Dinner time came and I put away the book for the day as I headed for the great hall. I wasn't in a hurry or anything to master the contents of the book as in truth I had the next two days mostly free. There was an hour of flying practice tomorrow but that was it. I had to admit that I was curious what my talent in that particular field was. Not that I had any intention of playing quidditch or anything like that if I was good at it but so far I've proven fairly talented in most magical fields. -
Charms and transfiguration took some practice but came fairly easily though I will admit haki lowers the difficulty there drastically. Potions was mostly memorization and application and herbology was the same. History wasn't even magic but plain fact memorization and that's it. Flying was a magical skill that could be learned with pure effort but if you had a talent for it was a breeze. I simply didn't know if I had that talent or not. After dinner I tempered my body a bit and turned in for the night.-
In the morning when I woke up I did it again and did my potions homework while I waited for Terry and Mike to get up. As usual Terry showed up first and Mike shortly afterwards.
"So what do you have planned once flying class is over?" Terry asked curiously.
"Was going to take a secret passage to Hogsmeade to handle some errands." I answered honestly.
"You know a secret passage to Hogsmeade? How?" he asked incredulous.
"I picked up on it from the Weasley twins with my perception technique." I lied casually.
"Those two again? I keep hearing about them. Are they really that special?" he said confused.
I shrugged "Can't say, don't know them but if even half the rumors are true then yes they are." I said calmly.
He shook his head with a sigh "some people just stand apart I guess. What are you even going to do at Hogsmeade anyways?" He asked changing the subject back to what it was originally.
I held up my bandaged right hand "Was going to order some new bandages. Nothing wrong with these ones but I prefer a bit more style if I can." I said frankly.
"Do you even need those anymore?" he asked with a frown.
"No, I like the way they look and feel though. Helps keep my extra stuff on hand if I need it too." I said tapping my spear tucked neatly under some of the bandage to prove my point.
"I suppose so, still think it's bloody mad you kept the thing that did all that to you." he said shaking his head as he eyed the spear like it was a venomous snake.
I shrugged "It's a powerful artifact and since I already suffered for it I felt it a waste to not keep it." I said dismissively.
Mike walked down the stairs into the common room at this point yawning and wiping his eyes blearily. He ended up asking the same question Terry had and after getting the same answer lit up. Turned out he had been hearing the upper years talking about Hogsmeade and now that he had some money wanted to get some of them to bring him stuff from it. Now though he could just follow me through the secret passage after flying class and shop there himself.-
We headed for breakfast shortly after that conversation. I loaded up on protein and carbs to fuel my body that was demanding food while idly considering acquiring some sea king meat from Whitebeard. I could alternatively look for nutrition potions as well. I knew those existed because Snape himself was known to use them according to the notes in my potions books. Apparently he used them in lieu of food when he couldn't step away from a potion to eat. Either way I had options for controlling this out of hand feasting of mine. Technically I could also limit it by stopping my body tempering but that idea wasn't even one I considered since I needed it for both my haki and devil fruit.-
After breakfast we headed for the courtyard, not to be confused with the clocktower courtyard as it was a very different thing. This courtyard was an enclosed grassy area with a stone wall circling it at the castles side. It was also a common place to practice broom riding as it was open and easily accessible. When we stepped out into the sunlight I spotted the rows of old brooms on the grass waiting for us. Additionally there was madam Hooch standing calmly in the middle of the brooms waiting for us.-
She had short wild tawny hair that was wild and spikey while her face was slightly wrinkled and sharp as her yellow eyes watched us arrive. She appeared roughly middle aged though on the low end of that spectrum. She almost seemed like an eagle in appearance, something that made me ponder whether the theory that she was a failed Animagus was true. Failing the transformation was well known to leave one disfigured with animal features and it was a fan theory in my past life that this was why she had yellow eyes and bird like features.-
"Take your brooms and start your lift off and landing for all but Mr. Drake." she said sharply when everyone arrived. "For you we will start from the beginning. Stand with the broom to your dominant hand and firmly say UP." she said to me seriously.
I held my hand over the broom and it shot into my outstretched palm without any fuss.
"That will also work. Now lift your right leg and sweep the handle between your legs before seating yourself on it." she said and I did. "Firmly push off the ground with a firm grip on the handle." she said and I kicked off the ground and actually floated in mid air.