?!" Dumbledore yelled.

"He's nowhere near weak! He's top of the class in every class already! He hasn't had a single problem with anything! Not even Snape was able to trip him up! Nothing got past him! He's more powerful than we ever thought possible, sir!" Ron explained fearfully.

"What?! But he was supposed to be weak! His relatives were supposed to beat the power out of him! Let alone the blocks that I placed on him! He was supposed to be a mediocre wizard barely getting any higher than an Acceptable in anything, yet you're telling me that he has managed to bypass all of that?!" Dumbledore bellowed in anger.

"I'm sorry, sir! I'm only telling you what I saw! I have no idea how he managed to do it!" Ron cried.

"Then becoming his friend and making him talk is an even bigger priority now! You need to gain his trust and make him talk about how he has gained this power! Once he talks, then tell me and I'll step in and make everything how it should be again, understand?!" Dumbledore ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Ron answered fearfully.

"You are dismissed, Mr Weasley!" Dumbledore bellowed as Ron ran to the door and bolted out of the office.

Harry then exited Ron's mind and had to school his features so that the anger that he felt didn't show to Ron as the boy walked up to him with a forced smile on his face.

"Hey, Harry! So, what did you think to our first lessons?" Ron asked.

"I thought that they were boring to be honest. We'll see what happens as the spell complexity increases and we learn some more useful spells," Harry replied bluntly.

"Boring?! Are you kidding, mate?! Those weren't meant to be easy, you know? Not many people actually manage to do every tasks, remember? Most of us haven't even done any spells before. You've got to have some secret to doing it, surely. Been practicing, mate?" Ron questioned.

"Maybe I'm just a natural. I haven't done any magic either until today. I knew about it, yes, but didn't try anything as I didn't know how," Harry lied calmly and convincingly.

"Well, you did have some of the best magic users for parents, I guess. Anyway, I've noticed that you've had that Granger girl following you a lot. Is she bothering you at all? I can try and get rid of her for you if you want," Ron asked, trying to, once again, show that he could be useful.

"No, Hermione's not bothering me. Who I talk to and hang around with is not your concern, Ron, so don't start causing trouble. You won't like the end result," Harry replied.

"I just don't think that she's the right sort of person to be friends with, is all. She clearly thinks that she's smarter than everyone else and has a bossy attitude from what I've heard," Ron said.

"You're opinion is not necessary in this matter. She may have started as such, I don't know, but she's much nicer when you get to know her, or did you forget the fact that she didn't seem to have a problem with me knowing the answers and helping her? Doesn't sound like a 'know-it-all', bossy girl to me, does it?" Harry retorted.

"Alright then, if you say so. I'm just trying to look out for you so that you don't go making friends with people who will just bring you down or try to control you. See you, mate," Ron said before quickly heading up the stairs as he could see that things weren't going his way.

Harry then took some parchment out of his pocket once Ron was out of sight. He then wrote a letter to Ginny, charmed it like before and went upstairs. Seeing that Ron wasn't in the main dorm, Harry gave the letter to Hedwig and sent her off to the Burrow again to deliver it to Ginny. As he got ready for bed, he thought about what plans Dumbledore and Ron would come up with now. All he knew was that he would make sure to foil every single one of them. He then went to sleep, after placing notice-me-not charms on his belongings, thinking about how he would laugh as Dumbledore first attempt at controlling him was going to fail.