Three
Thalia Grace and Katie Bell were making their way to the common room when they saw a couple of Gryffindor first-years crowding around the notice board. Curious, the two girls squeezed through the crowd to get a good view of the board. "Flying lessons!" Katie, the taller of the two, squealed. The crowd was thinning, so Thalia could finally read it properly. Flying lessons on Thursday with Hufflepuff! "This is bad," Thalia thought. "Very bad."
Thursday came sooner than expected. Thalia was sprouting off colourful language under her breath as they walked towards the Training Grounds. Katie, on the other hand, was raving about Quidditch to anyone who would listen.
"Everyone stand next to a broomstick!" Madam Hooch hollered. "Stick out your hand and say, 'up!'"
"Up!" Everyone shouted unanimously.
Katie's broom immediately jumped into her hand. Thalia's broom rolled around for a bit before doing the same. They mounted their brooms, and they rose. "Don't look down," Thalia muttered as she rose three or four feet. Then, Madam Hooch told them to come down and Thalia let out sigh of relief. After practicing a few more times, seeing everyone making progress, Madam Hooch decided to teach them how to steer their broomsticks, as well as diving.
Katie was a natural, and Madam Hooch moved on to diving. Now, to dive, you would need to rise more than just three or four feet. When Madam Hooch requested them to do that, Thalia's hands started sweating. But, she thought, "I can do this. Just don't look down."
So, she flew. She did not look down. Katie, as usual, was doing great. Madam Hooch was elated. She could not wait to tell Professor McGonagall about Katie. Hopefully, Miss Bell could be made a reserve on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Alright, everyone ready! On my whistle, three, two, one, dive!" Madam Hooch shouted.
Thalia thought about diving with her eyes closed. But she would crash into something that way. "Well," she thought. "I'll have to look down. Time to face my fears."
She took a deep breath and on Madam Hooch's whistle, dived. However, when she saw how high up she was, she stopped. She was numb with fear. The others were already safe on the ground.
"Miss Grace? Please come down." Madam Hooch bellowed from below.
"I can't!" Thalia screamed. Her hands were clammy and slippery. Just when she thought things could not get any worse, the old broomstick started jerking. It moved on its own, taking sudden, small dives and randomly accelerating.
"The broomstick's malfunctioning!" Leanne from Hufflepuff shouted.
"You think?!" Thalia yelled back. Suddenly, she slipped off her broom, screaming bloody murder. Her hands held on to the broomstick tightly as it flew in jerking movements. A crowd of students along with Madam Hooch followed it around in a panic, while the others froze in horror, rooted to the spot.
Thalia's hands were shaking with fear. She was about to lose her grip. As soon as she finished that thought, her grip slackened and she fell, cursing her head off.
After what seemed like a very long fall, Thalia finally hit the ground. "Ow," she muttered softly. Her fellow schoolmates and the teacher quickly gathered around her. Madam Hooch examined her for injuries. "A fractured arm and a broken wrist," Madam Hooch said worriedly. "But it could have been worse. Students, go back to your common rooms and wait for your next class. Don't you dare try to fly without me here or I will have you terribly punished. As for Miss Grace," She looked at her injured student. "To the hospital wing."
"Well, at least I won't have to do any homework," Thalia told Luke as she sat in the hospital wing. "And Gryffindor gets a new reserve for Chaser!"
"Who?"
"Katie Bell, of course!"