Hermione's Flying Lesson

Starlight623

Rating: G
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 12/08/2003
Last Updated: 09/10/2003
Status: completed

Harry decides it's time for Hermione to love flying as much as he does. He even finds she has quite a talent for it.

Chapters

1. First Lesson

2. Lesson 2

3. Lesson 3

4. Fourth Lesson

1. First Lesson

Preferred Customer Normal Preferred Customer 3 143 2003-08-12T15:27:00Z 2003-08-12T16:17:00Z 2 1044 5951 Dell Computer Corporation 49 11 7308 9.2720 9.35 pt 2

Disclaimer: Not one bit of this belongs to me and I’m not making a bit of money from it. I thank JKRowling for the characters to play with!

A/N: This takes place in their sixth year. They’ve been dating since fifth year. (I wrote it before OotP)

Hermione’s Flying Lesson

“Harry, I just don’t know about this,” Hermione sighed.

“Mione, what’s the big deal?” Harry asked. “You said you wanted to learn. Who better to teach you?”

“There’s no one I would rather learn from, but that doesn’t make me any less frightened of falling or something.”

“I promise, if you fall, I will catch you,” Harry said as he opened the door to the Quidditch field.

The expansive arena seemed extra large to Hermione now. Harry began to walk onto the field, one of the places he was most comfortable. Unfortunately, it was here that Hermione was least comfortable, and he was out to change that. She followed him slowly.

“Now, which broom do you want? You can use the school’s or you can ride my Firebolt,” Harry said.

“Oh, I’ll take the school’s. I do not want something that goes too fast or turns too quickly.”

“Funny. Most people buy them for those reasons,” Harry joked.

Hermione playfully slapped his arm. “You know what I mean!”

“Ok, ok. School broom it is. Now, do you want to do this like in flying class or can you just take off?”

“Um, I think I need to do it like in class,” she sighed. It was strange for her to not be good at something.

“Ok, then put it down. Step up to it and say ‘up!’” Harry said, while doing the same thing.

His instantly jumped into his hand, but Hermione’s protested a little.

“See? I can’t do this!” she cried.

“Mione, just try. I know that you can do this!”

“Up!” she yelled, perhaps a little louder than she meant to. The broom shot into her hand and she beamed with happiness. “I did it!”

“Of course you did. Ok, climb on and kick off from the ground,” Harry explained as he did what he was saying.

Hermione followed and soon they were both hovering a foot or two from the ground.

“Ok, now what?” she asked shakily.

“Do you want to go higher?”

“I guess so. Just slowly,” she replied.

“Ok, pull up a little. Do it slowly so you don’t get too high.”

Hermione did this and rose another three feet.

“Great job. Want to make a lap or two?” Harry asked.

“Um, yeah, we could do that,” she said.

“Ok, lean forward just a little. If you go too much, you’ll start going down. Just kinda nudge it along,” he explained.

“Whoa! This is such a strange feeling,” she said as the broom slowly moved forward.

“Yeah, but isn’t it wonderful? Such a free feeling. You’re like a bird!”

“It’s not so bad after all,” she said shakily.

“Do you want to go a little higher?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think I do,” Hermione said as she pulled up a little more. Soon, she got really brave and went even higher. Soon, she was about 25 feet in the air.

“Hermione! Are you ok?” Harry yelled as he chased after her.

“I’m fine. This is actually great! Now I know why you love this!” she said with the wind blowing through her hair.

Harry couldn’t believe how happy she suddenly looked. “Are you all right?”

“I feel great. I could do this all day!”

Harry smiled. Finally, he got her to love flying. He flew next to her.

“Wanna race?” he asked.

“Yeah, right. This old broom versus a Firebolt!”

“I’ll tone it down. I’m trying to catch my girlfriend, not the snitch,” he said.

“Ok. You’re on!”

“We’ll race to those goal hoops,” he said pointing to their right. “On three. One, two, three!”

Both took off. Harry knew full well that he could get to the end and back before Hermione any day, but he only put light speed on the broom. He let her win, but she knew that the whole time.

“Thanks for letting me win,” she giggled.

“Who says I let you win?” he asked.

“Oh come on! The great Harry Potter on a Firebolt against me on a Clean Sweep. And you didn’t let me win?”

“Ok, fine. Maybe I sort of let you win. But you did amazing anyway,” Harry said as he leaned over and began to kiss her. Hermione began to lose her balance and swayed a little. Harry reached over and grabbed her. “Whoa! Calm down, fly-girl.”

“How do you balance on this thing?” she asked.

“Well, once you have practice, it gets easier. Trust me, Oliver had me running drills on balance alone. One day, nothing but how to balance well.”

“Is that how you stood on the broom during your first game?”

“Yeah. Though even I couldn’t believe I was doing it!” Harry said. “So, if I can do it, you can do it.”

“Well, with you as a teacher, I can’t go wrong,” she said as she grabbed his hand.

“Are you ready to go back down?” he asked.

“Yeah, for now. But I think I’d like to try it again some time,” she replied.

“Any time you want,” he said. “Dating the Quidditch captain has its advantages. Access to the pitch anytime you need it.”

She beamed at him. “Ok, so I have to lean down to bring the broom down, right?”

“Yep. Nice and easy,” Harry said as he demonstrated on his own broom.

Hermione did the same and she glided back to the ground. Harry went faster to catch her in case she landed funny. Hermione almost landed perfectly and only stumbled a bit. Harry caught her and the pair kissed. Soon, the kiss began to heat up.

However, the sound of someone clearing their throat broke them apart.

“You know, Captain, just because you have a hot girlfriend and a new way to spend time with her, doesn’t mean that we lose practice time with you,” Dean Thomas said jokingly.

“Watch it, Thomas. Or the Gryffindor prefect will take points from you!” Hermione said.

“Ouch! Potter, can’t you stop her? You’re a Prefect, too!” Seamus Finnegan laughed.

“Oh, I don’t think so. I don’t get in the middle of her Prefect matters!” Harry replied.

“It’s ok, honey. Have fun at practice and thanks for my lesson,” Hermione said as she planted a kiss firmly on his lips.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team was surprised at the boldness of the act (as was their Captain/Seeker). As usual, they hooted and teased the couple for their public display of affection.

“Careful, guys. Practice could last an hour longer tonight,” Harry threatened. “Bye, sweetie.”

“Bye, honey. Be careful out there,” she said as she gave him a sweet little kiss before leaving.

“Bye, Hermione!” the team yelled with singsong voices. She didn’t turn around, but just waved vaguely behind her.

“All right, guys. Time for balance drills,” Harry said as he mounted his broom and took off.

“They are without a doubt the cutest couple I have ever seen,” Seamus said.

Dean looked up at their captain. “I’ll betcha he’d never even know if we didn’t join him. He’s on cloud 9 right now.”

“Yeah,” Ron Weasley agreed. “But we might want to break him out of his spell before he starts flying into things,” he said as he got onto his own broom.

The team agreed and followed Harry into the air. Hermione watched the team from the castle door. It was difficult to see who was who. It looked like 7 red spots. But even through that, she knew exactly which one was Harry. He carried himself so well on a broom. She smiled and mentally wished him good luck as she headed up to her room.

2. Lesson 2

“Hermione, you did wonderfully last time, why on earth are you nervous now?” Harry asked as he led his girlfriend back to the Quidditch pitch.

“I don’t know. I mean, I liked it, but I’m still kinda scared of it.”

“Well, don’t be. You know I’ll be right by your side if something happens. But I know it won’t,” he quickly added.

“Ok, ok.”

“Do you think you can just take off?”

“I’ll try,” Hermione said quietly. She mounted her broom and kicked off. She found herself hovering. “Harry! I did it!”

“Excellent, Mione!” Harry replied as he kicked off as well. “So, what do you want to work on today?”

“I think balance. I’m still a little shaky up there.”

“Ok, balance it is. You’re going to have to trust me though.”

“I trust you with my life, Harry.”

“Good, because here’s what I want you to do: let go of the broom.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah. Look, Mione, we’re only about two feet from the ground. If you fall, you’ll be fine. But I don’t think you’ll fall. Just let go.”

Hermione slowly let one hand go. “Harry, I don’t want to let both go.”

“Ok, that’s fine. We’ll work like this first. For most Quidditch players, one hand is the only option. Beaters must hold the sticks, chasers need to handle the Quaffle and the seeker needs to grab the snitch. And if we could just get Ron to catch the Quaffle more, he’d need one hand as well, maybe neither.”

Hermione giggled. “He hasn’t been so great lately, has he?”

“Too busy making eyes with Lavender, but anyway. Look at you, just sitting there with one hand, like nothing. Not so bad, is it?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Ok, let both go. We’re not high, Mione. You’ll be fine. I’m right next to you.”

Hermione cautiously let the broom go.

“See? Not so bad is it? Now put your arms out to your sides,” he said as he flew around a little bit. Hermione complied. “Ok, you’re completely balancing on your own. And you’re holding on with your knees. Good work. See? You’re a natural!”

“A natural? Yeah, right!”

“But you’re doing great. Maybe you could be a chaser next year.”

“On the Quidditch team? Are you crazy?”

“I don’t know. Let’s see,” Harry said as he lightly tossed a Quaffle at her. Hermione hadn’t noticed he even picked one up.

She caught it like an expert and barely lost her balance.

“Harry James Potter! What was that for?” Hermione screamed.

“To prove my point. You are a great flyer, Mione. All you need is some practice. Maybe next time we’ll focus on Quaffle handling.”

Hermione shot him a very skeptical look.

“I’m serious!” he told her.

“So am I,” she replied. “There’s no way I could play Quidditch.”

“All right, well, let’s just get back to balancing. Use one hand to grip and then lean forward to get moving. At first, it’s pretty hard to go forward without holding on.”

Hermione, grateful to grab the broom, did as Harry told her and began to move. Just then, Harry tossed another Quaffle to her.

“Catch!” he called.

“Harry!” she screeched as she caught the Quaffle.

“See? You caught it, even when you were moving and not expecting it.”

“That was a dirty trick!” she said as she circled back to him.

“Sure, but it proved my point. Not only did you catch it, but look at how quickly you steered back over here to yell at me,” he said with that grin that Hermione couldn’t stay mad at.

“Yeah, but what if I had fallen?”

“I would have caught you.”

“What if you couldn’t get to me?”

“Hermione, I will always get to you. I will fly faster than the speed of light if I have to.”

She smiled because she knew he’d probably try it.

“So, do you still trust me?” he asked sweetly.

“Yes, I suppose I do,” she replied.

“Ok, follow me up.” He pulled up on the broomstick and flew about 10 feet into the air.

She did the same and met him in the air. “Now what?”

“Let go again.”

“I can’t. Not all the way up here!”

“Ok, well, how about I hold your hand?” Harry said as he reached over and took one of her hands off of the broom.

“How do you talk me into things like this?” she asked.

“It’s a gift. See? One hand and we’re all the way up here.”

“You’re holding me. It’s like I have training wheels.”

“Sweetheart, I’ll gladly hold your hand forever.”

Hermione blushed. She’d never get used to the compliments that Harry gave her.

“I’ll gladly let you hold my hand forever,” she replied.

“But, it’ll make classes difficult. And trust me, you won’t want to see the boys’ dorms lately.”

“Harry, you’re very weird.”

“And I mean, if you were to play Quidditch, it would look very strange. The seeker and a chaser really can’t be connected for the whole game.”

“Ok, I get the point. Let go.”

“What?”

“I said let go. I want to try this without my training wheels,” she said.

He slowly let go of her hand and watched for what he had been waiting for – his Hermione to be completely comfortable with flying.

“Ok, it’s not so bad,” she said shakily.

“Of course it’s not.”

Hermione leaned forward slightly and began to move forward. Harry, completely in shock, followed her.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’ve seen you just fly around and I thought that might be nice.”

“More than nice. It’s freeing. It’s so wonderful to come up here and just be me. Not “the boy who lived,” or “the Gryffindor seeker,” or part of “the dream team.” Just me. Just Harry.”

“I understand, honey. I really do. I feel really bad for you some days. Now I know why you just fly off some days.”

“It’s never to escape from you,” Harry reassured. “It’s everything else. Normally, you are my sanity.”

“Harry, you don’t have to explain. I get it, I really do.”

“Ok. I just want to make sure you know how much you mean to me and how much I love you.”

“And I love you, too. Thank you so much, Harry.”

“For what?”

“For bringing me into your world. I feel so much closer to you now.”

“Well, good. I love knowing that you can like to fly. Maybe one day we’ll go on a flying trip. Sound ok?”

“Sounds wonderful!” Hermione said as she leaned over to kiss him. This time she didn’t lose her balance at all.

“Ok, fly-girl, ready to go back down?”

“Yeah, let’s go. We still have that Transfiguration essay to work on.”

“Ah, back to Hermione’s world,” Harry sighed.

“Pretty much,” she laughed.

“Ok, well, lean down and we’ll get back to Transfiguration.”

Hermione did just that and they both landed perfectly. “Well done, Mione,” he said as he kissed her again.

“And this time no Quidditch team to interrupt,” she said as she pulled him into a much more passionate kiss.

After the kiss ended. Hermione handed Harry the broom. “Ok, captain. Clean up. Back to the real world.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a salute. He put everything away and walked back to the castle with his girlfriend, hand-in-hand, beaming with pride.

3. Lesson 3

A/N: Here’s the third chapter and now Hermione’s getting a lot better. Next chapter should be the last one. Thanks for the great reviews guys!

***

“Ok, Hermione, I think you’re ready to try some Quaffle handling. Do you think you can do that?” Harry asked as he handed Hermione the broom.

“Harry, do you really think I would be any good as a Quidditch player?”

“Would the captain risk putting non-capable people on an undefeated team?”

“To kiss-up to his girlfriend? Maybe.”

“Mione, I love you desperately. I honestly do. But I wouldn’t risk Malfoy gloating over a Quidditch match just so you could be on the team,” Harry replied with a laugh.

“Ah, don’t want him saying that you only did it to get some?”

“Hermione!” Harry said, surprised. Then his tone turned serious. “But if you really wanted to be on the team, I’d let you. Malfoy be damned.”

“I understand. Really, I do. I would never ask you to put me on the team just to be on the team.”

“But there’s the thing. I’m not just putting you on the team. I think you’ll make an excellent reserve chaser. Then, maybe next year, you could be on the team, once Emma graduates.”

“Well, you’re the captain for a reason. I trust your judgment.”

“Ok, good. Take off and I’ll meet you in the air. I’m going to get the Quaffles.”

Hermione did just that (proud that she could do it on her own now). She just flew around, taking several laps around the pitch. She even tried going really fast now and then.

Harry stood on the sidelines, just watching her. It was what he had wanted since he knew her. Hermione was finally comfortable on a broom. And she was good at it!

Finally, Harry joined her in the air. “Let’s practice passing the Quaffle. I wish I could have gotten one of the team’s chasers to practice, but none could do it. I’m not great with the Quaffle, but for now, I’ll have to do.”

Hermione smiled at that.

“So, fly over there and we’ll work on short distance passing,” Harry said.

Once Hermione was a good distance away, Harry gently tossed the Quaffle to her.

“Is that all you got, Potter?” she teased.

Harry laughed. “Ok, Granger. You want more?” He grabbed another Quaffle he had charmed to float behind him. “Get ready!” He threw this one a little harder. She caught it like an expert.

“Now, get flying. We’ll try it while moving,” Harry said as he circled around.

After a half an hour of throwing harder and flying faster, Harry was confident that Hermione would make a good chaser. There was just one more test.

“Ok, one more thing and we’ll be done for the day. Goal scoring,” he said.

“Can’t I just pass the Quaffle?” Hermione asked, unsure of herself now.

“What if you’re closest to the goal?”

“Wait for another chaser. Or better yet, call you over!”

“And who’ll catch the Snitch?”

Hermione opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again.

“Exactly,” Harry replied. “Ok, at least for this part, I do have a keeper to help us. Come on up, Ron!”

Hermione hadn’t even noticed that Ron had shown up.

“Hey, Hermione,” Ron cheerfully said as he joined his best friends.

“Hi, Ron.”

“Don’t be nervous. You’re really good! I’m willing to bet you get a few past me!”

“I’m willing to bet she gets most past you,” Harry joked.

“Hey!” Ron said, mock hurt.

“But there’s no Lavender here to distract you, so we might be ok,” Harry said.

Ron just stuck his tongue out at him.

“All right, boys. I’m nervous enough. Let’s just get on with this!” Hermione said.

“Ok, ok. Ron, you take your position. Hermione, I’ll pass you the Quaffle and you toss them through the hoops. At first, Ron, don’t really try to block them. Let just make sure she can get them through,” Harry instructed.

Ron gave a salute and just hovered around the hoops.

“Ready?” Harry asked.

“No,” Hermione weakly replied.

“Well, too bad. Mione, you are very good at his. I swear that to you. I believe in you.”

Hermione blushed. “All right.” She grabbed a Quaffle and threw it at the center hoop, pretending that it was another player. It went right through.

“Wicked, Hermione!” Ron called.

“See? I told you!” Harry said as he tossed her another.

After about 15 Quaffles without a keeper, Harry told Ron to start blocking. Hermione got 7 out of 10 past him.

“Wonderful, Mione!” Harry said as he flew over to her.

“I did it! I scored some goals!” she said, waving her hands in the air. In all the excitement, she almost fell off her broom. Harry bolted over to her and caught her.

“Calm down there! Can’t get his excited at game time,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, sorry,” she said as he helped her back onto her broom.

“Hermione! Great job!” Ron said as he flew over to them.

“Thanks!” she said. “I cannot believe that went so well.”

“Well, Ron, do you think we have a new reserve chaser?” Harry asked.

“Hell, I think we found a new chaser, period. As soon as Emma graduates, I think you are in!”

“Thanks, guys. Hey, I’m going to take a victory lap,” she said as she flew off.

“Ok, Ron. Now that she’s gone, tell me, did you go easy on her?” Harry asked.

“Not in the least. Let’s just say I’m glad she’s on my team! I’d hate to have to face her in a game.”

“Excellent,” Harry said. “See if she wants to practice anymore. I’m going to practice with the Snitch,” he said as he headed to the ground.

Ron caught up with Hermione and they practiced while Harry tried to find the Snitch. Every now and then, Harry would throw a Quaffle at Hermione, telling her that it was Bludger practice.

After finding the Snitch 4 times, Harry ended the practice.

“Ok, guys. Wonderful practice!” he called as he locked up the Snitch. “Accio Quaffles!” All of the Quaffles flew to him and put themselves away.

Ron and Hermione joined Harry on the ground and put all the equipment away.

“Ok, well, I promised Lavender that I’d meet her for dinner. I’ll see you later!” Ron said as he walked off. “Wicked work, Hermione!”

“Thanks, Ron!” she called.

“Well, Miss Granger. I believe there’s a picnic dinner waiting for you by the lake,” Harry said.

“And why is it waiting there, Mr. Potter?”

“Because I knew you would do so well that we would have to celebrate. So, are you ready?”

“Of course. I’ll go with you anywhere.”

Harry extended his hand to her and she instantly took hold of it. The couple walked to the picnic that Harry had so lovingly prepared. Hermione, proud that she had finally conquered a fear and Harry, proud that they had another connection between them.

4. Fourth Lesson

A/N: Ok, last chapter. Hermione’s big moment. Thanks for the great reviews!!

***

The last Quidditch game of the season had just begun for Gryffindor. They were playing Slytherin after easily defeating Hufflepuff to get into the final game.

The team welcomed Hermione into her position as reserve chaser. Especially since they didn’t have one.

Hermione sat quietly on the sidelines as she watched her teammates circling above her. She felt different in her new scarlet Quidditch robes. It wasn’t like her to participate in sports, magical or otherwise.

Still, it was nice to be able to watch Harry and talk to him during time outs.

Just as she was sure he saw the snitch, a bludger hit Emma on the head. She began to fall to the ground. Hermione leapt to her feet and shouted a spell to cushion her fall. However, Emma was completely unconscious.

“Hermione, it looks like we need you,” Harry said softly as he landed near her.

“No, no, no,” Hermione repeated as she shook her head nervously. “Harry, it’s the finals. We’re playing Slytherin! I can’t do it!”

“Mione,” he said, placing a hand on her cheek. “I know you can do this. I believe in you. We really need you up there.”

“Ok, I’ll try. But don’t hate me if I fail.”

“You won’t. I know it. And I could never hate you.”

And with that, Hermione followed Harry into the sky.

“All right! Scarhead and the mudblood, together at last!” Malfoy screamed from the other side of the pitch.

“Just ignore him,” Harry said reassuringly.

Hermione nodded and looked to her fellow chasers. They both gave her a thumbs-up. She smiled and gripped her broom even harder.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the game commenced.

Hermione watched as Becca passed the quaffle to Mindy. A Slytherin chaser was heading right to Mindy.

“Hermione! Catch!” Mindy shouted as she threw the quaffle.

Surprised, Hermione caught the quaffle and began flying towards the Slytherin goals.

“The mudblood’s got it!” Malfoy screamed to his team.

A Slytherin beater sent a bludger her way.

“Hermione! Move!” Harry shouted to her.

She tucked the quaffle under her arm and picked up some speed, easily missing the bludger.

Harry cheered for her and resumed his search for the snitch (all the while keeping one eye on Hermione).

Hermione raced towards the goal hoops. When she reached them, the keeper stared her down.

‘Harry believes in me. I can do this,’ she thought. She dodged and weaved a bit, avoiding another Slytherin chaser. Finally, she took her shot.

In slow motion, she watched as the quaffle headed towards the hoop …

And it went right into the middle one!

Malfoy’s face dropped. It was like someone punched him in the stomach.

Harry flew as fast as he could to her – forgetting about the snitch briefly.

“Excellent, Mione! I knew you could do it!!”

“Thanks, Harry. But what about the snitch?” she asked.

“Oh. Yeah. We’ll celebrate later!” he said as he took off for the small winged ball.

Hermione smiled as the game resumed. She carefully watched as the quaffle bounced from chaser to chaser.

As she looked to her left, she saw a glimmer of gold hovering above Ron’s head.

‘The snitch!’ she thought. She flew to Harry.

“Harry! I found the snitch. It’s by the Gryffindor goal posts,” she said, trying to look like she was just talking to Harry.

“Great work, Mione! You might win the game for us,” Harry said as he casually made his way to the goal posts, as to not attract Malfoy’s attention.

“Aww, spending quality time with your mudblood, Potter?” Draco coldly asked.

“Shut it, Malfoy. And quit calling her that!” Harry said as he flew away, trying to seem as though he didn’t know where the snitch was.

The score was 50-70 in favor of Gryffindor. It wasn’t enough of a lead to make Harry comfortable.

But, as luck would have it, just as he turned to check on Hermione, she was scoring another goal.

‘She’s amazing,’ he thought to himself. ‘In so many ways.’

He made another loop to confuse Draco and then took off for the snitch.

He stretched out his hand and easily caught the small gold sphere.

“Gryffindor wins! Harry Potter has caught the snitch!” Lavender Brown called from her announcer position. “Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!”

Draco looked like there would be no Christmas this year. ‘Potty and his mudblood actually won the bloody game!’ he thought bitterly as he flew to the locker rooms.

Harry couldn’t have flown to Hermione faster. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“You did it! You played and you won the game for us!”

“No, you caught the snitch,” she corrected.

“But I might not have found it in time if it weren’t for you. And you were amazing for the whole thing. You scored two goals against that brute of a keeper.”

Hermione blushed. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“Hermione! Wicked job!” Ron said as he flew to meet them.

“Thanks, Ron. I can’t believe it. I just played Quidditch!”

“And bloody well, too!” Harry said, pride obviously bursting from him.

“Damn straight!” Ron replied. “Well, if you don’t mind, I have to meet Lav now. Just wanted to congratulate you, Hermione. You did great!”

Hermione smiled, still in shock that she played.

“Don’t look so surprised that you did well. I told you that you were going to be great and you were. I mean, did you see Malfoy’s face when you scored that first goal? Or the second one?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, I hope Colin got a picture of those moments. I’ll frame them,” Hermione said with a laugh.

“We’ll blow one up and hang it in the Common Room,” Harry replied. “So, let’s go get changed and then we’ll go to Hogsmeade and celebrate. I think you deserve a special dinner.”

“Hmm, sounds appealing. Let’s go,” she said.

“I am so proud of you,” Harry said as they flew to the ground. “I mean, you were bloody brilliant!”

“Well, I had a wonderful teacher,” she said as they touched down. “How could I go wrong?”

“Well, you did have a perfect instructor,” Harry said, laughing.

Hermione slapped his arm and then grabbed his hand.

They headed to the locker room to get their showers (separately – get your minds out of the gutters!).

As Hermione showered, she was composing a letter to her parents in her head, explaining her conquered fear, her newfound talent, and her play-by-play of her first Quidditch match.

Meanwhile, Harry was thinking. ‘Well, Dad, I found a Quidditch girl. How proud are you?’

After they were cleaned up, they met on the pitch. Harry was standing with his broom.

“Another lesson, captain?” Hermione asked.

“Nope, free ride before dinner in Hogsmeade,” he replied as he climbed onto his Firebolt.

“Ah, a chauffer. I like that idea.” She climbed on in front of him and smiled as they rose into the air.

She leaned back against his chest, now understanding fully why he loved this. And now knowing why she would always love it as well.

‘This is why flying was invented. For moments like this,’ he thought as he gripped Hermione tightly with one arm and holding the broom with the other. He wondered if this is what his father did with his mother for dates: casual flies around Hogwarts (or maybe further with the invisibility cloak).

“I love you, Harry,” Hermione said, cuddling as close as she could to Harry.

“And I love you, Mione. My fly-girl,” he replied with a kiss to the back of her head.

And with that, the couple flew around for a half an hour before dinner, both of them beaming with pride and happiness and love.