Chapter 17: Don't You Think So, Malfoy?
"Who can tell me what happened here?" Madam Hooch looked around at the young wizards, and then focused her attention on Malfoy and Harry.
Harry and Malfoy turned pale with fear, but Ivan answered first.
"Madam Hooch, as you can see, they are just practicing their flying skills."
A trace of confusion flashed across Malfoy's face, and he opened his mouth to tell Ivan about how he had attacked him with a Body-Bind Curse, but in the end he closed his mouth and didn't refute.
After all, Malfoy knew that if he told on Ivan, Ivan would definitely expose the fact that he had snatched Neville's crystal ball and had taken the initiative to provoke him. Malfoy knew very well which punishment would be more severe.
In order to avoid being hung up and beaten by Filch in the detention room, Malfoy reluctantly accepted the idea of "friendly" flying practice with Harry.
But Malfoy would never allow the annoying Ivan to stay out of it, so he spoke up immediately.
"Yes, but we weren't the only two flying just now."
As he spoke, Malfoy raised his eyebrows towards Ivan, with an obvious threatening look on his face. Madam Hooch also shifted her attention from Malfoy and Harry to Ivan.
"Okay, I admit it..." Ivan shrugged indifferently, but in his heart he was complaining about Malfoy's naughty character of dragging people into the water.
Ivan and Malfoy looked at each other unhappily, but the two sides reached an agreement in the intersection of their eyes not to reveal each other's secrets... a temporary ceasefire!
Malfoy was frightened by the punishment Ivan mentioned, while Ivan was worried about being picked to patrol the Forbidden Forest.
With Ivan's current small body, he wasn't prepared to take this risk...
Harry, who had been listening, had a confused expression on his face. Shouldn't Malfoy have taken Neville's crystal ball and then had it taken back himself?
When did he start practicing flying with Ivan and Malfoy in a friendly manner?
However, given Ivan's frequent hints in his eyes, Harry wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
"I should have told you before I left that no one is allowed to fly a broomstick until I come back!" Madam Hooch was furious when she heard that three students had taken advantage of her absence to fly a broomstick.
Neville had just been sent to the hospital wing by her. What if another accident happened?
"I'm sorry, Professor!" Ivan apologized politely at first, and then immediately said,
"But I think no young wizard can resist the temptation of flying freely on a broomstick. Who wouldn't want to become a glorious Quidditch player and win glory for their House after graduation?"
"As for the incident with Malfoy and Neville, it was just an accident. Fortunately, our Levitation Charm worked well and no one was injured."
Ivan talked incessantly about his love for Quidditch, and he was just short of saying that he wanted to be a Quidditch champion in the future!
Madam Hooch's expression looked better then. As a professor of flying classes, Madam Hooch was also a fan of flying and Quidditch, so she naturally understood that desire.
"Even so, you must pay the price for violating school rules..."
Although not as angry as she was at the beginning, Madam Hooch still put on a brave face and was thinking about how to punish these troublemakers, but she was interrupted by Professor McGonagall who arrived in time.
"Madam Hooch, could you please stop for a moment? I might need to borrow Mr. Potter from you."
"Of course..." Madam Hooch was a little surprised at first, but soon nodded.
Madam Hooch didn't see the process of Harry's flying just now, and thought that Harry had made some other mistake and was found by Professor McGonagall, so she just briefly told her about Harry riding a broom without permission during the flying class.
Professor McGonagall simply nodded, and then motioned for Harry to follow her.
Harry's mind was in a mess and he still had no idea what had happened. He could only follow Professor McGonagall away in fear.
Madam Hooch watched the two of them leave, then turned around and remembered that there were still people to deal with. "Ivan, Malfoy, your behavior will deduct five points from your respective Houses. Continue with the class!"
Ivan's face turned bitter. He didn't care about the deduction. Just by answering questions in class in the past few days, Ivan had earned more than ten points for the House. No one would blame him for the deduction of five points.
But continuing the flying lesson made Ivan feel a little annoyed. He secretly prayed that the class would end quickly, otherwise he would be exposed.
Ivan now had no choice but to pretend to fly with the broom while trying to reduce his presence as much as possible and fish quietly.
However, things went against their wishes. Due to the frequent incidents in the previous flying lessons, Madam Hooch didn't dare to let these young wizards fly around anymore. She prepared to let them fly one by one. Ivan, who was tricked by Malfoy, unfortunately ranked first.
Ivan looked at the flying broom in his hand and couldn't help but sigh. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have said clearly that his flying skills were terrible.
Now that he has been tricked by Malfoy, he can't even say that he can't fly.
Ivan tried it helplessly. This time the flying broom gave Ivan some face and flew up wobbly under his control.
Despite this, Ivan was still very happy as he was experiencing flying for the first time. When he accelerated a little, he could feel the cold wind echoing in his ears and the roof tiles around him flew past one by one. This feeling of freedom was far better than flying on an airplane.
After flying for a while, Ivan landed smoothly.
Madam Hooch pursed her lips, obviously not very satisfied. After all, Ivan's previous performance had made Madam Hooch have high hopes. Why was he flying so shakily now...
Ivan had to clear his throat twice to cover up his embarrassment. "Ahem, Professor, I think this broom may be too old... It's a little unstable when flying... I used to fly well."
Malfoy grinned, he hadn't expected that Ivan's flying skills were so poor. No wonder he had been staying on the ground and didn't fly up like Harry.
But Ivan suddenly said,
"Isn't that right, Malfoy? Otherwise, how could you suddenly fall off your broom..."
Malfoy, who was laughing secretly, could no longer laugh. He could only look at Ivan hatefully, and it took him a long time to utter a word.
"Of course, I also think there might be something wrong with these brooms..."
What else could he say? Hit himself in the face?
Malfoy said that he was also very desperate. In order to avoid being punished, he could not tell the truth. Otherwise, could he say that he fell because his skills were too poor?