Flight of the First Years RPG

Despite not being allowed to fly higher than two stories, Jack still thought it was an insane amount of freedom to give to first-time flyers. He would have much preferred each student be given their own personal flying tutor rather than this ridiculous 'open practice'. If they got something wrong, how were they supposed to know? Who was supposed to tell them how to fix it?

Yes, there were likely to be a prefect or two and a teacher watching, but Jack did not trust the flight teacher to intervene when necessary - not after the insane Valentine's Day Tea Party event had gone wrong on her watch. Besides, there were only so many prefects and so many inexperienced first-years. What did they expect to happen? Seemed like nothing but a recipe for disaster to Jack.

He stood around anxiously and watched the other students around, idly ending up with his attention on another housemate of his. He hadn't met this boy personally yet and he was curious as to how he'd fare. As Jack was used to playing the part of the class clown or the slacker, he didn't feel particularly pressured to get anything done right, especially not immediately, so he figured it couldn't hurt to just linger and learn from others' successes and mistakes for a little bit.

The dark-haired boy was commanding his broom into his hand as they had been instructed to do. At first, there was no movement, but upon his second try, the other Slytherin boy was triumphant. His eyes widened and he looked proud, causing Jack to grin as he found his peer's smile to be contageious.

"Nice job," he said, wondering what might have been different from the first and second time the boy commanded the broom. "Now you just have to do the actual flying part. Y'know...for flying class," he teased, giving his housemate a playfully gentle punch in the arm.

@Oliver Caldwell

Every kid dreamed of flying. As a superhero, a bird, or a pilot, the thought of sailing carefree through the skies followed George. He'd dreamed of it since he was little. The previous experiments in aviation had been brief and unsuccessful. Gravity thwarted him more often than not. But magic knew no muggle boundaries, and gravity would not be stopping him today. He stuck his arm out over his broom and repeated the command the professor had taught them in absolute confidence.

"Up!"

Bristles broke and twirled off of the head of the hand-me-down broom as it thumped into George's palm. He grabbed on tight and tucked the broomstick between his legs, clinging tight onto it. All his boldness departed when it came time to take that second foot off the ground; He had full trust in the forces of magic to bring the broom into his hand, but doubt had risen over him suddenly. Gravity would have no effect on the broom - but him? Oh, he'd fall just fine.

Shutting his eyes tight, he lifted his shoes up and let the broomstick take his weight. He felt off-balance and blind, reflexively kicking out his legs and widening his eyes in shock. He gripped the stick tight and wrenched it upward in an attempt to anchor himself to it, only for it to feed into the motion, jerking around in a wild attempt to buck its rider off. It was a one-man Hufflepuff rodeo on George's side of the field, earning concerned looks from prefects and mixed admiration and confusion from his peers as he rode that broomstick Bronco along at waist height.

But it was not all over for George just yet. He threw his body forward, imitating a pose he'd seen one of the Hufflepuffs do during their quidditch match. The air blew his hair back as he shot forward, weaving around the field. This was what flying felt like, and it was just as good as he'd dreamed. Extending one leg gracefully, he pressed his foot to the ground. His heel left a line in the dirt as he was brought to a stop - next to two Slytherin boys, one with his broom still on the ground!

"Well, come on then!" jeered the young Hufflepuff, though he was smiling brightly at Jack. "You can say 'up', can't you? If you're having trouble with that incantation, I've got bad news - the rest are even harder!

Despite his cockiness, George still had to put out his other leg to catch himself when he started to slip off of the broom. It felt like the first time he'd ridden a bike - only the fall from 2 stories up would be much worse, and he wasn't wearing a helmet. His attention shifted to Oliver - the boy who'd managed to get his broom up. George tapped his feet on the ground impatiently, bouncing back and forth as his broomstick bobbed in place.

"Let's fly! If we hurry, we can be the first ones to make it two stories up!"

@Oliver Caldwell & @Jack Burnett

Mentioning @Jack Burnett
@Oliver Caldwell and @George Henry
Open to Interactions!

Breana rushed on over to the open field just as the announcement was made. Flying for First Years, with almost free reign no less. Her mother told Breana stories on how she had soared the skies in her free time back in her Hogwarts days, and even more stories on how her friends would get into all sorts of mischief once they handled the technique (though Breana's dad would have a rather concerned look, since he hoped it won't give her daughter any ideas.) As she walked out into the open field, the little Ravenclaw took in a deep breath. As much as she loved staying inside, the air surrounding the area was more fresh, and more crisp. She looked over at the row of students, hands out and continuously saying up. Breana stepped over to one of the open spaces, standing next to a redheaded lad. From what she can see, most of the students near her are Slytherin, which was rarely a house she interacted with. Ironically enough, her mother was also Slytherin, so maybe she would feel great talking to other Slytherin folk... Right?

She then followed the other students, one hand over on the School Broom that's placed beside her spot. Breana looked down on the broom. Other than the few alterations on the broom, where Breana would assume is for comfort in flying on them, it looked like any old fashioned broom. She hesitated at first, the back of her head thinking it'd look silly, but then let out a breath. "Okay, okay, Breana..." She muttered to herself with closed eyes. "U-up...? I mean..." She cleared her throat."Up!" Breana said. She saw the broom starting to rustle and twitch, holding unto her breath as she watched. Still, nothing. It stopped twitching, making her sigh and turn to the other students.

"Woah, did you see that?! I got it!"

"What? Already?!" Breana's eyes widened at the young dark-haired Slytherin, a broom already in his hand. She pursed her lips, looking back down on her own broom. "C-come on, work with me here!" She cringed as she started talking to her broom. Still, her determination grew. "Up! P-please...?" She said. She saw the shaft of it lift up, but it faltered after a couple of seconds before stillness once more.

"Well, come on then!"

"Wait, that sounded like it came from-- No..." Breana shot her head up, seeing a Hufflepuff student already in the air. "Oh, come on!!" Her eyes furrowed, frowning at her broom. Now, with full on determination, held out both of her hands to the broom. She wasn't sure if it's cheating, but it can't hurt to have some extra help. "Up!" With that, the broom shot up quickly to Breana's hands, a bright and wide smile curling on her face. Then the smile quickly faded, as the broom easily lifted the little Ravenclaw girl up as if she was light as a feather. She screamed in surprise, clinging onto the broom for literal dear life. "Okay, okay easy!!!" She yelled at the broom as she's now a couple of feet in the air, slowly trying to climb up on top of it. Unfortunately, despite being a lean girl, she isn't exactly the most athletic child out there, so Breana can only dangle on it... For now, that is. Breana swallowed her pride and looked down at the boys that were standing beside her, the broom still rising up slowly. "Erm... guys? A-a little help...?!" She yelled below.

Interacting with @Breana Oliveire
Mentioning @Jack Burnett @Oliver Caldwell @George Henry
Color Code: #259986

Willow had been beyond delighted when she heard there was an open flying session for first years. While she was on the Quidditch team there was no time for her to just... fly. They were always running drills and exercises to prepare them for the next Quidditch game, which was understandable. She was excited to use this time to have a leisurely time in the sky. Or, about two stories up since they weren't allowed to go as high as she was used to. She was fine with that, she had a secret fear of heights that she had continually suppressed in fear of getting kicked off the team.

She was a little late to the event as she saw two Slytherins, one leaving a bad taste in her mouth from a previous interaction, a Ravenclaw trying to get the broom up, and a Hufflepuff already in the sky. She wouldn't let the distasteful Slytherin ruin her time though, she was here to have fun and do some flying with other first years not start round two of their battle of friendship. As she strolled up she watched the Ravenclaw slowly be lifted into the air by her broom. She stifled a laugh before running over to help her.

She stood next to one of the available brooms and commanded it with a quick "Up!" If there was anything she had mastered in Quidditch, it was getting a broom into her hand which honestly wasn't that impressive. As she mounted her broom she started to go up to help lower the girl back down to the ground. That is, until her broom quickly rotated as it tried to throw Willow off. A small yelp came out of her from the surprise of being thrown off so quick. She clung to it with her two hands, now being at the same height as the other girl and facing towards her. "Hey, we should hang out sometime." She laughed at her own joke, but felt frustration somewhere in the pit of her.

She was on the Quidditch team and yet she still couldn't quite get the brooms to listen to her all the time. It seemed like this one had a bit of a personality and she wasn't into it one bit. She looked over to the group of boys standing around each other and really hoped her fellow housemate would be the one to come help her. She thought about just dropping down, but it was enough of a drop at this point where it would hurt really bad if she landed wrong. She tried bouncing to get the broom to come down but it wouldn't budge. She let out a frustrated sigh as she had to wait for the boys to come help them down or up onto their brooms.

A sheepish grin stretched across Oliver's features, a chuckle escaping his lips as his fellow classmate hit him in the arm. "Oh... right." he said, winking. Looking closer, Oliver recognized the crest on the other boy's robe. Slytherin. "Have we met before? My name's Oliver." He gave a short bow. Before he could do much more he noticed another First Year, already zipping over on his broom before stopping just short of the pair of Slytherins.

Surprised at the good-natured way his housemate took his playful jeer, Jack grinned back and admired that the boy thought to ask if they had met before. "No, we haven't," he admitted, bowing back. "I'm Jack Burnett; nice to meet you. I know another Oliver from my dorms, but I call him Averill. Mind me asking a last name for clarification?" He smirked. "There are other 'Jack's, too, so might be easiest to just call me 'Burnett'."

Just then, another first-year came by and Jack wouldn't have been able to tell he was a fellow muggle-born by the way he was immediately able to call his broom into his hand and then take off from the ground. Furthermore, he had the guts to shut his eyes while he pushed off, which the redhead was sure would have only made him more nervous if he himself had tried it. After all, Jack did not consider himself a brave person; not when he thought of bravery as a synonym for stupidity.

Still, he had to be somewhat impressed at the - Hufflepuff? boy's courage. Wait - he was a Hufflepuff? Jack watched, amazed, as the brunet kicked out his legs, gripped the stick in a moment of brief panic, and then had to deal with a bucking broom. Jack hadn't even known brooms could do that. Was there some sort of sentience to them, like a dog or horse, that caused them to obey but also want to rebel?

And yet, the determined Hufflepuff boy hung on. With some position and movement that Jack thought seemed beyond the skill of a first-timer, the young man quickly regained control of his ride and shot foward. Observing the spectacle in astonishment, he whistled long and low under his breath.
In no time at all, the boy was back and landing with ease that made the Slytherin suspicious. Where had he learned such a thing? Had they even been taught how to land like that yet? Or at all?

And then the boy was addressing them; the Slytherins. The redhead was so surprised, he had to take a minute to realize he was being spoken to directly, but when he did, he had to laugh. It was true - Oliver might have only managed to command his broom into his hand so far, but that was still more than Jack had done.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it," he assured the other boy, chuckling softly to himself. Other incantations, huh? He would have just loved to ask how many more second-year spells the Hufflepuff knew than he did, as Jack had been practicing in secret outside of class and had taught himself a few advanced techniques already, even learning to help out the second-year Gryffindor, Ruka. Still, Jack knew better than to brag or show off. After all, one of the reasons he worked so hard to cultivate his reputation as a slacker in class was to get others to underestimate his abilities.

When the Hufflepuff boy told Olive to fly so they could hurry and be the first ones to make it two stories up, Jack laughed again.

"Yeah...and you can also be the first ones to break your necks," he called after them teasingly. Oliver already voiced his eagerness to race his new rival to the top, however, so Jack doubt he would heed his indirect warning.

Glancing about, he took a look at the progress of the other first-years. There was a Ravenclaw girl he wasn't familiar with, which was interesting because he hardly knew any Ravenclaws well. Granted, he knew even less Hufflepuffs, but that was because he did his best to avoid them for fear of their friend-making habits and tenacious tendencies. At least Ravenclaws seemed to share a love of learning and intelligence with Slytherins. So it was said, anyway; Jack hadn't found too many he'd considered to be very bright as of yet. Perhaps this girl was different?

Curious, his gaze followed as the curly-haired brunette looked down at her broom and worked to command it up. Breana...was that her name? Interesting. He chuckled softly at her reaction to Oliver's second-attempt success. The Hufflepuff boy's encouragement only seemed to spur her own; perhaps due to peer pressure. Jack watched with amusement as she switched to two hands.

Absently, he didn't take his eyes off the other girl's progress as he reached out a hand to his side and uttered, "Up," under his breath in a quiet, but clear, commanding voice, not wanting to draw attention to himself. The broom immediately shot into his hand, but instead of mounting it, he propped it against the ground and put his hands atop the end of the blunt handle so he could lean forward and rest his chin on his knuckles, smiling at the show he had the pleasure to watch unfold before him.

The Ravenclaw was already being lifted into the air by both hands, dangling from it like a monkey from a tree branch. The difference was she was clearly a lot less comfortable and much more distressed than such a monkey would have been, eventually resorting to requesting help from her fellow first-years. Fortunately, Jack didn't need to lift a finger as a somewhat obnoxiously familiar Hufflepuff girl ran over to help her, laughing along the way.

He had to admit, it was kind of hilarious to see the two girls hanging from their brooms in the same fashion side by side; almost if they'd planned it. Though he doubted it had been the Hufflepuff's plan, but he had to admit it would have been a pretty good way to relieve the Ravenclaw girl of embarrassment. Making mental notes, he tuned away with a smirk and a shake of his head after hearing the suggestion that they should 'hang out sometime'. Snorting, the redhead returned his attention toward the other boys.

Said boys had been experimenting a bit, but that hadn't distracted them enough to miss the scene the girls were making. Oliver, at least, was laughing, but not in a mean-spirited way. To Jack's great surprise, the Slytherin curbed his ambition to go back and help the girls who weren't even from his class. Jack doubted he even knew them, but he supposed that remained to be seen.

Oliver dismounted from his broom to stand on the ground and try to tug the girl back down to earth. Jack watched for a minute, his expression unreadable, before dropping his own broom and going over to stand under Willow. With a wry smirk, he held out his arms, as if to catch her.

"What was that talk we had?" he asked. "Something about not valuing your life over others...? Makes me wonder if you would trust a rational person with your own," Jack added, a challenge in his hazel gaze.

@Oliver Caldwell@George Henry@Breana Oliveire@Willow Anderson

There was an unusually natural ease to the way George rode the broom. Even as he idled before the two Slytherin, he was shifting his weight back and forth, gliding slightly forward and then back into place with each sway. The yellow trim of his robe billowed behind him, hanging like a cape from his shoulders. It was nearly majestic. George hurried to cover his collar, trying to hide the terrible job he'd done with his tie.

Magic was strangely intuitive for this particular muggle-born. A foolhardy confidence proved to be an asset in the transition to the wizarding world. Wand motions and flying a broomstick required a level of magical thinking that his overactive 11-year-old mind could supply with ease. Jack's thinking was remarkably accurate to what he'd observed - in this case, bravery was the direct result of stupidity. Unfortunately, stupidity can be remarkably effective.

His inexperience showed when he tried to pull off any more deliberate moves, however. As evidenced by his ride on the bucking broom, trying to compensate for the motion of the broom would just lead to veering out of control. He'd have to take his flight at a more leisurely pace if he wanted to avoid smashing open like a coconut on the castle grounds.

"Well, no hurry, huh?" George teased, smiling at Jack. He hurried to put himself into a proper racing posture as Oliver mounted his broom, but the comment about breaking their necks made him pause. Giving Jack a quizzical look, the Hufflepuff spoke again. "It's not that hard, I promise, you just have to-..."

George had floated up to match Oliver's pace, but came to an abrupt stop just beside him. The pair hung in the air, turning to observe how the girls had done with their broomsticks. It was quite the sight to behold. The race had slipped his mind as he watched the acrobatics unfold before them, curious to see if the other Hufflepuff could figure it out herself. His racing stance relaxed into a casual posture as Oliver abandoned the race to go assist them, and George couldn't help but let out a laugh as he called out for help from the Hufflepuff boy.

"Nevermind! I guess you had the right idea staying on the ground!" he called down to Jack, floating over to join the pair of girls hanging in the air. "Just hold on a minute longer!"

He turned in an orbit around the flying puzzle - Jack and Oliver were on the ground ready to catch either one, but that would be painful for everybody. From his flying vantage point, he had plenty of time to survey the poor victims of the first-year training brooms. One was a Hufflepuff that looked strikingly familiar, in an impersonal sort of way. It was like seeing a celebrity up close for the first time. A moment later, it hit him.

"Aren't you on the quidditch team?! " he exclaimed in shock. This is what we were sending out onto the pitch? His badger pride took a heavy bruising as he realized he'd just announced that to both Slytherin boys on the ground. Still - they must do something right out there, if the beating they'd dished out in the last match was anything to go by. "Just, uhhh... look, those two down there'll catch you!"

The second girl wasn't familiar in the slightest. She felt like a priority compared to the quidditch player - no doubt, the Hufflepuff girl would take bigger smacks than this fall if she was on the pitch for a game. The Ravenclaw was barely hanging on by now, and the blue trim of her robe inspired thoughts of a fragile genius in George's mind. To save the Ravenclaw, he had to think creatively, like a Ravenclaw would!

Instead of that, though, George lined his broomstick up with the dangling girl's legs and began to float himself backward into her. Scooting himself forward on his broomstick, he looked back over his shoulder at Breana. His legs were wrapped precariously around the very tip of the broomstick and his white-knuckle grip was tight on the little he could still hold. The coarse bristles of the old broom would bash her dangling ankles as he approached.

"Sorry!" He called out to her, wiggling around until the broomstick was lined up properly. Like threading a needle, he moved the bristles between her feet and scooted back as close as he could get without knocking into her accidentally. It'd be a small drop, but if she could manage it, she could just fall down onto the back of his broom and ride on it with him. "Jump, and hold on as tight as you can!"

George had a feeling that this thing wouldn't fare well with a copilot, regardless of how well behaved it had been until now. Still, there was still some stupid bravery left in him. Any house pride he had in the Hufflepuff-led rescue mission was swiftly dispelled as he glanced down to the Slytherins. That was the curse of Hufflepuff - they turned into fools when observed.

@Oliver Caldwell @Breana Oliveire @Jack Burnett @Willow Anderson

Mentioning @Willow Anderson and @Jack Burnett
Interacting with @Oliver Caldwell and @George Henry

Her face tensed as she tried her hardest to still cling unto the broom. Breana's starting to regret not playing in the monkey bars in her city's local park. She tried pulling the broom down, but it's persistent on lifting the little Ravenclaw. "I said please earlier! Can't you... like, go the opposite direction?!" Breana shouted. She heard a whoosh of the wind, turning her head to see another girl, a Hufflepuff, in a similar predicament as her. She sighed, "You too, huh?"

"Hey, we should hang out sometime."

Breana loosened up a bit and laughed at her now somewhat broom buddy. "My mom always told me the fresh air in this school would do me good." She grunted as she adjusted her hold on the broom. She can feeling her hands starting to give in now. Thankfully, the boys heard them and are coming to help out of their situation. She looked down as she heard someone shouting at her. Breana let out a sigh of relief as the dark-haired Slytherin tried to bring her down and grab her ankle.

"Hey! Stop wiggling!""You have to put your leg over the handle first!"

"I'm trying, but the broom isn't budging!!" She yelled down at the boy, demonstrating what she meant by trying to pull down the broom or at least lift herself up.

She looked over at Willow, seeing the other Slytherin helping her by... Holding out his arms out to catch her. It'd be a dangerous fall, but maybe the boy can cover for it? Breana really hopes he can, otherwise it'd be her first time seeing a Hufflepuff and Slytherin pancake. Speaking of, the last boy that she saw in that friend group, the Hufflepuff, joined in the fray. "U-uh, hey, g-guys...?" Breana stammered, her focus mostly directed to her hold onto the broom.

"Sorry!"

She heard someone shout. Breana figured it was the Hufflepuff boy, lifting her legs out of shock from feeling the bristles of his broom. "Thank Merlin, more help!" She thought, a crooked and tired smile curling on her lips.

"Jump, and hold on as tight as you can!"

"O-okay... Okay, j-jumping, r-right..." She stuttered, making sure the placement of the broom is right. Slowly she started overthinking herself, and so her body made the decision for her. Before Breana could think about it any longer, Her fingers slipped and making her fall. In a split second she forgot what was happening, and she expected to feel the hard thump of the ground. Thankfully, she's safely sitting on the broom of the Hufflepuff boy, with only a few splinters on her hands and bruises to nurse. Without a second thought, Breana wrapped her arms around the boy's waist, making sure she's not going to fall off anytime soon. "I don't know who you are, but remind me to thank you and the other guys about this later!" She said with a hint of relief in her tone.

The moment she had heard of the group of first years practicing flying, Kayden Mae had rushed down to the pitch, cheeks flushed in excitement. She hadn’t had a chance to really fly in ages, and even if she couldn’t go very high, at this point she was happy to take what she could get. She had grown up in a magical household, and both of her parents were avid flyers, so she had been on a broom since she was old enough to not tip over the moment her feet left the ground. She had missed it in the handful of months since she had arrived at Hogwarts - flying was her happy space, her go-to for down time, and having that option removed had stressed her out a bit.

By the time she had arrived, school broom clutched tightly, she was happy to see a handful of other first years already on the pitch. She grinned brightly but didn’t spare time for words, simply mounting her broom and taking off the moment she stepped into the boundaries. She flew a quick, low lap once, then twice, and a third time, dark, messy hair streaming out behind her, before finding a warm piece of sunlight and hovering. As her dark blue eyes slipped shut, her pale, lightly freckled face tilted upwards like a flower, seeking the sun’s rays. She hovered on the broom, her mouth a close-lipped, content smile, and swung her legs back and forth even as she shifted her weight to accommodate for the movement.

Kayden Mae was rarely this still or calm. She usually fidgeted relentlessly, tapping a beloved gel pen against her leg or a table, or bouncing a knee violently, or chewing on the end of her sleeve. In the past month or so it was even worse than normal - not having the opportunity to get outside and up in the air seemed to have resulted in a lot of pent up energy. Anyone who may have seen her in classes or in the Gryffindor Common Room would probably have noticed, making her serene face and body language stand out all the more.

After a moment or so, she opened her eyes again and slowly began flying laps once more, just fast enough to make the tips of her hair flutter, watching the other first years around her with interest.