On Wednesday evening, when Ben came up from the dungeons after double Potions lessons with Severus Snape, the castle buzzed with news.
Harry Potter had become the youngest House player in a century.
Ben hadn't had his first flying lesson yet. He was excited, but also nervous. After all, he hadn't touched a broom before and didn't want to end up in the Hospital Wing like Longbottom.
During dinner, Ben watched Malfoy challenge Harry to a wizard's duel. He couldn't hear anything, but he knew exactly what they were talking about.
He chose to ignore it and focus on eating instead. His appetite seemed to be increasing every day.
Malfoy hadn't forgotten the incident on the train and had been giving Ben the stink eye ever since. After talking to Potter, he walked over to the Ravenclaw table with his cronies.
"Ah, young Master Malfoy. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Ben said lazily, stuffing lamb into his mouth.
"Are you trying to make fun of me, Brown?" Malfoy said with a look of disdain.
"Oh no! How dare I?"
"I will not be insulted by the likes of you. I challenge you to a wizard's duel."
Ben didn't have any words at first. It seemed Malfoy was proud of his plan and wanted to kill two birds with one stone.
Seeing the surprise on Ben's face, Malfoy smirked.
"Haven't heard of wizard duels before, have you?"
"Oh, I have. I'm ready when you are." Ben smirked back at him.
"I'll see you at midnight then. Come to the trophy room, it's always open," Malfoy said as he walked away, looking pleased with himself.
"You're not seriously thinking of going, are you?" Anthony Goldstein asked, sitting to Ben's right.
"Do you take me for a Gryffindor?" Ben replied.
"I wouldn't go either. There's no shame in that."
"What did you even do to him? He's always looking at you weird," Terry Boot asked.
"Nothing. I just chased away a spider," Ben shrugged.
"Slytherins are despicable," Michael Corner said.
Ben went to bed after dinner. He was in no mood to face a giant three-headed dog, especially not when Dumbledore was watching.
Then again, when was he not watching?
The next morning, Malfoy was fuming at the Slytherin table. His genius plan had clearly failed.
Ben enjoyed the look on Malfoy's face when Harry gave him credit for his new Nimbus Two Thousand.
That afternoon, Ben made his way to the Quidditch pitch for his first flying lesson. His heart thumped with a mix of excitement and nervousness.
Madam Hooch, their flying instructor, arrived in a hurry and made everyone stand beside a broom.
"Now, before we start, I want to make this very clear," she said in a stern voice.
"If a single broom leaves the ground without my permission, I'll make sure you never touch one again in this school."
Madam Hooch seemed particularly upset about yesterday.
"Bet it's because of Potter and Malfoy," Terry whispered.
"They have all the fun while we get punished. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" Michael muttered.
"Get used to it. Nothing is fair in this world," Ben added.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom," Madam Hooch called from the front, "and say 'Up!'"
Ben, as full of himself as he was, tried doing it non-verbally.
After a bit of intense staring and mental screaming, the broom jumped into his hand.
After Madam Hooch corrected everyone's posture and grip, it was finally time to ride.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," she said.
"Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly.
On my whistle.
Three - two - one."
Luckily, there was no Longbottom in this class, and no one was launched into the sky.
Ben kicked off the ground with a bit more force than he meant to, but he quickly slowed down by leaning forward and then descended carefully.
Not everyone was as successful as him.
Some fell.Some shot ahead at great speed.Others couldn't even lift off the ground.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
After about half an hour, when everyone had at least managed the exercise, Madam Hooch showed them how to move forward and turn. She then had them fly rounds around the field.
Ben felt the wind crash against his skin and was reminded of the first time he rode his grandpa's motorbike.
Unlike riding the bike, there were no bumps on the road.
Because there was no road.
He slithered through the air like a snake, flying just above the ground, imitating a Chinese dragon.
"Wohoo, I'm never stopping this."
Ben had never thought he'd enjoy riding a broom so much. He could only imagine how much he'd like flying a motorbike.
'I don't think Hagrid's going to let me fly his. I might have to get my own,' Ben thought as he drew pretzels in the air.
Ben received detention after class for going completely bonkers in the air while Madam Hooch blew her whistle furiously from the ground.
He spent the hour cleaning broomsticks in the storage room.
'Worth it.'
Too bad Flitwick wasn't as obsessed with Quidditch as McGonagall. Ben didn't think he'd be allowed on the team, or get special treatment and permission to own a broomstick.
Ben's parents hadn't allowed him to fly until now, so there was no hope of getting one from them either.
Ben decided to aim for Quidditch tryouts next year and focus on studying this year instead.
After all, he didn't know a single useful spell yet, even after being at Hogwarts for almost two weeks.
'I need to find a way to make money, and a place to practise spells.'
He did have a place in mind, but he was afraid of getting caught.
The Dark Lord was roaming the castle, and he wouldn't want anyone getting near his tiara. Dumbledore was watching from the shadows, waiting for the Dark Lord to take his bait.
Then there was Filch and his cat, patrolling the corridors.
To top it all off, the Weasley twins possessed a map capable of monitoring everyone in the castle.
That, at least, gave Ben an idea.
'If I want to move freely in the castle, I'll need to get my hands on the Marauder's Map.'
-End of Chapter-
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