Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and places belong to the great J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Note: Sorry for the delay! Totally my fault, the author sent me 2 chapters and I have about a million excuses but long story short, I was out of the country, got sucked into a reading a really good story, and totally lost track of time. Onwards!

Chapter 10: Flying

Harry's classes were great, except Potions. Professor Snape was the Potions Master and he was very nasty to Harry.

It was two weeks after term started and it was time for the first years' first flying lesson. Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, stood in front of the first years, a stern look much like Professor McGonagall's, on her face.

"Silence!" she barked, clapping her hands. "I don't have all day. I am Madam Hooch, and I will showing you how to fly on a broomstick."

She started by showing them how to mount their brooms, then how to kick off the ground. Neville Longbottom however, got hit in the nose by his broomstick.

"Hospital wing," Madam Hooch informed him. She turned sharply to the other students and announced, "If I see any brooms in the air while I'm gone, you'll be expelled before you can even say Quidditch." She walked off with Neville.

"Well?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione. "What now?"

"Over there!" said Hermione. "Isn't that Neville's remembral?"

"It is!" Ron exclaimed.

Suddenly, Draco Malfoy, one of the rudest Slytherins at Hogwarts, ran over to it and picked it up.

"Give that back!" Harry yelled.

"You'll have to catch me in order to get it back, Potter!" Malfoy yelled, jumping on his broom.

"No!" Hermione yelled. "You'll get in trouble!"

But too late, Malfoy was flying towards a tree, laughing loudly.

"I'm going after him," Harry said, mounting his broom.

"No!" Ron and Hermione yelled together.

But Harry had already taken off towards Malfoy. The wind whipped around him, the coolness of being in the air calming him a little. When he reached Malfoy, he snatched the remembral and raced back to the ground.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry spun around to see Professor McGonagall striding towards him, fury evident in her movements and facial features.

"Professor?" Harry asked meekly.

"Come with me," said Professor McGonagall, grabbing Harry by the arm and pulling him along beside her, leaving the rest of the students to chatter nervously.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to fly when you don't know how?" Professor McGonagall yelled once they were in her office.

"But Professor, Madam Hooch taught me when I was younger," Harry reminded her. Her face grew even more stern than normal.

"Mr. Potter, you were using a training broomstick. You only went up a little bit under the watchful eyes of both Professor Dumbledore and Madam Hooch. This was different. There were no teachers present; you've never flown that high before, and never done a fifty feet dive. I am highly disappointed in you Mr. Potter. I would have thought you'd listen to Madam Hooch's instructions. I guess I was wrong."

Harry stood gaping at Professor McGonagall.

"But, but, you can't expel me!" he cried.

"Who said you're going to be expelled?" she asked sharply.

"Well, Madam Hooch sa..." Harry started but Professor McGonagall cut him off.

"Mr. Potter, I will only say this once, so pay attention. You are not expelled. The headmaster would never expel a student just because a student disobeyed a teacher. No Mr. Potter, I'm going to talk to Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and see if you can join."

"But I can't!" Harry yelled. "I'm only in first year!"

She glared at him for a moment before saying, "If you have complaints about going on the Quidditch team, then go to your guardian. Good day to you Mr. Potter."

Harry walked out, still in shock that Professor McGonagall wanted him on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He ran right into Ron and Hermione, who were waiting down the hall from Professor McGonagall's office. The three friends walked back to their common room.

Once there and settled in front of the roaring fire, Harry explained what Professor McGonagall told him.

"You're joking!" Ron exclaimed.

"I'm not," Harry said.

"I agree with her though," Hermione said. "You really should have stayed put, and let Madam Hooch deal with it."

"Yeah, but then he wouldn't have gotten on the team!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding at Ron. Hermione sighed and mumbled, "Fine. Think what you want you two. I'm going to bed."

"Aren't you going to congratulate him?" Ron asked. Hermione glared at Ron.

"Congratulations on getting onto the team Harry," she said. "I'm sure you'll be great!"

"Thanks Hermione," Harry said brightly.

"Goodnight boys," huffed Hermione.

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