I remember my first flying lesson like it was yesterday. Me, Katie, Leanne and Cormac all making our way down to the Quidditch pitch on what felt like a very chilly Tuesday September morning. There seemed to be quite a few people for the first lesson with Madame Hooch. I had no worries about being around the Professors I was, however very nervous of the other students. I was quiet and tried not to look at people. I stood close to Leanne but we all got slit up quite quickly. Fred and George had spoken constantly ever since I had met them about flying and Quidditch and I felt like I knew something. They even gave me a pre-lesson lesson the day before so I was ready. It was brilliant. I was able to practice with their brooms, not actually flying but getting it off the ground and that’s all we needed. I basically had extra teachers. Charlie gave me a book on “Quidditch through the ages” over the summer. I’d watched enough of Mme Hooch’s lessons from the side-lines to realise that she would be quiet a force to be reckoned with.

It was amazing. I could finally see why Fred, George, Bill and Charlie loved it so much. I have to admit that it made my stomach do a huge summer-sault the first time I went up but I was more or less ready for it. I think people that live higher up (Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are probably more used to heights so it doesn’t affect us as much and my room at home had always been quite high up. Apparently, we are allowed to take a stomach settling pill if it is really bad, but nobody had to do that. We learnt about the fundamental rules of flying, which are, of course, still relevant today and what we would learn during the year. Such as awareness of your surroundings, awareness of the people, and maintenance of a broom.

I had watched so many quidditch lessons over the years that it had become quite astounding to me. I always thought I would be terrible and hate it because my uncle always looked like he hated it but actually I enjoyed it and had a great time. It’s quite exhilarating!

N.B. No I never made the Gryffindor team but I never actually tried out. I did play a lot with the Weasleys though when we were at the Burrow