Disclaimer: Hmmmm let me think...do I own Harry Potter?? Yeah right!!
Hiya!! Sooooooooo sorry I haven't updated. Between soccer and school and my sister always on I barely get time to type. But it's my lucky day cause my sister is on a trip with her grade for a week!!! PARTY!!! Lol.
Miss Lady Padfoot: I looooooove you!! Lol. The Beatles are truly great!! Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. I love both those parts too!! You are truly the craziest person who's reviewed my story. Lol. That's a compliment!! Luv ya lots. Here's the next chappy!
Chelles: Hello!! Thanks. Omg you had your students read Harry Potter!! (Was it in Spanish or was it just in the class?) Anyway, wow that makes me love you even more!! Thanks for reviewing!
JKR: Yeah I know, there wasn't a lot in this chapter. I probably should put two chapters together but I always feel like I have to post. This next chapter's much longer!! Thanks a bunch for reviewing!!
LMTran: Thanks! I hate it when people do that too. There's a little part in this chapter about Lily and James but it's not very big and it doesn't really matter. Omg I can't believe I put their heights 5'5. Let's call that a momentary lapse of judgment. I changed it to 5'2. Thanks for catching that. Here's the update!
HappySnakes Rule: Yeah the last chapter was definitely my least fav. I'll definitely read your story if you put one up! I'd be happy too. I'm not sure I'll by able to review it though cause of my stupid computer. It's got this thing that doesn't allow pop ups. If you review my story and you put a story up I'll try to review your story here! I agree, Remus is awesome! Lol. Thanks for reviewing.
I don't feel like babbling nor do I have any time so with out further babbling here is the update!!
Chapter 10: Flying Lessons
For the Gryffindor first years, Thursdays were usually an okay day. They started outside with Herbology, and then went to Transfiguration, and after that they had History of Magic which was usually used as a socializing or sleeping period. Finally they had a free period. Unfortunately, Lily noticed, Hogwarts always had a way of changing things. As Lily and her friends descended their staircase into the Common Room, on the morning of their second Thursday, they noticed something was posted on the Common Room bulletin board. Strolling over to it their carefree expressions turned to disdain.
"All Gryffindor first years will report to the Quidditch Pitch at 3 o'clock today for their first flying lesson. These lessons will be held with the Slytherin house. Failure to attend will loose your house 10 points.'" Lily read aloud. The girls groaned.
"Flying?" Melissa asked slightly hysterical. "I don't think so. I'd much rather like to keep both my feet on the ground, thank you very much."
"You'll do fine Melissa. Quit worrying," Lily told her. "It's the Slytherins I'm worried about." Ever since their first potions class the Slytherins had been nothing but mean and nasty to them. They'd become worse since they knew that Melissa was a muggleborn too.
"Ugh. They're such a bunch of bloody idiots," Melissa growled.
Kelly snickered. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you swear, Melissa."
"I only swear when I'm really mad," Melissa explained. "And the Slytherins make me mad. Calling me and Lily 'Mudbloods'. I can't stand the lot of them. And now I'm about to make a fool of myself in front of them while I fly."
"I'll be there to catch you if you fall, love," a voice said smoothly from behind them. It was Sirius who had come down the boys' staircase with James, Remus, and Peter.
Melissa groaned once again but didn't turn to face him. "Just another annoying thing to add to my already crumbling day," she sighed, before turning to glare at Sirius. "And don't call me love."
"Sure," Sirius shrugged. "Now why's your day so crummy so far?"
The girls all pointed silently at the bulletin board. The boys read the notice silently before breaking out into exclamations. "Finally!" James cried. "I haven't been on a broom in weeks."
"I think it's utterly insane that they don't allow first years brooms," Remus said.
"I know! You'd think that they don't trust us or something," Peter agreed.
"Wait. Why would this qualify as a bad thing?" Sirius asked Melissa. He got a mumble in response. "Pardon me, what'd you say?"
"I said I'm afraid of heights!" Melissa exclaimed (a/n: I really am afraid of heights! Lol.). She went red and looked at them sheepishly.
"Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of Meliss," Kelly assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "My first time on a broomstick, I was scared stiff. But it's truly the most exhilarating thing in the world!"
"I think I should be more worried then you Melissa," Shannon stated. "I'm clumsy enough on the ground as it is. Just think about the damage I could do in the air."
They all laughed and Lily knew Melissa was feeling slightly better. "You'll be fine," Lily told her reassuringly. "Now let's go to breakfast."
The group trudged down to the Great Hall together. The boys told them about the detention they'd had the night before, for charming water balloons to chuck themselves at the Slytherins. The four boys were becoming quite the pranksters, earning them respect from some of the upperclassmen and cautious looks from the professors. Lily knew that they were just harmless pranks and the boys would never hurt someone.
They all took seats at the Gryffindor table and began loading their plates, talking idly about this and that. Soon a loud noise came and Lily looked up to the rafters expectantly. Several dozens of owls swarmed into the hall: Barn owls, tawny ones, snowy owls, and eagle owls. A school owl landed gracefully in front of Lily and waited patiently as she untied the parchment from his leg. She offered it some toast, which it gracefully accepted, before it took off again. Lily anxiously opened the letter. It was actually paper instead of parchment. It was from her parents.
Dear Lily,
It's wonderful to hear from you dear. It sounds like you're having a delightful time. We're glad that you've made so many friends. Nothing's new around here. Your father started work yesterday....It went on from there. Her mother talked about her father's job at a school in the next town over. She also gave her gossip about what was happening with the neighbors which gave Lily a good laugh. Lily noticed that she didn't say much about Petunia and frowned. The letter ended like this. Please write again soon dear. You know how your father and I love to hear from you. We love you so much. Petunia says hi.
Love,
Mum and Dad
Lily sighed and folded the paper back up and put it in her bag. She glanced around her. Melissa had also gotten something and was laughing quietly. "What's so funny?" Lily asked.
Melissa glanced at her then back at her letter. "Oh it's just mi abuela, my grandmother. She's hilarious sometimes. She's also a little you know, loco, crazy. But I love her to death."
"Where does she live?" Kelly inquired curiously.
"She lives in Spain, with the rest of my mother's family. I hardly get to see her," Melissa sighed sadly. "She's one of the few people in my extended family who knows I'm a witch," she paused for a bit before brightening up. "Anyway, come on people, eat up. We want to get to Herbology on time right? Don't want to miss any venom spitting plants, now would we?"
Lily giggled with the rest of them before finishing the rest of what was on her plate. She decided to not to worry about the flying lessons until she came to it.
When you're really excited about something the time seems to go really slow. When you're dreading something, time seems to speed up, which was exactly what happened to Lily. The day seemed to go by so fast. As the day went by Lily became increasingly nervous. She too, like Melissa, was a bit afraid of heights. History of Magic, which usually put Lily to sleep, was the fastest class of the day. Before Lily knew it, she was back in the Common Room, trying to do her homework. She couldn't concentrate though. All she could see in her mind was her falling off her broomstick and landing with a thump on the ground. She started tapping her quill repeatedly.
"Lily?" a voice asked uncertainly. Lily was startled out of her thoughts and she looked towards the concerned voice. It was James who was sitting next to her. "Are you alright?"
"What? Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Lily lied, refocusing her attention to her Herbology essay. She could sense James' eyes on her and looked back up at him. "What?"
James' hazel eyes searched hers. "You look terrified," he whispered finally to her.
"I'm fine, honestly," Lily told him. James raised an eyebrow dutifully. Lily sighed. "Okay, so I'm not fine. All I can picture in my head is me falling from a broomstick 50 feet in the air and landing with a thump on the ground and not moving," she said really quickly.
James laughed. "Oh that's all you're worried about?" he asked her. Lily glared at him. "Oh come on. It'll be alright. I hear that they don't even allow you to go that high off the ground. And then there's the flying instructor, Madam Hooch, who's really careful with every one."
"Really?"
"Really. There's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, I guess I was overreacting a bit," Lily admitted. "Thanks James."
"No problem," James told her. Sirius was calling him over to play Exploding Snaps so he left the table.
From next to her Melissa cleared her throat and Lily turned her attention to her. Melissa was giving her a strange look. "What?" Lily queried.
"James fancies you," Melissa stated bluntly.
"What! Where'd you get a stupid idea like that? James is my friend. He doesn't fancy me," Lily insisted.
"You are so naïve, Lily," Melissa drawled, rolling her eyes.
"And you are so frustrating. We're only eleven years old for Christ's sake," Lily reminded her. Melissa grunted and looked at her watch. She started to pack away her things and Lily did too.
"Come on, let's go put our things away. It's almost three o'clock," Melissa told her. Lily led the way up the girls' spiral staircase and came to the first years' dorm. Inside Kelly and Shannon were listening to the WWN (the Wizarding Wireless Network). Lily dumped her bag on her bed. Melissa flopped unceremoniously on her bed and put her hand to her forehead. "You know, I think I'm coming down with something," she faked a cough. "I think I'm having an asthma attack."
"Melissa you're such a faker," Kelly declared turning off the WWN. She walked over to where Melissa was pretending to faint and dragged her up. "Let's go. You're going to learn to fly if it's the last thing you ever do."
"That's not very reassuring," Melissa grumbled.
The girls met the boys who had finished their game and they climbed out of the portal together. There were very few people in the corridors as most of the school was still in class. The bell rang just as they came to the Entrance Hall. Remus and James opened the huge doors to the Hogwarts grounds. It was an okay day outside. It was partly cloudy and about 75 degrees out. The eight Gryffindors strolled about. Melissa was practically hyperventilating.
"It's going to be just fine," Remus said slowly. "Deep breaths. In with the good, out with the Bad."
"What are you a psychiatrist?" Melissa snapped. "And no, it's not going to be just fine. You guys don't understand. I don't like heights. I hate bridges. I don't fly in planes. I've never climbed a tree. I think all roller coasters should be abolished."
Lily could have laughed at the expressions of James, Sirius, Peter, and Shannon, if she didn't think Melissa would hit her. She knew that none of them knew what a plane or a rollercoaster was. "Meliss, this is different then all those things. This is flying. On a broomstick. All those things you're afraid of are in the muggle world don't matter here. This is the magical world," Lily spoke with passion.
For a moment nobody spoke and they continued walking. "You know what? You are absolutely right Lily," Melissa finally said. "This is the magical world and anything's possible."
"That's the spirit!" Sirius exclaimed. He grabbed on to Melissa's arm and dragged her quickly to the Quidditch Pitch. "Come on you lot. Last one there's a rotten jelly bean!"
The rest of them chased after Melissa and Sirius, laughing with amusement. Upon entering the Quidditch Pitch, Lily was again speechless at how amazing it was. It was much bigger than any football (soccer) stadium she'd ever been too. The 3 hoops on each side of the field reminded her of blowing bubbles when she was younger. There were many towers that could hold people who wanted a better view. In Lily's mind it was astonishing and just another reminder that the magical world had endless possibilities.
Glancing around, she noticed that the Slytherins weren't here yet. In the middle of the Pitch, 18 broomsticks lay on the ground in a line. Sirius and James, who had also noticed the broomsticks, were making their way to them. Just as they were about to pick up a broomstick each, a voice rang out through the pitch. "Do not touch those broomsticks!" the voice yelled.
Everyone turned in the direction the voice came from and were greeted by a middle ages witch in black robes. She had short black hair and startling bright yellow eyes. Her face held a stern expression at the moment as she surveyed the group. "Are you two Potter and Black?" she asked suddenly, pointing at James and Sirius. They both exchanged a glance before nodding. "Ah, I've been warned about you by the other professors."
"It seems our reputation precedes us," Sirius said to James smirking.
The witch didn't seem impressed. "Let it be known that I don't take any funny business in my class. Do you understand?"
James and Sirius nodded again, though both were still smirking rather broadly in Lily's opinion. She didn't get anymore time to ponder what they might have been planning because the Slytherins entered the Pitch. They glared at the Gryffindors and the eight of them glared right back. The flying professor rolled her eyes as she watched them. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. I'm Madame Hooch," the yellow eyed witch told them. All of them stood around staring at her. "Well what are you waiting for? Everyone pick a broom and stand next to it."
Lily hurried over to a broomstick and stood next to it. Melissa was on one side of her and James was on the other. "Now, I want you to stick your right hand over your broom and say and a clear, commanding voice 'up',"
"Up!" shouted the class to their brooms. About half a dozen went into their owners hands. Those belonging to James, Sirius, Remus, Kelly, Lucius Malfoy, and Severus Snape. Lily's hovered slightly off the ground before falling with a thump. Melissa's didn't move.
"Is that the best you can do?" Madame Hooch asked. "Give it a little more 'oomf' students!"
"Up!" Lily shouted at her broom. It immediately jumped into her hand, startling her. More people got there brooms into their hands, including Shannon and Peter. Melissa's just rolled around on the ground.
"Melissa," Sirius drawled, holding smugly onto his broom. "Brooms can smell fear. You have to relax."
"Relax. Yeah right." Melissa took a deep breath before yelling, "Up!"
The broom finally made it's way into her hand and Melissa face took on a satisfied expression. Once everyone had their brooms Madame Hooch instructed them on how to kick off. Lily looked dubiously at her broom. She swung her leg over to the other side. When Madame Hooch blew her whistle she kicked semi-hardly off the ground. With a whoosh she was up in the air. It was an amazing feeling, floating a couple meters above the ground. She looked towards Melissa who was clutching the broom tightly and not looking down.
"Alright, now everyone lean forward a bit and come back down," Madame Hooch called up to them.
Lily slowly did as she told them and she put out her legs and landed gracefully on the ground. Unfortunately, Melissa didn't end up so good as when she tried landing she ended up leaning to fast. She hit the ground with a thump. Lily dropped her broom and hurried over to Melissa. Melissa was moaning like nothing else and when she looked up she blinked repeatedly. "Lily? Is that you?" she asked in an airy voice.
Lily snorted and grabbed unto Melissa's arm, hauling her upwards. "Stop faking it and get back on your broom," she ordered her.
Melissa pouted and swung a leg over her broom. Madame Hooch raised an eyebrow at her. "You alright there, Miss Martin?" she inquired.
Melissa nodded reluctantly and glared at Lily who very maturely stuck her tongue out at her. Melissa grinned in response. Madame Hooch soon began to instruct them on how to turn on their brooms. Lily's earlier nervousness faded as she went higher up in the air. Flying was a feeling she'd never felt before and she was enjoying it very much. From where Lily was it looked like Melissa was having a good time too. The people who already knew how to fly, like Sirius and James, seemed slightly bored. As she was watching James a mischievous smile came on to his face. Madame Hooch was letting them fly around freely. James raced over to Sirius on his broom, touched him and yelled, "Tag! Your it!"
Sirius, catching on quickly, looked for the nearest person and tagged them. Of course the nearest person was Melissa who wobbled slightly before yelling out, "Oh Sirius Black you are going to get it!" She immediately started chasing after him. Lily noticed that in all her excitement, Melissa didn't seem to remember she was on a broom and was flying quite quickly. Lily laughed out loud as Melissa hit Sirius on the back of the head, declaring her it.
And to think, Lily thought to herself. All those years I'd always thought that brooms were just for sweeping.
That was a lot of typing!!! Phew...I'm wiped. Tell me whatcha think people! Review and I will loooooove you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and well.............. you get the picture!! :o)