Kapitel 43: Hogwarts, Please Graduate Soon, Ch 43
Wayne didn't mess around; he followed the steps taught by Professor Hoagie and took off into the air.
He was the type who valued his life, and since all the school's flying broomsticks were antiques from thirty or forty years ago, who knew if they might fall apart?
He decided it was safer to fly a bit lower, so he could react in time if anything went wrong.
Unlike what he had imagined, riding the broomstick didn't cause the wind to sting painfully; instead, it felt like he was on a soft, invisible cushion. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it looked.
Due to their age, these broomsticks weren't particularly fast, but soaring through the sky and changing direction at will felt quite nice.
Wayne flew around for a while without any issues, and Professor Hoagie started to relax as she prepared to guide the next student.
Gradually, more young wizards appeared in the sky, although most were flying just a few feet above the ground, barely lifting off at all. They certainly weren't as impressive as they had bragged beforehand.
Wayne's two roommates, who had never touched a flying broom before, were complete novices. They clamped the broomsticks between their legs and ran around on the ground, pretending they were flying.
Lisa Dupin from Ravenclaw accidentally slipped off her broom, losing a few more of her already sparse tail feathers.
As Wayne grew more skilled, he started to ascend higher.
From his elevated position, he spotted a girl smiling at him.
He circled down to greet her.
"Cho, what are you doing here?"
The girl was indeed Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, and next to her was another girl who was curiously glancing between Cho and Wayne, revealing an ambiguous expression.
"I don't have any classes this afternoon, so I came for a walk with Marietta," she said with a bright smile, revealing two adorable dimples.
"This is the first flying lesson, right? It seems you have quite the talent; you might even join the Quidditch team someday," she added.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you," she said, turning to her friend. "This is Marietta Ekstrom, my good friend."
Wayne nodded. "Hello, I'm Wayne Lawrence, a first-year Hufflepuff student."
He recognized the name; in the original story, it was Marietta who betrayed Harry and Dumbledore's Army by informing Umbridge, which led to Dumbledore's downfall.
From Harry's and the reader's perspective, Marietta's actions were definitely treacherous, marking her as a complete traitor.
However, if you consider it from her point of view, what could she have done? Her parents worked at the Ministry of Magic, and Umbridge used that to threaten her. A girl who wasn't even of age could hardly bear such pressure, could she?
It's all about perspective; different angles lead to different attitudes toward the same events.
Wayne actually didn't hold any ill feelings towards her.
"I know you; you're the little genius in first year," Marietta said with a smile. "Professor Flitwick said the Sorting Hat must have made a mistake; a clever wizard like you should have been sorted into Ravenclaw."
Wayne replied, somewhat speechless, "According to Professor Flitwick, that means Percy Weasley, Cedric, and even Granger should go to Ravenclaw as well. Other professors would definitely have a word with him about that."
They all laughed.
He then turned to Cho: "The Quidditch tryouts must be starting soon. How did it go? Did you make the team?"
Upon hearing Quidditch, Cho lit up.
"I did! I was chosen as the Seeker for Ravenclaw, and I'm a starter!"
"Well, congratulations! When you face Hufflepuff next time, don't go easy on us!"
Cho smirked. "Not a chance! I'm definitely going to catch the Golden Snitch."
They chatted for a little while longer, but since they were still in class, Wayne couldn't linger too long.
"Stop staring; he's already far away," Cho remarked, her eyes still on the boy's retreating figure as Marietta teased her.
"Wow! You, the handsomest first-year, have already made a connection! Tell us how you met."
Cho shot her friend an annoyed look. "What a way to put it."
But her mind wandered back to their first encounter, when Wayne had cast a spell without a wand.
"Wayne, who's that? He's so good-looking," Toby and Norman said as they put down their broomsticks and came over.
Nearby girls perked up, eavesdropping on the gossip.
"What's it to you? Get back to practicing—otherwise, people might think you two can't fly at all," Marietta snapped.
Their heads drooped in disappointment.
They seemed to have no flying talent at all and had snuck in their own broomsticks.
Professor Hoagie attempted to help them a few times but just shook her head, telling them to play instead.
Wayne chose to ignore his two goofy roommates and continued enjoying the breeze on his broom.
...
"What? Malfoy wants to duel you?"
In the Gryffindor common room, Ron looked at Harry in disbelief.
"Keep it down," Harry quickly glanced around, relieved nobody was paying attention to them.
"What's a wizard duel like?" Harry asked nervously. "He also wants me to bring a partner; what does that mean?"
"A partner?" Ron popped a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean into his mouth, grimacing.
Damn it, it's carrot-flavored.
"If you or Malfoy goes down, the partner has to step in until one side is completely unable to continue."
"I reckon Malfoy's partner will be either Crabbe or Goyle."
Harry felt a chill at that and quickly asked, "Ron, can you be my partner?"
"Of course! I've been wanting to teach Malfoy a lesson for a while," Ron said, getting excited.
"We both don't know many spells, so we'll probably just make the other bleed a little; in the end, it'll still come down to fists."
"Then it's settled..."
They discussed their strategy. Since Ron was stronger than Harry, Harry would focus on holding Malfoy down while Ron dealt the punches.
Crabbe and Goyle didn't matter for now; Harry had learned from Dudley that in a fight, it was better to hold one down and go all out.
"When's the duel going to be?" Ron finally asked.
"Next Friday, in the trophy room on the second floor."
Since both had to be in detention for the next few days, the fight would have to wait, but Harry felt it was alright. He could use the week to learn a few spells.
"Awesome! And at night too!"
Ron rubbed his hands together in excitement, anticipating not only beating Malfoy but also sneaking around the castle at night.
He had been thinking about it for a long time.
What they didn't notice was that not far away, Hermione was listening to the entire conversation while focused on her homework, biting her lip.
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