Looking back over the history of the wizarding world, it was easy to see that wizards had never really developed any deep understanding of aerial combat.
Or rather, they simply had never placed much importance on it.
Whether wizards actually needed it in battle aside, one thing was undeniable. In their eyes, whether it was a Thestral that could pull them into the sky, or enchanted carriages and ships that could fly, those things were merely transportation.
They were not viewed as tools with any real strategic or tactical value, so naturally, no one thought of using them in battle.
As for Broomsticks, in the minds of most wizards, they were just fun sporting equipment...
Whatever anyone else thought, Draco's actions at that moment definitely drew everyone's attention.
Of course, their first reaction was not that Draco intended to fight them on a Broomstick.
They thought he was trying to escape...
"Trying to run!?"
"Stop him!"
"You think you can get away like this? Don't be ridiculous, Draco Malfoy!!"
Including Barty Crouch Jr., every Death Eater present came to the same conclusion. Draco intended to mount a Broomstick and flee.
And that was naturally the last thing Barty Crouch Jr. and the others wanted to see. Voldemort would never forgive that kind of failure.
But Ginny and Luna, as the only ones who knew the plan in advance, had never thought that from the start.
To be precise, in the plan they knew, there was no option called fleeing on a Broomstick at all.
It was only after hearing the Death Eaters' startled shouts that Ginny belatedly realized there really was such a possibility.
"Um... maybe we can take the chance to..."
"Hurry up and get on, or I am leaving you behind!"
Those words were clearly aimed at Ginny Weasley.
Because at some point, without anyone noticing, Ginny's little friend Luna was already sitting on Draco's Broomstick.
Even more incredibly, Luna had even saved a spot for Ginny. The puzzled look on her face seemed to say she could not understand why Ginny had not climbed on yet.
"You have got to be kidding?! Fine then. If I die here, I will never let you get away with it!"
For all her complaints, though, Ginny's body was very honest.
The way she climbed onto the Broomstick so skillfully made it look as though she genuinely feared Draco might leave a beautiful girl like her behind without a second thought.
As for that completely illogical threat, Draco ignored it outright...
"Then hold on tight. This is my first time flying with two passengers."
"Huh!? Wait!? I want to switch with Luna. I do not want to sit behind..."
"Impossible. There is no time!"
"You... wah!!"
Tap!
The sudden kick off the ground and the violent burst of speed as they shot into the sky made Ginny, who had not mentally prepared herself at all, let out a panicked scream. Her hands, which had not known where to go, instinctively wrapped around Draco's waist.
Yes.
She was sitting right between Draco and Luna.
In her daze, Ginny could even feel the heat coming from him through her palms.
Whether it was fear or simply too much excitement, with her whole body pressed against Draco's back, Ginny could feel the skin beneath her robes growing hot and flushed...
...
In wizarding households, a Broomstick was practically a necessity.
The only difference was the model.
And the Broomstick Draco was controlling right now was from the Comet series.
The Comet series might not be the absolute fastest, but when it came to maneuverability in a close aerial fight, the Comet series was unmatched...
After successfully taking to the sky, Ginny once again tried to convince Draco to change his mind.
"Are we really not escaping now? Those Death Eaters probably cannot catch up to us in time... Luna, stop squeezing me!"
Draco was not made of wood. He could clearly feel someone wriggling behind him, and he could just as clearly hear the embarrassed, annoyed voice at his ear.
In truth, Draco had absolutely no interest in paying attention to the commotion behind him. If not for that deal with Xenophilius, he probably would never have let the two of them get on in the first place.
Though that soft body and the little hand around his waist, tightening and loosening from time to time, should... perhaps... probably not affect his control, they were undeniably noisy...
So, in order to make the little witch behind him settle down, Draco gave a brief explanation.
"If it were really that easy, I would have had you two leave on your own long ago instead of making you squeeze onto the same Broomstick with me."
"As if I wanted to... wait? What do you mean by that? Do not tell me the Death Eaters down there brought Broomsticks with them too?"
"They did not. But what about the others?"
"The others? Where would there even be oth..."
For what was probably the hundredth time, Ginny swallowed her own words halfway through.
The reason was not that Luna had squeezed closer again, nor was it Draco's almost alarmingly hot eight pack abs.
It was the black dots rising one after another from the ground in the distance.
That direction seemed to be the wizarding village...
"If nothing unexpected happened, the people over there have already been dealt with by the Death Eaters."
"So they are reinforcements?"
"Obviously. They had already considered the possibility of someone escaping through the air from the very beginning. Those people are probably responsible for sealing off the sky."
Hearing that, Ginny tightened her thighs around the Broomstick, as if worried she might get thrown off during the intense battle to come.
At the same time, she freed one hand to grip her wand...
As Ginny ran through the spells she had learned at school, she asked Draco, "Even if the speed is not affected that much, a Broomstick carrying three people definitely cannot outrun them. And with this many enemies, are you confident?"
At that same moment, now that they were facing them directly, they could clearly make out the Death Eaters flying toward them at high speed.
One, two, three... just from what they could see, there were at least twenty enemies.
Whether Barty Crouch Jr. had passed on some kind of message or not, those Death Eaters riding Broomsticks were already moving in to surround them...
"You are asking whether I am confident?"
As if Ginny's question amused him, Draco let out a cold laugh after circling once through the sky.
That mocking tone made Ginny glare at the back of his head in annoyance.
Then, in the next second, that deep voice full of confidence made Ginny's heartbeat turn strangely uneven...
"If we were on the ground, then maybe all we could do would be sit there and wait to die. But on a Broomstick..."
Confident and flamboyant.
At that moment, Ginny seemed to see once again that golden figure racing across the Quidditch pitch.
In Quidditch, he was invincible.
And in aerial combat, too!!