Hermione Jean Granger was one of those people. He could see the girl a little ways away from him, sitting next to Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Fay Dunbar. The bushy-haired witch was currently talking the ears off of the other girls about what she had read in the book, Quidditch Through the Ages about flying. None of the girls seemed to be paying attention to her. If anything, the three witches seemed more than a little irate listening to the girl's constant chatter.
Harry almost shook his head. This was one lesson you couldn't learn from a book. Learning to fly on a broom could only done through the physical act of practicing with an instructor, something Hermione did not seem to understand. It was very much like his martial arts. Just because someone read a book on Chinese Kenpo, Jiu Juitsu or any other form of hand to hand combat, didn't mean you would become a master without practice.
The second of observation soon passed. Harry turned back to Neville, who was wearing a attentive expression. "Consequently, if you tell yourself that you are going to do well, that you are going to get on that broom and be one of the best fliers in our year, it will become so because you believe it to be so."
"Granted, you may not actually become the best flier in our year simply through belief. Flying is an acquired skill that few gain through natural talent. But at the very least, you can be assured that by believing in yourself, you won't do anything that will potentially injure and humiliate you."
"So you think if I just act more... confident," Neville began unsurely. "Then I will do better during our flying lessons."
"Certainly," Harry said with a nod. "Confidence begets surety of movement and action. When you are confident, you act with less hesitation, less fear, and only when you are lacking in the necessary information to make informed decisions will you ever make a mistake." He tilted his head, then added, "well, a mistake that could be embarrassing or harmful at least."
"There is also skill to consider," Harry started again after a few seconds. "I understand that some people just don't have a natural aptitude for certain activities. You may not have a natural propensity for flying." Seeing Neville begin to look worried again, Harry quickly added, "but even if you're not capable of pulling off any of the tricks and aerial stunts of a professional flier, the basics should be fairly simple to accomplish."
Those words seemed to set the boy at ease. Neville nodded, more to himself than to Harry, and began eating slowly, digesting the information Harry imparted to him.
While his fellow Gryffindor contemplated his words, Hannah and Susan entered in the Great Hall and walked over to them.
"Hi Harry! Neville!" Hannah greeted with a cheery smile as she and Susan sat down. Neville looked up from where he had been drilling a hole into the table, and Harry offered the two witches a smile of his own.
"Morning you two," Harry said, leaning forward a bit as he looked at them curiously. "I heard you and the Ravenclaws had flying lessons yesterday." Neville perked up and looked at the pair more interestedly. "How was it?"
"It was great!" Hannah answered his question with great enthusiasm as she began eating. "I was really nervous at first, and Madam Hooch was kind of a kill-joy, but once we got on our brooms it was pretty fun."
"Terry was a lot of help," Susan added to the conversation. "He helped correct the way we were holding the brooms and showed us how to properly sit on them."
As if being summoned by words alone, Terry appeared for breakfast with a few of the other Ravenclaws, including Lisa Turpin. The brown-haired young man and the raven-haired witch broke off from their Housemates and made their way to the Gryffindor table where both sat down.
"Hello, Harry," Lisa greeted, smiling at him. Harry returned it. Out of all the people he had met so far, she was the one he got along with the most, mainly because of their shared love of history. When they had been exploring the castle during the weekend, he and Lisa had shared historical facts and debated the merits between muggle and magical histories. It had been a fascinating discussion.
"Salutations," Harry said.
"Morning," Terry added in a slightly gruff voice.
"Rough night?" asked Hannah, noticing the slight bags under Terry's eyes.
"We had Astronomy last night," Lisa answered for the tired looking boy. "And according to Kevin, Terry stayed up all night trying to finish our homework for the class."
At this, Terry's face, still looking slightly haggard, took on a light pink tint, his embarrassment obvious to those who looked.
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