章节_52

/> 　　salfoy quickly dropped the remembrall ba the

table.

”just looking,” he said, and he sloped away with d

goyle behind him.

at three-thirty that afternoon, harry, roher

gryffindors hurried doweps onto the grounds for their

first flyi was a clear, breezy day, and the grass

rippled u as they mar the sloping lawns

toward a smooth, flat lawe side of the grounds to the

forbidde, whose trees were swaying darkly iance.

the slytherins were already there, ay broomsticks

lyi lihe ground. harry had heard fred and gee

lain about the ss, saying that some of them

started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly

to the left.

their teacher, madam hooch, arrived. she had shray hair,

and yellow eyes like a hawk.

”well, what are you all waiting for?” she barked. ”everyone

stand by a broomstie on, hurry up.”

harry gla his broom. it was old ahe

twigs stuck out at odd angles.

”stick ht hand over your broom,” called madam hooch

at the front, ”and say up!”

”upf everyoed.

harrys broom jumped into his ha was one

of the few that did. hermiers had simply rolled over

on the ground, and nevilles hadnt moved at all. perhaps brooms,

like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought harry; there

was a quaver in nevilles voice that said only too clearly that he

wao keep his feet on the ground.

madam hoo showed them how to mount their brooms without

sliding off the end, and and down the r

their grips. harry and rhted wheold malfoy hed

been d for years.

”now, when i blow my whistle, you ki the ground,

hard,” said madam hooch. ”keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet,

araight ba by leaning fhtly. on

my whistle -- three -- two --”

but neville, nervous and jumpy and frighte on

the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched madam

hoochs lips.

”e back, boy!” she shouted, but neville was rising straight up

like a cork shot out of a bottle -- twelve feet -- twe. harry

saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away,

sa sideways off the broom and --

wham -- a thud and a nasty d neville lay fa

the grass in a heap. his broomstick was still rising higher and

higher, ao drift lazily toward the forbidde

and out of sight.

madam hooding over neville, her face as white as his.

”broken wrist,” harry heard her mutter. ”e on, boy -- its

all right, up you get.”.

she tur of the class.

”none of you is to move while i take this boy to the hospital

wihose brooms where they are or youll be out of

hogwarts before you say quidditch. e on, dear.”

neville, his face tear-streaked, g his wrist, hobbled

off with madam hooch, who had her arm around him.

hey out of earshot than malfoy burst into

laughter.

”did you see his face, the great lump?”

the other slytherins joined in.

”shut up, malfoy,” si patil.

”ooh, stig up fbottom?” said pansy parkinson, a

hard-faced slytherin girl. ” youd like fat little

crybabies, parvati.”

”look!” said malf forward and snatething out

of the grass. ”its that stupid thing longbottoms gra him.”

the remembrall glittered in the su up.

”give that here, malfoy,” said harry quietly. everyoopped

talking to watch.

malfoy smiled nastily.

”i think ill leave it somewhere fbottom to find --

how about -- up a tree?”

”give it here!” harry yelled, but malfoy had leapt onto

his broomstid taken off. he hadnt been lying, he could fly

well. h level with the topmost bran oak he cal