A week had passed since their first day at Hogwarts and the first years were excited to be starting their flying lessons. They were not happy to be spending their flying lessons with the Slytherins but Bella was determined not to let them annoy her. Stood outside on the grass pitch in the courtyard, the Gryffindors and Slytherins were lined up across each other, school brooms lay at their feet.
"Good afternoon, class." Madam Hooch called, strutting down the line of anxious looking first years.
"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch." They chorused.
"Welcome to your first flying lesson." She smiled, turning to face them as she reached the bottom of the line. "Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick. Come on now, hurry up. Stick your right hand over the broom and say, Up!"
Bella held her hand over the broom and yelled 'up', the broom flying up into her hand. Bella beamed giddily but her excitement was short lived as Malfoy's smirk caught her eye and saw his broom also clasped in his hand. Harry's broom flew into his hand his second try and he was mesmerized. At the same time Emily's broom shot into her hand, Ron's broom shot up and cracked him in the nose. Bella and the others roared with laughter as Ron nursed his sore nose.
"With feeling!" Madam Hooch urged as many brooms still lay on the ground.
Hermione and Freya were now chanting 'up', their brooms lay unmoving at their feet.
"Now, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it. And grip it tight, you don't want to be sliding off the end." Bella swung her leg over her broom, holding it tightly. "When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, and then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle...3...2..." Her countdown never ended as Neville's broom began to rise into the air. He squeaked in terror as his broom grew higher and higher.
"Mr. Longbottom." Madam Hooch called to him.
"Neville come back!" Freya cried hysterically.
"Neville, what are you doing?"
"Neville...Neville..."
"We're not supposed to take off, yet."
Yells from most of the Gryffindors rang out in the courtyard, trying to coax Neville back to the ground but to no avail.
"M-M-Mr. Longbottom Mr. Longbottom!" Hooch yelled, Neville reaching higher heights.
Neville yelped and a scream of terror tore from his throat as he nearly crashed into the castle wall. He was forcing his weight onto the end of the broom in the hopes it would take his broom to the ground.
"Neville!" Harry shouted loudly.
"Help!" Neville cried.
"Come back down this instant!" Hooch demanded.
Neville screamed as his broom finally collided with the castle wall. He bounced along the wall and his broom shot off, as if it had a mind of its own, towards the group of students on the ground. Madam Hooch held out her wand to stop him but she, and everyone else, dived out of his way when it became obvious he wasn't going to stop.
Neville slipped from his broom just as it reached the top of the castle wall. His robes caught onto the large torch brackets hanging from the wall and they ripped in half, sending him plummeting at least fifty feet to the ground. A loud crack echoed around them as Neville's cries of pain reached their ears.
"Everyone out of the way!" Hooch yelled loudly, running towards Neville where he had fallen in a heap. "Come on, get up." She tried to pull him to his feet but he yelled out in pain again.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh dear. It's a broken wrist. Tch, tch, tch. Good boy, come on now, up you get." Tears and sweat coated his face and Neville shook as Madam Hooch pulled him to his feet. Madam Hooch led Neville away towards the castle, leaving the first years in the courtyard for the rest of the lesson.
"Did you see his face? Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he'd have remembered to fall on his fat ass." Malfoy laughed mockingly, holding Neville's rememberall in his open palm.
"You better give it back Malfoy!" Bella growled.
"No I don't think I will." He smirked. "Maybe I should give Longbottom some fun and leave it somewhere he'll never find it. Maybe then the fat oaf might get some exercise."
Malfoy turned over his shoulder, laughing with all his friends. Bella stomped towards him, inches away from him she raised her arm and slapped his face, hard. Malfoy raised his hand to his face, a shocked expression marring his features.
"You'll pay for that Weasley." One of the two big oafs he called friends grunted.
"Oh they speak? I thought they were mute." Bella laughed.
"That big mouth of yours will get you hurt." Malfoy said with a low voice as he glared at her.
"Oh Malfoy I'm shaking." She replied sarcastically.
She closed the gap between them, poking him hard in his chest with her finger.
"Listen here, I have had enough of you telling me what to do. Back off before I make you." Bella growled. She turned on her heel, hitting Malfoy in the face with her long hair.
"Do your worst, I've been looking for some fun since I got here." He laughed.
Bella glared at him over her shoulder. She joined her group of friends and set off back to the castle. Just who did he think he was? The pompous, arrogant, stuck-up little brat! He would get what was coming to him, karma always has a way.
