POV of Parvati Patil

The next day, hardly any of the Gryffindors and Slytherins could concentrate on their classes because the first real flying lesson was scheduled for the afternoon. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had already flown a bit on Friday, as nothing had interrupted their lesson. Neville would not be flying this time, as he needed to rest his sprained hand. The anticipation was correspondingly high just before the flying lesson.

Just like last week, we stood on the grounds near the greenhouses with brooms in hand. Ariana, to my right, seemed nervous again, but not nearly as pessimistic as last week before Neville got hurt. You could feel the excitement but also the tension in the class as Madam Hooch began to count down. 'On my command, push off gently, then land immediately. 3...2...1...' The sound of her whistle rang out, and we pushed off from the ground. This time, no one had a false start; everyone hovered about 1 to 1.5 meters above the grass. It was indescribably difficult to hold back and not just fly higher. The moment I was in the air, an incredibly strong feeling of freedom took hold of me. I would have loved to fly a few rounds properly, just away from the class towards the edge of the forest or something, but the sound of the whistle ended this magical moment. As we landed again, James and I exchanged glances, and I was immediately sure that he would have loved to fly away too. While Madam Hooch gave the next instructions for another attempt, my gaze fell on Ariana and Hermione, both of whom were standing a little shakily on their feet. Somehow, I was sure that flying lessons would never be their favorite subject.

Next, we were supposed to fly in groups of five at about 2-2.5 meters height. The others were to stay on the ground so that Madam Hooch could fully concentrate on the flying group. I was a little nervous as I waited for Bella, Ariana, Hermione, James, and me to take our turn. After all, the rest of the class and our teacher would be watching us closely as we flew. Then, after the group with Veatrix, Malfoy, Zane, Crabbe, and Goyle, it was finally our turn. I must say, I was sure none of us would perform as poorly as Crabbe and Goyle. I was starting to wonder if they had any brains at all, as they didn't exactly excel in other subjects either.

At Madam Hooch's signal, we took off and followed her further instructions. Immediately, I was overcome again by the strong feeling of freedom I had felt earlier. I thought I was doing really well; at least Madam Hooch had praise not only for James but also for me and Bella. Hermione and Ariana, on the other hand, struggled with flying. They were undoubtedly better than Crabbe and Goyle, but Madam Hooch had to correct them quite a bit regarding their posture. All too quickly came the instruction for us to land again. A little disappointed by this, but still proud of my performance, I landed between James and Bella, who also seemed like they would have preferred to stay in the air. At that moment, I was incredibly envious that James would be allowed to fly again on Saturday and had a good chance of making the Quidditch team. The rest of us would only be allowed to fly on Tuesdays, as we weren't allowed to own our own brooms and didn't even have the opportunity to apply for a position on the team. I consoled myself with the thought that I could participate in the tryouts in one of the coming years to prove my talent. Besides, it would already be exciting to experience the games as a spectator. At least that's what I told myself to be happy for James. I was really curious about how good he was, as I had heard that Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup in several years. It would be cool if that changed now that we were at Hogwarts. Just like the House Cup, Slytherin had claimed the Quidditch Cup for themselves in recent years. That definitely needed to change, but Hermione had already started contributing her part for winning the House Cup through good performances. At that moment, I also firmly resolved to help Gryffindor achieve victory.