Harry Potter and the Cataclysm

For several nights in a row, Carnie had been telling stories. He had forgotten a lot of Journey to the West, so his retelling was scattered, but he finally managed to finish it just before their second week's flying lesson.

It was a good thing too because the second week wasn't as easy. The workload increased, and Hermione stopped letting them copy her homework—probably because Professor McGonagall found out.

Lately, everyone had been talking about the upcoming flying lesson. The Slytherins boasted about their flying experiences at home, bragging about how skilled they were, making the rest of them envious.

Carnie, on the other hand, had a fear of heights. Unless he had complete control over his flight, he wasn't interested. He could barely manage the Levitation Charm properly.

Harry, however, was nervous. Hearing Malfoy's boasting, he was worried about embarrassing himself in front of him. He kept thinking about what would happen if he performed badly.

The flying lesson would be shared with Slytherin, which added even more pressure. Most of the Slytherins had grown up around brooms, so the Gryffindors felt immense stress—Hermione included. If it were a written subject, she wouldn't be worried, but when it came to something like this, there wasn't much she could do except constantly talk about Quidditch Through the Ages.

The Slytherins were all ready to watch them make fools of themselves.

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On Thursday at lunchtime, the mail arrived, including The Daily Prophet, which Ron had subscribed to.

"Ron, can I borrow that for a sec?" Harry asked from beside him.

"Of course."

"Thanks."

"Hey! Look at this! Gringotts was broken into—vault 713. But apparently, the contents were already removed earlier that same morning," Harry said in shock. "I know that vault! Hagrid took something from it and handed it to Dumbledore."

"Oh! Well, then it's definitely safe now," Carnie said dismissively. "What you should really be worrying about is flying class this afternoon."

"I'm definitely going to embarrass myself in front of Malfoy," Harry groaned, covering his face.

"Hey! Look, Neville just got a Remembrall!" Seamus suddenly shouted.

"I read about those in a book," Hermione immediately began explaining. "If the smoke inside turns red, it means you've forgotten something!"

The Remembrall in Neville's hand began swirling with red smoke. "But I don't even remember what I forgot!" he said, confused.

Just then, a blond figure passed by the Gryffindor table and snatched the Remembrall out of Neville's hand—it was Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Ron instantly tensed, their eyes flashing with a dangerous gleam. They had been waiting for a reason to punch Malfoy, but so far, they hadn't gotten a chance. This was a golden opportunity.

Their fists were itching for action.

Malfoy instinctively took a step back when he saw their expressions. What was wrong with these two?

But before he could react, Harry and Ron had already grabbed him by the collar.

Fortunately, Professor McGonagall was always quick to detect trouble. She appeared beside them in an instant.

"What's going on here?" she demanded.

"Malfoy took Neville's Remembrall, and they were just trying to deepen their friendship!" Carnie replied with a straight face. "Look, Harry and Ron are even fixing Malfoy's robes for him."

"Yes, Professor," Harry and Ron quickly agreed, letting go of Malfoy and giving him a few firm pats on his robes, as if they were tidying him up.

"Mr. Malfoy, I doubt your family is short on Remembralls," McGonagall said pointedly.

"You'll pay for this," Malfoy hissed, his face dark with anger. He quickly tossed the Remembrall back onto the table and stormed off, with Crabbe and Goyle following close behind.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the Gryffindors arrived at the grassy field outside the castle. On the other side of the field stood Hagrid's hut, and beyond that, the Forbidden Forest.

The Slytherins were already there. Twenty-odd brooms lay on the ground, waiting for them.

Carnie highly doubted these things could fly properly before falling apart.

Madam Hooch arrived, a stern-looking woman with short gray hair and sharp yellow eyes.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Stand to the left of your broomsticks! Quickly!"

Carnie studied the broomstick beside him. It was ancient. How many generations of students had used this thing? What did it originally look like?

"Extend your right hand over the broom and say, 'Up!'" Madam Hooch instructed.

"Up!" everyone shouted together.

"Up, up, up!" Carnie called, putting on an exaggerated performance.

The broomstick merely twitched a little. Meanwhile, Harry and Malfoy's brooms leapt into their hands on the first try. Malfoy shot Harry a smug look.

As Carnie watched more and more students successfully summon their brooms, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

Extending his right leg, he placed his foot under the broomstick, then flicked it up with a quick motion, catching it smoothly in his hand.

Perfect!

"Whoa, that was cool!" Seamus, who had been watching, exclaimed.

"Just a little trick," Carnie shrugged.

"Ow!"

It was Ron—his broom had smacked him right in the face.

Some students couldn't help but laugh. Malfoy's laughter was the loudest.

"Don't laugh, Harry!" Ron groaned, his face red from embarrassment.

Once everyone had their brooms, Madam Hooch demonstrated how to mount them properly and how to control their balance.

She walked through the ranks, correcting hand positions—especially Malfoy's.

When Carnie gripped his broom, it began floating slightly off the ground. Turns out, he didn't need to inject magic into it.

"Alright, when I blow my whistle, you'll push off the ground with both feet. Not too hard! Just rise a few feet, lean forward slightly, and touch back down. On my whistle—three, two—"

But before she could blow, Neville panicked and shot into the air.

"Mr. Longbottom, come down immediately!" Madam Hooch shouted.

But Neville kept rising—ten feet, twenty feet—before his broom started jerking wildly like an untethered balloon.

At first, Carnie thought Neville was just bad at controlling it, but then he noticed something strange. The broom seemed to be moving erratically on its own, almost as if something was wrong with it.

Now wasn't the time to think, though.

"Neville! Let go! Let go!" Carnie shouted at the top of his lungs. "Professor, get ready to cast a Levitation Charm!"

Harry and Ron also started yelling. Neville must have heard them because, from a distance, they saw him finally lose his grip.

Madam Hooch, thanks to Carnie's warning, was already in motion.

The broom shot higher into the air, veering toward the Forbidden Forest before vanishing.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Neville's rapid descent slowed as Madam Hooch guided him gently to the ground.

Everyone immediately ran over. Madam Hooch checked him over and said, "He's just in shock. You're alright, child. Get up."

She then turned to the class. "I'm taking Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. The rest of you stay right here. If I see anyone in the air before I get back, you'll be expelled from Hogwarts before you even learn what Quidditch is. Let's go, dear."

Neville looked dazed, clearly terrified. Madam Hooch put an arm around him and led him off the field.