Penny raced eagerly ahead of her Housemates to the fields. Today was the day that Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws started flying lessons, and she was honestly looking forward to it. The Gryffindors and Slytherins had their lesson earlier in the day, and she'd seen how much Harry had been looking forward to it. Beyond that, Cedric Diggory had brought up that the Hufflepuff Quidditch team was looking for some reserve players to fill out their roster in an attempt to get one over on the Slytherin team, among others. It had been a while since she'd been broom flying - with how much her family traveled, she was more used to carpets and other more esoteric flying methods - but she remembered it fondly.
She managed to reach the line of brooms ahead of the entire rest of the class, with Madam Hooch rolling her eyes as she caught sight of her enthusiasm. "Wait for everyone else," she instructed firmly when Penny reached for one of the brooms. Nodding, Penny stood at attention next to one of them, calmly waiting. Before long, the rest of the class arrived, chatter falling silent as Madam Hooch's eyes swept over them. Since everyone was already standing next to a broomstick, she spoke up. "Everyone stick out your hand and say 'Up'!"
"Up!" Penny called out as she extended her hand right alongside the rest of the class, her broom leaping into her hand almost before the word had left her lips. Once the instruction was given, she easily mounted her broom from long practice, getting a feel for the magic. It was an old broom, and she could feel where parts of the enchantments were starting to get stiff, but it was still perfectly functional. Letting her claws come out just a bit, she got a feel for the wood of the broom, and the still living spirit of the tree within that the spells had preserved. As the broom quivered excitedly in her grip, she felt at home.
Madam Hooch hadn't needed to correct her stance, so she was ready when the teacher returned to the front of the class. "When I blow the whistle, kick off hard, go up a few feet into the air, hover, then return to the ground by leaning forward." Once she was certain everyone had the instruction, she began her countdown. "On my whistle. Three, two, one..." She blew the whistle.
Penny immediately kicked off the ground, shooting away from the earth as she took to the space between land and sky, amidst the branches that floated above where she belonged. Remembering she was only supposed to go up a few feet, she kept to a lower branch, keeping herself steady. She waited until everyone had steadied themselves before leaning forward before returning to the land. It definitely wasn't enough.
Madam Hooch nodded, then pointed to several students, Penny included. "You lot, take your brooms up higher, and fly a few circles. Make the brooms turn by leaning to one side, forward by stretching out on the broom. Don't try to go too fast, and stay in sight. The rest of you, let's go over this again."
With that permission given, Penny shot back into the air with the others, eagerly flying circles. She tried to focus on the instructions to stay close, but the joy of flight was distracting her as it always had when she didn't have a goal in mind in the air. She slowly began flying faster in the circles, leaning further to the side as more and more of her squirrel features appeared until she was actually flying upside down while circling, giggling to herself as the wind blew through her fur-
"Miss Wyrm!" Madam Hooch barked out, snapping her out of it and getting her attention. The teacher was on her own broom relatively in the middle of the class as they flew around. "Here, now!" She indicated the air in front of her.
Penny nodded and released her broom, letting herself slip off of it. Spinning in the air, she lightly kicked off the bristles of a Ravenclaw's broom without disturbing their flight, sending her to the side where she lightly caught a fellow Hufflepuff's broom with one hand, swinging forward into a rolling flip before spreading her limbs and tail to glide down slightly, lightly pushing off another's head for extra distance without disturbing their flight. Flipping forward, she landed on her broom as it arrived, her feet gently gripping the shaft. "Yes ma'am?" she asked eagerly.
Madam Hooch blinked, her mouth hanging open slightly. "How did you do that?" she demanded, her voice somewhere between shocked and angry.
"Uh...easily?" Penny offered uncertainly. "I've always been able to do things like that during broom flight." She shrugged, idly walking to one side to shift the balance of her weight on the broom so it wasn't as strained. It was an old broom, after all.
Madam Hooch took a few moments to marshal herself. "And why are you so calm and confident?" she asked carefully. "You move like someone with more than a decade of flying experience, but you're only 11."
Penny pointed to her broom. "Tree branch." She then pointed to several other brooms in sequence. "Tree branch. Tree branch. Tree branch." She then gestured to the air around them. "Heights." She then pointed to herself. "Squirrel."
Madam Hooch rubbed her forehead briefly. "Are you already broom certified?" she demanded irritably. "Normally, it's not legal to certify someone under 11 years old..."
"Not in Australia!" Penny offered with a smile. "Been certified since I was seven!"
Madam Hooch let out a rueful sigh. "Then you can be dismissed from this class," she allowed ruefully. "Quidditch tryouts start next week, if you are interested. For now, you may go."
"Thanks, ma'am!" Penny offered happily before leaping off her broom, easily landing on the grass below before racing back towards the castle. Her broom slowly lowered itself to the ground.
Madam Hooch watched her go, shaking her head. This year's Quidditch games were likely going to be interesting...