"Is... is he dead?" a girl asked in a terrified whisper.
The Ravenclaws who had witnessed the scene were now utterly terrified of flying class—especially Michael, who had been chatting nonstop earlier.
His face had gone pale as he stared at the figure lying in the grass, his voice trembling. "Was... was it my fault?"
Wade patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "It shouldn't be too serious—he didn't land on his head."
Michael's throat bobbed, but he couldn't speak.
Fortunately, Madam Hooch quickly ran over to check on him and soon helped Neville up from the grass. Thank goodness, the boy only seemed to have an issue with his wrist. Supporting him, Madam Hooch led him toward the infirmary while loudly warning the other students not to move around.
"W-Wade..." Michael pleaded, "Let's go check on Neville."
Wade glanced at the other students standing stunned on the grass and nodded. The two of them dashed through the corridor toward the infirmary.
"—Flying class, I presume?" came the familiar voice of Madam Pomfrey from behind the door. "Every year, without fail, first-years end up here around this time. I honestly can't remember a year where things went smoothly—"
Wade gently pushed open the door, and Michael poked his head in first.
Neville was sitting on the hospital bed, still teary-eyed. Madam Pomfrey was holding his arm and gently waving her wand over it, feathers of light flickering from the wand's tip.
"I'm leaving him to you," Madam Hooch said urgently. "There are still more than twenty students back on the lawn with a bunch of unattended brooms! Honestly, if I had more time, I'd have asked Mr. Filch to watch them."
Madam Pomfrey replied, "Alright, I'll—"
But Madam Hooch was clearly impatient. The moment she heard "alright," she turned on her heel and made for the door. As she flung it open, Michael stumbled inside with a startled lurch.
At the sight of the two students, Madam Hooch's sharp, hawk-like eyes immediately narrowed, as if she were about to scold them. But then she noticed the blue and bronze ties they wore, and her anger died down.
Since they clearly weren't sneaking out of her class, she couldn't be bothered with them and rushed off.
"—Take good care of this child," Madam Pomfrey muttered, finishing her earlier sentence to herself. She gently reassured the sniffling Neville, "Don't worry, it's just a minor injury. We'll have you fixed up in no time. I promise you won't miss dinner tonight."
With a wave of her wand, a potion bottle floated down from the shelf. She handed it to Neville to drink, then pointed her wand at his arm and murmured a spell.
In the blink of an eye, Neville's broken wrist was mended. From the look on his face, he didn't even seem to feel much pain.
Wade watched, deeply impressed.
"And what about you two?" Madam Pomfrey turned to the pair standing by the door. "Injured? Sick? Stomach ache?"
Michael opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
Wade stepped forward. "Madam Pomfrey, we just came to see Neville."
"Oh, here to visit a friend!" she said with a smile. "Mr. Longbottom just needs to rest a little while longer. Once the bones are fully healed, he can leave with you."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Wade. Neville also thanked her.
After Madam Pomfrey stepped away, Wade asked, "How are you feeling, Neville? Does your wrist still hurt?"
"Not really." Neville shook his head. Lifting his robe, he revealed a scraped leg that was already healing quickly. "Look, this part's almost better too. Madam Pomfrey's healing spells are amazing—probably as good as St. Mungo's."
"St. Mungo's?"
"The biggest wizard hospital in Britain. All the best healers work there," Neville explained.
Michael hesitantly walked up and spoke softly. "Neville."
The boy looked up at him.
Michael lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I lied. I've actually never ridden a broom before—the tips I gave you were just things I heard on a wizarding radio show. I... I don't really have any experience..."
Neville blinked.
"I know," he said.
"Huh?" Michael's eyes widened in surprise.
Neville explained, "Hermione said if you really had flown a lot before, you wouldn't be this excited for flying class."
Michael's face turned beet red—so everyone had seen right through his bragging?
"But Hermione also said—" Neville continued, "everything you said was actually right. It's just that flying isn't something you can master by knowing the theory, right?"
Michael suddenly felt the urge to cry, though he didn't know why.
Wade watched the scene with a warm smile.
Until now, he had always seen these classmates a bit like kids he had to look after. But in this moment, Wade thought... maybe they really could become good friends.
Although Madam Pomfrey had healed Neville's wrist easily, they still had to wait a while for the bones to fully mend. Feeling guilty, Michael refused to leave Neville alone and insisted on waiting until he was completely healed before going to dinner together.
On their way back, they were further delayed by a staircase shifting direction, so they ended up walking twice the usual distance to reach the Great Hall.
By the time they returned, even the last dessert on the long table had vanished.
"Ah, damn," Michael said glumly. "I think I've still got a few sweets in the dorm…"
"Hey, Michael, Neville, Wade." Theo and Ryan came walking over. The two had been friends since childhood and were practically inseparable at school.
"We heard there was an accident during flying class," Theo said, looking at Neville with concern. "Are you okay?"
"Broke my wrist," Neville lifted his arm, "but Madam Pomfrey fixed it right up."
"That's great." Theo grabbed his arm for a closer look and smiled.
"Did you guys eat yet?" Ryan asked. "We didn't see you during dinner."
"Not yet!" Michael looked at them pitifully, full of hope. "Did you guys maybe save us a roll or something?"
"Nope—but we've got something even better!" Theo grabbed Michael and pulled him out of the hall. "Come on, follow us!"
"Where are we going?" Neville asked, puzzled.
"You'll see! It's a secret only Hufflepuff students know about. One of the older students told us two days ago," Theo said excitedly.
"I bet there's nothing the Weasley twins haven't already discovered," Michael whispered to Wade, who nodded in agreement.
They passed through a door, descended a stone staircase, and entered a wide stone corridor. Torches along the walls lit the passage brightly. Like much of the castle, the walls were decorated with paintings—but in this hallway, there were almost no people in the pictures. Instead, they depicted only food.
Theo stopped in front of a giant painting of a fruit bowl and reached out to gently tickle the pear.
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