Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 24 doesn't seem to be very good at flying.

In the morning, at the Gryffindor long table in the dining room.

Loren took a sip of orange juice, swallowed the bread in his mouth, stood up, and stretched lazily.

"Mmm~ A new week starts with a wonderful transformation class." Loren was full of energy.

Next to him were Harry and Ron, two sworn enemies, who had stayed up late last night referring to Loren's Transfiguration homework.

Harry was fine, having gotten plenty of sleep during the day, but Ron looked tired with dark circles under his eyes.

The group of people, each in a different state of mind, arrived at the Transformation Classroom.

Professor McGonagall collected the assignments to grade that evening and began checking everyone's progress in turning matches into needles.

Several classmates, including Loren, have already been able to conjure needles from matches, and Hermione has even managed to make matches thin and sharp. She wants to become a witch as outstanding as Professor McGonagall and has put in a lot of effort for it...

At the end of class, Professor McGonagall assigned three inches of homework.

At lunchtime, at the dining table.

Loren cut open a lemon, squeezed the juice onto the lamb chop, cut off a piece, and put it in his mouth. His eyes narrowed contentedly, revealing a satisfied smile. His eating manners were so tempting that Harry and Ron swallowed hard and tried to imitate him.

Hermione turned to look at Loren: "Your Transfiguration is clearly more skilled than mine, why don't you let Professor McGonagall know?"

An owl carrying a package flew in through the skylight.

Loren glanced up, swallowed another lamb chop, and replied cheerfully, "Because, cute little kittens never ask why?"

Hermione gripped the knife in her hand.

Loren's eyes twitched slightly at the sight, and he quickly explained, "There's no reason, I just don't want to attract attention, it's just my personality."

Hermione hadn't had a chance to ask any further questions.

"Look, Neville has received a memory orb," Dean exclaimed.

Hermione was also drawn in and leaned closer to look at the memory orb: "I've heard that if you forget something, the memory orb will turn red in your hands."

As he spoke, red mist emerged from the center of the memory orb in Neville's hand.

Neville remained calm about it: "I know I forgot something, but the problem is, I can't remember what I forgot?"

Loren asked with interest, "Can others use it too?"

Neville handed the reddened memory orb to Loren, which then turned even redder. Loren asked in confusion, "Is it broken?"

Hermione reached out and took it, and the memory ball quickly returned to normal.

"Looks like some people, like Neville, have forgotten something," the girl said cheerfully.

Loren kept thinking about what he had forgotten until he returned to the lounge, and finally concluded: the memory ball is a waste of money!

Meanwhile, on a mountain pasture, an old man with a white beard was looking into the woods, hoping that an owl would suddenly appear. He had been waiting for this for many days.

The old man thought to himself: He hasn't written a single letter in so long. When that brat comes back, I'll give him a good spanking!

Everyone noticed a new notice in the common room, containing both good and bad news.

The good news is that flying lessons start on Thursday; the bad news is that Gryffindor and Slytherin students will be taking them together.

The freshmen got excited and started to exaggerate.

Simo said that he spent most of his childhood flying around the wilderness on a flying broomstick.

For several days, Ron shared his Quidditch knowledge with those around him, boasting that he had once flown up on Charlie's broomstick and almost crashed into a hang glider.

Malfoy was promoted directly to a level in this version; he dodged a helicopter while riding a flying broom.

Harry and Hermione grew anxious during these stories. Harry was terrified of making a fool of himself riding a broomstick in front of Malfoy, fearing Malfoy would mock him, or even repeatedly humiliate him. Harry had learned the term "humiliation" from Loren, and he thought it was quite apt.

Hermione started reading every introductory flying book she could find in the library, but it wasn't very helpful. She couldn't learn how to fly from the books, even though she had tried before.

Loren listened to all sorts of bizarre stories, trying hard to suppress his laughter. Even if all those braggarts were tied together, they couldn't out-smell Harry's exhaust fumes.

He wasn't very interested in flying; whether he was good at flying on a broomstick or not didn't matter. He wasn't very interested in Quidditch, and there were more convenient and faster ways to get around.

And so, Loren experimented with various Transfiguration Charms, clung to powerful figures in Herbology class, tried new spells in Charms class, was challenged in Potions class, and slept in History of Magic class.

In his spare time, he would delve into thick books in the library or bask in the sun by the lake. He didn't have any grand goals; he studied when it was time to study. Life was simple, but fulfilling, and Loren enjoyed it very much.

Thursday afternoon, the long-awaited flight lesson finally arrived.

The teacher was Professor Huo Qi, with short gray hair, yellow eyes, and a short, forceful voice. He carried a whistle and really looked like a physical education teacher. In fact, he could indeed be considered a physical education teacher.

In the open space, the Gryffindor and Slytherin students stood in two lines, each with a flying broomstick beside them.

"Extend your right hand and place it above the broom handle," Mrs. Hodge called from the front, "and say, 'Get up!'"

Harry quickly got to work, and Ron shouted so loudly that the broom handle hit him directly in the nose.

"Ouch!" Ron cried out in pain. The others nearby burst into laughter.

"Hey! Are we still friends?!" Ron complained, looking at his roommates.

Aside from Harry and Malfoy, everyone else was in a similar situation, taking quite a while to get the broom in their hands. Loren was the same; he didn't seem to have much of a talent for flying. Hermione and Neville were the last two to do so.

This result left Hermione somewhat disappointed. She had aspired to be a witch like Professor McGonagall and had high hopes for Quidditch and flying. Professor McGonagall was very skilled at flying, while she lacked that talent.

Next, Mrs. Hooch demonstrated how to ride a broom without slipping off her head. Malfoy struck some poses, which earned him a scolding from Mrs. Hooch, secretly pleased Harry and making Malfoy even angrier.

After adjusting everyone's posture, Mrs. Hodge said, "Alright, when I whistle, you all push off the ground with your legs, push hard. Hold the brooms firmly, rise a few feet, then lean forward slightly and fall vertically back to the ground."

Loren kept watching Neville, a timid and forgetful chubby boy, but kind and helpful.

After several classes, Loren asked Neville to help him take the books back to his dormitory, and Neville always happily agreed. He seemed to think that this was a sign that Loren trusted him, and he enjoyed this trust.

Neville's appearance during the last Potions class, unable to get up due to pain, was unforgettable. This kind little chubby boy doesn't have to be so unlucky, Loren thought.

"Listen to my whistle, three, two, one!"

Neville was so nervous that he lunged forward, but before the broom could even rise a few inches, Loren grabbed Neville's robe, ripped it off, and threw him to the ground.

The broom flew a short distance into the air, then fell vertically down, crashing into a tree and breaking in two.

Neville broke out in a cold sweat. He suspected that if it weren't for Loren, he would be the one who had fallen in two, and all that was happening now was that his clothes were dirty.

The students around him were also feeling uneasy.

Neville kept repeating to Loren, "Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Dean and Seamus found Neville's memory orb, handed it to him, and then kept comforting Neville until he calmed down.

Mrs. Hodge did not blame Neville; she brought him another broom, but Neville refused to fly anymore.

So the others continued their flying lessons, with Neville watching from the sidelines. Actually, many people who witnessed what had just happened wanted to give up too, but no one said anything.

Hermione was uneasy; her flying talent didn't seem to be that great, but she gritted her teeth and continued attending class.

After several vertical takeoffs and landings, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Neville's actions were just an accident, and the flying broomsticks weren't that dangerous.

Mrs. Hodge allowed the students to fly freely and slowly in the open space, not exceeding the height of the third-floor window, and then came over to comfort Neville, trying to persuade him to continue learning.

Neville just kept shaking his head.

(End of this chapter)