It wasn't until Harry climbed into his comfortable bed in the Gryffindor dormitory that his mind kept replaying the bizarre stories he had heard in Hagrid's hut.
A fire dragon over thirty feet long, whose flames could melt steel.
The Quidditch ball, Snitch, moves rapidly from one place to another.
The proud, majestic Hippogriffs were excellent fliers.
"It's a shame that we won't be able to take Care of Magical Creatures until third year..." Harry muttered, lying in bed. This was something Ron had told him—Ron, with his many older brothers at Hogwarts, always knew things Harry didn't.
"Ron..." Harry called softly, but the only response was the sound of snoring and mumbling.
"Unicorn tail hair... Phoenix tail feathers... Heh, all for gold..."
Earlier, they had talked about unicorns and phoenixes in Hagrid's hut. Ivy had mentioned that the gray cushion he was sitting on was made from unicorn tail hair, which, if cleaned, could be sold for a high price in Diagon Alley.
Harry still remembered the wide-eyed look Ron had given at that time. Ron, who didn't come from a wealthy family, was especially sensitive when it came to these things.
As for the phoenix, Ivy mentioned that he had once saved a phoenix and named it "Spark." He even secretly kept it at Hogwarts for a while. Even his wand, made of silver limewood, used the phoenix's tail feather as its core.
At that time, Harry had innocently asked if phoenix tail feathers were expensive. Then why was his wand, made with holly and a phoenix feather, only seven Galleons?
Ivy had smiled and told him that for a first wand, the Ministry of Magic gave a subsidy, ensuring that every young wizard had their wand.
However, if an adult wizard wanted to get a new wand, they would have to spend a lot of money. Any wand after the first would be priced according to the rarity of the materials.
Harry's wand, made with a phoenix feather, was one of the most precious cores sold at Ollivander's shop.
Additionally, the wood used to craft the wand was also a significant factor. Not just any wood could make a good wand. Sometimes, the wood itself could be more expensive than the core. Ivy's silver limewood wand was a perfect example.
It was said that in the 19th century, wizards highly sought after silver limewood wands, causing the price of that wood to skyrocket. Ivy's wand had been custom-made for 170 Galleons, with 165 Galleons spent on the wood and 5 Galleons on the craftsmanship.
"…Nimbus 2000…"
Ron's mumbling changed again. The Nimbus 2000 was a flying broomstick. Ever since Ron learned that Hagrid was secretly wealthy, he had started discussing ideas of selling unicorn tail hair and other items from the Forbidden Forest to make money.
He even said that if he had money, he would first go to Diagon Alley's Quidditch store and buy the best flying broomstick—the Nimbus 2000, as he called it.
Thinking about this, Harry suddenly sighed. The notice about the flying lesson was posted on the Hogwarts noticeboard. They were going to have their first flying lesson with Slytherin next Thursday.
Harry was eager to learn how to fly, but just the thought of having to take the class with Slytherin made him dread it.
During the Potions class today, Harry had had enough of the mocking from the Slytherin students. Just thinking about riding a broom in front of Malfoy and embarrassing himself made Harry sigh again.
Sure enough, by the next morning, all the first-year students eating in the Great Hall were discussing flying broomsticks and flying techniques. If they were from wizarding families, they were boasting about their flying skills.
Some of them had been playing Quidditch since they were young (Harry still had no idea what that sport was), others had spent most of their childhood flying broomsticks in the open fields, some had dodged helicopters while flying, and others had almost collided with a Muggle hang-glider.
This discussion lasted the entire weekend, and, with Thursday's flying lesson fast approaching, the talk only got more intense.
"We should ask Ivy," Ron suggested as he stuffed cereal into his mouth. "He was a fifth-year last century, so he must have played Quidditch."
Harry agreed with him, and the two of them headed to the library, where they were most likely to find Ivy. He and Ron occasionally found neatly written, well-worded assignments there.
"I've never played Quidditch," Ivy shrugged. "There was some kind of incident last year, so the then-headmaster, Professor Phineas Black, canceled the Quidditch Cup for that year."
"Oh... Merlin," Ron let out a disappointed sigh.
"Thump-thump-thump." Madam Pince tapped her broomstick handle on the table, warning them with a glance.
Ivy pointed toward the door, and the three of them walked out of the library.
"But I never said I couldn't use a broomstick," Ivy smiled and told them. Harry and Ron immediately grinned.
"You shouldn't bother Ivy!" A new voice interrupted their conversation. It was Hermione.
The studious little witch spent almost all her time in the library, except for meals, classes, and sleep. Harry and Ron occasionally saw her when they played Wizard's Chess in the common room, but she usually had her nose buried in a book.
"Come on," Ron rolled his eyes. "We're asking about studying, not bothering him!"
"Really?" Hermione raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Well, I wouldn't mind listening in, you know, because I'm…"
Hermione didn't finish her sentence, but her face showed the unmistakable confidence of a top student.
"Hmph." Ron pouted. "I don't think a witch from a Muggle family would have any special insights about flying broomsticks."
Harry saw Hermione's face immediately turn red, but before she could leave, Ivy stopped her.
"It's not a special technique, but I'm sure someone as smart as you can figure it out. But listen to me, and it'll save you some time, right, Hermione?"
Hermione, blushing, nodded quietly and stopped talking.
"First, you need to overcome your fear. A broomstick is like a horse. If you're scared, you won't be able to fly. As for the specific flying techniques, I think Madam Hooch will teach us that," Ivy extended a finger, summarizing.
"Is it really that simple?" Hermione sounded incredulous.
"Well, what else did you expect? This is a basic skill for wizards," Ivy shrugged.