(Arcane Tinker) Chapter 24: Falling Further

AN: Like the other AT chapters so far, this isn’t part of the weekly schedule. Tomorrow will be an AWM (EM Vol. 2) chapter, like you guys chose in the last poll.

Chapter 24: Falling Further

6th October 1991, Hogwarts

Of course, that was when he heard a loud yell and saw Ron Weasley losing control and barrelling towards him at extreme speed. Because, of course, something would have to go wrong.

Dean felt time slow. The redhead hurtled toward him. His first instinct: command the broom to get out of the way before crashing. He commanded his broom, and it had listened, moving unnaturally gracefully with surprise speed, letting him move to the left, and spin back up, in a burst of control that he hadn’t felt when he had practised flying earlier.

The situation and the narrow miss of being seriously injured distracted him from realising what he had truly done. Dean had pushed his broom to the brink, temporarily warping the enchantments in a way that gave him enough control over the broom’s movements to dodge the redhead’s body.

He could feel as the enchantment returned to normal that they were not meant to give such precise control to anyone, as they were meant for basic learners. He immediately looked around, hoping that someone wouldn’t have noticed, and while his classmates seemed completely transfixed as Ron crashed to the ground, he did notice Madam Hooch giving him a piercing look before quickly pointing her wand to the ground.

In the privacy of his mind, Dean would say that Ron’s fall was somewhat comical, with his hair releasing its usual, but still useless, smoke. It looked like a plane falling with its engine destroyed. He fell on the ground, and instead of splattering, he bounced slightly as if he’d fallen on a mattress, likely from Madam Hooch’s spell.

Dean found it odd, since it would have been safer to stop his fall completely. He could think of many spells that did this. He remembered reading of a spell that made someone fall as if they were in a liquid, a spell to freeze someone in mid-air, a spell to stop any falling, hell, even the ground becoming as soft as a cloud. Someone who had been a flying instructor for so long must have memorised all these spells at the very least.

Ron didn’t seem critically injured when he crashed, but he would probably have a few bruises at the very least. Of course, that was when Hooch spoke up loudly, “EVERYONE LAND YOUR BROOMS! NOW!”

They all landed, even if a few were put out, specifically Malfoy, who had been smiling in glee at Ron’s fall, and Harry, who seemed completely at home in the sky. Oddly enough, Neville seemed to be relieved. Given how wobbly his flight had been so far, the boy wasn’t a passionate flyer. It wasn’t bad, just not graceful. Dean didn’t think they’d get a Boy-Who-Lived seeker in the Gryffindor Quidditch team anytime soon.

Harry landed next to him and, despite his reluctance, looked at Ron in worry. Even Malfoy’s smile slipped from his face.

Madam Hooch walked critically towards her injured student, who released a loud groan as she pulled him up. She waved her wand around and she checked him over, “There are a few bruises, maybe a couple of partial fractures. You’ll need a proper healer to make sure that everything is alright, and you don’t get yourself killed by a rib piercing your lung.”

The redhead’s face paled at that, and she quickly turned towards the rest of the class, “I didn’t think I would have had to say it, because it’s quite obvious. So long as you’re in my class, you will not try to hurt other students while in the air, and you will not try manoeuvres that I do not approve of. I’m looking at you, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Weasley. This is what happens when you break these rules, and you could have injured other students with your fall. He could have broken his neck, and there’s nothing that even the greatest healer in the world could do for a dead patient. As this is your first lesson, I will let you off with a warning, not just to you two, but for your entire class. If anyone ever tries anything like this again while in my flying lesson, I will ensure that you never receive your flying license and if someone was injured, perhaps even speak with the DMLE. Do you understand?”

Everyone nodded shakingly, and she continued, “Now, as a punishment, I am ending our lesson to take Weasley to the Hospital Wing.” She then turned to Dean and spoke up, “Thomas, come with me and take your broom as well.”

Dean walked with trepidation towards her. She must have noticed something was wrong with the way he flew his broom, and she reached out her hand in silence, making Dean slowly give her the broom, “That was some fine flying, Thomas. Was this your first time on a broom?”

The muggleborn nodded, and she hummed as she traced her hand on the broom, “I never thought I’d see the day when a first year would unlock the safety enchantments on a learner’s brooms. What’s your personal magic again?”

He raised his hand, and a small ball of fire appeared, which, oddly enough, made the woman relax for some reason, “Alright. The fall must have triggered the security measures, which overwhelmed the safety enchantments. I haven’t seen it happen a lot, but it could happen.”

“I just panicked when I saw Ron falling towards me and wanted to be out of the way,” Dean explained.

“Still, that was some good reflexes and very good flying. You should think about trying out for a position in your Quidditch team next year. Talent like that should be harnessed.”

The idea wasn’t exactly a bad one, even if there were a lot of negatives that came with it. For one, Quidditch players in each school were all but untouchable by anyone trying to attack them, especially the school’s mini gang. Yeah, Dean was going to call it like he saw it; these were gangs.

Outside of Slytherin, the gangs often had people from different houses, and everyone, for some reason, was obsessed with Quidditch. Dean didn’t feel particularly enthused by the sport, but he would never voice his thoughts, as it would make him an immediate outcast or just endlessly hounded until he changed his mind about Quidditch’s greatness.

Still, this protection wasn’t absolute, especially when you were the one to start something, but people were more tolerant; there was a reason why the Weasley Twins were still tolerated by everyone, and that was their position in the Quidditch Team.

Anyway, becoming a Quidditch player would give him some safety, but training would take up more time than he’d like. Quidditch brooms were also expensive, and it would shine a bright light on him. All in all, it wasn’t an easy decision.

Dean prepared to say something, only for Ron to release a pitiful groan behind him, and he asked, “Is he going to be alright?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine and that Madam Pomfrey would only find a few bruises,” she replied with a wink.

Dean immediately realised that the woman had all but told him that she knew that Ron was fine, just hurt enough to be served as a warning for the rest of the class about messing around while flying.

That must have been why she had barely cushioned his fall instead of stopping it outright, so that she’d use him as a lesson.

Dean opened his mouth, and the woman’s grin widened, “Think of my words. You’d make a great Quidditch player.”

Dean nodded and watched as she left with Ron, and Harry all but ran to him, “What did she want?”

“Just said that I was a good flyer when I dodged Ron’s fall. Apparently, I should think about joining the Quidditch Team next year.”

Of course, that was when Malfoy’s obnoxious voice spoke up behind them, “As if. I wouldn’t get my hopes up. The only way that you could afford a broom would be to steal it. After all, you don’t have parents to give you money, do you?”

Harry immediately turned, mouth open, but Neville beat him to it, “You’re just jealous that Hooch said that he’s a better flyer than you.”

“A better flyer?” Malfoy answered while spluttering, “She said no such thing, and I was just doing her stupid exercises. I could have easily done that dodge if I had to.”

“He only needed to do it because you’re the one who made Ron crash in the first place.”

“He wouldn’t have crashed if he knew how to fly half as well as he bragged. It’s not my fault that he was a filthy liar. Then again, what can I expect from a Weasley of all people?”

A few of the Slytherins giggled behind him, and Dean was tempted to intervene but decided not to. This had escalated from Malfoy confronting him to doing his usual bickering with Neville, something that Dean had no plans on getting involved in.

“As if you couldn’t say the same,” Neville retorted, “I remember Madam Hooch adjusting your grip many times.”

“We’ll see about that. Next year, I will join the Quidditch team with a proper broom. It’s a travesty that I couldn’t do it this year. My father thinks that I’m good enough for it. What do your parents think? Oh wait…”

He giggled slightly with Crabbe and Goyle following him, but the rest hadn’t. Neville’s face reddened at the reminder of his parents’ deaths, “I’d rather have no parents than one like yours, Malfoy.”

“How would you know?” the Slytherin answered with a smirk, “Is that why you defended the Mudblood, here? He’s an orphan too, right? Or perhaps do you take some pity on him for the fact that his parents were savages who raised someone like him, who probably killed them with his magic in the first place.”

And just like that, any thoughts of distancing himself from the situation ended. He turned towards Malfoy, his eyes practically blazing. Everyone around him gasped in shock at the slur and looked at him in wariness. Neville even tried to say something, but then stopped when he noticed that it had gotten hotter.

A part of Dean wished to punch the little asshole in the face, but this was a very obvious trap. The mention of Dean killing his parents was targeted, and he knew it. If he had to guess, Draco had complained to his father about the muggleborn pyromancer, who looked at his file and told his son enough to trigger a response, especially given the fact that he still mourned his mother’s death.

This was a calculated attack that Dean could see. There were enough trigger words there to push him, with enough vague information that no one would ever say that his father did anything illegal. The question was whether Malfoy knew what really happened that night or if his father was careful enough not to give too much information to an eleven-year-old. It didn’t matter, in the end. What mattered were the words said and how he would deal with them.

Oh, how he wished he could wipe that smile from Malfoy’s face, but getting angry would not help.

Instead, he controlled his temper and slowly walked up to him, using his ring to make it hotter with every step he took, and spoke calmly, “What did you just say?”

The boy had gotten pale, obviously noticing the shift in temperature, and obviously the fact that no one moved to help. He didn’t answer in any way, and Dean continued, this time, whispering so that they would be the only ones hearing him, “I don’t care that you love playing the fool or make an ass of yourself every time you open that shithole that you call a mouth. I don’t care if you call me a Mudblood, or anything like that. If you speak of my mother again, I will burn you. I will burn the heart out of you. Do you understand, little man?”

Malfoy was severely sweating while shaking like a leaf. He nodded with surprising enthusiasm, and Dean very slowly wiped some invisible dirt from the boy’s shoulder, ignoring his wince with every move, “Very good, Draco. Very good.”

He then turned to leave, only for Malfoy to try to grab his wand. Dean stopped and looked back at the wand in question and whispered, “I really wouldn’t do this if I were you.”

Dean then turned, completely unconcerned, while carefully keeping an eye on Malfoy just in case he tried to say something. Leaving an awed but frozen crowd behind him, he walked back to the castle.

Harry quickly ran up to him and asked with a mixture of awe and panic, “What did you say to him?”

“Just a friendly warning, that’s all.”

For some reason, that didn’t seem to calm the boy down in the slightest.

AN: Like I said above, this isn’t part of the weekly schedule. Tomorrow will be an AWM (EM Vol. 2) chapter, like you guys chose in the last poll. As usual, I don’t mind rewriting this depending on your feedback, so please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.