A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 46 Flight Lessons (Combined Chapter)

It was a sunny, breezy day. The group walked down the sloping ground to a flat lawn outside the Forbidden Forest, ready to have their first flight lesson.

Dozens of flying brooms were neatly arranged on the grass. They were all broken and old, with some branches sticking out haphazardly. They were ancient relics from who knows how many years ago.

The Gryffindor students hadn't arrived yet, but Ms. Hooch, the flying instructor, was already standing there waiting. Her eagle-like yellow eyes swept over, and she said without hesitation, "Everyone, stand next to a flying broomstick, quick!"

The group stood obediently at their feet. Owen overheard Draco muttering to himself, "Using this old-fashioned flying broom, do we really not need to write our wills beforehand? I suspect it'll disintegrate halfway through the flight..."

Ms. Huo Qi's stern gaze swept over him, causing him to swallow his words, his lips moving slightly without uttering a sound.

Owen nodded haphazardly, watching a line of Gryffindor students approach from afar, his mind wandering to all sorts of random thoughts.

"Speaking of which, regardless of whether the flying lesson accident happens again or not, Harry can forget about joining the Quidditch team early," he thought amusedly. "Professor Snape isn't going to give him any special treatment, unless Harry's mother comes back as a ghost... tsk tsk."

As Owen was lost in thought, he felt a series of tangible gazes fixed on him. He glanced up and saw Gryffindor students staring at him with sharp and provocative eyes. If Madam Hooch hadn't been there, they probably would have drawn their wands and started a brawl on the spot.

There was no way around it; ever since that day when Pimpie ambushed a bunch of people at the Gryffindor common room entrance, Owen, mistakenly believed to be the mastermind, had been targeted quite a bit. Everyone wanted to get revenge on him, especially his classmates, and they ended up getting the worst treatment from Owen…

Although she had made this clear to Hermione Granger in the library, Hermione is currently quite unpopular in Gryffindor. Perhaps due to her insecurity as a newcomer to the wizarding world, she is eager to demonstrate her knowledge and gain recognition from others, but this only gives her the impression of being arrogant, conceited, and meddlesome, to the point that she doesn't have a single friend in the house yet.

Harry was able to get to know her and become friends in the library so early on, probably because the library required quiet and "distance makes the heart grow fonder."

At this moment, Hermione was one of the few Gryffindor students who wasn't keeping a close eye on Owen. In fact, the little witch was currently looking anxiously at the flying broom beside her, muttering to herself the flying techniques she had read in a book.

On the other side, Neville Longbottom had no interest in provoking Owen either. He was so nervous that his whole body was trembling slightly, and his eyes were fixed on him. But Ron Weasley next to him was not intimidated at all. At this moment, he was staring at Owen with his eyes wide open, looking fierce and cute, like a hamster that was about to burst into flames.

"Ugh, headache..." Owen grimaced slightly. He was fed up with being constantly surrounded or watched. He didn't want to really live up to the ridiculously stupid title of "Gryffindor Buster."

"I wonder if Neville Longbottom will get into trouble like in the original storyline. If he does, this could be an opportunity to ease tensions," Owen thought thoughtfully, looking at Neville, whose legs were trembling. Judging by his demeanor, he was definitely going to cause trouble soon.

He wasn't really concerned about improving his relationship with those Gryffindor brats, but reducing trouble would be a good thing. Owen always hated getting involved in unnecessary trouble, and he was happy to do it to save a child from getting hurt.

"How could someone as friendly as me become the enemy of a bunch of kids?" Owen shook his head inwardly. "It's all Pimp's fault, I'm not taking the blame."

Just then, Ms. Hodge's voice rang out: "Stretch out your right hand, place it on the broom handle, and say: Get up!"

"Get up!" Owen called out absentmindedly, but his broom obediently jumped into his hand. It must be said, he had indeed become quite skilled at flying.

Only a handful of people behaved like him, including Harry, Draco, and Blaise. Daphne's broom bounced halfway up like a dying fish before slumping back down. Opposite her, Hermione's broom lazily rolled over on the ground, while Neville's broom remained perfectly still.

After all the brooms had barely managed to jump into everyone's hands, Ms. Hodge began to demonstrate how to ride a broom, then corrected everyone's grip on the broom, and then it was time for the test flight.

Then, before Ms. Hodge could even blow her whistle, the familiar scene unfolded. Neville shot into the sky like an arrow, flying straight up like a champagne cork, eliciting gasps from the crowd.

"Come back, child!" Ms. Hooch was startled by the sudden turn of events and hurriedly chased after Neville in the direction he had flown.

At that moment, almost immediately after Neville took to the air, Irving, who was already prepared, also pushed off the ground with both feet and "whoosh" flew into the sky.

"Oh dear, come back!" Ms. Huo Qi said wearily, raising her hand in a groan.

Irving was completely focused, chasing Neville's soaring figure as if he were pursuing a golden thief. The wind whistled past his ears, ruffling his hair, but also giving him a sense of exhilaration.

He saw Neville staring back down in terror, his pupils contracting with fear; he saw him panting heavily as his body slowly slid down the flying broomstick…

As Neville's body began to fall, Owen leaned forward, and his flying broom seemed to sense this and accelerated again, finally catching up with Neville before he completely slid off the broom.

Owen grabbed Neville's left arm, looking at the boy's terrified, pale face, the tears welling in his eyes, and his expression of regret and cowardice. He paused for a moment. He stopped his movement, which was about to pull Neville to the ground.

He changed direction, causing the two people who were flying vertically to begin gliding forward parallel to each other in the high sky.

"Hold on tight to your broom!" Owen's voice wasn't loud, but his calm and clear voice reached Neville's ears without missing a single word, calming his flustered mind a little.

"Huh?" Neville's tears finally rolled down his cheeks. He looked at Owen, panting heavily, but his right hand instinctively grabbed the broom handle that was about to slip down, following Owen's words.

"Very good, get into the right position, just like Ms. Hodge said," Owen nodded encouragingly.

Neville's lips trembled as he struggled to adjust his posture on the flying broom. After his gaze swept across the distant ground, his expression became dazed, his face grew even paler, and his body began to tremble again.

"Don't think about the ground, think about your broom." Owen's voice, clear and melodious like a bird's song in the high wind, "It can sense your heart, your will... If you don't believe in it, it will also be afraid and terrified, it will also panic and doubt itself. Only if you believe in it will it have the same trust and reciprocate."

Seeing Neville's still flustered expression, Owen smiled slightly: "It also longs for your trust, Neville Longbottom."

Upon hearing this, Neville's expression changed, and a determined look flashed in his usually timid and insecure eyes. As if guided by instinct, he tightened his grip on the broom, his hands firmly holding the handle, and his swaying body gradually stabilized.

He knew what it felt like to be distrusted, and he understood even more what it meant to crave the trust of others. In fact, he always longed to be trusted and recognized, yet he felt incapable of accomplishing anything... But if something else was craving his trust as much as he craved others' trust, what right did he have to betray it?

Owen slowly released his grip and nodded in satisfaction as he watched Neville fly steadily ahead.

"See? You're doing a great job, aren't you?" he said with a light laugh.

Neville turned his head and saw that Owen had released his grip. His expression immediately turned panicked, and his previously steady body began to sway precariously again.

"Remember what I said, trust it, not me." Irving's expression turned serious. "I'm not the one carrying you!"

Neville gritted his teeth and steadied himself. Feeling a little dizzy, he glanced at the ground and saw that the two were about to fly into the Forbidden Forest. His hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He slowly maneuvered his flying broomstick around and flew towards the arena.

He gradually found himself getting the hang of it, and the flying broom seemed to be transmitting the same will to him—a will of freedom and exhilaration. He slowly grinned, two tear streaks still on his face, and smiled, a smile that was somewhat comical but radiant.

"You see, whether it's flying or magic, they're all the same," Owen continued. "Whether it's your broom or your wand, they always wait for your trust. Without your trust, they can't do anything..."

He knew the child wasn't actually stupid; he just lacked confidence due to a memory problem. In this situation, it wouldn't be effective to simply make him confident on his own. The more effective approach was to empathize with him and gain his trust in his magic wand.

"Ha, I'm quite the educator," Owen thought to himself.

"Thank you." Neville nodded, his eyes shining brightly. He paused, then addressed the other man by name: "Thank you, Owen."

"You're welcome." Owen shook his head, then grinned as he spotted Ms. Hodge spinning around on the ground following them. "Now you should consider Ms. Hodge."

The two exchanged a glance and slowly descended towards the ground. Although Neville's body remained tense, his flight was remarkably stable.

……

Just as the two soared into the sky, the crowd standing on the ground began to stir.

Ms. Huo Qi didn't have time to talk to them and hurriedly chased after the two people in the air, her figure getting further and further away.

"Hahaha, did you guys see his face? That big oaf!" Draco couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. He thought Neville's expression was absolutely hilarious. "Seriously, why did Owen go and join in the fun? Who wouldn't want to see if he fell down?"

"Who wouldn't want to see? Haha..." Pansy Parkinson chimed in, and Crabbe and Goyle nodded like chickens pecking at rice. Daphne frowned and looked away, while Blaise crossed his arms and turned his face to the other side indifferently.

"I don't want to, Draco!" Harry said irritably. Malfoy's appearance reminded him of his classmates at Muggle school, those guys who bullied him with Dudley. He felt like he was now an accomplice in bullying others, a realization that made him both discouraged and angry.

"I don't find anything funny about this. He might hurt his leg, or even break his neck... Owen did the right thing!" Harry explained, trying to remain calm.

"What are you talking about?" Draco's expression instantly turned somewhat unpleasant. He felt that Harry was always like this, liking to contradict him and not giving him face in front of a group of people.

Driven by a rebellious streak, he ran straight to where Neville had been and found a glittering glass ball on the grass.

"Oh, I know this, the Memory Orb!" he exclaimed, his grey eyes fixed on Harry, and said arrogantly, "Let me think... put it on a tree and let Longbottom retrieve it... I think that's a good idea."

"Don't do that, Draco," Harry said helplessly.

"Don't you dare mess with me, Harry!" Malfoy yelled. "You're always going against me!"

"I'm not trying to fight you, you're just wrong!" Harry shouted back. Those around them watched their argument, momentarily at a loss for words.

"I did something wrong? Huh? Get your facts straight! It's one thing for that big oaf who's biased towards Gryffindor, but he's always hanging out with that little mudblood named Granger in the library..." Draco said sharply.

Hermione stared at him in surprise, her lips turning pale.

"How dare you utter that word!" The Gryffindor students erupted instantly, drawing their wands in unison. Slytherins, always protective of their own, also drew their wands.

"Heh..." Draco pushed off the ground with both feet, flying directly into the air, out of reach of those on the ground. He shouted, "Come and hit me if you dare! See if my dad will expel you from school! I've changed my mind. I'd like to see how high this memory orb has to fall before it breaks..."

Harry was both angry and anxious. He wasn't a complete novice in the wizarding world anymore; he knew perfectly well how insulting "Mudblood" was. Without thinking, he leaped off the ground and flew to Draco's location: "Give it to me, Draco Malfoy!"

"This has nothing to do with you!" Draco shouted angrily.

"Of course it concerns me!" Harry shouted, his face flushed with anger. "What are you doing? Laughing at others, taking and destroying classmates' belongings, and verbally abusing them? That's bullying!"

"So what? I didn't bully you. You should be grateful for that." Draco stared arrogantly at the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

"Should I be happy to become your accomplice in bullying others?" Harry's face darkened, but his expression instantly became quite imposing. "Fine, then let me tell you, I would never do such a thing! I'm not as rich or powerful as you, and I don't think that gives me the right to do whatever I want. I know very well how hateful what you're doing is, because I was once a victim of bullying myself."

"Yes, having my things taken away, being mocked for my baggy clothes and glasses held together with tape, being chased all over school, being ostracized by my classmates... I've experienced all of these things." He looked into Draco's eyes. "I know very well how painful and oppressive that feeling is."

"In my opinion, bullying others is truly the worst and most shameful thing," Harry said coldly, then held out a hand. "Now, give me the Memory Orb, Draco!"

Draco stared at him, speechless, both annoyed and at a loss. His expression shifted several times before he gritted his teeth, raised the memory orb in his hand, and tossed it high into the air.

"Then go get it yourself!" he shouted angrily, and then flew straight to the ground.

Harry couldn't care less about him anymore. He stared intently at the glass ball, leaned forward, and accelerated his descent. Amidst the screams of the audience, he caught the memory ball steadily a foot off the ground, then straightened his broom, glided along the ground for a short distance, and landed steadily on the grass.

"My God! What are you doing? Huh?" Ms. Huo's voice came from afar, her tone filled with panic and anger.

Owen and Neville followed behind her, curiously observing the chaotic scene.

(End of this chapter)