Chapter 4

                                    

                                          
"You are free this afternoon, right?" Professor Amber asked him.
                          
"Yes, but-" Oscar tried to answer.
                          
"Perfect. He will be at Quidditch field at three. Don't be late." And she left, just like this.
                          
Oscar was perplexed. Professor Amber looked for him to ask him to help a student in her class with his flying. Oscar wasn't really looking forward to helping a first year student instead of enjoying his free afternoon hanging out with his friends, but he couldn't even refuse Professor Amber's request. 
                          
"Sorry guys, I'll join you later." He said moody.
                          
"Oh come on, Oscar. It's not so bad." Keyu said, trying to lift his friend's mood up.
                          
"Right, it's just a first year kid who can't sit properly on a broom. It will be fun, man." Caelan was unable to cover his amusement. 
                          
"Then why don't you come with me?" Oscar asked.
                          
"Oh will you look at the time? You know, I made plans with Mika. I have to go. Bye." And with that, Caelan disappeared in the hallways.
                          
Betrayer. Oscar looked at Keyu expectantly. "Sorry, Osc, but I promised Patrick to help him with his Astronomy research. I'll see you later, okay?"
                          
Betrayers. "Right. See you later." 
                          
When Professor Amber asked Oscar to help a student with his flying, he thought that this student was from first year. How could he know that she was talking about Hu Yetao, the new Slytherin student who was in his potions class? Yetao was stretching calmly on the field wearing a black tank top and black sweatpants and with his long hair tied into a high ponytail. He was stunning. Wait, what? And why was he doing a split? Oscar couldn't even imagine having such flexibility. 
                          
Yetao noticed him and stood up looking surprised. "So you are the Quidditch player Professor Amber found to teach me?" He asked, walking towards him.
                          
"Name is Oscar." Oscar grinned. "And you are the first year student who can't fly?" He asked back.
                          
"Well, more or less. I'm Hu Yetao." Yetao answered slightly embarrassed.
                          
"I totally couldn't see this coming. You are some kind of a genius, right? How is it possible that you can't use a broom to fly?" Oscar asked, amused.
                          
Yetao seemed offended by his words. "Sorry to disappoint you, but even geniuses have their struggles. And Professor Zhennan taught me all the things I know about this school or about magic. Apparently flying is out of his area of expertise." He said crossing his arms on his chest.
                          
Oscar laughed. "Sorry sorry, I didn't want to offend you. I just want to understand what the problem is." He friendly patted Yetao's shoulders and added. "Plus, Professor Zhennan is a person who dearly treasures his life. Of course he doesn't want to fly or teach others how to do it." Yetao softly laughed at his words and magically Oscar's brain blacked out. He was having a hard time focusing on his task at the moment or shifting his attention from Yetao's smiling face. Maybe he was just tired. His sleeping schedule sucked these days.
                          
Yetao was now looking at him. "So, Professor Oscar, what is the first lesson?"
                          
Oscar shook his head to clear it. "R-right. So first, let me see how you lift yourself from the ground."
                          
Yetao nodded, picking up the broom he had left on the ground. He climbed on it and tried to focus. Lifting was not that hard for him, but right after this passage he suddenly would find himself falling on the grass, just like that morning.
                          
Oscar tried to cover his laughter with his hand while Yetao got up glaring at him.
                          
"So, I think that your problem has something to do with your balance and your fear of heights." 
                          
"My what?" He asked, irritated.
                          
"You need to balance yourself on the broom if you want to fly. It can be hard at first, but once you get the mechanism, you will have no problem! Don't worry, I will help you." Oscar said with a smile.
                          
"Even Professor Amber couldn't help me." Yetao answered in disheartened. 
                          
"Oh, don't mind her. She was an athlete even before her birth. It's natural for her. She can't understand the problems of us mere mortals. Come on, climb on your broom." 
                          
Yetao obeyed,  climbing again on the broom with Oscar right in front of him to instruct him. 
                          
"Okay, now hold the staff with both your hands, like this." He moved Yetao's hands in a proper position. "Then straighten up your back. I saw you before. You are extremely flexible. It will be a piece of cake once you understand how to balance yourself." Yetao nodded following Oscar's orders. "Now lift yourself. Don't think too much. Try to relax."
                          
Yetao took a deep breath and did as he was told. But the problem was not the lifting part; it was hanging in mid air. For a few seconds he succeeded in his deed thanks to his new posture, but then he looked down and suddenly his balance was gone. Oscar, who was proudly looking at his student, watched with horror how Yetao fell once again on the grass. Oscar immediately extended his hand to Yetao to help him get up and the boy took it out of desperation. 
                          
"Maybe I'm a nut case." Yetao said, frustrated.
                          
"Come on, man. It's only your first day of training! Don't get discouraged." Oscar patted Yetao's shoulder, trying to encourage his student. "Plus, I think we have just gotten over your balance problem. The matter now is how to defeat your fear of heights."
                          
"I'm not scared of heights." Yetao answered glaring at the blue haired boy. 
                          
Oscar laughed. "Are you sure about that? Anyway, let's try a few more times."
                          
Oscar watched how Yetao fell on the ground for another half an hour before deciding that he had enough of  torturing the boy and called it a day. 
                          
"I'm sure next time you will be better. Don't worry, I'll make you fly with my training."
                          
"Next time?" Yetao asked, panting. The training drained out all the energy from his body.
                          
"Yeah, Professor Oscar won't be satisfied until he sees his student succeed." Oscar said proudly. 
                          
Yetao was lost in his thoughts for a bit, but then answered. "Okay then."
                          
"Tomorrow I'm busy with Quidditch training, but I'll see you the day after. Same place, same hour?"
                          
Yetao nodded. They greeted each other and went their separate ways, Yetao straight to his room to rest on his bed and Oscar to his friends.
                          
Oscar joined them in the Gryffindor common room right after. Keyu and Patrick were laughing out loud while watching Caelen and Mika doing an imitation of Professor Amber. 
                          
"Look who's back. How was the lesson, Professor Oscar?" Caelan asked once Oscar was seated on the couch in front of him.
                          
Oscar couldn't help but smile remembering the raven haired boy falling repeatedly on the grass of the Quidditch field. "It was fun."
                          
Keyu eyed his friend suspiciously. "Fun?" 
                          
"Did your student learn all the amazing techniques of the greatest Quidditch player of the last decade?" Caelan asked dramatically. 
                          
"Not yet, but I'm not going to stop until he will learn all of them." 
                          
"You mean you will do other lessons?" Keyu asked. He was quite surprised by his friend's enthusiasm for his flying class. Just a couple of hours ago he was reluctant to teach a 11-years-old kid how to fly, but now he looked happy and excited. And something else Keyu couldn't really decipher.
                          
"Yeah. The next one will be the day after tomorrow." Oscar replied with a smile. He was really looking forward to it now. He wanted to see how Yetao could improve thanks to his teaching. Plus, he had a great time today.