Limestone had always believed her arch nemesis to be her pink menace of a sister, until now. She had desperately hoped she might have been able to get out of her Flying lesson due to her shoulder. Alas, Madam Hooch had clearly seen through her excuse and told her firmly that:
“There is no point putting it off. You will need to learn to fly a broomstick one day, might as well be today.”
Limestone sighed and glowered down at the reluctant piece of firewood as Madam Hooch addressed the entire class.
“We shall be continuing where we left off on Monday. Once everyone has summoned their broom, Scoti will demonstrate for you how to firstly mount your broom, then the proper method for taking off, and finally, how to successfully land your broom. Please listen to my instructions very carefully as I would prefer to have no more accidents and it is very easy to twist or break an ankle if you do not land your broom in the correct manner.”
Great, Limestone thought to herself, already ninety percent sure she was going to come out of this lesson with a broken ankle to go with her dislocated shoulder, or worse.
“Secondly, any more disobedience, no matter how minimal, and I do not care who you may be or what your heads of house have to say on the matter, I shall have Dumbledore expel you.” Madam Hooch paused upon finishing that statement and directed a stern glare towards both Harry and Draco. “Now, without further ado, summon your brooms please.”
Limestone closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle as she reached out with her right hand and barked “UP”
Something slapped into her right hand. It couldn’t be? Limestone thought to herself. Slowly she dared to open one of her eyes. Her broomstick now resided in her right hand.
“Outstanding improvement Miss Pie. Five points to Hufflepuff,” Madam Hooch praised.
Limestone stared at the broomstick in disbelief, until she remembered that this was only the first of three hurdles she had to conquer today.
“Oh, you sneaky piece of kindling,” she muttered under her breath.
*
Despite their previous lesson being cut short, in ten minutes everyone in the class had managed not only to summon their brooms but mount them to. So far, the lesson had gone as well as could be expected but Madam Hooch, and most of the class, knew the most difficult part was yet to come.
“Before we can have you flying at altitude, we need to first not only address how to take-off but how to land as well. A crash landing a few feet of the ground is a lot less painful than one when coming in from a hundred feet in the air,” Madam Hooch explained from the head of the long line of students along with Scoti. “And that is if you are lucky enough to survive. Anyway, the whole process is simple enough to be done in three steps and hopefully you shall all have them both mastered by the end of this lesson so that we can then have you apply this knowledge to your first proper attempt at flying next week.”
Limestone did not like the sound of either of those things. She fully expected to be in a full body cast by this time next week.
“Now, step one,” Madam Hooch boomed from the end of the line of students. “To take off you need to kick off hard from the ground.”
Limestone watched as Scoti proceeded to do just that and hovered perfectly in the air.
“Step two, hover for thirty seconds and gain total control of your broomstick. Step three, ensure you have a good grip of your broom and then lean forward slightly. Your broom will naturally move towards the ground. Ensure your legs are bent so that they can absorb the impact and there you are. Take off and landing perfected.”
Scoti had made it look so easy but Limestone wasn’t fooled. She took a deep breath and was about to attempt to kick herself of the ground when she heard a cry of excitement to her right followed by Madam Hooch’s booming voice once more.
“Miss Bones, get back down here right now.”
Susan looked down sheepishly from where she now hovered on her broomstick at least twenty feet in the air. “Erm, I would love to but I’m a little unsure how? Do I just tilt it like this?”
“NOT THAT MUCH,” Madam Hooch screamed as Susan’s broom came shooting out of the sky at breakneck speed.
“WHEEEEEEEEE,” Susan cried before crashing into the ground and leaving a small crater in her wake.
To everyone’s astonishment Susan was immediately back to her feet and laughing like a loon.
“That was fun!” she exclaimed.
And before anybody could stop Susan, she had grabbed her broom and taken off once more. Only this time, Scoti was ready to intercept her and guide her straight back down to the ground safely.
“Spoil sport,” Susan grumbled as Madam Hooch approached and held out her hand expectantly.
Susan reluctantly handed her back the broomstick.
“That shall be ten points from Hufflepuff for your recklessness and you shall spend the remainder of the lesson sitting silently over there on the grass watching your peers. Just be grateful I am feeling lenient today otherwise me and you would be seeing what jobs Filch needs help with after we are finished here. Do I make myself clear?” Madam Hooch said sternly.
Susan’s shoulders slumped. “Perfectly,” she grumbled mutinously before heading off to the designated spot Madam Hooch had pointed out and dropping to the ground in a massive sulk.
Madam Hooch let out an exasperated breath and then turned her attention back to the rest of her patiently waiting class. “And that warning goes for all of you. Mistakes happen but when they do, I expect you to keep calm and listen to me. Now, shall we continue?”
Limestone turned her attention back to the broom between her legs and took a deep breath to steady herself again. She gripped the piece of wood hard and kicked off the ground hard as instructed. It had not clicked in Limestone’s mind that she was an earth pony with exceptional strength in her legs.
“SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT,” she screamed as she went soaring into the air like the red sparks she had been firing off earlier in the day.
When her broom eventually came to a stop Limestone was now in line with the tip of the Astronomy tower.
“Ah buck,” she groused gripping onto the broom for dear life.
Once more she had forgotten her own strength.
SNAP
She looked down and realised she had been holding on so tightly she had snapped the broom in half.
“Well, this is going to hurt a lot.”
Limestone closed her eyes and once more welcomed death as she fell from the sky.
*
Hagrid had just been having a spot of late lunch, a thermos of tea and some stoat sandwiches, outside the compact wooden shack that he called his home, when something extremely odd happened. Barbera, one of the school’s thestrals, darted from the forest, paused momentarily to turn and look at him, then powered off high into the sky.
Hagrid stared at the spot where Barbera had taken off from speechless, a half-eaten stoat sandwich in his hand. Several seconds passed as his mind processed what had just occurred.
“Bloody Hell,” he swore rising hurriedly to his feet and dumping the stoat sandwich back onto the plate that rested on a tree stump he was using as a makeshift table. “Come back here you daft thing!”
*
Limestone was sure she was dead this time. There was absolutely no way this creature that had just plucked her out of the air with its teeth could exist in the real world. It was surely some unholy winged demon come to drag her to the underworld for being a grumpy bitch most her life. She still had no regrets and would soon put whoever oversaw the underworld in their place.
As she contemplated this the winged demon suddenly dipped sharply in the sky and she heard a bark from above. Looking up, she caught sight of Teeth clinging onto the creature’s head, the hellhound looking a touch concerned for once. Either the hellhound had come to rescue her from death’s embrace or this winged nightmare was in fact a real creature.
And then Scoti appeared on her broomstick to her left.
“Oh joy,” Limestone said sardonically. She had been somewhat hoping that the chaos that was now her life was over and she could enjoy a peaceful afterlife. No such luck. Crap, perhaps she was dead and these two had come to haunt her for all eternity. That would be the absolute worst thing imaginable.
Are you okay?
Yeah no, she was most definitely still alive. Limestone raised her right eyebrow and glowered at Scoti whilst gesturing wildly with her arms to highlight the situation she was currently in.
Forget I asked, Scoti replied tersely.
Limestone let out a heavy sigh. “Sorry. As you can imagine, I am a touch more pissed off than normal.”
Nah, I’d class this as normal behaviour for you.
“Did I say I was sorry, I meant go buck yourself,” Limestone retorted.
You are aware thestrals are carnivores, right?
“That’s nice to know. Wonder if it would like a starter before the main course?”
Scoti’s eyes narrowed. That was a short joke, wasn’t it?
Limestone looked back at her friend with a feigned expression of shock. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
You’re a right bitch sometimes, you know that right? Scoti stated bluntly.
“I think you mean all the time,” Limestone replied flatly before attempting to redirect the conversation back onto the more pressing matter at hand. “Now, no matter how lovely this conversation has been, I do believe we have the more important task of getting me and Teeth back on solid ground.”
Teeth gave a nervous yip from his perch atop the thestral’s head.
Scoti’s eyes went wide as she noticed the hellhound for the first time. How?
“Not sure, he fell on the thing’s head just before you appeared,” Limestone informed her friend. “So, what’s your plan to get us down from here?”
Scoti suddenly looked a little sheepish.
“You don’t have one, do you?” Limestone said flatly.
Kind of. I was sent to ensure you are okay and don’t become a pony pancake whilst Madam Hooch fetches Professor Kettleburn.
“So, your plan is to stall for reinforcements and hope they have a way to get me away from this thing?”
In short, yes. I don’t want to get any closer in case I spook the poor thing and it drops you. Although, we could try that and see if Teeth or I are quick enough to catch you?
“That sounds like an even worse plan than waiting and… hey, what are you doing now?” Limestone exclaimed as the thestral began to descend.
Huh, looks like you might be in luck. I think it has decided to land.
“Why do you look somewhat disappointed by that? Were you seriously hoping I fell to my doom?” Limestone exclaimed.
Maybe, was all Scoti had to say in reply.
*
Much to Limestone’s relief it was not long until the thestral landed. Her relief was short lived though as the thestral did not seem at all in the mood to let her go. Instead, it prepared to trot away towards the dark and foreboding forest they had specifically been told not to venture into with her still in its mouth. Considering what Scoti had told her earlier, Limestone could only guess that she was dinner and about to be devoured alive by a whole herd of the winged demons. Suddenly, falling to her doom wasn’t looking like such a bad option. Thankfully, even if Scoti didn’t seem that bothered about saving her from her inevitably brutal demise, several others did. Especially, one extremely angry hellhound.
“GRRRRRRRRRRRRR,” Teeth growled threateningly apparating in front of the thestral.
For a fraction of a second the thestral was distracted, dropping Limestone to the ground as it instinctively reared onto its hind legs to defend itself from attack. Limestone took her chance and bolted. The thestral, upon realising what it had done, immediately attempted to go after its prey. Teeth though was in no mood to let this strange creature get anywhere near his mistress again and blocked its path as Limestone attempted to get to safety.
But then the thestral let out a mournful wail and Limestone froze in her tracks.
“Teeth, to my side,” she instructed turning and looking into the creature’s pupilless milk white eyes.
Teeth turned and looked at Limestone confused but reluctantly obeyed his mistress’ request and fell in step at Limestone’s side.
Limestone took another deep breath. “I hope I am right and we’re not both about to become demon chow,” she said emotionlessly whilst closing her eyes. And then, to both her own and Scoti’s astonishment, she let out a peculiar assortment of noises.
The thestral’s ears perked up and a moment later, it replied. Limestone could barely believe her ears when she understood everything it said.
“She wasn’t trying to eat me,” Limestone announced opening her eyes and turning to Scoti. “She’s grieving the poor thing. She took her eyes of her foal for a moment recently and it disappeared. Sensed I was in danger through my wand I think and hoped I might be a young thestral that could fill the void in her heart created by her foal’s disappearance.”
Scoti couldn’t manage a response and for once in her life it wasn’t because she couldn’t speak.
“LIMEY, there you… woah, so that really was a thestral we saw in the sky.” Susan on the other hand had plenty of words to say as she raced across the field towards Limestone.
The thestral let out a few whinnies of distress and Limestone held up her hand to stop Susan.
“Susan, stop, you’re scaring her,” Limestone stated before she once more let out a series of peculiar noises.
The thestral listened intently and then replied again.
Susan stared at Scoti. “Is she…”
Yes, Scoti responded.
“Well, I suppose they are both horses so it kind of makes some sense,” Susan replied as Hagrid was next on the scene.
“My word, well that is a peculiar sight. Suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised, they are both horses after all,” Hagrid stated as he neared the two girls.
“I literally just said…” Susan began only to be cut off as the rest of the first years appeared on the scene.
“Merlin’s beard, now she is talking gibberish to thin air! That girl is completely loco if you ask me,” Ron exclaimed.
“Well, no one is asking for your opinion you ginger haired idiot. She is talking to a species of magical horse known as a thestral. Only those who have both witnessed and accepted death can see them. If you like, I’m sure we could quite easily assist our classmates in being able to see them. Your mother seems to have enough kids, I am sure she won’t miss one,” Leanne absolutely roasted as her right hand became a furry paw with four extremely sharp claws.
Ron’s face went extremely pale.
“Wow, did she just?” Susan exclaimed stunned by her usually level headed friend’s reaction.
Absolutely roast Ron. Yes, yes, she did.
“Miss Moon,” Hagrid stated sternly.
Leanne rolled her eyes. “What? I’m fed up with my peers viewing me and my friends as lunatics.”
“And threatening to murder a fellow student would help in that matter how?” Hagrid enquired.
Leanne shrugged her shoulders. “One less idiot to ridicule us. And might stop the rest being so brazen and openly stating such nonsense in front of our faces.”
Hagrid’s face met one of his great big massive hands as to no real surprise Leanne’s classmates took several steps back from her.
The blonde-haired idiot from Slytherin though just could not help opening his big fat mouth and whispering to the brute of a boy next to him. “Further evidence for my father and the school governors to have these mentally unstable retards ejected from the…”
A clump of mud hit him square in the face. Draco stepped back in shock as he swiped the mud of his face and spat some from his mouth. “Hey you big oaf one of them just…” he paused as the ground began to shake and a boy to his left raised his right hand and pointed towards the forest in the distance. “Theodore, just what are you pointing at?” Draco said indignantly as Hagrid removed his hand and turned his attention in the direction of the disturbance.
“What now?” Hagrid groused. “Oh, oh my. Students stay behind me and remain calm. They will not hurt you as long as you don’t threaten them,” he bellowed.
“What won’t hurt us? Theodore, stop gaping and… wait, are there more of those so called thestral things coming?” Draco exclaimed. “My father will definitely be hearing about this you great oaf. Threatening and physically assaulting other students, and now apparently forming an army of invisible demon horses, I shall simply not stand…”
An armchair fell out of the sky onto him. Scoti looked away guiltily.
Hagrid though was not paying the boy any attention, his focus solely on the incoming herd of thestrals that, as far as he was aware, had never ventured out of the shelter of the forest during daylight hours, until now. Gradually though his focus shifted to the anthropomorphic pony girl who was currently feeding a thestral one of Teeth’s dog biscuits, much to the hellhound’s ire.
Limestone turned and glowered back at Hagrid. “Why are you staring at me for? She was the one who called for her friends.”