Quote:

Originally Posted by Celandine

The thing about it was that the bouncy grass was almost as thrilling a prospect as flying like a lunatic was. How much did you bounce anyway? Could you launch-bounce yourself back on to your broom? That would be cool!

Celandine watched William curiously and decided to try a barrel roll herself. But how to grip the broom so that she could swing up again? And did the entire broom need to turn or did she turn around the broom?

She decided to try swinging around it, which meant momentum was needed, right? Okie dokie. She picked up some speed and crossed her legs under the broom, just below her knees. She pulled herself into a sharp turn and used the momentum to swing around the broom, having to grab hold of the stick tightly after making a full turn and nearly over shooting it. Hmm.

She giggled. Now THAT would be fun to do up high! She did it again, this time getting a little too close to the ground and thrusting her arm at the grass or else her face would have trialed the bouncing thing. As it was her arm bounced up and the momentum sent Celandine and her broom hurtling toward Plymouth.

"Professor V? You listening to me? I was also thinking about seatbelts. Me and mom used to invent stuff like that if you wanted me to make you one. For classes like this... " Plymouth poked the Professor's elbow, oblivious to the dead-like girl on the ground. Clearly, he WASN'T listening, so Plymouth would just try again later. That left Cela watching time... so Plymouth turned around to see what Cela was doing.

Good thing too, cause she was ... IN-COMING.


"AHHHhhhh!" Plymouth screamed a little. He jerked his broom up a little, actually taking flight (SHOCK!) in hopes of catching Cela before she hit anyone or anything else. He didn't mind being her net.

Cela gripped her wand with one hand, the other flailing a bit above her head, much like she was riding a bucking bronco, though she was missing the cowboy hat and the broom was merely skidding sideways through the air rather than bucking uncontrollably. She ended up half tackling Plym, her arm going about his waist and sending them both into a surprisingly graceful tailspin.

"Airwaltzing!" Celandine decided that was what they were doing and she grinned at Plymmy.

Smiling at the Professor, "Okey dokey Professor, thanks! That actually makes flying more interesting." she said with a mischievous look. She mounted her broom and kicked off heading straight up in the air. When she stopped, she decided to try riding the broom like on a roller coaster with ups and downs and sharp turns. It was exhilarating. She loved the sensation of her stomach dropping and the butterflies flying around busily. It was a great rush.

She yelled to the Professor, "Are you going to come up with us?" She really wanted to see the Professor on a broom.

"Try it again, Dani," Vindictus said and helped her into a sitting position. "Never quit and you don't have to go any higher than two feet."
He then straightened up and looked at Plymouth. Why in Merlin's great hairy toes is he waddling around like duck on a stick?

"Seatbelts? Can you at least try to get six inches off the ground Plymouth?" he asked and he dropped to the ground as Cela came barreling at them. Then he happened to catch a glimpse of the apocalypse - Plymouth Morgan was airborne. "Lean forward over the broom, Plymouth! You have to steady yourself before you can slow down or land! AND DON'T LOOK DOWN!"

Dani nodded and picked up her broom. She could do this again! Straddling the broom once more, she pushed up. When she was about three feet off the ground she levelled herself out and started to fly around in circles again. After a few moments of that she leaned forward and shot straight forward. Pulling back gently on her broom she said, "Woah." But she didn't faint or fall off.

William remained close to the ground as he began flying again, keeping his distance to a good five feet, his speed normal for him. Even if the grass was bouncy he was still too nervous to fly faster, and he knew if he had any chances of getting the hang of this contraption he had to try. He watched as the older ravenclaw began doing weird dance moves in the air with the other Ravenclaw and he chuckled, his body shaking the broom. Gripping it tighter he stopped and leveled himself out.

He knew he had to be brave but that inner voice never stopped uttering words in his mind and he was beginning to believe it. shaking his head he sat up straighter on the broom, coming to a slow stop before sighing. Okay, here we go he thought as he raised the front end of the broom up and watched the sky come closer to him.. at least it wasn't the ground he mused keeping his eyes on the tip of the broom as he climbed to 20 feet before leveling out and attempting to fly in a straight line. He realized he was going too fast and stopped suddenly, his broom bucking back and forth a few times. Closing his eyes he held on, waiting for the drop. It never came though as the broom leveled out and he soon found himself 20 feet above the ground, perfectly still.

his heart was beginning to pound and he knew he had to get off soon or face a panic attack in front of everyone and that would so NOT do. Lowering the front of his broom slowly he watched as the ground came up, inching towards him. Sighing as he reached the less-than-a-foot mark he leveled out the broom once more and carefully touched down. It was than he realized how badly he was shaking. Next time no higher than 5 feet he told himself shaking his head as he crossed his arms standing still.

Satine noticed Dani getting airborne and with a smile said, "Great job Dani!" she balanced on her broom and gave her a very quick double thumbs up and then grabbed her broom again to get her steady back with a concentrated look. She smiled once she steadied and returned to zooming around aimlessly.

She zoomed around trying as hard as she could not to run into anyone. This was very hard with everyone doing their own thing.

She noticed William landing and yelled encouragement to the boy, "William, great job today!" she zoomed down and flew by with her hand up to give him a high five in congratulation. She could tell that he was shaken and figured some encouragement would be an awesome idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celandine

Cela gripped her wand with one hand, the other flailing a bit above her head, much like she was riding a bucking bronco, though she was missing the cowboy hat and the broom was merely skidding sideways through the air rather than bucking uncontrollably. She ended up half tackling Plym, her arm going about his waist and sending them both into a surprisingly graceful tailspin.

"Airwaltzing!" Celandine decided that was what they were doing and she grinned at Plymmy.

"WHAT?" Plymouth sort of yelled at her. Not AT her, but... at her because he was FLYING and they were having a near death experience - and she was apparently thinking it was very funny. Airwaltzing? As he spun around, sort of holding his broom (overlapped hold!) and kicking his legs like he was riding a bicycle, he decided that it sort of WAS like dancing. Plymouth dancing anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by demented_death_eater

"Seatbelts? Can you at least try to get six inches off the ground Plymouth?" he asked and he dropped to the ground as Cela came barreling at them. Then he happened to catch a glimpse of the apocalypse - Plymouth Morgan was airborne. "Lean forward over the broom, Plymouth! You have to steady yourself before you can slow down or land! AND DON'T LOOK DOWN!"

"Don't look down?" Plymouth asked, then promptly looked down. He lowered his body to his broom and held on tight. He'd have put his mouth on the handle too if he thought it would help him stay on. His legs were still kicking, the round and round bicycle pedal motion. Plymouth's breathing was labored and he was trying to pay attention to Cela but... he was sort of having a crisis. Or maybe a breakthrough. He wasn't far from the ground, but his toes weren't touching! "Professor? Can you come pull my leg?"

"I'm not pulling your leg, Plymouth!" Vindictus yelled and momentarily resisted the urge to reach up and yank the boy from his broom as he stood up. Gulping gargoyles! He looks like my brother Marcus on a broom and that is dangerous. "And stop moving your legs as if you're riding a Muggle bicycle. Just let them dangle and sit upright on your broom. Can you help him, Cela?"


He looked over at the others. "Good job everyone! Keep it up!"

Dani flew in another circle. She was starting to like being on a broom. The height wasn't bothering her as much now that she was able to handle the broom. She went a little higher. When she was back to about six feet she yelled to Satine. "Hey, you wanna race to that tree?" She pointed to a tree about five yards away.

"This is fun!" Celandine clinged tighter to Plym as they spun around, the circles becoming lazier and lazier as the momentum dispersed. She grinned at him cheerfully. What was life without risks? And anyway, the grass was bouncy so they were perfectly safe! "Have you been paying a bunch of attention to Professor Vindictus? You tense your jaw in the same way." Cela commented, looking up at the clouds and beaming happily as she and Plymouth continued their unintentional airwaltz.

"Sure I can, Professor!" Celandine leaned her face up to Plymouth's ear and whispered. "If you do okay today and stop moving your legs about, I'll give you as many kisses as you like!"

Satine turned her head around to listen to Dani. She was just thinking about asking if anyone wanted to race so of course she wanted to. She turned back around on her broom and went to get in position to the right of Dani. "Sure Dani, that sounds like a plan to me." She put her hands up in the air as if her broom had handle bars and made noises like she was revving her engine with a smile of her face. Then she acted like she was buckling her seat belt and putting on her sunglasses and crouched down like a jockey on a horse holding onto her broom tightly. "Ready when you are."

"Professor, will you start the race for us and be our judge?" she yelled to the Professor with a puppy dog face on trying to beg him to help.

William grinned as he heard his name called and looked up slightly to see another Ravenclaw zooming towards him. It looked like she knew what she was doing as she raised her hand for a high five. Lifting his up he was surprised it wasn't shaking as he clapped his hand with her. "Thanks!" He said his blue eyes shining with pride as he finally calmed down enough to glance at Vindictus with a sheepish look. "Um, do I have to go up again?" He asked as he ran a hand through his slightly disheveled hair.

"No racing! This is basic flying. We race in the next class!" he called out.

Feeling her cheeks turning red, she looked from Dani to the Professor and back. She pumped her shoulders up and said, "Well, then looks like we'll have to make a rain check for that race." she finished with a laugh. "But it's on like Donkey Kong next time."

She looked down at the Professor, "Sorry Professor, I guess we just got over excited about flying, but now I can't wait for the next lesson!" she said as she zoomed around the Professor in a big circle.

Herminny had overheard the young Ravenclaw asking her freind to race to the tree and knew it was a bad idea from the start and breathed a sigh of relief when Vindictus put an end to it cause they were 1st year flyers and more then likely they would probably crash into the tree. Knowing that the race was suspended she leaed into her broom and continued to circle the pitch thinking this is so boring but care ful to still pay attention so she dod'nt crash into the goal post again.

"Did you try ten feet in the air, William?" Vindictus asked and waved at Satine. "I want you to practice taking off and landing. Did everyone hear that? Practice your taking off and landing!" But then an addition to those attending the lesson distracted him.

"Herminny! You passed my class last term which means you're not supposed to be at this lesson!" he called out and scribbled something down on his parchment. "That will be five points from Gryffindor, and please leave the lesson."

OK, he could do this thing. With ease. Because he had always loved the thought of flying.

Quidditch matches, too.

Push off with your feet. That was easy enough. Fyo's leg had swung over his broomstick, and he was now doing as the flying instructor was instructing. He attempted to pushed off the ground, the way he had been told to and, within milliseconds, felt quite at ease.

Move forward. That meant leaning forward, right? Yeah, that's what the professor had said. Fyo did so, gently inclining his frame, a little, over the broom handle.

He was rising, right? Well, of course, that's the whole point, isn't it? the second year thought, shaking his mind off his usual, dreamy thoughts to concentrate on staying airborne.

- And, of course, enjoying it.

Satine listened intently to Vindictus' next comments and shook her head. As she slowed down coming to the ground she repeated his original directions in her head,

Okay slowing down...Check...

Slowly Satine nudged her broom handle towards the ground but the broom didn't get close enough to the ground. She remembered now that her mom or dad had always just lifted her up off the broom and she had never landed.

She tried again, nudging the broom handle towards the ground a little bit more. This made the handle almost touch the ground but the back of the broom stuck straight up in the air and she nearly rolled over the front of the broom. Letting back on the broom handle, the broom evened out again.

She decided to reset and try again. She flew up a few feet and tried to land a second time.

Slow down...Check...nudge down the handle towards the ground...check...and finally she felt her feet touch the ground. "Yes!" she screamed with excitement.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw William sigh an awkward look on his face, "William, you want to practice just taking off and landing with me... we won't get very high off the ground." she said encouragingly hoping that if he had someone there walking through it with him, he'd feel more confident.

Christine, being a fifth year, was a little embarrassed in having to take beginners flying lessons. She had no problem getting the broom up or taking off, it was her landing that was a problem. Christine was just so scared of heights that she would always come down too fast and not land properly. After mounting her broom, Christine kick off the ground. She was about two feet off the floor and decided to go up a little further. At three feet she was feeling ok, so she decided to go up a little more. Pulling up on her broom to fast, Christine ended up ten feet in the air. Christine filled with Panic as she gripped her broom handle tightly and stayed in one spot in the middle of the air.

Dani shrugged. "Sorry Professor." She flew back toward the ground and jumped off her broom. She liked flying, but brooms were not comfortable to sit on. She walked around a little and then restraddled her broom. She wanted to get back up there. In her excitement she pushed off too hard and jetted upward. It scared her at first but she turned a little and lowered herself about a foot, back into her comfort zone. The broom still made her bottom hurt. "Do you by any chance have cushions for your brooms Professor?"

The wind seemed to move past him, very calmly at first, then whirling in a faster, hazy thing. That must mean, Fyo decided, that he was picking up speed. Slowly, but definitely steadily.

WhoaCOOL!

He leaned forward, trying to speed up. Not too much, but still enough to satisfy himself, for the moment. The wind picked up and, sure enough, he could now feel the taste of dust in his mouth, the kind of taste that you only feel when everything is... sort of dusty.

But wait, there wasn’t any dust around here, right?
Must be his imagination. Oh wellll.

Time to practice slowing down!

Sit up on your broom and pull the handle towards you. Well, he was already sitting up. He sat up a little straighter anyway, pulling the broom’s handle his way, as their flying instructor had earlier instructed. The broomstick began to slow down, and –

Looks like I pulled up too fast. Uh uh.

"The brooms have a cushioning charm," Vindictus said again in a fatherly voice. "I know that they're uncomfortable at first, but try not to think about it."

He looked over at the others. "Good job, Fyo! Careful there, Christine. Way to help out a classmate, Satine!"

He blinked. "Ten feet? Uh sure no problem." he replied nodding to him before turning to glance at the broom still in his hands. Ok, so landing and taking off, right. Walking a little further away so he wouldn't hurt anyone he mounted the broom again and carefully kicked off, this time with little wobble and no upside down tricks. Taking a breath he lifted the front end of the broom and rose into the air stopping when he was at ten feet. Okay, so far not bad he thought as he carefully maneuvered the broom into flight, speeding up slowly until he was comfortable. flying around at ten feet felt pretty weird, he missed his five feet but meh. Lowering his broom after he completed a small lap he carefully began maneuvering the broom downwards so he could land.

Landing was tougher than he thought he mused as he seemed to skid a bit before stopping completely. With his legs sill around the broom he kicked off again, this time with little more force than needed. he shot up, quickly bringing the front of the broom towards him to slow down, which resulted in him slipping up the broom handle. Gripping the broom tightly he took a breath before lowering the broom once more, landing much softer than the last time.

Doing as the professor said and attempting to ignore the uncomfortableness, she continued zooming around. She wasn't going that fast, but the wind in her face felt nice. Maybe she would like to play Quidditch in the future. She still wasn't sure about being that high up in the air. There was a bird flying at her eye level about a foot away from her so she just sort of hovered and watched it.