This is for -Spirit_Flight-'s contest. I hope you all enjoy!

~Blaze

Prompt: Write any entry that has to do with flying. Minimum: 500 words

(I wrote a lot more than 500 words. Whoops XD )

Contest Entry 2

The morning sky broadcasted on the ceiling promised a beautiful, sunny day. A large, unobscured sun shining brightly on the tables below and reflected off of the polished mahogany wood. Lizzy had to shield her eyes as she walked into the Great Hall to avoid the glare, and she almost walked into a Gryffindor as a result.

"Hey Lizzy! Come here!" She looked up to see her friend frantically waving her entire arm, her curly blonde hair bouncing up and down as she enthusiastically tried to catch her attention.

"Allison." Lizzy said fondly, heading down the rows between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables to her friend. "What's up?" She asked. Allison pulled her down on the mostly empty table and pushed a plate at her.

"I just can't wait for our detentions to finally be over! Tonight is the last night." She crowed. Lizzy almost winced as she remembered the half-month of daily detentions they had received for worrying the teachers on the first day of school. Professor Sprout had spent minutes fawning and worrying over her before she had promptly decided to give her what felt like an everlasting detention spree. She had never cleaned so many cauldrons in her life.

"Yeah! Remind me never disobey curfew rules ever again!" Lizzy said. "At least they let us be together during the detentions." She had a feeling that they had done that on purpose, to take the worst edge off of the punishment. They had only stayed away to comfort her, after all, and got in trouble by proxy.

"That's true. It did make it a bit more bearable." Allison agreed. Just the other day they had spent the detention scrubbing and discussing Muggle concepts with their other friend, Ellie. They had almost gained another detention for too much noise and laughter from Professor Snape.

As Allison giggled from the memory, Lizzy spooned out some scrambled eggs and bacon onto her plate. She looked up at the door of the Great Hall as it opened with an audible creak. A bunch of Slytherin first years funneled through, with Eleanor in the middle of the group. She shielded her eyes briefly from the light, and after spotting them, began heading towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Good Morning." She greeted when she came close. Lizzy waved in greeting, unwilling to speak with her mouth full. Allison had no problems with it, however.

"Hey Ellie! I missed you!" The Slytherin first year ignored the crumbs falling from her mouth and took a seat.

"I did just see you yesterday. It wasn't long ago." She said, picking up a cup of tea. Allison spluttered and began gasping at Ellie.

"But bbbu-but! Today's a new day! You don't understand!" Allison protested.

"Yeah, and I'll see you tomorrow, and the day after, and so on. You don't need to greet me like it's been a decade since our last meeting." Ellie drawled.

"Ellie why don't you get it?" Allison exclaimed. Lizzy turned her head to focus on her food, grinning at the thought of the upcoming verbal brawl. As she did, she caught the glance of a Hufflepuff third year who was entering the great hall. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair and smirked at her, making his way towards their group.

"Lizzy! Are you hyped for your first Quidditch flight?" He asked, stopping in front of her. Lizzy's eyes widened as she remembered that the first year students had a flying lesson that morning.

"Oh, is that today? I forgot! Maybe I shouldn't be eating so much..." She trailed off, looking at the huge pile of eggs on her plate. Jeremy shook his head sternly. He reached out with his right arm and pulled her plate closer to her. The movement had his chest press against her back and for a moment all she could feel was warmth. As he moved away her face became bright red and she blushed furiously.

"No! As an experienced flyer I can reassure you that you want a full stomach. You need your energy to fly! Unless you're afraid." He teased. Lizzy shook her head, taking a bite of her eggs.

"I'm not afraid, I just haven't flown in a while. What if I get dizzy and throw up because I ate too much?" She asked. He shook his hand in a dismissive motion.

"You'll be fine," he complained. "Honestly! Girls."

By then her friends had pulled themselves from their own world and noticed their conversation.

"What are you guys talking about?" Allison questioned.

"Lizzy thinks she's going to throw up during the flying lesson if she eats too much." Jeremy said. The Hufflepuff first year resisted the urge to punch him in the shoulder. It helped that she had enough siblings to teach her self control.

"Nah Lizzy you'll be fine. Especially since you've flown before." Ellie responded.

Allison started as the doors down the hall flew open violently. They revealed another Hufflepuff third year, who went straight to Jeremy and clasped him heartily on the back.

"Gather the first-years, it's time to start teaching them how to fly." The kid continued around the room, talking to various third years of all the Houses.

"Well, you heard the man. Up you go!" Jeremy encouraged, patting Lizzy on the head.

"Can't you mess up someone else's hair?" Lizzy complained halfheartedly. "Ellie is right here. Mess with hers instead!" Jeremy shook his head emphatically.

"No way! Ellie would eat me alive. Just look at her." At that moment, Ellie was indeed snarling, though Lizzy believed it had more to do with Jeremy's words than her "abrasive" personality.

"Let's just go." Allison cut in, grabbing Ellie's hand and pulling her from the room. Jeremy shrugged, that cute grin still resting on his face.

"Shall we?" He asked, hand coming to rest on her shoulder. The warm, soft, weight gently directed her towards the door, and Lizzy found herself blushing with confusion. Why are Hufflepuffs so touchy-feely?

The Quidditch Pitch was bathed in a strong yellow glow that caused the clean, fresh cut grass to shimmer with an almost ethereal glow. The center of the field had a long row of broomsticks of many sizes and conditions. To the right of the brooms stood three tall goalposts, and across the field in the distance she could see the other three standing proud in the morning sun.

Jeremy steered her towards the brooms. When she went to stand next to her friends, he clucked and dragged her away to a different set of brooms.

"Did you see the bristles on those? You don't want to be riding the old brooms your friends were standing near. These are in much better shape." He explained. "I'm going to help Madame Hooch keep some order around here, but I have to go stand over there with the other third years. I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Of course." Lizzy managed to bite out right before he pulled her into a brief hug and practically disappeared.

"He has taken quite an interest in you." Ellie observed as she and Allison drew near. Allison let out a little giggle and poked Lizzy's red cheeks.

"You're blushing!" She pointed out.

"Yes, Captain Obvious. I am blushing." Lizzy deadpanned.

The three girls suddenly clutched their ears as a shrill whistle broke through the growing chatter.

"First Years! Hurry up, gather round!" Madame Hooch's voice echoed clearly over the clearing and the gathered students jumped to attention. "Each of you choose a broom and stand next to it. If you are right hand dominant, stand to the left of your broom, and if you are left-hand dominant stand to the right of your broom." Lizzy and Ellie stood side by side next to their brooms, with Allison to the right of Lizzy.

"Oh you're left handed?" Lizzy asked Ellie.

"Quiet!" Madame Hooch interrupted. "Please, hold your dominant hand over the broom. When you are ready, say up. If your conviction is strong, your broom should jump into your hand."

Lizzy lifted her hand and glared down at her broom. "UP!" She said with determination. To her delight, it shot straight into her hand. She could swear that it was quivering with excitement. Next to her Ellie's voice droned out a rather bored 'up' but the broom jumped into her grip without hesitation. Lizzy turned to Allison to see how she was doing, and was pleased to see the broom already in her hand.

"Now please mount the brooms! Dominant hand up by the top of the broom for steering, non-dominant slightly lower for a better grip." She instructed. "When you are in the air, you will have the temptation to swing your feet around. Don't do that. Don't cross your feet either, or that will limit your movement." Lizzy gingerly did as she said.

"Put your hand up just a bit higher, and the other one a little bit lower." Jeremy said from behind her, startling her.

"Make some noise when you come here! Jeez!" Lizzy cried out, placing a hand over her heart. Jeremy pouted ever so slightly.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Let me help you with your grip." He showed her where to place her hands, then moved on to Ellie and other people down the row. Lizzy looked around, noticing that the other third years who had been standing off to the side and giggling were now making rounds as well and adjusting the grip of the first years as they went.

"Excellent! You all seem surprisingly competent. Now I'd like you to carefully lift off the ground, only up to 5 feet." Madame Hooch observed for a few seconds before adding an extra comment, "All you have to do is gently push off from the ground with your feet." Lizzy looked down at her feet, which were planted firmly on the ground. With a practiced motion, she pushed off and let herself drift upwards for a few feet. After a few more than five feet, she straightened out her broom and turned in midair to get a better look at her friends.

"Hey Ellie." She waved to her friend, who looked bored out of her mind. Lizzy knew that Ellie had her own broom already, and had probably flown thousands of times before. Lizzy hadn't flown more than a few feet at a time before this, mainly because her crazy brothers loved to take all the brooms and leaving her grounded with the excuse 'you are too young' to leave her out of the games. This, by all intents and purposes, was her first official lesson, even if she did know what to do already.

Lizzy turned to the left, looking for Allison. As she watched, her curly haired friend drifted off from the ground and began flying up. And flying. And flying. She eventually passed where Lizzy was and continued drifting in a calm, slow, motion. But the girl on the broom was anything but calm.

"Whoa, Allison, come back down!" Lizzy called out. She could practically hear Allison's teeth chattering against each other as the poor girl trembled in fear. When she heard her friend's voice, she looked down. As she looked, her broom tilted down, and she shot down instantly to Lizzy's level.

Lizzy grabbed her broom instinctively as it came alarmingly close to her, and she stopped it from moving further. She watched Allison's hands, which were shaking along with the rest of her body, and looked up to meet fearful brown eyes.

"Right! Have fun while you practice flying. Don't do anything stupid or risky, and I don't want to see anyone flying too high." Madame Hooch shouted from the other corner of the pitch. Lizzy wasn't listening to her, however.

"Allison, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Lizzy mentally hit herself for her insensitive comment, but the Ravenclaw first year didn't seem to care.

"Oh I'm alright. I just don't really like heights." She said in an uncharacteristically shrill voice. Ellie pulled up to Allison's other side and placed a hand on her arm.

"Do you want to fly back down? We could just tell Madame that you aren't feeling well, and we can bring you to the Hospital Wing." Ellie asked. Allison paused, thinking.

"But wouldn't you have to give up your own lesson for that? I don't want you guys to miss out just for me." She whispered.

"Hey we fly all the time at home. One missed lesson won't mean anything." Ellie commented, but Allison turned at her words.

"Wait, there are more lessons? This isn't it? You can't claim that I'm sick for each lesson! I have to fly eventually." She whimpered. Her face seemed to change color at her words, switching from a pale white to a puke green.

"We can help you! We'll fly right next to you until the period is over." Lizzy suggested. Ellie nodded in agreement.

By then one of the third years noticed their group, which was hoovering and talking instead of flying.

"Get a move on it! Less talk, more walk. Or, well, more fly. You get the idea!" He shouted before flying to break up a group of kids who seemed to be fighting.

"We'll teach you how to fly. We can even get Madame Hooch to help." Ellie suggested.

"No! I don't want anyone but you guys to help." She said. Her face was slowly transforming to one of determination.

"We can start by floating up a bit more. Is it the actual height that scares you, or the fear of falling?" Ellie asked tactlessly. Lizzy facepalmed as she saw Allison turn green. Her hands shot out to grab Allison's face before she could turn and look at the ground.

"Falling, I think." Allison whispered.

"Ok well then we just won't let you look down, and we'll fly right next to you for the entire time. And remember there are a lot of experienced flyers around here and they know cushioning charms and slowing charms. You will be alright." Lizzy reassured.

The three friends began to gently float upwards with Lizzy and Ellie leading Allison up carefully from the front of the broom. Lizzy couldn't help but think about how imperative it was that Allison learn to at least fly, if not conquer her fears. For the Wizarding World, flying was a skill as necessary as swimming was to the Muggle world. The halfblood still couldn't believe how many Muggle sailors couldn't swim. Why wouldn't you learn something as simple (and in their case, necessary) as that?

"Hey!" Someone shouted from somewhere behind them. The shout was followed by a loud bang, some cheers, and massive amounts of confetti. Lizzy, Allison, and Ellie, who were facing the other way, only heard the sudden bang. Lizzy was sure it was from those kids who were fighting and causing ruckus earlier.

Lizzy almost fell off of her broom as Allison moved in surprise. Lizzy watched in a strange slow-motion as Allison's hands jerked up in an instantaneous reaction to the noise and pulled her broom along with them.

Allison shot up in the air, twenty... thirty... forty feet above Lizzy and Ellie. As it flew higher and higher, the broomstick let out what looked like a sigh of exhaustion, and it practically flipped itself upside down, flinging Allison off of it's back. The terrified scream that resulted had most of the class looking up, and the third years who were flying around immediately began zooming towards her to help.

Lizzy could tell that they were not going to make it in time. Many of the ones furthest away shouted spells, most of which seemed to miss. One hit, and her uncontrolled free fall slowed minutely, with Allison facing upward and falling in a spread eagle formation.

"Right, we'll have to catch her." Lizzy said. She was already positioning her broom underneath Allison's falling body. "They aren't going to make it in time."

Ellie flew parallel to Lizzy, grabbed her hands, and together they carefully drifted upwards, waiting for Allison to draw near.

"Go to the left a bit, Liz!" Ellie bit out as Allison came five feet away. Lizzy's broom twitched and she shifted left just as Allison hit their net of arms. Lizzy pulled closer to her pureblood friend, and together they cradled their friend. Already their horrible school brooms were sputtering out from the weight. But it was alright, because moments after they caught her the third years came and expertly lifted her out of their arms and helped her to the ground.

"Ow." Lizzy whimpered. During their effort to catch Allison, and in hopes of preventing Ellie from receiving pain, she had twisted her arm at an awkward angle to allow a better landing pad for Allison's free falling body. Now that Allison was being helped to the ground, the pain was making itself known.

"You idiot." Ellie growled, pulling out her wand. She muttered something, and after a swish and a little flick the pain receded a little bit.

"How did you...?" Lizzy began, but Ellie shushed her.

"Later." She pointed to Allison, who seemed to be hyperventilating on the students who were holding her up.

The two girls landed and ran immediately to their friend.

"Allison, are you alright?" Lizzy asked instantly. "Professor should we take her to the infirmary?" Madame Hooch nodded.

"Yes, the poor dear is in shock." She fretted. "I've asked the Headmaster a thousand times for funding for new brooms, and look at what happened now! One malfunctioned and now a student almost became seriously injured! Bring her straight away to the infirmary, and you can stay there or go back to your dorms when you are finished. Class is done for today, I think." She whistled sharply and yelled for the other students to bring it in.

Lizzy replaced one of the third years at Allison's side. When the curly haired girl saw her friends, her panicking slowed exponentially until she was actually able to take a breath. When she met Ellie's eyes from her inclined position on the ground, her face finally scrunched up and she burst into tears.

"Th-th-thh-thank you!" She blubbered, clutching them by the arm. "You caught me. And you hurt your arm. I'm sorry." Lizzy patted Allison on the back fondly.

"Don't you mind, now. Friends do trust-falls with each other, right? That's basically what just happened. It's no problem." A watery laugh burst through Allison's tears that turned to a light chuckle as Ellie hit Lizzy on the arm.

"Come on. You get the royal treatment. Up you go!" Ellie and Lizzy moved as one to act as her crutches. They were basically lifting her off of the ground, but with their combined strength it was no problem. Lizzy was about to suggest that they use a spell to lift her, but she realized that Allison's fear of falling wouldn't be helped if they floated her through the halls of the school. With a cheerful smile and her friends at her side, she began hobbling towards the castle.

"Oh, and girls?" Madame Hooch called out from behind them. Lizzy spared a glance backwards. "Twenty points each to Hufflepuff and Slytherin for helping a fellow yearmate in need and for your selfless acts of bravery. Good job, girls." She flashed them both a smile, and the Hufflepuff and Slytherin students behind her let out cheers and congratulatory shouts.

Lizzy's smile, if possible, got even wider.

"I didn't do it for the points! I did it for my friend!" She shouted in response.