Freeing himself from those thoughts though, Harry reminds himself of his small acts of rebellion to the Dursely's he'd done up to now, from speaking to a station guard, making friends, even doing well in school. The large specter of Vernon Dursley still loomed large in Harry's mind, but even his massive size couldn't compare to the shining promise that Hogwarts was, the refuge it represented, and the friends it had brought to them. Images of Hermione, Padma, Hagrid, and the other members of the Sphinx Club flashed through Harry's mind as he resolves himself to give it everything he had during this flying practice.
The training ground where the flying class was held had a few tables, upon which sat forty brooms, one for each of the first years that attended this class. Unlike all other subjects here at Hogwarts, Broomstick flying was only taught to first years, and was taught to the entire year at once. Madam Hooch, who taught the class, was on the more normal side of appearances of the Hogwarts professors. She wore a somewhat stripped down version of the standard teacher's robes, with a shirt, tie, and vest under it. Her hair was wild and high, and colored a very bright silver, on her forehead sat a pair of goggles.
"Hello Hogwarts first-years. I am Madam Rolanda Hooch, Flying Instructor and official Quidditch referee for Hogwarts. Broomstick riding is one of the most important skills for a Wizard to learn, as it is the most reliable form of transportation available that isn't your own two legs. In this course, you will learn not only how to summon and ride a broom, but also proper broomstick maintenance and how to perform some minor repairs. This class however does have an exit test that you can take any time after the end of September, you simply need to be able to take a broom, perform the proper maintenance on it, then fly a small obstacle course. Once you have officially completed the exam, you are excused from any further flying classes. With that, let us begin this class properly. Flying is a lot like walking, only far more dangerous…" Madam Hooch peels off into a lecture about how to summon and mount a broom before encouraging students to attempt to summon their own brooms.
A chorus of "Up!" can be heard as students try to summon the brooms from the ground, with none succeeding in the first five tries. The fourth and the fifth tries though has the broom smack Draco Malfoy in the face though, and Harry finds joy in that. One the sixth try though Anthony Goldstein, one of Harry's roommates successfully manages to pull the broom to his hand, and shortly after that most students manage to properly summon their brooms, with only Gregory Goyle being unable to summon it within twenty tries.
A quick demonstration on mounting a broom was given, and all students practice for several minutes before Madam Hooch began to give instructions on how to kick off. Neville however, being so nervous about flying due to his fear of heights, kicks off early and flings himself and his broom quickly into the air with a scream.
"Mr. Longbottom! You were not to kick off yet!" Madam Hooch screams, boarding her broom and attempting to fly up to him.
Harry watches on in worry as he notes Neville's sporadic flight patterns, reminiscent of the mechanical bulls that Harry had caught a glimpse of on the Dursley's television. Harry notices too late however that Neville's next kick was going to slam him directly into Madam Hooch as she attempted to stabilize him. Their bodies collide in a loud WHAM that both knocks Madam Hooch unconscious and off of her broom causing her to plummet to the ground below.
Harry's legs act before his brain as he kicks off of his broom, shooting himself into the sky in an attempt to catch Madam Hooch, a quick Flippendo flips the instructor to where her head is no longer towards the ground as Harry slams into her at speed, replacing most of her downward momentum with side-ways momentum. The pair then ride the broomstick, which is incapable of handling the weight of two people, to a crash landing on the ground, and a crunch is heard as the Shooting Star broomstick Harry had been riding snapped against the ground. Harry quickly rights himself and takes stock of his person, finding only a few cuts and some 'road rash' but otherwise no damage. A quick glance towards the rest of the class sees Su Li running into the castle, hopefully on her way to get a teacher to assist. Checking back to Madam Hooch, Harry is happy to see that she seems fine, if slightly more injured than him.
Harry slowly talks Neville into calming down, saying that all he needs to do right now is stay still and a teacher will come and get him down. Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey arrive at that moment with Su Li, and Pomfrey makes her way to Madam Hooch while Flitwick levitates Neville down from the broomstick. Pomfrey reports that Madam Hooch is okay, but will need to head to the Hospital Wing, and Flitwick says that flying class for today is canceled, asking Su Li and Harry to stay behind.
"I'm sorry Professor, I know I wasn't supposed to fly into her, but I thought if she hit the ground from that height she'd be seriously hurt." Harry says before Professor Flitwick can say anything.