"Ahhh!"
A blurry figure shot straight up into the air on a broomstick, hurtling dangerously close to the castle walls.
"Whoa, nice moves!"
"He definitely wants to make the house team!"
Terry squinted against the sun, watching the figure darting erratically through the sky, totally impressed.
"I don't know..." Richie frowned, looking uneasy. "It looks more like the broom is completely out of control."
Sure enough, Madam Hooch's panicked and furious voice rang out across the grounds.
"Longbottom, get control of that broom!"
"Come down this instant!"
Longbottom?
Neville Longbottom?
Richie's frown deepened as he tracked the chaotic flight path overhead.
Just as everyone stood there frozen in shock, Neville's broom suddenly went into a steep dive, rocketing straight toward the crowd on the ground.
Madam Hooch whipped out her wand, pointing it right at the incoming boy.
"Arresto Momentum!"
But for some reason, the spell had absolutely no effect.
Neville screamed as he shot right over the crowd's heads and immediately pulled back into a steep climb.
Eventually, his robes snagged on the sharp spear of a statue near the top of a tower, yanking him off the broom. He ended up dangling in mid-air, suspended by his collar.
Whether he had the presence of mind to let go, or if he was just too terrified to hold on, his arms and legs went limp. Free of its rider, the broomstick continued its flight into the clouds.
"Merlin's beard!"
"That was insane!"
"Madam Hooch is going to have a heart attack!"
The first-years all stared up at the tower, buzzing with excitement. In the chaos, no one noticed that Neville's robes were starting to slowly tear under his weight.
Riiiip.
With a sickening tear, the fabric gave way, and Neville plummeted toward the earth.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Watching from a short distance away, Richie's face went pale. He raised his wand in a flash.
Neville's freefall stuttered. His speed noticeably dropped, but he still hit the ground with a heavy, sickening thud.
"Ahhh!"
Several girls screamed.
The crowd immediately swarmed toward where Neville had fallen, Richie included.
Neville was lying on his side, his face twisted in agony. But even though he was beet red from the pain, he bit his lip and didn't make a sound.
The kids circled him, completely paralyzed by panic.
Thank god Madam Hooch was there. She pushed her way through the crowd, knelt down, and pulled Neville into her arms. Drawing on her experience, she quickly checked him over.
The first-years watched her in terrified silence.
After a tense moment, Madam Hooch let out a massive sigh of relief.
"Oh, you poor boy."
"Thank goodness for that Levitation Charm. It's just a sprained wrist."
"Who cast that spell?"
The kids looked around at each other. Finally, Terry spoke up.
"It was Richie! Richie Harland! I saw him do it!"
Madam Hooch nodded sharply. "Where is Mr. Harland?"
Seeing no way out, Richie stepped forward. "Right here, Madam."
"Excellent reflexes. Two points to Ravenclaw!"
Madam Hooch pulled Neville's good arm over her shoulder and hoisted him up.
"I am taking him to the hospital wing. While I am gone, no one is to touch a broomstick."
"If I catch anyone flying, they will be expelled from Hogwarts faster than they can say 'Quidditch'!"
With that final, lethal warning, she led Neville off the pitch.
Stephen blinked, looking at Richie in awe.
"Richie, you cast that so fast. If you hadn't slowed him down, I don't think that Gryffindor would have walked away with just a sprained wrist."
Terry scratched his head, sounding a bit confused.
"Honestly, Richie, you didn't even need to do anything. I heard the Hogwarts hospital wing can fix literally anything as long as you're still breathing."
Richie just shook his head.
"Even if they can magically fix it later, falling from that high up still hurts like hell."
"If I can help, I'm going to help."
Anthony nodded in strong agreement, shooting Terry a look of pure disgust.
"You have zero empathy."
Terry pouted. "Hey, I just didn't think about the pain part!"
As the Ravenclaws chatted, the situation on the pitch rapidly deteriorated.
Draco Malfoy suddenly kicked off the ground, hovering in the air on his broom.
"Why should I give it to you? I think I'll hide it and let Longbottom find it himself!"
"How about up on the roof, Harry Potter?"
Harry glared furiously up at Malfoy. He grabbed a broom, ready to go after him.
"Harry, no!"
Hermione grabbed his arm, desperately trying to stop him.
"Madam Hooch just explicitly warned us not to fly! Plus, you don't even know how!"
Ignoring her completely, Harry kicked off the ground and rocketed up into the sky.
Hermione stared in disbelief as he flew off, her face turning red with frustration.
"What an absolute idiot!"
Ron, on the other hand, cheered wildly.
"That's a true Gryffindor! Get him, Harry!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The Ravenclaws watched the two boys chasing each other through the air in total disbelief.
"Are all Gryffindors and Slytherins this... reckless?" someone asked.
Terry chimed in, "Someone literally just got seriously hurt, the professor threatened to expel us, and they just go right back up?"
Anthony shook his head in disgust. "I don't get it."
"They have to be missing a few brain cells..."
"Malfoy stole Neville's Remembrall!" Ron bellowed, his neck flushing red as he overheard the Ravenclaws' commentary. "Malfoy's a total prick! Harry is just trying to get his friend's stuff back!"
Stephen smoothly pointed out the obvious flaw in that logic.
"Then why didn't he just wait for the professor? Even if Malfoy hid it, Madam Hooch could just order him to return it."
Ron choked, completely unable to come up with a comeback for that.
"Ha! Exactly. Reckless!" one of the Ravenclaws sneered.
Hearing that, a Gryffindor snapped back defensively.
"The Slytherins started it! They provoked him!"
The Slytherins instantly bared their fangs.
"He was just making a joke! What's the big deal?"
"Potter's just overly sensitive..."
"Oh, sure! Does stealing someone's property look like a 'joke' to you? Is it funny?!"
"It's entirely your fault!"
"No, it's your fault!"
Caught in the middle, the Hufflepuffs looked around nervously, completely lost as the verbal crossfire intensified.
The atmosphere grew incredibly volatile. One spark, and the whole thing was going to blow up into a massive brawl.
Watching the kids get up in each other's faces—some of them actually starting to draw their wands—Richie felt a sharp throbbing at his temples.
He knew that if he didn't do something right now, this was going to turn into a disaster.
"STOP!"
The sudden, authoritative shout snapped everyone out of their rage. They all turned to look at the source.
It was Richie!
"What are you all doing?! Do you actually want to start a riot?!"
"This is Hogwarts! Not a gladiatorial arena! Put your wands away!"
Hearing Richie's harsh reality check, the kids suddenly realized just how dangerously close they were to each other. They were practically chest-to-chest. Close enough that a single punch would knock teeth out. Close enough to shove a wand straight up someone's nose!
Startled by their own aggression, the young wizards quickly scrambled backward, leaving a massive, empty circle in the middle of the crowd.
Seeing someone finally step up and take charge—and realizing it was the famous "Seven-Pointed Star"—the Hufflepuffs immediately flocked to Richie, treating him like their newfound leader and hiding safely behind him.