Book 1 - James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing

5. The Book of Austramaddux
“Don’t think of it as looking like a miserable failure on a broomstick,” Zane said afterwards as they
all sat in the Ravenclaw common room. “Think of it as giving Ralphie here a chance to look positively
brilliant!”
hand.
James said nothing. He sat slumped at the end of the couch, his head propped miserably on his
“Besides, if I hadn’t hopped on my broomstick and took off after you, I don’t think I’d have been
able to figure it out at all. It was just a matter of not thinking about it, really.”
“Spectacular stuff out there, Walker,” an older student said as he passed the couch, ruffling Zane’s
damp hair.
“Yeah,” another one said from across the room. “Normally, first years tryouts are just for laughs.
With you, we get the laughs and the skills.” There was a round of laughter and scattered applause. Zane
beamed, soaking it up.
“Seriously, though,” Ralph said from where he sat on the floor, his back to the fire, “how’d you do
that? Flying is supposed to be pretty tough to master.”
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