"Did he...did he die?" a girl asked fearfully in a low voice.
Witnessing the scene firsthand gave the Ravenclaws a great fear of flying class, especially Michael, who couldn't stop talking earlier.
He looked pale as he stared at the figure lying in the grass, his voice trembling: "Was...was it my fault?"
Vid patted his shoulder, comforting him: "There shouldn't be too much of a problem—he didn't land on his head."
Michael's throat moved, unable to speak.
Fortunately, Madam Hooch quickly ran over to check and soon helped Neville up from the grass—thank goodness, the boy only had a strange-looking wrist. Madam Hooch supported him towards the infirmary and loudly warned the other students not to move around.
"Vi-Vid..." Michael pleaded, "Let's go see Neville."
Vid glanced at the other students standing dumbfounded on the grass and nodded. The two quickly ran through the corridor towards the infirmary.
"—flying class, right?" Through the door, they heard the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, say matter-of-factly, "Every year around this time, first-year students always have some accidents; I can't remember a year being completely safe—"
Vid gently pushed open the door, and Michael squeezed his head in first.
They saw Neville sitting tearfully on the infirmary bed, Madam Pomfrey gently shaking his arm with a magic wand, the tip scattering feather-like lights.
"Then I'll leave this student to you," Madam Hooch said urgently, "There are over twenty students left on the lawn with unattended broomsticks! If time allowed, I really should have Mr. Filch watch them!"
Madam Pomfrey said, "Alright, I will—"
Madam Hooch, evidently impatient, heard the "alright" and swiftly turned around to leave, suddenly opening the door, causing Michael to stumble inside.
Seeing the two students, Madam Hooch's eagle-like eyes immediately stood up, as if about to scold them. But then she noticed the blue and bronze ties and her anger subsided.
Since they weren't students sneaking out from her class, Madam Hooch didn't have the time to deal with them and walked away briskly.
"—take care of this child," Madam Pomfrey finished her sentence almost like talking to herself. She gently comforted the sobbing Neville, "Don't worry, it's just a minor issue; we'll fix it quickly. I promise you won't miss dinner tonight."
Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, and a bottle of potion flew from the shelf. She let Neville drink it and pointed the wand at his arm, whispering a spell.
As if in the blink of an eye, the boy's broken wrist was reconnected, and judging by his expression, Neville didn't seem to feel much pain.
Vid watched in awe.
"What about you, children?" Madam Pomfrey turned to the two at the door and asked, "Are you injured? Sick? Or ate something bad?"
Michael's lips quivered, saying nothing.
Vid had to say, "Madam Pomfrey, we came to see Neville."
"Oh, visiting a friend!" Madam Pomfrey sounded pleased, saying, "Mr. Longbottom just needs to rest a bit longer. Once the bone's fully healed, he can go back with you."
"Thank you, ma'am," Vid said, with Neville also expressing his thanks.
After Madam Pomfrey left, Vid asked, "How are you, Neville? Does your wrist still hurt?"
"Not much now," Neville shook his head, lifting his robe to reveal a rapidly healing cut on his leg, "Look, this side is almost healed too. Madam Pomfrey's healing technique is really impressive, probably just like at St Mungo's."
"St Mungo's?"
"The largest magic hospital in the United Kingdom; the best healers are there," Neville said.
Michael hesitantly walked over and murmured, "Neville."
The boy looked up at him.
Michael bowed his head shamefully, "I'm sorry, I lied. I've never actually ridden a flying broomstick before—the tips I gave you were picked up from the radio. I—I actually have no experience—"
Neville blinked his eyes.
"I knew!" he said.
"What?" Michael looked surprised.
Neville explained, "Hermione said if you had often ridden a broom, you couldn't be so excited about flying class."
Michael's face turned red—it turned out everyone had seen his boastful bragging?
"But Hermione also said—" Neville continued, "Everything you said was right—it's written in books that way. But flying isn't a skill you can master just by knowing the theory, right?"
For some reason, Michael suddenly felt like crying.
Vid watched the scene with a smile.
Originally, when Vid looked at these classmates, he felt somewhat like "taking care of kids." But at this moment, Vid felt...perhaps they really could become good friends.
...
Although Madam Pomfrey easily healed Neville's wrist, waiting for the bone to mend took quite some time. Feeling guilty, Michael didn't want to leave Neville alone in the infirmary and insisted on staying until he fully recovered before going to dinner together. On the way, they encountered a staircase changing direction, causing them to walk twice the usual distance to return to the hall.
In short, by the time they returned, the last dessert on the long table had already disappeared.
"Ah, darn," Michael said with a bitter face, "I think I have some candy left in my dormitory—"
"Hey, Michael, Neville, Vid." Theo and Leian walked over. The two had been friends since childhood and were almost inseparable after coming to school.
"We heard Neville had an accident during flying class," Theo said, looking concerned at Neville, "Are you okay?"
"Broke my wrist—" Neville raised his arm to show him, "But Madam Pomfrey healed it right away."
"That's great," Theo said happily, holding onto his arm.
"Have you had dinner?" Leian asked, "We didn't see you guys earlier."
"Not yet!" Michael looked at them pitifully, full of hope, "Did you guys save a piece of bread or something for us?"
"No—but something better!" Theo pulled Michael out of the hall, "Follow us!"
"Where are we going?" Neville asked, confused.
"You'll see soon! It's a secret only known by Hufflepuff students! A senior told us a few days ago," Theo said excitedly.
"I bet nothing can escape those Weasley twins," Michael said to Vid, who nodded in agreement.
They walked through a door, then down a stone staircase into a wide stone corridor. The torches on the walls lit the corridor brightly, and like other areas of the castle, the walls were adorned with paintings, mostly of various dishes rather than people.
Theo stopped in front of a huge fruit painting, reached out, and gently tickled the pear in the painting.