"A new Hogwarts prankster!" The twins grinned at each other.
"Although, we did notice"
"You pranked us for taking bets"
"Not that we bet on the wrong results." Before Hermione could respond, they took off again, laughing.
The second game lasted an hour. Ginny surprised everyone with her skill as chaser, as she had never played with her family before. They were expecting Bill to do most of the work for that team, but apparently she was nearly as talented as her oldest brother, and they ended up quickly racking up points against Charlie and Harry. After an hour, they lead by 150 points, calling the game to an end.
At this point, Charlie, Bill, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were all interested in seeing how the former seekers would do against the current one. They proposed a seeker duel, Harry versus Charlie, on the family brooms so that they would be equally matched. Harry agreed, eager to test his skills. The seeker duel was simply a one-on-one race to catch the snitch between two seekers. They decided to go with the best of three rounds.
In the first round, the snitch moved towards Charlie first. Both of them raced towards it and it looked like Charlie was about to get an easy win, but it quickly changed direction and dropped straight down towards the ground. Charlie spun upside down in an attempt to grab it, but missed. Harry rocketed towards the ground, looking to intercept the snitch but it jerked to the right, forcing Harry to quickly brake and change direction. Charlie was now dropping straight down towards him, and the snitch headed towards the ground once again. Seeing how close to the grass the snitch hovered, Charlie had to pull back and slow down to avoid crashing, but Harry, already much closer to the snitch, accelerated and landed hard on the ground on all fours, trapping the golden, fluttering ball under his fingers. The entire round lasted little over a minute.
In the second round, the snitch moved too quickly to see and disappeared. Harry and Charlie slowly patrolled the field, looking for a flash of yellow. Charlie saw it first, and immediately shot towards the snitch. Harry followed, but was trailing by several body lengths. They dove and swerved through the air chasing it, and Charlie never let his eyes away. Harry, being much smaller, was gaining on Charlie. They were neck and neck, both straining to grab the snitch on a high-speed straightaway when Charlie grinned, and threw himself forward. His much longer reach let him grab the snitch while it was still a foot ahead of Harry's fingers. Amazingly, Charlie managed to keep his other hand firmly gripping the broom, pulling himself back on with one arm before gently riding back down to the ground. Grinning, he said, "When you've reined in a few dragons yourself, jumping off a broom isn't all that scary any more." Molly, watching from the ground, had nearly fainted.
In the third and final round, the snitch seemed to be getting sneakier. After several short chases, where it kept disappearing into the grass, it reappeared directly in between them. Racing towards each other head-on, the snitch bobbed up and down and they could only guess where it would be the moment they came close enough to grab it. Charlie decided to go high, and Harry, apparently, mirrored his movements. They seemed to be playing a game of chicken when, at the last second, Harry copied the move Charlie made in the first round, spinning around and flying upside down, grabbing the snitch as it bobbed downwards again while very nearly clipping Charlie's feet with his own.
Everyone cheered for the fantastic display of skill the two seekers had shown them, as they headed back inside to get cleaned up and prepare for dinner. The duel was the talk of dinner, as Harry learned there were official names for some of the moves they had performed. He had never realized there was so much terminology to the game he played so often.
After dinner, Harry strode out to the field behind the Burrow where they had played Quidditch, relaxing and enjoying the fresh summer air. Hermione walked up beside him with a smile, and said, "I was really amazed at how well you fly, Harry."
"Thanks, Hermione," he said. "You played a pretty amazing prank on the twins, too. I think they learned their lesson."
"Do you think... you could teach me to fly?"
Harry was taken aback, but delighted, by the question. He never expected Hermione to start becoming more interested in flying. "Sure, Hermione. I'd be glad to, especially since your notes helped me learn all about Runes this summer."
"Oh, thank you, Harry! I always felt the school brooms were so rickety, and I was always scared of going very fast, but you look so happy when you fly, that I thought I should give it another try, too. I think the Weasleys' brooms are in much better condition than the school ones, so since I was here, maybe I could practice with them. Can you give me some notes on broom riding? And what kind of exercises you do for Quidditch warm-ups? I could also read some books on broom-flying techniques, but if I had some of your notes I think that would..."
Harry couldn't keep the amusement to himself. "Err... Hermione... I don't have any notes. I just... fly the broom."
Hermione stopped, and her face fell. "But... how will I learn about it? Oh, I was hoping I'd be able to learn from you..."
Harry chuckled. "Hermione, you just have to get on a broom and fly it. I'll teach you. I promise. In fact, let me get my Firebolt right now, and we can ride it together." He ran inside to get his broom before Hermione could stop him, and minutes later came rushing out with his high-end, professional broom.
"Harry! I can't fly that thing! It's a professional broom! It's fast! It was a gift from Sirius! You've only had it for half a year! I have to study first before I try flying!" Hermione was panicking.
"Hermione! Calm down," said Harry. "I'll ride the broom with you, so don't worry. Flying is something you have to learn by experience, so we'll start our lessons right now." He grinned, moving behind her. "Here, just step over it. I want you to grip the handle..."
Hermione held the broom nervously and inhaled sharply as Harry wrapped his arms around her, gripping the broom just behind her hands. They began to rise slowly, hovering a few feet above the ground. Harry pushed the broom forward slightly, and they began to move forward. They glided slowly, between a walk and a run, until Hermione got used to speeding up and slowing down. When it came to practicing changing altitude or turns, Hermione was too nervous to lean over, causing the broom to move jerkily when they tried to change direction. The jerky motion only caused her to tense up even more, so Harry attempted a different approach. Pulling her in closer and holding her across her stomach with one hand, he said, "Alright, Hermione. Just close your eyes, relax, and forget the broom. Just hold on to me, and I'll fly."
Hermione was hesitant, but trusted him. She held on to his arm, closed her eyes, and leaned backwards, pressing against him. Harry began by pulling back, angling upwards and rising into the air, reassuring Hermione as she rested against his body. He began a few wide, lazy turns while gently leaning to each side, forcing Hermione to rock back and forth as they performed a slow slalom. Eventually, they slowed to a stop and Harry said, "Open your eyes, Hermione."
She nearly shrieked, seeing how high they were, but noticed their feet were dangling just above the roof of the Burrow. In front of them was a beautiful sunset that took her breath away. Harry smiled. "I think this is one of the reasons why I love flying so much. You can get such a fantastic view."
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