Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

After a long pause, Neville said timidly, "So... is there any more flight instruction?" He said with a worried look, "I've never flown before. My grandma won't let me near flying brooms—not even toy brooms."

“Cough, of course,” Michael said enthusiastically. “Riding a broom is actually very simple. You just need to hold the handle in front and push off the ground with both feet, and you can fly. Maintaining balance is the most important thing, and you must be agile when turning—there are big differences between various flying broom models. The public brooms provided by the school are lucky if you can get one that can sweep across the sky, but the best one right now is definitely the Nimbus 2000…”

Michael's "flight instructions" consisted of only two or three sentences; the rest of the time he talked incessantly about the performance of the Nimbus series. Theo was very supportive, believing every word he said. Neville, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed, trying hard to write down everything he said, but in the end, only a few lines remained on the paper—"Grip the handles, push off the ground, and maintain your balance."

Ryan whispered to Wade, "I'm sure Michael has only ever ridden toy brooms before."

"Why do you say that?" Wade asked. "Have you ever ridden a real one?"

“I’ve never ridden one myself because my mom wouldn’t let me, saying it was too dangerous,” Ryan said. “But my dad has a Comet, and he once held me and flew around in the sky a few times. He said that for beginners, it’s good enough if they can sit steadily on it at first, and they shouldn’t rush to fly, because flying brooms are much faster than toy brooms and there’s no height limit.”

He looked at Michael's eloquent speech and shook his head slightly.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Wade reassured him. “The professor is here!”

Although he didn't recall the detailed plot of Harry Potter, he remembered Neville's impressive performance in the final battle. What major incident could possibly happen in a regular flying lesson?

Come to think of it, there does seem to be a storyline involving flight lessons.

Wade stroked his chin, trying to dig out useful fragments from his memory.

Hmm...it seems Neville was bullied by Draco? And then Harry Potter stood up for him?

That should be the case.

On Thursday afternoon, Ravenclaws only had one Charms class combined with Slytherins. After class, the Slytherins excitedly ran to the lawn—where flying lessons were held. The Ravenclaws, having no other classes, simply went to watch.

Wade, unusually, followed the main group—after all, it was flight class. The students gathered in twos and threes in the corridor, eavesdropping on Mrs. Hooch, the flight class professor, hoping to learn something in advance so as not to embarrass themselves in the formal class the next day.

Before long, they saw Neville—yes, Neville—shoot straight into the sky like a cannonball while everyone else was still on the ground!

"Ahhhh-"

A terrified scream echoed through the sky, followed by a figure plummeting straight down. Before anyone could react, he crashed violently into the grass with a loud thud!

Silence fell over the crowd.

Chapter 18 Infirmary

"Is he...is he dead?" a girl asked in a terrified whisper.

Those Ravenclaws who witnessed this scene were immediately filled with great fear of flying lessons, especially Michael, who had been talking incessantly before.

His face was deathly pale as he stared at the figure lying in the grass, his voice trembling: "Is...is it my fault?"

Wade patted him on the shoulder and reassured him, "It should be fine—he didn't land headfirst."

Michael's throat bobbed, but he couldn't speak.

Fortunately, Mrs. Hooch immediately ran over to check on him and quickly helped Neville up from the grass—thankfully, the boy's only wrist looked strange. Mrs. Hooch helped him toward the infirmary and loudly warned the other students not to move.

“Video…Video…” Michael pleaded, “Let’s go see Neville.”

Wade glanced at the other students standing dumbfounded on the grass, nodded, and the two quickly ran across the corridor toward the infirmary.

"—Flight lessons, isn't it?" Through the door, they heard the school nurse, Mrs. Pomfrey, say nonchalantly, "Every year around this time, some first-year students always get into some kind of accident. I can't think of a single year that's been peaceful—"

Wade gently pushed the door open, and Michael squeezed his head in first.

Neville was sitting on the hospital bed in the infirmary, sobbing. Madam Pomfrey held his arm and gently shook her wand to examine him, the tip of the wand scattering feather-like light.

"Then this student is in your care," Mrs. Hodge said urgently. "There are still more than twenty students on the lawn with unattended brooms! Alas, if there were more time, I would have asked Mr. Filch to watch them!"

Mrs. Pomfrey said, "Yes, I will—"

Mrs. Hodge was clearly an impatient person. After hearing only a "okay," she hurriedly turned to leave, and the suddenly opened door caused Michael to stumble and fall inside.

Upon seeing the two students, Mrs. Hooch's eagle-like eyes immediately sharpened, as if she were about to launch into a reprimand. But then she noticed their blue and bronze striped ties, and her anger subsided.

Since they weren't students who had sneaked out of her classroom, Mrs. Hooch didn't have time to bother with them and walked away briskly.

"—Take good care of this child." Mrs. Pomfrey finished her sentence as if talking to herself, gently comforting the sobbing Neville: "Don't worry, it's just a small problem, we'll fix it in no time. I promise you won't miss dinner tonight."

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, and a vial of potion flew down from the shelf. She gave it to Neville, then pointed her wand at his arm and whispered a spell.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the boy's broken wrist was reattached, and judging from his expression, Neville didn't seem to feel much pain.

Wade was amazed by what he saw.

“And you, children?” Mrs. Pomfrey turned to the two in the doorway and asked, “Are you injured? Sick? Or have you eaten something bad?”

Michael's lips trembled slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Wade had no choice but to say, "Mrs. Pomfrey, we've come to see Neville."

“Oh, you’ve come to visit a friend!” Mrs. Pomfrey said with delight. “Mr. Longbottom just needs to rest a little longer, and once his bones have fully healed, he can go back with you.”

“Thank you, madam,” Wade said, and Neville echoed his thanks.

After Madam Pomfrey left, Wade asked, "How are you, Neville? Does your wrist still hurt?"

“It doesn’t hurt much anymore.” Neville shook his head, lifting his robe to reveal that the scrape on his leg was healing rapidly. “Look, it’s almost healed here too. Madam Pomfrey’s healing magic is truly amazing; it’s probably just like St. Mungo’s.”

"San Mungo?"

“The largest magic hospital in Britain, the best healers are all there,” Neville said.

Michael walked over slowly and said in a low voice, "Navie."

The boy looked up at him.

Michael lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, I lied. I've never actually ridden a flying broomstick before—the trick I told you was something I heard on the radio. I myself—I actually have no experience—"

Neville blinked.

“I know!” he said.

"Huh?" Michael's eyes widened in surprise.

Neville explained, "Hermione said that if you used to ride broomsticks all the time, you couldn't possibly be this excited about flying lessons."

Michael's face flushed red—had everyone seen through his frivolous and careless remarks?

“But Hermione also said—” Neville continued, “you’re right about everything—that’s what the books say too. But flying isn’t a skill you can master just by knowing the theory, is it?”

For some reason, Michael suddenly felt like crying.

Wade watched this scene with a smile.

Initially, he felt somewhat like he was "taking care of children" when he looked at these classmates. But at this moment, Wade felt... perhaps they really could become good friends.

……

Although Mrs. Pomfrey healed Neville's wrist with ease, it still took quite some time for the bone to heal. Feeling guilty, Michael didn't want to leave Neville alone in the infirmary and insisted on waiting until he was fully recovered before going out to eat together. On the way, they encountered a staircase that changed direction, causing them to walk twice the usual distance before returning to the Great Hall.

In short, by the time they returned, the last dessert on the long table was gone.

"Oh no," Michael said with a wry smile, "I should still have some candy in my dorm room—"

"Hey, Michael, Neville, and Wade," Theo and Ryan walked over. The two of them had been friends since childhood, and after starting school, they were practically inseparable, like conjoined twins.

“We heard Neville had a little accident during his flight lesson.” Theo looked at Neville with concern: “Are you alright?”

“My wrist was broken—” Neville held up his arm to show him: “But Mrs. Pomfrey healed it in no time.”

“Great!” Theo grabbed his arm and looked at him, saying happily.

"Have you had dinner?" Ryan asked. "We haven't seen you around."

"No!" Michael looked at the two men pitifully, asking hopefully, "Did you two save some bread or something for us?"

“No—but it’s better than that!” Theo pulled Michael out of the auditorium. “Come with us!”

"Where are we going?" Neville asked, puzzled.

"We'll see soon! This is a secret known only to Hufflepuff students! A senior student told us about it the day before yesterday," Theo said excitedly.

“I dare say, nothing can be kept from the Weasley twins,” Michael said to Wade, who nodded in agreement.

They passed through a door and descended a stone staircase to a wide stone corridor. Torches on both sides illuminated the corridor, and the walls, like the rest of the castle, were decorated with paintings, but these paintings rarely depicted people; instead, they showed various delicacies.

Theo stopped in front of a huge painting of fruit, reached out and gently scratched the pear in the painting.

Chapter 19 Zoe and Peeves

The pear wriggled as if tickled, giggling, and transformed into a green doorknob. Theo grabbed the doorknob and pulled hard, and everyone entered one after another.

This is a very spacious room.

The room was the same size and layout as the auditorium above, with four long tables, but they were completely empty. Along the stone walls were many gleaming kitchen utensils, and at the other end was a brick fireplace with a roaring fire, emitting the aroma of roasting meat.

The room was filled with strange-looking creatures with large, bat-like ears and round, bulging eyes that looked as big as tennis balls. They also had long, thin noses like pencils, slender arms and legs, and wore tea towels with the Hogwarts crest as robes.

Hearing the commotion, the little monsters all turned to look. They gazed at the students with eager, expectant eyes, but didn't swarm around them. Whichever direction Wade and the others looked, the little monsters bowed and curtsied, showing great respect.

"My God!" Michael exclaimed in surprise and envy, "So many house-elves!"

"Welcome to the Hogwarts kitchen!!" Theo exclaimed, opening his arms wide. "This is the best place in Hogwarts!"

“You can tell them what you want to eat, and the elves are very enthusiastic,” Ryan said.

“Hello,” Wade bent down and looked at the nearest house-elf, asking, “Could you get us some food?”

“Of course! Of course, sir!” the house-elf said softly. “I would be honored.”