Chapter 4 - I was saved (literally)

"You are going to have your flying lesson today, Ling!" Cho squealed. "Aren't you excited? Soon you can play Quidditch with us..." she rambled on.

I stifled a smile and grimaced at her instead. Of course I was excited. My first flying lesson.

Cho led me to the Quidditch Field where Madam Hooch would be teaching me how to fly. I could barely contain my excitement as I grabbed one of the school brooms (mine was destroyed when I fell from it during the last Quidditch match - all thanks to that Slytherin jerk).

"I will leave you here to wait," Cho told me, and checked her watch. "It's time for Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson." She bid me farewell and turned to leave the field.

I watched her until she became impossible to be seen.

"Ready?" a voice asked from behind. "For your flying lesson?"

At first, I was confused. The teacher that was supposed to teach me was a female. How did she have such a deep voice? Unless she was a guy that changed his sex... I shuddered.

"Chang?" the voice called again.

I turned around. "Good morning, Madam Ho-" My eyes widened involuntarily. "Flint?"

He flashed me a smile. It looked almost sincere. "I'm here to give you your lesson. Something came up and Madam Hooch needed to see to it."

"Something came up," I repeated and narrowed my eyes at him. "Did you have anything to do with that something, Flint?"

Marcus snorted. "Like I wanted to teach a mudblood to fly."

I rolled my eyes as if I didn't care and tapped my foot. "Can we start?"

He held up his left hand, which was, in turn, holding a posh broom.

"Nimbus two thousand and one," I read aloud the words that stretched across the broom, and glanced up at him. "What about it?"

"I'm lending you my broom," he explained and sighed exasperatedly, as though I was being very difficult.

I pointed to the school broom that I was holding. "I have one."

"The school one will give you splinters."

"I don't believe you."

"Don't be childish," Marcus snapped and pushed his Nimbus 2001 towards me.

I shot him a look. "Yours must be tampered with," I replied snidely.

There was a moment of silence.

"Suit yourself," he said, mounting his broom.

I watched him fly in circles, then took a deep breath and placed my broom down in a perfect position.

You can do it, I told myself. You've seen how Harry Potter does it.

"Up," I said firmly and the broom hopped a few inches off the ground before remaining stationary again. I was aware that Marcus Flint was eyeing me from his broom.

"Up!" I shouted this time, mildly frustrated.

To my surprise, it did as I was told.

I climbed aboard and kicked off the ground.

I nearly fell over.

I held the school broom with a death grip and made my way towards Marcus. I remembered thinking Marcus was right - the broom was giving me splinters.

But I will die before I let him know he was right.

I was two metres away from Marcus when it happened.

The broom jerked unexpectedly. I lost my grip and lost control of it. Pretty soon, I was hanging from it, on one hand.

I screamed ten years out of my life.

The broom was moving faster than ever. I was going to crash into the ground and become a pile of bones. I closed my eyes in fright.

This is it, I thought fearfully. I'm going to die in this virtual place and my body is going to remain here. I won't see my parents again. I won't see Lacey again. Hell, I won't even be seeing Jamie Yea-

"Gotcha," a voice murmured in my ear. I felt myself being carried, being held in the arms of -

I opened my eyes.

- Marcus Flint.

I was still shaking violently when we landed. He gave me what I least expected - a hug - and I calmed down. Call me corny, but that was when I realised his eyes are the most perfect shade of brown I ever seen.

[A][N]

In the next chapter... Zhang Lin takes a stroll and Flint thought she gave him a hint... It turned out to be the most disastrous evening they ever had.