Lesson Two

Ashton wrote a note for the bulletin board of every house. Written on the paper was an instruction for the students informing them that they will have their Flying Lessons in the Field instead in the room.

He decided to let them go to the field first before he does. He thought that it would be better to see the number of students who will attend the class.

(Everyone should role-play here, not literally in the field.)

Kim was the first ones to arrive on the field, where Professor Clark informed them from the notes in their bulletin board. To her surprise, the professor was nowhere to be seen. This made her a bit nervous since she is still new and never thought about being absent on class just because she was in the wrong place.

Finally, she saw some of her classmates approaching the field, too. Kim was relieved and tried to assume that their class will be about riding the broom.

James was anxiously observing the note left by Professor Clark on the Common Room's noticeboard. To all first year students: lesson two in Flying will be held on the Quidditch Pitch. Please make sure to be there on time. The day he feared had finally arrived. He would have to ride a broomstick for the first time.

After breakfast, he left the Castle in Aurora's company. The sun was shining as they were taking the road heading towards the Quidditch field. James had only seen it from afar, mostly from the Ravenclaw Tower's windows, and as they were approaching he was really impressed by the arena's grandeur. High stands were surrounding the pitch and imposing towers were rising at regular intervals, decorated in the colours of the four Houses. Aurora didn't look very eager to attend the lesson either. Recalling that she shared his aversion towards brooms and flying, he wondered if she had ever tried riding one. "Is it hard? Flying?" he inquired, trying to hide the apprehension in his voice.

Keith noticed the note on the bulletin board in the Gryffindor Common Room, he smiled, excited they were going to be on the field today, and quickly walked out towards the field.

As he arrived, he noticed a few of his other classmates at the field. He assumed they would be learning how to fly a broom this lesson. He looked around, trying to find Professor Clark, but he was no where to be seen. Keith glanced over at his classmates. He walked over to both James and Kim. "We are supposed to meet here, right?" He asked. Perhaps the Professor forgot? Or maybe he changed his mind and decided to do something different this lesson and forgot to take the notes down?

Aurora peeked out the archway into the Quidditch field. A few other students were already there, some llooking excited, others nervous. Aurora tentatively walked out to join them. She stood near James, who immediately asked her the question going through everyone's mind.

"Is it hard? Flying?"

Aurora didn't know what to say. "For me it is, but who knows, you could be a natural," she eventually told him, trying to be reassuring. She noticed that Professor Clark was not there yet, and neither were the brooms. She hoped he would approve of her broom design. She liked it, so that was something, at least.

"How did your homework go?" she asked the other kids, Kim and Keith.

"For me it is, but who knows, you could be a natural" Aurora replied as they were approaching the field. James remained silent, even though he was convinced that wouldn't be the case. Once they entered the pitch, he noticed that Kim and Keith were already there, but there was no sign of Professor Clark.

"We are supposed to meet here, right?" Keith asked once they had joined them. "Perhaps the Professor forgot? Or maybe he changed his mind and decided to do something different this lesson and forgot to take the notes down?". "I don't know" James admitted. "The notice said that the lesson was supposed to be held here, so I guess we should just wait."

"How did your homework go?" Aurora inquired after a few seconds, looking at the two others.

Lucy entered the Flying classroom and saw Professor Clark's note. He informed everyone to meet him in the field, so that's where she went.
As she reached the field, she saw various students already waiting. She knew all of them, except for a Gryffindor boy. She figured she'd say hello, since she wanted to know everyone. Confidently, she walked up to all of them and stood next to the Gryffindor boy.
"Hello everyone. How are you all doing?" she said with a smile.

"It went well." Keith told Aurora. He looked at the girl who had just introduced herself to them. He smiled. "Great." He answered simply. "I don't believe we've met," He began. "I'm Keith Parker. I've seen you in a few of my other classes." He introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake.

After some minutes of waiting, Kim noticed some of her classmates entering the field too.

"How did your homework go?" Aurora asked her and Keith, the boy whom Kim was partnered with in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "It went well." Keith told Aurora. "It was pretty great, well, it would be better without the drawing thing. I have no talent for that," Kim answered her back. "How about you?" she asked.

A few conversations going at a time confused Aurora but she recovered. Lucy had just walked up and Keith had introduced himself. He and Kim had both done well in their homework, and Kim asked if her drawing had worked out.

"I'm Aurora Finnigan. Pleasure to meet you." Aurora answered Keith first. The she said to Kim, "My drawing was okay, not the best, but not the worst, either. Just average."

The Gryffindor boy looked at Lucy and smiled. "Great." He answered her. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Keith Parker. I've seen you in a few of my other classes." He introduced himself while holding out his hand.
Lucy was about to shake it, when Aurora jumped in, "I'm Aurora Finnigan. Pleasure to meet you." she told Keith.
Lucy stared back in confusion, as she thought she was sure Keith had introduced himself to her. Putting that aside, she took Keith's hand and shook it. "I'm Lucy Malfoy. Nice to meet you." she said with a smile.

Keith noticed that Aurora managed to get to him before Lucy, he went ahead and gave her a small smile, before turning back to Lucy. "Nice to meet you, too. It's nice to see a new face around here." He told her with a smile. "You wouldn't be related to Wade Malfoy, would you? Brother and sister, perhaps?" He asked. He hadn't noticed it before.

"You wouldn't be related to Wade Malfoy would you? Brother and sister, perhaps?" Keith asked. Lucy was used to it by now, so she simply said, "No, we're just cousins. We grew up together though." Suddenly, something came to mind, "Wait, how do you know Wade?" she asked him, as she had not heard Wade talk about Keith...or any of his friends. Really, all that Wad.e talked about, was Quidditch and Uncle Kellin.

"No, we're just cousins. We grew up together though." Lucy had replied, before quickly adding. "Wait, how do you know Wade?" She suddenly asked. "I heard his introduction in one of our previous classes." Keith explained. He hadn't met Wade yet, but he had heard his introduction in a few other classes.

Ashton realized that it was time to get on the field where his next lesson will be held. As he was walking on the green grass that covered the whole Quidditch Pitch, he did notice the clumped group of students all waiting for him.

"Welcome everyone for our next Flying Lessons. I am glad that everyone of you got my note." The sun began to hide into the clouds, giving them the appropriate weather for flying. "As you may all remember, I have kind of promised that we will have our lesson two on the grounds. Well, here we are."

Since there is no tables and chairs available, most of his students didn't dare to get a parchment and a quill to write down notes. "But before anything else, I would like you to hand in your homework." At his instructions, few students passed their assignments but most of them just stood there, obviously forgotten to do it. As soon as Ashton got the parchments, he pointed his wand on them and it disappeared from his hand. "Alright then, since all of you are first-years, it wouldn't be a surprise that some of you don't have any experience on riding a broom. Show of hands. Who among you doesn't have any idea on how to fly using a broom, or perhaps, haven't touched a broom?"

As everyone was buzzing around, Professor Clark entered the scene. "Welcome everyone for our next Flying Lessons. I am glad that everyone of you got my note. As you may all remember, I have kind of promised that we will have our lesson two on the grounds. Well, here we are."

For the first time, Kim felt nervous about flying. What if she doesn't know how to move a broom? What if she did manage to fly but at some point, she will be falling from the sky? She doesn't know what to expect on this subject since all of the things that she had read from books won't help her when it comes to practicals.

"Alright then, since all of you are first-years, it wouldn't be a surprise that some of you don't have any experience on riding a broom. Show of hands. Who among you doesn't have any idea on how to fly using a broom, or perhaps, haven't touched a broom?" As if Professor Clark was reading her mind, she raised her hand shyly and observed some other hands which is raised. To her surprise, she was not alone.

"Alright then, since all of you are first-years, it wouldn't be a surprise that some of you don't have any experience on riding a broom. Show of hands. Who among you doesn't have any idea on how to fly using a broom, or perhaps, haven't touched a broom?" Professor Clark asked.

Keith had flown a broomstick before, but only once, so he decided not to raise his hand.

Professor Clark stepped onto the field. After collecting their homework, he said, "Alright then, since all of you are first-years, it wouldn't be a surprise that some of you don't have any experience on riding a broom. Show of hands. Who among you doesn't have any idea on how to fly using a broom, or perhaps, haven't touched a broom?" Aurora saw quite a few hands raised, but since she had ridden her father's broom on a few occasions (mostly him trying to get her to like it) she kept her hand dangling by her side. Her heart was beating frantically, as if it sensed her fear and trying to relate to it. Needless to say, it didn't help. Aurora hated broomsticks. She had atrocious balance, a horrible handgrip, and all in all, she stunk. Professor Clark probably couldn't change that. Some people were just naturally gifted at flying, others, not so much.

Suddenly, Professor Clark emerged through the entrance of the Quidditch field and walked towards them. Their conversation immediately ended, and they silently waited for the teacher to approach. After welcoming them to the lesson, he requested their homework. Once he had collected the parchments of those who had completed their task, he made them vanish so that they could move on to the subject of the day's lesson.

"Show of hands. Who among you doesn't have any idea on how to fly using a broom, or perhaps, haven't touched a broom?" the professor inquired. James hesitated for a moment, as he feared being the only one in this position. Discretely glancing around, he noticed Kim's hand rise high in the air. Of course, she was a Muggle-born too. A little more confident, James slowly raised his own hand, continuing to observe the others, hoping there would be more beginners. Despite his apparent calmness, his heart was racing, lifting the Ravenclaw crest on his chest at regular intervals. The beating was so loud he was certain it could be heard from the stands. Breathing deeply, he tried not to think of what was awaiting him.

As Ashton saw only a few of them raised their hand, he was quite relieved that majority of them has any familiarity to flying. He raised his wand while saying, "Accio" and after a few seconds, numerous brooms flew from the castle and arranged themselves beside each student and one beside him. "Brooms has a similarity with wands. You need to have a connection between them. In this way, let's just say the broom will respect you and follow any command that you have for it. Unlike wands, brooms doesn't choose you. Any kind of broom will do."

As anyone was listening carefully, Ashton took this advantage to explain more. "The first thing you all need to do is to build a connection with the broom. As you all can see, I placed the broom on the ground beside yourselves. Hold you hand in front of you, like you are reaching for the broom and say the word 'up'." To see whether the students understood him, he demonstrated it in front of them. He put up his hand above the broom, ready to catch it. "Up," he calmly said. Immediately, the broom went to his hand and without further movement, he was already holding it with his fist. "I want you to all try it on the way I did. This is a pretty easy activity that, I think, majority of you can do it in just one try."

"The first thing you all need to do is to build a connection with the broom. As you all can see, I placed the broom on the ground beside yourselves. Hold you hand in front of you, like you are reaching for the broom and say the word 'up'." Professor Clark told the class, before putting his hand above the broom and saying 'up'.

"I want you to all try it on the way I did. This is a pretty easy activity that, I think, majority of you can do it in just one try." He added. Keith looked down at the broomstick that was in front of him. He put his hand over the broom. "Up!" He said. Nothing. "Up!" He repeated, this time only managing to get the broom to move on the ground, but not come up off of it.

After the other students had either raised their hands or kept them down, Professor Clark called out, "Accio!" and what seemed like the school's whole collection of brooms flew out of an open window. "Brooms have a similarity with wands. You need to have a connection between them. In this way, let's just say the broom will respect you and follow any command that you have for it. Unlike wands, brooms doesn't choose you. Any kind of broom will do." Professor Clark said. "The first thing you all need to do is to build a connection with the broom. As you all can see, I placed the broom on the ground beside yourselves. Hold you hand in front of you, like you are reaching for the broom and say the word 'up'." He demonstrated, and the broom immediately jumped into his hand. "I want you to all try it on the way I did. This is a pretty easy activity that, I think, the majority of you can do in just one try."

Aurora nervously looked around at the other students. Many seemed to be having trouble, so with her nerves soothed, she lifted her arm and said, "Up!" It came out as a whisper, and the broom was motionless on the ground. Aurora tried again, but the broom just would not move. Her father had always handed it to her, so she had never actually done this part. "Up, up, up!" she cried, and this time the tip of the broom lifted off the ground and hovered. Aurora juerked her hand upwards, and this time the rest of the broom floated upwards and the handle came to rest in Aurora's hand. Though she had performed the feat later than some of the others, she was still proud, even if she would never be a good Quidditch player.

After magically summoning a set of broomsticks from the Castle and placing one of them beside each student, Professor Clark instructed them to try to make them rise from the ground and fly right into their hand. James glanced at his feet. The broom seemed a bit old and used, and was not nearly as attractive as the racing models mentioned in Quidditch Through the Ages. This was ought to be a difficult task. While he did find wands and their connection to wizards fascinating, he failed to see broomsticks as more than simple pieces of wood.

"Up" James said, placing his hand above the broom. As he had expected, it remained grounded, utterly immobile. "Up" he repeated, but still no result. Glancing around to see if anyone had succeeded, he saw Aurora's broomstick fly right into her hand. You need to have a connection with them. he recalled the professor's words. Turning his attention back to his own broom, he tried to picture it hovering into his palm, and imagined himself flying on it, the wind blowing through his hair. "Up" he commanded once the vision was clear enough. After a brief moment, he felt the cold wood of the handle against his skin.

Kim was surprised on how easily Professor Clark summoned a lot of objects just by using one spell. Immediately, a very old broom went on her side and lay down on the grassy field.

As the professor was telling them what to do, she listened carefully on every detail. Of all the subjects she enrolled in, Flying Lessons was the only one that she has really interest in. She never imagined that the witches riding on brooms in the movies were real. Brooms are really used in transportation.

She watched as the professor demonstrated it in very clear detail. 'Connection, confidence, of course and again, connection,' she repeated on her head. "...and say the word 'up'." Before she started, she wanted for this one to be perfect. She watched as the others fail to do it in their first try. Some of them being pure-blood, Kim's confidence was failing her again. But, according to Professor Clark, anyone can achieve it in even one try. So, maybe she can do it, too.

She took a deep breath and put her hand above the handle of the broom. At that moment, her broom suddenly moved an inch, circling on the ground. She concentrated harder than before and when she knew she was ready, she said the word that her mouth is dreading to say all along. "Up!" Suddenly, the broom moved on sideways position. Kim looked at it and talked to the broom on her head, instructing it to come up on her hand. After four seconds, the broom went directly to her palm, letting her have a grip on its body.

OOC: I'll be taking my leave for a while. I deeply apologize for letting all of you down. I do promise that the lesson will continue when I get back.:OOC