Flying lessons had also been interesting in retrospect. At the time he wondered what made wizards in Britain choose brooms of all things. Most of the rumors and acquaintances in Knocturn Alley had indulged his conversation over the years. Small talk along with business was the usual compared to the straight forward manner of Goblins.

'A shame we are only learning to control a broom,' Harry thought with a sigh. 'One maybe two can fit comfortably and at our age Teleportation is impractical, Portkeys are too regulated and the floo is too inconvenient. Why they don't use carpets for transporting families I don't know. At least we don't have the Gryffs trying to show off here or the Slyths trying to intimidate the shier students. The Puffs at least try to be friendly so there should not be too many worries.'

"Alright," Madame Hooch said. "Stand beside your broom and say 'Up'."

"Up," Harry said confidently barely blinking as the broom jumped into his waiting hand before he had finished the word.

Harry raised his eyebrow as he barely managed to keep it from twitching as the broom seemed more puppy like in its behavior. He let it float down before it rose up almost wagging before butting up and rubbing against his hand. He wasn't even gripping it and it floated there as he traced the grain on the handle. If he was anyone else he would have started freaking out by that point, but instead he had calmly turned to Hermione in the hopes that she was both doing alright and also not being as disturbed as he was with a broom acting like a long lost pet.

What he saw caused him to blink as he thought, 'How? How can Hermione have trouble with something so simple?'

Hermione's broom was on the ground or more accurately almost trying to dig itself into the ground.

"Why is this happening?" Hermione practically growled as she glanced about to make sure no one saw this.

"Calm down Hermione," Harry whispered as he noticed how her broom was handling. "You're scaring it. Think of enchanted objects like this as having rudimentary intelligences not quite animal like but there as it is an animate object. To be put simply you're scaring it with your attitude. Relax and don't order it think of it like a companion animal like a horse or dog."

"Up," Hermione said after she calmed herself.

The broom gently questioningly rose to her hand. Hermione smiled at that. It was odd to think that a broom would cower like a fearful animal but that was what it had done.

"See now that wasn't so hard now was it," Harry said letting a real smile show on his face. "You need to remember that not everything is what it seems."

They turned their heads as they heard Madame Hoch start to walk over and access their grips.

"Ms. Jones a good grip there," Madame Hooch said as she saw the professional grip the girl had with none of the fumbled fingers or awkward positioning. "It shows plenty of proper practice unlike some others..."

"Thank you Madame Hooch," Megan said with a beaming smile while shyly speaking. "My cousin has been giving me pointers."

"As I suspected Ms. Jones," Hooch began to say. "Do you have any interest in taking after her?"

Megan shyly smiled before nodding her head and saying, "Yes Madam Hooch. It looks like she has ever so much fun. I just need to get into flying shape."

Madame Hooch nodded and moved on. She liked it when the young showed real interest and skill in her passion. Now if the young Potter was anything like his father. What she saw shocked her.

'A broom does not do that,' she thought to herself. 'A broom does not act like an overly enthusiastic animal nor does it wag itself like that.'

"Mr. Potter," Madame Hooch says sternly. "What do you think you are doing bewitching a broom like that? That is nothing how a broom should act!"

Harry just looks at her and says cheekily, "Well it doesn't for you Ma'am, but it does for me."

"That is not what I meant Mr. Potter," Madame Hooch says irritated. "I have never made a broom act like that. Professionals can't do that not even your father could!"

"Maybe it just likes me better..." Harry says with a dazzling smile.

Hooch shook herself as it seemed that he took after his father sometimes.

"Now mount your brooms," she said as she looked around barely keeping herself from twitching.

The broom glides to his hand and he finds himself seated on it without effort. He turns and gives Hooch a jovial grin. For some reason, being near the broom makes him feel carefree.

'Will I find flying to be what truly relaxes me?' Harry thought as he looked around slowly starting to hover.

Slowly the group begins to maneuver. Harry notices that Hermione is slowly getting over her fear of heights well more so than when they had gallivanted through the trees.

While that was going on Harry slowly started to make more Maneuvers. He was feeling odd and acting so unlike himself. He was acting like a kid.

"Hey Madame Hooch," Harry shouted before pitching his broom upward, "can't catch me!"

"Mr. Potter!" Hooch shouted before darting after the laughing boy grumbling, "You seem just like your father right now."

While the teacher darted after the laughing and rapidly swerving and veering Harry all was not as well on the ground.

Michael Corner was not someone that Harry or Hermione liked although he was a bit lower on their lists than either Malfoy or the Weasleys. While he was in their house he was an ass. How he was in their house was a mystery to both of them. Maybe he lacked something to be in Slytherin like a sense of self preservation or maybe even style. He was a bully and not a very bright one.

"So Susan," Corner said as he cornered the Hufflepuff with the others having floated too far away from her. "It looks like we are all alone now. I think it is time to finish that chat..."

Susan Bones looked around and saw that she was too isolated from her friends. She couldn't dart towards her friends without crashing into them. If she aimed to land she would be even more trapped. Hannah was unable to see her if she tried to signal for help. Corner was going to at least force her to do something for him and considering that he had seen her already there was a little dread in her mind.

Susan makes a sudden decision and veers away before tucking herself like a seeker and shooting off. He would catch her but if she got far enough away she could delay him hopefully until the class ended and she would have her fellow Puffs as backup. They looked after each other after all. Still he was a silver tongued bastard and would likely convince her friends that she was just playing.

As he was darting about with Hooch frustrated as he outmaneuvers her, Harry notices something out of place. Now while he would never in any shape consider himself a hero he did tend to have to psych himself out when there was one in trouble not to go after them. He considered it a holdover from the Dursleys as they would never think to help anyone unless there were witnesses and they would say how good they were. They were hypocrites like that he had long ago realized.

His eyes widen as he sees where her flight path will take her. He had seen that tree move before and 'Hogwart's a History' mentioned it.

'The Whomping Willow,' he thought with sudden dread. 'A Puff is darting toward the single most dangerous area outside the forest. So something must have set her off. This cannot be happening and Hooch is too far to get there in time. I hate acting the Hero!'

"No time to play Madame," Harry suddenly says seriously dropping all pretense from before. "We got a situation on our hands. Wonder what caused it? Oh well not like it matters at the moment anyways."

"Mr. Potter," Hooch manages to say before he shoots off far faster than the aging broom could possibly handle. "Oh dear..."

It is a little known fact that while normal broom operations use a minute amount of magic that they also normally can only handle so much magic flowing through them. Magic however tends not to have a definition of normal when around Harry and his friends.

Madame Hooch while shocked knew better than to summon someone on a speeding broom. The shock would cause problems and the momentary suspension would in this case lead to the Willow causing serious injury. There was also a chance of summoning her into the path of a limb and while it was possible to heal, vanish and even regrow bones there were some injuries that would still be fatal. She was also well aware that there was no way that she would be able to get there in time and yet it seemed her most likely one of her most favored students was doing so.

'Come on,' Harry thought desperately. 'I need to get there faster!'

Now while Harry was by no reason one to act suitably heroic that did not mean that he didn't have the fatal flaw most heroes have around girls. Letting a girl suffer was really not his thing. Besides which he knew that despite their odd friendship Hermione would go off if he let something happen when he could prevent it. There was also the fact that neither of them liked bullies.

Now while Harry had killed and tortured all of those involved had earned that action by their own actions. It was simply a fact that those silenced were those that had not truly understood the ramifications of their actions. Consequences are there for any action and he would have to deal out some serious things to ensure this didn't happen again.

It appeared that he would not get there in time as the willow connected with Susan's broom. The sharp strike snapped the broom and threw her airborne into the approach of more swinging branches. Harry was focused on what he needed to do and thus let his body react. Spinning and twisting he avoided the branches that came his way noticing how they were more intent on him than Susan. Still even if she landed without being struck on the ground the branches would be able to get her before she got away.

'Darting into this tree's branches has got to be one of the craziest things I have ever done,' Harry thought as he twitched slightly flying between the rapidly agitated limbs. 'Well I am almost there just need to spin and catch her before we get out of here.'

Harry managed to fly under her descent and grabbed her mid fall. He tucked her in front of him and leaned over her to shield her from the swinging club like branches. This served to press her against him between his arm holding her and the broom at her back. She had wrapped her arms and legs around him to stabilize herself.

"Now hold on tight," Harry said as his eyes darted about for a path. "We need to move!"

With that Susan was pressed further against him as he pushed the broom even more. The branches came close but he managed to dart and swerve around them as he shot up and away from the tree. He pulled the broom out of the steep flight and leveled off. After getting a long enough way from the rampaging tree, Harry slowly glided his broom down to the ground where he set down next to Hannah.

"It's alright," Harry managed to say in as assuring a voice as he could. "You can let go now. We are on the ground."

"Thank you," Susan managed to say before falling to the ground sobbing while Hannah hugged her tightly.

"Mr. Potter," Madame Hooch said sternly. "While your previous flying was reckless if highly skilled, what you have just done was insane!"

"It is harder to do what is right than what is easy," Harry said simply. "While I may not be a reckless Gryffindor that does not mean that I would let someone that has done nothing wrong die merely because it was easy."

Madame Hooch settled her broom down near where he was as the rest of the class settled down a bit further away. They were thankfully out of earshot for the rest of the conversation. It had been bad enough with being yelled at like that and more so the disappointment that seemed to practically radiate from her. He had long since been as used to praise for his behavior outside the Dursleys as had Hermione. Still he was aware that while he was not perfect he did at times try to be too perfect in his success. It was just that after so much that he held himself to a higher level of excellence than the mediocre levels his neighbors had.

"Before this I was tempted to advice Filius to see about getting you on the Quidditch team early given your abilities," Madame Hooch said with a stern look. "Now I am unsure wither to recommend you given your blatant disregard for your own safety!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. He had wanted to blend in but this would make it more difficult. Wizards however were very obsessed about their sport and it would seem odd to be disinterested almost as much as the situation he was in now. Still his physical enhancements could be troublesome. He knew that while he was several times stronger and faster than a normal adult he was not as fast or strong as some beings though he could enhance himself temporarily enough to match if not surpass the strength that the groundkeeper Hagrid he recalled was capable of. It was a shame that there were too many witnesses that he could not simply alter that many memories at once. He mentally reminded himself to learn how to mass memory modify crowds. It may come in handy if not necessary eventually.

"I always had fast reflexes," Harry said after an uncomfortable pause. "Still we should be more concerned with the cause of this than the meager aerobatic show we put on."

This however served to rattle Madame Hooch as when he had been in the air he had been so friendly and care free and here on the ground so analytical and logical in his manner. The complete discontinuity between the two images was offsetting. It was almost as much of a contrast as his fellow Ravenclaws had been shocked by.

'It seems that he is completely different when in the air,' she thought. 'As upset as I am with him for risking himself he did save a fellow student. There is also the matter that letting such natural talent be ignored would be a travesty.'

"A concession than," Hooch said reluctantly. "You promise to try out for the team next year and I will neglect to inform anyone that you need to be punished for flying off."

"Agreeable," Harry said with a slow nod. "I would prefer not to have preferential treatment, but some people seem to make that impossible."

"It's good to see that you have a level head on your shoulders," Hooch said with a grin. "It would be a shame if someone with such natural ability squandered it. Did anyone mention that your father was rather involved as a chaser in his school years?"

"No one said that perse," Harry conceded. "Still it will give me a better idea on the man. A shame that the library seemed to gloss over it perhaps you might know a bit more or someone that could direct me to more information on the matter?"

Hooch grinned at that before saying, "While I did know him we were more involved with our mutual flying obsession at the time. I take it that even though most of the other professors even though they either taught them or went to school enough to be acquaintances have yet to tell you more than the minimum?"

"I know I look mostly like my father but with my mother's eyes," Harry said with a far off look. "My father was somewhat gifted at transfiguration while my mother was gifted in charms and potions. Even that much was an effort to gain. They appeared to believe that I grew up hearing about them."

"Well I guess since they have decided to leave you in the dark thinking your relatives had informed you," Madame Hooch began with a smile, "I guess it falls to me to tell you about them. I first met Lily Evans and James Potter at their first flying lesson..."

With that Harry found out more about his parents than his other searches had resulted in. He had raided the library for information on his parents and received the basics of their academic and extracurricular activities but that never really told everything about someone. It was strange that while his father had been McGonagall's favorite student and Flitwick's had been his mother there had been something holding them back. The Transfiguration Mistress had a personality that he hadn't planned to see behind her professional visage and even her lion's didn't really know much about her personally except that she lived and bled Gryffindor red. Flitwick may have been more approachable as his head of house, but there was an inkling he had when around him. It was as if he was circling an animal he was hunting. He had noticed the subtle signs that inclined Harry to believe that while the rest of the proper wizards were biased against anyone with nonhuman or nonmagical blood there was a distinct impression that there was still some nonhuman blood in the Charm and Dueling Master or at least enough to make him spooked similar to any normal animal around them.

Based on those problems he realized that it was a bad thing to go to places like zoos or farms. The woods back home had been different. The animals there knew it was there hunting ground and that most of them were not in immediate need to run from the predators pacing through. They had a more preferred prey anyways so there was less chance of them being food. Normal dogs, cats and birds were somewhat skittish around them. Harry had been thankful of that growing up as none of Marge's dogs had bothered him. Still it was interesting in Hogwarts as Mrs. Norris seemed hell bent in not going anywhere near him.

'At least there is no worry about her leading Filch to me,' Harry thought as he listened to all the flying and Quidditch related things about James Potter. 'She is so involved in telling me this that she isn't censoring anything. She is already dropped several names to investigate. Now if only I could find my mother's diary from after they went into hiding then I could sort through all the contradictory evidence.'