"Can anyone tell me what exactly happened here!" Madam Hooch scanned the group of young wizards, then focused her attention on Malfoy and Harry.
Harry and Malfoy were both pale with fright, but Ivan stepped forward to answer.
"Madam Hooch, as you can see, they were just practicing their flying skills."
A conflicted look flashed across Malfoy's face. He opened his mouth, wanting to reveal that Ivan had attacked him with the Petrification Curse, but ultimately closed it without objecting.
After all, Malfoy understood that if he spoke out, Ivan would definitely expose him for snatching Neville's crystal ball and provoking the situation. Malfoy was well aware of which of these offenses carried a heavier punishment.
To avoid being strung up and whipped by Filch in the detention room, Malfoy reluctantly accepted the explanation that he and Harry were "friendly" practicing flying together.
However, Malfoy was determined not to let the annoying Ivan get away scot-free, and immediately spoke up.
"Yes, but we weren't the only ones flying just now."
As he spoke, Malfoy raised his eyebrows at Ivan, his threatening gaze obvious. Madam Hooch also shifted her attention from Malfoy and Harry to Ivan.
"Alright, I admit it," Ivan said with an indifferent shrug, inwardly complaining about Malfoy's childishness in trying to drag others down with him.
Ivan and Malfoy glared at each other unhappily, but their eyes met and subtly reached an agreement: no revealing secrets, a temporary truce!
Malfoy was scared by the punishment Ivan had mentioned, while Ivan was worried about being chosen to patrol the Forbidden Forest.
With Ivan's current small stature, he wasn't prepared to take that risk.
Harry, who had been listening the whole time, wore a completely bewildered expression. Shouldn't the situation have been that Malfoy took Neville's crystal ball, and then he took it back?
When did it become him, Ivan, and Malfoy all "friendly" practicing flying together?
However, given Ivan's frequent, subtle hints, Harry wisely chose to remain silent.
"I think I made it clear before I left that no one was allowed on their broomsticks until I returned!" Hearing that three students had secretly flown without her permission, Madam Hooch was quite angry.
Neville had just been sent to the hospital by her. What would happen if there were any more accidents?
"I'm very sorry, Professor!" Ivan said politely at first, then quickly added.
"But I don't think any young wizard can resist the temptation of flying freely on a broomstick. Who wouldn't want to become a glorious Quidditch player and win honor for their country after graduation?"
"As for Malfoy and Neville's incident, it was just an accident. Fortunately, our Levitation Charms were good enough that no one was hurt."
Ivan spoke eloquently about his love for Quidditch, almost directly stating that he would become the man who would win the Quidditch championship in the future!
Madam Hooch's expression softened a little. As the flying instructor, Madam Hooch was also a fan of flying and Quidditch, so she naturally understood that kind of desire.
"Even so, you must pay the price for breaking the school rules."
Although she wasn't as angry as she had been at the beginning, Madam Hooch still frowned, contemplating how to punish these troublemakers, but Professor McGonagall interrupted her in time.
"Madam Hooch, could you stop for a moment? I might need to borrow Mr. Potter for a moment."
"Of course," Madam Hooch said, surprised at first, then quickly nodded.
Madam Hooch hadn't seen Harry flying earlier, and assumed that Harry had made some other mistake and been called upon by Professor McGonagall, so she simply mentioned Harry's unauthorized broom ride during flying class.
Professor McGonagall simply nodded, then gestured for Harry to follow her.
Harry's mind was a mess. To this day, he didn't know what had happened, and could only follow Professor McGonagall with worry and fear.
After Madam Hooch watched the two leave, she turned back and remembered that there were still people to deal with. "Ivan, Malfoy, your actions will deduct five points from your respective houses. Continue with the lesson!"
Ivan's face fell. He didn't care about being deducted points. In the past few days, he had earned a dozen points for the house just by answering questions in class. Deducting five points wouldn't cause anyone to blame him.
But continuing the flying lesson made Ivan a little anxious, secretly praying that the class would end quickly, or else he would be exposed, wouldn't he?
At this moment, Ivan had to pretend to hold the broom and make flying poses, while trying to minimize his presence and sneak around.
However, contrary to his wishes, because of the frequent incidents in the previous flying class, Madam Hooch didn't dare let these young wizards fly around again, and prepared to do it one by one. Ivan, who had been tricked by Malfoy, was unfortunately ranked first.
Ivan looked at the flying broom in his hand and couldn't help but sigh, regretting it a little. If he had known, he would have said that his flying skills were terrible.
Now that he had been tricked by Malfoy, he couldn't even say that he couldn't fly.
Ivan tried it helplessly. This time, the flying broom gave Ivan a little face and flew up shakily under his control.
Even so, Ivan, who was experiencing flying for the first time, was still very happy. He felt the sharp sound of the wind constantly echoing in his ears as he accelerated slightly, and the roof tiles all around flew by one by one. This kind of freedom was far more wonderful than sitting on an airplane.
After flying for a while, Ivan landed smoothly.
Madam Hooch pursed her lips, obviously not very satisfied. After all, Ivan's previous performance had given Madam Hooch high hopes, but now why was he flying so shakily?
Ivan had to cough twice, covering up his embarrassment. "Cough cough, Professor, I think this broom might be too old. It's a bit unstable when flying. I flew quite well before."
Malfoy grinned and snickered. He didn't expect that Ivan's flying skills were so poor. No wonder he had been staying on the ground all the time, not flying up like Harry.
Unexpectedly, Ivan suddenly said.
"You think so, right? Malfoy? Otherwise, why would you suddenly fall from the broom?"
Malfoy, who was snickering, couldn't laugh anymore, and could only look at Ivan hatefully, before finally squeezing out a sentence after a long time.
"Of course, I also think there might be something wrong with these brooms."
What else could he say? Slap himself in the face?
Malfoy said he was also very desperate. In order not to be punished, the truth could not be told, or else would he say it was because his skills were too bad that he fell?