Sooooophie.

Even though this was a basic flying less, he was expecting her arrival, knowing quite well that the Ravenclaw wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get back into flying again. She loved that stuff, didn't she? And she was good at it too. Zander vaguely remembered from watching Quidditch games in the past, from the stands of course. LOL. Even the thought of Zander trying to play for a team was ridiculous.

He was about to say something to Soph too along the lines of agreeing with her explanation when he was abruptly shoved. Uh. What the heck was that for??? He gave Rooney a weird look, "Rooney," Zander returned the uh... Could that even be considered a greeting?

What was with that kid and all the sass. Zander didn't like it.

But there wasn't any time to say much more so he simply shrugged over at Soph giving her a 'who knows' kind of look and went back to looking over at Tanner who had just begun addressing the group of them. So they were splitting into groups? Huh.

Once Tanner was done, Zander went over to grab one of the wonky school brooms before thinking about his options. Well of course Sophie was going to stand with the experienced group, he saw that one coming. As for himself though... He had to years of lessons under his belt... But they were also his first and second terms at Hogwarts.... And he couldn't ever manage to get the flying thing down during either year. And flying a broom was much like riding a bike, wasn't it? Once you knew how, you couldn't really lose it. But if you never really had it... Then that was an entirely different story.

Which is why Zander had started heading towards the experienced group, before turning to go stand with the beginners because who was he trying to kid? Zander was horrible at flying. Well he was horrible at flying five years ago which is the last time he had sat on a broom.

So Zander Adair was probably gonna be flying with firsties today. Welp. No shame.

Beatrice had been umming and ahhing about whether she would want to get back onto a broom, after seeing the notices about Flying. The decision that had swayed her to come was firstly that it was fun, and she enjoyed flying. And secondly because the more eyes, the better. Yes, student safety.

Arriving, she was happy to see how many had come to attend the lesson. Plus the other faculty, it was a good turnout. "Hello Leo, Justin, Tiara," she had said, looking around at all of the students and giving waves. She was excited to get back onto the broom after all of these years, even though she was nervous.

------------------------------

The information wasn't unknown to Beatrice, but she did wonder how many of them knew it. The older students, perhaps, but had the younger students known as well? Beatrice thought about what group to be in, experienced or beginner? She HAD experience, certainly, but it had been a great many years since she had been on a broomstick. So, she decided to join the beginner group, grabbing a broomstick on the way.

Hady had taken notice to the arrival of Maggie, Zeke and Dante. She'd also taken notice to the three of them standing together. She had expected it really in a sense but not entirely. Meh, it wasn't a big deal the lesson was already starting and she was more then ready to get moving. The sooner the better please.

Listening silently to the little bit of information that was said Hady slightly rocked back and forth on her heels. There wasn't any need to get a broom for she had asked her father to send hers from home which she was now gripping lightly in her hand. The only problem she was seeing right now was which group to join. Soooo she did the only thing she could do, "Professor Tanner? Would I still be considered a beginner or can I join the experienced group? I know how to fly and I've went to Quidditch camp before but I'm not incredibly good at it." She was a decent flier though.

As class began, Yoongi stood up from the ground after a few more, relaxing breathings. He had wanted to hug the ground and tell it he’ll be back soon but that would probably be seen as weird so he did not do that. He walked to grab one of the brooms, having no idea which type it was as he did not like flying …and heights…and ..merlin’s beard whyyyy was he even here?!

‘To face your fear’ right ....got it. But the feeling of dread got even worse when the Professor announced that the school had previously received threats against all broom-related activities. She just HAD to say that didn’t she?!

Without a word and looking as if he had made the most terrible mistake in his life, Yoongi walked towards her right side and was surprised to see Zander there as well. All this time he had thought he was an experienced flyer. Huh. Although he stood next to the Head Boy he didn’t say anything, nor did he greeted Professor York who stood to the right as well.

Those brooms looked scary. Well not the brooms as such but like, considering they were probably expected to RIDE them they looked scary. What if she just....left now? Would anyone notice? Okay, Dante next to her would probably notice but he wouldn't say anything. It's not like she needed to know how to fly on a broomstick. So if she just took a step ba-

Or not.

Hello, Zeke.

His arrival at least distracted her from her impending doom of having to sit on a broomstick. "Hey." Wait, had he brought his own broom? Seriously? Maggie looked down at it for a moment but didn't say anything. And then the next thing she knew was the lesson had started. Ugh. Okay. Apparently she was staying here then.

When they were told to divide into two groups, Maggie pouted at the two boys next to her and moved over to the beginners side. Maybe they would just learn about like taking care of your broom or something. Maybe only the advanced group would be doing the flying today. Yes? Maybe?

Why was he even there? Oh yes, to learn how to fly. Times have changed, and as a modern day pureblood himself, he was not ashamed about having little flying experience. Wait, little? More of, none actually. He was a skaterkid. He’d rather fly on his skateboard than on a broom to be honest. Now, why has no one, invented a magical hover board? That would be so cool, yeah?

Hmm. He should probably ask his cousin-in-law to help him charm his skateboard. He could make loads of galleons out of it!

Ethan followed the professor’s instruction and got himself a nice broom from the back, and joined the beginners group.

...

What...in the world?

Ethan’s jaw dropped at the sight of his group. He was expecting to be grouped with kids...not with adults...and almost young adults. Lololol! Closing his mouth shut, he dragged the broom with him and gave his group a nod. “Hey guys...and professor York.”

LOL.

LOOOL.

Gripping his broom in front of him, Zeke stood beside Maggie as their general instruction was given. Blah blah blah safe, of course it was safe. WHO in their right mind would target a school because kids flew on brooms? Oh... right, someone not in their right minds, obviously.

Either way, it was cool beans that they were finally given the opportunity to learn. His experience was limited to flying indoors, or at a secluded and probably heavily charmed park by the river. He could fly, but it was all instinct and there was no technique or finesse.

As much as he would have liked to join the more advanced group, he opted to stay with Maggie, and instead joined the Beginners group. And just what was she pouting about? "You 'kay?" he asked, passing his broom from one hand to the other as he waited.

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

There was no way he could stand still, not after he'd gone to grab a broom and could already see himself zipping through the sky. It was a shame he'd had to leave his quill behind but flying was a lot faster than his quill and notepad could match sometimes and he didn't wanna lose them in the air to a bunch of students zipping around.

Suffice to say Blaise was only minimally paying attention to the brief introduction the Professor was giving, brown eyes trained on the sky the way they were. The fact other Professors were trickling in hardly registered. He was just THAT pumped for this and when the time came, he moved to the side that knew what they were doing.

He'd never flown a broom on his own (because his mum worried a lot) but he HAD flown on one and didn't wanna be lumped with beginners who had to be taught the painfully bare basics of flying before they were allowed to do anything.

He'd figure it out, it wasn't Charms or Transfiguration. It couldn't be that hard.

Owen was here! A bit nervous but ecstatic at the same time because flying...on brooms...SO COOL!

Professor Tanner was also very cool because Arithmancy...and a Quidditch Official? Not a combination one would really expect so Owen had dubbed that as SUPER COOL.

What was not cool though were the brooms that he was currently eyeing at the moment. They looked....um, flimsy? For him! Because you know, considering his size. But since the Professor were instructing them to pick up one, the young Hufflepuff went ahead and took the one broom that looked not too flimsy. He just had to believe in the STRENGTH of his broom.

Then Owen proceeded to the Professor's right side where them beginners were asked to gather. Okay. Bring it on!

Angel was looking forwards to this lesson, she had wanted to see what would happen, especially after the muggle study lesson where she was playing football... though she hoped that it wasn't as scaring as she thought it sounded, at home her father was a tourist guide so went everywhere but she still found it nerve wrecking and this wasn't like it was in a compartment or anything she had heard it was on a broom.

Angel went with all the beginners as the professor told them which direction she wanted them in and then she waited to see what she was going to do next, hopefully nothing scary at first.

So actually Professor Tanner was a quidditch official? Wow, how cool was that? She's also the Professor for Arithmancy class AND a gobstones advisor too.

As she instructed the students to grab a broom, the young lioness then pick one and joined the beginner group. Yeah, she still considered herself as a beginner though before she's coming to Hogwarts, Ava often practice her broom skills with Dima every weekend. But hey! So many of them were in beginner group though, including... Professor B? Hehehe. She gave a wave to that Transfiguration Professor. And why in the world Yoongi the flower boy joined this class? Wasn't he afraid of height? She didn't see her twin brother around so.... he's not gonna join this class. Yup

Dante would technically belong to team intermediate because he was not a beginner but he was not the best flyer in the world. But he could ride a broom and not fear for his life when he started flying. So there was that. He watched as Maggie and Zeke went over to the beginners side. Though he was not surprised that Maggie went over there. She looked terrified just thinking of flying. Dante shrugged and walked over to the experienced side with The Head Girl and whoever else was over here.

Though funny enough it seemed like most of the older kids were going over to the beginners side.

It really was kind of funny.

Janelle smiled at Adi when he greeted her. Still bouncing, she began to explain. "I'm excited about flying. I've never really had a chance to do it before.........and I'm trying to stay warm too." Living around muggles had definitely limited her opportunity for flying on a broom.

Their conversation was cut short because it was time for the lesson to begin. Following Professor Tanner's instructions, Janelle went and retrieved a broom. She held it carefully and looked at it with awe. This was going to be soooo much fun. Broom in hand, Janelle joined the beginner group to the right of the professor. Sooooon she would be flying, hopefully.

Roo looked to the blonde next to him and nodded in recognition. "Hi, Miss Charlotte. Have you flown before?" Actually, he wasn't sure what he wanted her answer to be because he didn't want to be the one that was less experienced and he definitely didn't want to be better at it than her. Not that that would happen, because he was SURE that he was going to be awful at this.

Balance was probably going to be a problem. He gave her arm a jostle with his elbow and then smiled at her.

Hi.

And there was the confirmation. Roo was going to have to admit he had NO flying experience whatsoever and look like a ninny. Although, luckily, a lot of people had moved to the right of Professor Tanner and he wouldn't be alone. Grabbing a broom he moved to stand in the middle of the little gathering, thankful that his height meant that he wasn't so exposed and couldn't be seen over here.

Yeah, he was going to imagine that this group was the experienced one.

... And he was most definitely nervous.

Wait....really? Zeke was in this group too?

But he, like, had his own broom and stuff. Maggie eyed him for a moment but definitely welcomed the distraction. Only it didn't REALLY work. She was still mighty anxious about this whole flying thing. "I'm not sure about this flying thing." She admitted, frowning over at Zeke.

Oh. Wait. They were supposed to take a broom from the pile too. School brooms. Who knew what they had been used for before today. Like, some of them looked like they'd been used for actual SWEEPING. Instead of walking over, Maggie eyed Zeke's for a moment. Hmm. In the end she pointed her wand at the one closest to her, however, and said, "Accio broom."

Sorry not sorry to everyone who stood between her and those brooms. Duck?

Oh look the groundskeeper had joined them...and then Mr. Kitridge. Had the staff been invited too...or for safety? "Uh huh...quite ready, Hippogriff," Benny answered Adi as he stood with his friend. It was entirely truthful in every aspect of the words. Back to be up in the air be it broom or his own wings and for now he'd settle on broom.

--------

Soon enough, Professor Tyner was starting and Benny was nodding at what she had. He knew of her past, having played quidditch under her as an official. If only it had been started up once more, or not ended in the first place. Right...they needed a broom, his own at home having not been aware he'd be able to use it during term. Adi had moved quick and had retrieved one for both of them before grabbing his arm to head over to the experienced group.

"Thanks..." he said, accepting the broom to settle there like the former quidditch player he was until they moved on with their plans.

He didn't know WHY she was looking at him in that manner, he had promised not to leave her again, so, consider him staying... especially when she said that. "Flying is fine, you'll be okay, just keep your balance and don't panic." It was as easy as that. He would have given her another hug right now, but he wasn't sure how much 'PDA' he could get away with. Professor's had weird rules and he couldn't recall what Tanner's were regarding the matter. Were hugs okay? He might have to ask later.

Instinctively HE ducked too, as Maggie summoned a broom. Summoned a broom! ... As you do. "Then again, perhaps you shouldn't be flying," he joked, nudging her. Such erratic use of a broomstick.

COULD ANYONE NOT SEE THE EXCITEMENT ON HER FACE????

If not they had to have been blind. Just saying. They were really going to fly. She moved closer once professor Tanner started talking to the group. This was really happening. Yes. She kept on telling herself this over and over.

Someone needs pinch her.

The ministry? Hey wait she had people in games and sports. They did NOT tell her a thing about having a flying lesson at school. They should have told her. She could've kept the secret. Ah. She was too excited to be upset over that.

She had her broom, in case of some emergency or miracle that she would need it. And SHE DID NEED IT.

Experienced group here she comes. Following the rest of that group to the left of professor Tanner. Quickly she found a spot. Now she was just the words mound your brooms from being up in the air! So close now.

"This is so exciting!" Oliver grinned at his friend. Looked like someone else was excited as Olly was for this lesson. Looking around, he noticed that a lot of people were similarly excited. Though there were some that weren't; Olly couldn't imagine why.

BROOM TIME! He quickly grabbed one, just loving the feel of having a broom in his hands without even flying yet. It would be time for that soon enough. Oliver moved to professor Tanner's left - yeah, he had a lot of experience flying, he would definitely be with that group. He stood by Blaise, excited that his friend was in that group too.

Colt heard Professor Tanner was it? Yup that was her. They were going to be divided into groups. Well he knew where he was going to go. He got a broom from the supply closet and he knew it wasn't like his broom at home but it would suffice. He walked over to the experienced group and liked the idea of competition. If there is one thing he could thank his cousins for is to teach him how to fly under hard conditions like getting bumped into every five seconds and getting the ball taken away from you when trying to play quidditch in the backyard. He did have some training in durmstrang but not too much as he would have liked.

Now it was show time. Come on Professor show us the obstacles for today.

So far so good. Though Maggie's summoning charm had actually put her on edge briefly. But she had Justin, Leo, and Beatrice here with her. They were her backup, her eyes and ears. With more confidence, she cleared her throat to call attention to herself.

"Right. Beginning group: what do you think is the most important rule of flying?" she began. Then, turning to face the other group of students, she continued. "Experienced group: what is the single best piece of advice you can give to our first time flyers?" Tiara liked these types of questions: there's not necessarily one right answer, forcing students to think critically about the activity.

Char had WANTED TO GO EXPERIENCED because obviously she had gone to that camp and everything but she had decided to be with all her friends instead, beginner group! Yay! She'd just have to be the best one in the beginner group!

AND OH she had an answer! She stuck her hand up eagerly.

"Be confident! If you aren't that's when you probably will mess up because you're expecting to mess up!" Yes, and she was ALWAYS confident.

.... over-confident sometimes. Ahem.

As Colt made his way last into the group of experienced flyers, he heard Tanner call all the groups to order. He heard Professor Tanner ask them questions. He heard the typical one for the first time flyers. He chuckled to himself a little bit because he had that same question in Durmstrang. He heard the experienced flyer question and he began to wonder. What advice would he give the newbies? He thought of bad tips like look around for chicks so you can impress them. That is what he used to but he needed to get himself in the mind set for Quidditch.

He raised his hand and it seemed like he was the first one and began with, "Well I would say be observant of your surroundings. You need to be aware if someone is going to cut you off or if bludgers or quaffles come fly at your face. I am sure it probably won't happen in the obstacles but you probably get the gist." He didn't wanna petrify the little newbies.

Norah couldn't hold back her excited wiggling as she went to join the experienced group of fliers. She wasn't entirely sure if she qualified, considering she was always a bit rusty when summer rolled around after all those months of not being able to practice, but everybody else was in the same situation so it was okay, right? If there was a middle level group, she'd be there. Except there wasn't. Plus maybe Sophie Brown could save her life if something went wrong since they'd be in the same group at this point. Shooting a worried look at Yoongi who was probably terrified at this point, she took a few more steps to the left until she and her good ol' school broom were partially hidden by the group of students. Oliver was there TOO. Heh, the cutie.

Her eyes found Yoongi again--did he really want to do this?--before she put her her hand up in the air. "My advice is to believe in yourself and not panic, 'cause that'd be bad. Know your boundaries, though, so don't go flying all sorts of random places if you know you can't control your broom." It was the same with running, really. There was no use trying to run a marathon if you're not ready yet. Collapsing and breaking your head open really didn't seem very pleasant, after all.

Any kind of encouragement was welcome really, and Ethan appreciated his professor's enthusiasm. The Slytherin stood straighter, his chest puffed out, trying his best NOT to think about the fact that he will be a few good feet off the ground in a while.

Not that he's afraid of heights or anything, but he'd rather stay on the ground if given the choice.

Anyway, Ethan gave Professor Tanner a snappy salute to show that he was ready to take orders and learn how to fly like a pro!

On cue, the first question was raised. Well, technically, there shouldn't be any wrong or right answers coming from them, yes? They were beginners, so they can definitely get away with the 'novice' answer. Ethan raised his hand to give his answer. "I suppose it's very important to hold on to your broom, no matter what happens." Really, it was just to validate that flying isn't so bad, until said broom is cursed or something.

And...seriously, no advice about being brave and all that?

Where are those Gryffindor answers when you needed a confidence boost?