Wayne didn't try anything tricky—he obediently followed Madam Hooch's instructions and took off.
He valued his life. The school's broomsticks were all antiques from thirty or forty years ago—who knew if they'd fall apart midair?
Flying lower felt safer. If something really happened, at least he'd have time to react.
Unlike what he imagined, riding the broom didn't give him the chilly, sore, wind-on-your-butt kind of pain. Instead, it felt like he was sitting on an invisible cushion.
Not as uncomfortable as it looked.
Due to their age, the brooms weren't fast, but soaring through the sky and changing directions at will still felt amazing.
Wayne flew around for a bit without issue. Madam Hooch, seeing this, relaxed and moved on to guide the next student.
Gradually, more little witches and wizards rose into the air, though most hovered just above the ground.
Nowhere near as impressive as they'd bragged before.
Wayne's two roommates had never touched a broomstick before and were complete noobs. They clamped the broomsticks between their legs and ran back and forth on the ground, pretending to fly.
Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw accidentally slipped off her broom, and a few more of its already sparse tail bristles fell out.
Wayne became more and more skilled as he flew, and gradually he climbed higher.
From up high, he spotted a girl smiling at him.
He lowered his altitude and flew toward her.
"Cho, what are you doing here?"
The girl was Cho Chang from Ravenclaw. Beside her was another girl who glanced curiously between Cho and Wayne, her expression slightly teasing.
"No classes this afternoon, so I went for a walk with Marietta," Cho said with a bright smile, revealing two adorable dimples.
"This is your first flying lesson, right? Looks like you've got talent. Maybe you'll even make it onto the Quidditch team someday."
"Oh right, I forgot to introduce you."
She gestured to the girl beside her. "This is Marietta Edgecombe, my good friend."
Wayne nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Wayne Lawrence, first-year in Hufflepuff."
The name struck a chord—he remembered it. In the original story, it was Marietta who betrayed Harry and Dumbledore's Army by snitching to Umbridge, which led to Dumbledore being forced out.
From Harry's and the reader's perspective, Marietta was clearly in the wrong—a total traitor.
But if you looked at it from her point of view… what choice did she have? Her parents worked at the Ministry, and Umbridge used that to threaten her. How could a minor girl handle such pressure?
In the end, it was all about perspective.
Wayne didn't feel any hostility toward her.
"I know you," Marietta said with a smile. "You're the first-year genius, right? Professor Flitwick said the Sorting Hat must've made a mistake—you're so smart, you should've been in Ravenclaw."
Wayne shrugged. "If Professor Flitwick had his way, Percy Weasley, Cedric, and even Granger would all be in Ravenclaw. The other professors would never let him get away with that."
All three of them laughed.
Then Wayne turned to Cho again. "The Quidditch tryouts must have started, right? How did it go—did you make it?"
At the mention of Quidditch, Cho immediately lit up with excitement.
"I made it! I was picked as Ravenclaw's Seeker—and a starter!"
"Then congrats! But next time you play against Hufflepuff, go easy on us, yeah?"
Cho pressed her lips together and chuckled softly.
"Of course not. I'm definitely going to catch the Golden Snitch."
The two of them chatted a bit more. Since class was still in session, Wayne couldn't just blatantly slack off and leave.
"Stop staring. He's long gone."
Cho's eyes were still lingering on the boy's departing figure when Marietta teased,
"Wow, already got the most handsome first-year wrapped around your finger? Come on, spill it—how did you two meet?"
Cho rolled her eyes at her friend, clearly annoyed.
Why did she have to put it like that?
Still, the image of their first meeting flashed through her mind—Wayne casting a spell without a wand.
"Wayne, who was that girl? She's really pretty."
Toby and Norman came over, putting down their brooms.
Nearby, several girls perked up their ears, eager to eavesdrop.
"What's it to you two? Get back to practice. Anyone watching would think you're headless chickens."
The two boys drooped their heads.
They really didn't seem to have any talent for flying—both had secretly picked up their brooms just now.
Madam Hooch had tried with them several times but eventually just shook her head and told them to go amuse themselves elsewhere.
Wayne ignored his two ridiculous roommates and continued soaring through the air on his broom.
…
"What? Malfoy challenged you to a duel?"
In the Gryffindor common room, Ron stared at Harry in shock.
"Keep your voice down," Harry quickly glanced around, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one was paying attention.
"What exactly is a wizard duel like?" Harry asked nervously. "And he said I should bring a second. What's that about?"
"A second?"
Ron popped a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean into his mouth and immediately scrunched up his face.
Ugh—carrot flavor.
"If either you or Malfoy gets knocked out, your second has to step in and keep fighting until one side is completely unable to battle."
"I'm guessing Malfoy's second will be either Crabbe or Goyle."
Harry felt a chill and quickly asked,
"Ron, can you be my second?"
"Of course! I've been dying to give Malfoy a good beating."
Ron was getting excited now.
"Neither of us knows many spells, so the worst we'll do is maybe give each other a nosebleed. It'll probably come down to fists."
"Alright then..."
They began planning their strategy. Ron was stronger than Harry, so they figured Harry would pin Malfoy down while Ron did the punching.
As for Crabbe or Goyle, well... they'd deal with that later.
It was a tactic Harry had picked up from Dudley—grab one and beat them hard.
"When's the duel happening?" Ron asked in the end.
"Next Friday. In the Trophy Room on the second floor."
The duel had to be postponed since they both had detention over the next few days, but Harry didn't mind—it gave him a week to learn a few spells.
"That's awesome—at night, no less!"
Ron rubbed his hands together in excitement. Not only could they beat up Malfoy, but they'd also get to sneak around the castle after hours.
He'd been wanting to do that for ages.
What neither of them noticed was that, not far away, Hermione—head bent over her homework—had heard every word of their conversation.
She quietly pressed her lips together.