"Will someone please tell me what's going on here!" Mrs Hodge demanded, looking around at the young wizards before turning her attention to Malfoy and Harry.
Harry and Malfoy's faces turned white with fear, but Ivan beat them to the question.
"Mrs. Hodge, as you can see, they are merely practising their flying skills."
Malfoy looked conflicted and opened his mouth to tell her about Ivan's petrification spell, but decided against it.
After all, Malfoy understood that Ivan would expose him for stealing Neville's crystal ball and provoking him. Malfoy knew very well which punishment was more severe.
Malfoy reluctantly accepted the notion that he was "friendly" with Harry in order to avoid being hung up and whipped by Filch.
Malfoy, however, was not going to allow Ivan the Disgusting to stay out of this.
"Yes, but we're not the only ones flying around."
Malfoy raised his eyebrows threateningly at Ivan, and Mrs Hodge turned her attention from Malfoy and Harry to Ivan.
"Well, I'll admit it…" Ivan shrugged nonchalantly, while inwardly complaining about Malfoy's mischievousness in dragging people down with him.
Ivan and Malfoy exchanged a sour look, but they reached a vague agreement not to reveal anything to each other… a truce!
Malfoy was frightened by Ivan's punishment, and Ivan was worried about being chosen to patrol the Forbidden Forest.
Given Ivan's small size, he was not prepared to take the risk…
Harry, who had been listening in, was stunned. Shouldn't Malfoy have taken Neville's crystal ball and then taken it back?
Since when did he, Ivan, and Malfoy practise flying on friendly terms?
However, given Ivan's suggestive looks, Harry wisely chose to keep quiet.
"I think I should have said that nobody's broomstick is allowed until I get back!" Mrs Hodge was furious to hear that three students were flying without her permission.
She had only just taken Neville to the hospital. What if there was another accident?
"I'm so sorry, Professor!" Yvonne apologized politely and then quickly.
"But I don't think any lesser wizard could resist the temptation to fly free on a broomstick, and who wouldn't want to be a glorified Quidditch player when they graduate?"
"As for Malfoy and Neville, it was an accident. Fortunately, we did a good job with the Levitation Charm. No one was hurt."
Ivan went on and on about his love of Quidditch and how he was just shy of declaring himself a future Quidditch champion!
Mrs Hodge's face lightened a little. As a flying professor and a fan of flying and Quidditch, she could naturally understand the desire.
"Even so, you must pay the price for violating the school rules…"
Though not as angry as she had been at first, Mrs Hodge kept a straight face and tried to think of a way to punish the troublemakers, but was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"Mrs. Hodge, can you stop for a moment? I may need to borrow Mr. Potter."
"Of course…" Mrs. Hodge looked surprised, but quickly nodded.
Mrs Hodge, who had not witnessed Harry's flight, thought that he had made some other mistake and was being approached by Professor McGonagall, so she briefly explained how he had been riding his broomstick in his class.
Professor McGonagall merely nodded and gestured for Harry to follow her.
Harry's mind was a mess, and he had no idea what was going on, so he left with Professor McGonagall.
As Mrs Hodge watched them go, she remembered that there were still people to deal with. "Ivan, Malfoy, your actions will result in five points being deducted from your house, and classes will resume!"
Ivan's face turned bitter. He didn't care about having his points deducted. In the past few days, he had earned ten points for the school by answering questions in class. Nobody would blame him for losing five points.
However, having to continue with the flying lesson was a pain in the ass for Ivan. He secretly prayed that the lesson would end soon, or he would be exposed.
Ivan had no choice but to pretend to fly with his broom while trying to minimize his presence.
However, things did not go as planned. Due to the previous incidents in the flying class, Madam Hodge did not dare to let the young wizards fly around again.
Yvonne looked at the broomstick in her hand and sighed, regretting that she had not told him she was a terrible flyer.
Now Malfoy had tricked him into thinking he couldn't fly.
Ivan had no choice but to try. This time, the broom gave him some face and flew away, swaying under his control.
Despite this, Ivan was very happy to be flying for the first time, and the moment he tried to accelerate, he felt the cold wind in his ears and the roof tiles rushing past him.
After a while, Ivan landed smoothly,
Madam Hodge pursed her lips, obviously not very happy with Ivan's performance. After all, she had high hopes for Ivan.
Ivan had to cough to cover his embarrassment. "Ahem, Professor, I think this broom might be too old… it's a bit unstable… I've been flying pretty well."
Malfoy, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear. He had not expected Ivan to be such a terrible flier. No wonder he had stayed on the ground and not flown up like Harry.
To his surprise, Ivan spoke up.
"Don't you agree, Malfoy? Why else would you suddenly fall from your broom…"
Malfoy, who was trying to hide his laughter, could no longer laugh and could only stare at Ivan with hatred.
"Of course, I also thought there might be something wrong with the brooms…"
What else could he have said? Slapped himself in the face?
Malfoy expressed his own despair at having to tell the truth so as not to be punished, or could it be that he fell because of his lack of skill?