"Harry, can I talk to you?"

Harry looked up from the game of gobstones that Neville was trying to teach him and found Ron Weasley looking at him a bit nervously. The redhead was clearly uneasy, and Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were across the room giving Ron encouraging looks. Harry didn't notice, his green eyes staring at Ron.

"Alright, Ron. What's on your mind?" Harry wasn't one to hold grudges, nor was he one to be cruel and dismiss people needlessly. He knew what that felt like, so he decided to let Ron have his say.

Ron seemed to relax a bit, his expression smoothing from his earlier concern. This was his class's free period before dinner and Neville had really tried to come out of his nervous shell to spend more time with Harry and teach him little things.

"Well Harry, I wanted to say sorry." Ron seemed in a rush to get his words out. His eyes were focusing more on Harry than his scar or Neville's presence to offset his anxiousness. Sensing that he wouldn't be interrupted he hastily explained. "I know I can sometimes come off as a bit of a prat, and that's just because I have five older brothers and I have to defend myself all the time." Harry could see this point a bit in how he had to always be aware of his cousin, since Dudley had an awful habit of hunting him down whenever his mood was foul. "I haven't really got any friends my own age, and I wanted to try starting over?" The redhead looked sincere enough, and a quick glance at Neville who nodded slightly to show his support. Harry gave a slight smile and held out his hand.

"Alright… but you have to promise me to try and not be mean to other people." Harry decided to try and relate some to Ron's situation as he told the other boy, "I didn't really have any friends before coming to Hogwarts either. My cousin didn't really like me, and so most kids would play with him instead." He kept the abusive nature of his family relations to himself. That was his own burden to bear after all, and even though he had shown his memory to the Magical Law and Dumbledore, he wasn't too keen to keep reliving it. So he just smiled and shook Ron's hand before making a space for him to join them as they played games.

"So Harry, have you ever gone flying?" Ron asked as Neville managed to make a decent shot. He seemed almost disinterested in the marble-like game and was practically begging for a change of pace after only a few minutes. Harry shook his head, though it felt like a flock of butterflies appeared in his stomach. He had been more excited than afraid for tomorrow's flying lesson, especially since Madame Hooch seemed so formidable and no-nonsense when he saw her around the castle.

"Honestly I am a bit nervous I'll make a fool of myself. I was raised by Muggles after all." Harry reminded Ron, who looked a bit more understanding.

"Cheer up mate, it's not like anything terrible can happen with a teacher there. We'll be fine! You know I once took one of my older brothers' brooms out? Flying is easy, and it's pretty safe as long as you know what you're doing. Even when I was just eight I was flying through the apple trees in the orchard we have!" He clearly was trying to boast a bit, maybe try and earn a bit of points as a possible cool kid with his experience. He continued his story, and Neville listened to him. Much to Harry's surprise, he spotted Hermione peeking up furtively from her studying as she heard them talking about flying. Harry could practically see her ready to burst up with advice and admonishments for such blatant rule breaking.

Harry had been careful ever since the hearing to keep his magic inside, not wanting to reach out until he had a chance to take a couple lessons with Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall. He knew the Headmaster was busy running the school, so his Head of House had promised to help fill in since the Headmaster was occupied. So he didn't reach out his magic, but he didn't need to know what was about to happen.

Hermione stood up, showing the book she had been reading was Quidditch Through the Ages. and the introductory chapters specifically that gave basics on broom handling and beginner's flying. "I've been reading all about brooms and flying since I saw the lesson on our schedule, and it's fascinating! The way they make the brooms hover and brake and turn… it's all really complex charms!"

Hermione was trying to help, Harry figured, seeing that something seemed a bit different. In truth, she had seemed less than thrilled at the prospect, but that glint of determination she would get in class studying a tough problem had come to her eyes and she seemed to throw herself fully into it. However, as she began trying to give the tips from the book to the three boys there was a seeming degree of restraint in her eagerness. So much so the other boys in their year came over and chimed in as well.

Maybe he had been too harsh judging these Ron and Hermione? Harry had his guard up so often that maybe he really had been too hasty… the twin brothers Ron had were notorious jokers and pranksters, almost as feared as Peeves the poltergeist in truth, and they were only third years. Maybe growing up with those two had been hard on Ron? He settled in to listen and try to take in the advice of the wizard raised as well as Hermione since Neville seemed eager to get any advice on the topic he could.

"I-I really can't stand the idea of people seeing me make a fool of myself," Neville had admitted softly in his stuttering voice that told of his nerves. Harry only gave him an encouraging smile before answering him as he crawled into bed.

"Neville, I've never seen a flying broom outside Quality Quidditch Supplies in London. How about we just agree to try and help each other?"

Ron looked over as he finished putting on his pajamas and gave his slightly goofy grin. "C'mon Nev! All of us will be there to help, right Seamus?" The Irish boy gave a wave to the three from his bed.

"Us who grew up with Wizard families need ta look out for the others. I already promised Dean the same thing, so we'll help ya out too!" His accent shining through his enthusiasm and eagerness at him and his new muggleborn friend being included. Dean looked a bit relieved, as he had been a bit more reserved but seemed excited about the idea of flying himself.

Harry gave a grateful look to Ron and Seamus before the five bunked down for the night, all dreaming of soaring through cloudless perfect skies.

——————————————

That Saturday was a crisp day with the fleeting warmth of summer still clinging to the fields. The formidable Madam Hooch lined them up across from the Slytherins who were assigned this class with them. Ron seemed ruffled by this most of all, his family having a rather poor opinion of Slytherin house. Breakfast had been a bit of moaning about looking like a fool in front of all those rich snobs like Zabini and Malfoy and their cronies. Harry wasn't sure what to believe as Ron likely had more direct knowledge, but he was still an eleven year old boy; and the impression Ron was giving was not of pleasant people either. That and the minor confrontation that he and Malfoy had had before school started were lingering in his memory when Malfoy was bragging about how he had out-flown a Muggle helicopter once.

Harry stared across at that smug and haughty face of Malfoy as the pair took in the instructions of Madam Hooch. As she began her count, a surprised gasp tore his eyes from the Slytherin line and down to his left. Oh no…

"Mister Longbottom! Come down at once! Lean forward slowly, and you should be able to-" her words cut off as Neville, now around twenty meters up, saw how fast he was rising and let out a cry of terror.

On instinct Harry pushed off the ground, ignoring Hermione's hissed reproach in his ear from his left. Madame Hooch was rushing over and preparing to cast something with her wand. Harry had no eyes for anything but his friend in the air with color draining from his face. Some sort of feeling… something told him that he could save Neville from some kind of trouble…

"I'm coming Neville, hang on!"

"Potter?! What are you doing, fool boy!" The reprimand may as well have been wind in his ears as Harry shot up, leaning on the handle of his broom. With a thrill, some part of him realized he was good at this, that it felt natural like breathing to soar through the air and the broom seemed to follow his every whim as he barreled toward Neville. But his friend had reached his limit: Neville was so afraid of heights that his mistake of looking away from Harry and towards the ground was all it took. He watched as Neville's eyes rolled up, his grip loosening on the old school broom, and he slid to one side without warning. Neville had fainted, and Harry saw out of the corner of his eye a red flash of hair in the wind to his right side.

Harry barely even thought- "Ron! Get his left side! I'll try to get the right! We can't let him fall!"

The two first years tried valiantly. Ron reached out as Neville fell past him and snagged a handful of his robes, but it jerked him forward and almost unseated him. "I-I can't hold him!" Ron yelled through gritted teeth, eyes wide as he heard the robe tearing from the force of his yank.

"Just another second!" Harry swerved in below the pair and wrapped his arms around Neville's legs. The two old brooms could barely take the weight of the three spread so haphazardly, so while they still descended faster than they intended they managed to only really fall around ten feet.

But that fall had a loud crack, as Ron from above landed on Neville, and the boy let out a sharp yelp of pain.

Hooch and the others hustled over, rushing to check on the three boys in a heap with the two brooms lying on the grass not far away. Ron rolled off of the other two and Harry looked worried as he held onto Neville's hand, who was moaning quietly.

"M-my ankle… I th-think I b-broke my ankle…"

"Hush now, Mister Longbottom, you're very lucky it wasn't worse. You have your two idiot friends to thank for that." She looked at Harry and Ron severely, who both looked down a bit worried. Sure in the moment Harry had only worried about that feeling and Neville getting hurt, but now he had broken a rule. Madam Hooch had said clearly at the start any fooling around would get them expelled!

"You could have ended up with more than you got, so while I take you to Madame Pomfrey, I will call Professor McGonagall to handle them."

———————————————— Ron's Point of View ——————————————————

Flying was something he knew how to do, since he and his older brothers played pickup Quidditch in the orchard all the time. He wasn't worried about himself, or Seamus. Really he was only worried about Neville, and a concern that he found himself watching play out in front of his eyes. "Neville?!" He called out to try and help calm the fellow Gryffindor down, but when Hooch began barking out her instructions he decided to quiet down. It'll be alright, she's a teacher for a reason. He told himself, but then he saw something that made his heart skip a beat- Harry Potter was on his broom trying to catch up to the scared-looking Neville!

What is he thinking?! He doesn't know… how… Merlin's pants he does know how to fly!

Ron was raised in a house of two halves- the rule followers like Percy and his mum, or the rule breakers like the twins and his father. But the one thing all of them had in spades was loyalty. So when he saw two friends in danger he kicked off after Harry. Merlin what am I doing? I'm gonna be in so much trouble…! Ron thought as he moved to help Harry. Harry caught sight of him and seemed to instantly have a plan to catch Neville from above and below. With no time to really argue or do anything Ron nodded and snapped to, turning tight as he dared to Neville's slumped body just as he tumbled free.

"I've got you, Nev!" He tried to comfort the heavier boy as he reached for the boy's arm to try and haul him up onto his broom. He hadn't realized Neville was out cold at that moment, and the robes began to tear as Ron started to sink towards the ground.

"I-I can't hold him!" Ron yelled to Harry, his eyes widening as he saw the pocket of Neville's robe ripping and two objects falling out. That weird smoky ball he remembered seeing Neville get at breakfast and… oh no that was Neville's wand!

He was pulled back into the moment when he felt the pull on him easing a bit as Harry flew up and gently wrapped Neville's legs in a type of one armed hug to help carry his weight. The fall wasn't too bad. He'd landed on something a bit soft… of course the loud crack told him that something was Neville as he scrambled back in shock.

————————————————

Harry and Ron stared at their Head of House's desk as she stared down at them impassively. "So let me get this straight," she began slowly, her nostrils flaring slightly. "Mister Longbottom, who is in the hospital wing, lost control of his broom." She gazed over her spectacles at the boys who nodded. "Then, thinking Mister Longbottom was in danger of injury, you two decided to fly up without permission from Madam Hooch to attempt to catch Mister Longbottom, who had fainted?" She continued and watched as Ron and Harry nodded with slight winces. "Yet by getting involved you broke three things. The first was the rules of the class, the second was Mister Longbottom's ankle, and third was Mister Longbottom's wand!" She finished with a severe look at the two eleven year-olds who immediately cowered.

Professor McGonagall let out a sigh, her posture relaxing as she sat back into her chair. Her face pensive as she pointed her hand at where a quill was writing a letter on its own to Neville's gran to inform her of the day's events. "I have grounds to expel you per Madam Hooch's instruction to the class. However," the two boys looked up almost hopefully at that one word and she gave a small smile to them. "You both acted selflessly to save a fellow classmate, worked together to reduce his injuries, and managed not to get harmed yourselves somehow. So you will both serve detention with me tonight as punishment, but you each earn five points to Gryffindor. However," her expression returned to the stern professor they were used to seeing. "Any more rule breaking will see you both in far greater trouble. Understood?"

Harry glanced at Ron, then they both nodded simultaneously to show that they understood. "Good. Seven o'clock come to my office, we'll do your punishment then. Both of you should go check on Mister Longbottom, if you are feeling so inclined. And I hope that you would assist Mister Longbottom with any homework until he can get his wand replaced. I am informing his grandmother, but I would think it only right that you boys take responsibility for his lack of one."

In the hallway outside McGonagall's office the two boys looked at each other for a moment and Harry offered his hand to Ron for a shake, "You probably saved Neville's life Ron, thank you."

Ron shook his head and smiled a bit ruefully, "Nah mate, if you hadn't told me how to help we'd have just been useless watching him fall. You saved him, Harry, not me." Ron seemed to have been a bit humbled seeing Harry take off after Neville and immediately have a plan. To Ron, Harry had proved he was more than the Boy Who Lived; he was a genuinely good person. Someone who threw himself into helping others at any cost.

Harry shook Ron's hand, a small smile on his face for the first time when it was just the two of them. "Then we'll say we both did and let Neville decide later?" He half joked, trying to break the serious mood. Ron seemed pleased by that, his ears pinking slightly.

"All right then, we'll let him decide!"