The crowd screamed in horror as one of the brooms was smashed and the person on it began to fall to the ground at high speed, especially the Slytherin crowd.
"What the hell was that!" shrieked Peter, trembling.
"That's what I wanted to warn you!" exclaimed Lupin, looking at the point that was getting closer and closer to the ground.
James looked and directed his broom towards Rabastan, who had been knocked unconscious, which would make his head hit the ground and be even more dangerous.
'Damn. I'll never make it!' thought James urgently, stretching out his hand. With no other option, he stood on his broom, balancing, and leaped towards Rabastan managing to catch him before he crashed into the grass.
Luckily, the tree had pushed Rabastan away from his perimeter, so he stopped hitting him, allowing James to save him. Catching him he rolled on the ground and ate a lot of dirt.
"Puagh... Only minor cuts," James said as he spat out grass and looked to see if he had any broken bones or anything. In the past it was in worse conditions.
After that, he looked at Rabastan with a strange look on his face. He never thought he would save his enemy. Falling from 10 meters unconscious was almost a death sentence. He couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"ARE YOU ALL GOOD!?" shouted Hooch in horror and with a pale complexion as she ran towards James and Rabastan. The instructor had arrived just in time to see Rabastan plummet from a height of 10 meters.
Behind Hooch were all the first-year students from both Gryffindor and Slytherin. Many had frightened faces, thinking that Rabastan was in a very bad way, but when they saw him with only a broken nose, they sighed in relief.
"I'm fine. He's just unconscious..." said James, getting up and wiping the dirt off his uniform as if nothing had happened.
"What... happened...?" asked Rabastan, opening his eyes and noticing many stares at him. Suddenly, he felt a great pain in his stomach and nose.
"Are you two crazy!? Making a run for it heading for a Whomping Willow!?" shouted Hooch angrily, noticing that they were both out of harm's way. Rabastan was surprised to be yelled at as he barely regained consciousness.
'Whomping Willow...? It's true I forgot about that...' thought James without changing expression.
He now remembered an announcement the headmaster made on the second day after the selection ceremony. What Dumbledore said, is that an old friend of his, gave him the tree, and they planted it outside the forbidden forest. He warned all the students not to go near it, as they would be beaten to a pulp if they did.
James had not paid much attention to this and was not curious about a tree. He never thought that the tree he would set his sights on would be about the Whomping Willow. Like him, Rabastan also forgot.
If the latter hadn't come out the second James announced that the goal was the tree, maybe someone could have told them it was the Whomping Willow, and this wouldn't have happened.
'Potter saved me!? No... impossible,' thought Rabastan, remembering the whole sequence.
"20 points less for Gryffindor and 20 points less for Slytherin!" said Hooch, "And you two follow me. Class is over! Everyone goes back to the castle!" she added angrily.
James and Rabastan followed in front of everyone the instructor, while the others went further back talking about what happened.
"Twenty points less! I told him, but he won't listen to me. He won't even listen to me!" growled Lily, referring to James, as she complained to her friends.
"Calm down, Lily..." said Jasmine, gesturing with her hands for her red-haired friend to calm down.
"They're boys. They don't use their brains. They just want attention," said a girl with a dark complexion and dark hair next to Lily. This girl was Khanna Grey, next to Jasmine one of Lily's friends.
A little further away, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter were talking, "Will he be in trouble?" asked Sirius, looking at James worriedly.
"It was very dangerous what they did...I don't know what kind of punishments they'll give him," said Lupin, not knowing very accurately.
"Did you see how James jumped off his broom to save Rabastan? That was great!" said Peter. Even though he had seen it from afar, he noticed how James jumped to catch Rabastan before he fell on the grass.
This heroic maneuver captivated all the students, even the Slytherin students even though they didn't like to admit it.
Hooch took both boys to the infirmary, where Madame Poppy Pomfrey attended to them. James had no serious injuries, just some dirt and some minor bruising from his fall. Rabastan had a broken nose and more serious bruising.
"Two more patients!?" asked Poppy in disbelief. Less than 10 minutes ago they had brought in a boy with a broken nose. Hooch excused herself, and the nurse began to heal Rabastan.
"What will the punishment be?" asked James. Besides the point reduction, he knew there would be one more punishment for disobeying the instructor's orders.
"The Heads of your houses will decide the punishment for both of you. They will tell you everything that happened," replied Hooch in a stern tone. What they had done was very dangerous. She didn't know what punishment would be appropriate, so she would leave it in the hands of the Heads of Houses.
Rabastan on hearing this turned pale, 'She won't expel me, right?' thought Rabastan with a pale face. It would be a big blow to him if he had left Hogwarts already. He hadn't even lasted two weeks!
As for James, he wasn't nervous. They had only come out with not very extreme injuries. It was impossible for them to be expelled.
'Will I get a week or two of punishment? Maybe three...' thought James who didn't think much of it. As for the stitches he could get them back without much trouble.
The bad thing was that the head of the house was the stern and strict Professor McGonagall. For the first time, he wanted to be in Slytherin's house and have the friendly Professor Slughorn as his Head of House.
Hooch first took James to McGonagall's office. They left the infirmary, walked down a long corridor, and came to a large door which Hooch knocked softly, "Come in," said a firm voice from the other side.
Hooch opened the door and walked in. James followed, seeing for the first time McGonagall's office.
The office is spacious and well-lit. It has a fireplace with a mantelpiece. There are several bookshelves filled with books, scrolls, and magical items. A large desk sits in the center where the witch is holding a quill and correcting some parchments.
"What happened, Instructor Hooch?" asked McGonagall. When she saw James enter she frowned.
'What did this boy do now?' thought the witch.
"Potter, tell her everything that happened and no lies," said Hooch, looking at James.
James started from the beginning. How the Slytherins made fun of his friend and called him a muggle in a derogatory way until he challenged Rabastan because the latter started talking to him personally when he at first wanted to ignore it.
"So... you initiated the challenge?" asked McGonagall sternly.
"Yes... but I wanted to ignore him, but he sought me out and started taunting Toby. All students are witnesses," said James, justifying himself.
"All right, continue," McGonagall said. He then counted the short run, and when the Whomping Willow hit Rabastan, only to save him from falling.
"Good, you may go now instructor. Take care of the other student," said McGonagall sighing to which Hooch nodded and left the office.
"You started a race when the instructor said to stand still, and you also targeted the Boxing Willow, when the Headmaster clearly said it was dangerous. Also, you lost 20 points for Gryffindor..." said McGonagall, holding her hand to her forehead.
'This boy won 30 points, but he already lost them... he's talented, but he jumps from one problem to another,' thought McGonagall, looking at James.
"Slytherin also lost 20 points," said James. McGonagall gave him a furious look, so he decided to shut his mouth and wait in silence.
"However, the Slytherin student provoked you over and over again, plus you saved him from a 10-meter fall..." said McGonagall as she thought about what punishment to give him.
"You said you beat him easily by flying, right?" asked the witch.
"Huh? Yes..." replied James, confused.
"Which quidditch position is your favorite?" she asked again. James looked at her oddly, but his tone was very serious so he answered, "Seeker."
A slight smile formed on McGonagall's face, "Good, I know what your punishment will be." she said.
...
"Password?" asked the fat lady.
"Calidum pulmentum," replied James, and the portrait swung forward giving him passage.
As he entered the Gryffindor common room he noticed a large crowd of people waiting for him. Besides his group of friends, there were all the first-year boys watching him.
"James, what punishment did you get?" asked a dark-skinned boy. James had never spoken to them before.
"You weren't expelled, right?" asked Peter, trembling. They all asked the same question and were silent waiting for his answer.
"Relax. I didn't get expelled. Besides, I didn't even get punished!" replied James with a smile and in a loud tone for everyone to hear. Everyone started clapping and jeering at Rabastan, who had it coming.
James started high-fiving boys who hadn't even spoken, but since they were from Gryffindor it didn't matter, they were all one. The girls watched from a distance with their eyes rolling, unable to believe they were celebrating when it almost all ended in tragedy.
"Even though you didn't get detention you lost 20 points," muttered Lily annoyed, who was watching everything from a distance.
When the atmosphere calmed down and everyone went back to their business, James collapsed into an armchair near the fireplace. Sirius jumped down on the other side and pulled his feet up putting them on top of James, who pushed them off.
"You'll get my robe that Madame Poppy cleaned with a spell dirty," James said with a grin bringing.
He is happy as he wasn't punished or so you could say. He did get a punishment, but he didn't think of it that way.
He will not have to clean the trophy room or armor room for weeks with Filch and his cat staring at him nonstop.