Wednesday 11th
September
Oops! I didn’t realise that I haven’t written in here for
a few days. I thought I did… maybe I dreamt it. Anyway, Josie was completely
fine on Monday. I saw her walk into the Great Hall with Fabian and one of his
friends at breakfast. Jed and I waved to her and she and Fabian waved back. I
also made Jed hurry from Potions to Herbology with me, so that we had more time
to talk to her – Jed wasn’t very impressed, but I felt better for doing it. So
longs as Josie’s back to her normal self, that’s the main thing.
*
I don’t have much to report on the lesson side of things,
that is until this afternoon’s Flying class. This was the single most
humiliating thing that has ever happened to me. Alright, so I managed to get
the broom to zoom up to my hand a little quicker than the first time – that did
feel awesome. It was like my first piece of magic. It made my right arm tingle
as the broom handle pressed into my palm. It’s just a shame that it all went
downhill from there.
Once most of the class
had managed to summon our broomsticks, Madam Hooch commanded us to mount them.
Holding both of my hands out over the broomstick I muttered, “Steady… steady…
stay…” to it, hoping that the broom would listen to me and not move away. I’m
not quite sure that’s how magic works, but if the broom listened to me
shouting, “Up,” I could at least try a couple of other commands, even if nobody
else did.
The broomstick bobbed
up and down in a motion similar to the waves on the ocean. Seeing the rhythm, I
managed to perch on the stick just as it dipped down. As the broom rose, my
feet skimmed the ground. Pointing my toes, I tried my best to stay on the
ground. I didn’t even look around at anyone else. I was too scared that if I
took my sights away from what I was doing, I’d end up like Neville did last
week. I couldn’t have that happen. I just couldn’t.
As the majority of the
class had now mounted our brooms, Madam Hooch gave out her next orders. “On my
whistle you will kick off the ground slowly.
Guiding your broom, you will circle around the grounds before landing where you
set off.” My heart raged in my chest. It crashed at my ribcage, trembled down
my arms and rattled in my ears. Pinching my eyes shut, I threw a hand to my
stomach as Madam Hooch strode past. “Three…” she shouted. “Two… one…” The
whistle sounded. My eyes shot open. I dug my toes into the ground and pushed
myself up – just a little bit though, I didn’t want to go too high.
Staring down at my
feet, the ground seemed to blur below. My feet could only have been five inches
above the ground, if that. But that
was enough. I began breathing heavily. My chest jittered. My ears began
ringing. I felt myself leaning too far too my right. I tried looking up.
Everyone blurred past me. My throat tightened. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t.
My palms dampened. My grip weakened. I pinched my eyes tight.
Bang! My eyes shot
open. The back of my head throbbed. A sharp pain shot from my neck to my
shoulders and down my spine. Standing over me was a grey sleeve with an
outstretched hand. Grabbing the hand, I was hauled onto my feet. “Good try
there, soldier,” said Madam Hooch as she patted me on the back. “Nothing
broken. You just toppled backwards over a few inches is all. Wanna give another
go?” I shook my head.
“No thanks,” I panted, feeling the
blood rushing to my cheeks. A few inches? I fell of my broom only a few inches
in the air? I could probably jump higher than I flew. How pathetic? And with
everyone staring at me too. Oh, how I hope no one noticed.
I spoke to Jed
afterwards and he didn’t seem to think that I did too badly. “That was a huge
improvement,” he told me. “And it’s only your second lesson. You’ll get it,
don’t worry.” I guess for now all I can do is pray that he’s right.
- Josie -
No comments:
Post a Comment