Chapter 1: Extra Lessons
The first time Harry and Hermione shared a broom it was in their first year. Hermione had watched him days prior jump onto the back of a 12-foot mountain troll to save her. Had the three Gryffindors been enemies before then? They certainly hadn't liked each other. "A nightmare honestly"…. Had Ron meant that? He had apologized but what if they were both just humouring her. She definitely remembered that feeling from her parents in the past….
"You ready to try?" Harry's voice interrupted her thoughts.
He was smiling, holding out his broom to her. Right. Flying practice. Today he had agreed to show her some tips about flying he had picked up from being the newest member of the Gryffindor quidditch team.
She took the broom in hand but hesitated to straddle it. "Thanks for not telling Ron about this," she said, looking around as though she expected him to burst out of the grass and start teasing her.
"No problem," Harry responded brightly, "nothing to be afraid of, just hop on and fly near the ground, that way if you fall it won't hurt."
She nodded, voice incapable of agreeing with such a statement. She hadn't forgotten poor Neville and his fall. I've never broken a bone before. She twisted the broom in her hand and tried to will herself to get on.
"Here, ride with me first," Harry said gently, taking the broom back from her and hopping on nonchalantly. "Once you see how fun it is, you won't be afraid."
Hermione bit back a cutting remark she would have said if Ron had been the one to suggest she was afraid of anything (very un-Gryffindor like).
But when he offers his hand to her, she flushes and takes it without hesitation, swinging onto the broom behind him.
He pushes them off the ground with a firm shove of his feat and they are flying.
Hermione is torn between looking at surroundings in amazement and burying her head in Harry's shoulders because the danger is unending.
"Hermione, look! You can see all the mail owls leaving!"
She dares to look.
It was beautiful to see them all flying together. There were at least 50 of them flying through the air headed in a direction away from the castle. They were in perfect unison, moving to and fro, through the sky. She could spot a few white owls and she wondered to herself if any of them were Hedwig. With the sun setting in the background, it made for a picture-perfect scene, straight out of an art museum.
After watching the birds for a time, they flew around the training grounds for a while longer. She felt herself becoming more comfortable on the broom as she watched how Harry adjusted his speed and positioning to achieve the best flight.
When they landed, both kids were out of breath, and Hermione felt wind-forced tears in her eyes.
"What did you think?" Harry asked, messing with his hair and failing to fix it.
With a big grin she snatched the broom from his hand.
"My turn," she said, laughing at his scandalized expression.