The Birth of a New Generation's Seeker

The Birth of a New Generation's Seeker

Malfoy picked up a transparent ball Neville had dropped on the lawn, lightly tossed it twice in his hand, and laughed. "Did you see his face? If that fat lump squeezed this ball, he'd remember to land on his backside."

Quite a few students laughed, with the Slytherins being especially obvious about it.

"Give me the ball, Malfoy," Harry said as he walked over.

"No, I'm going to hide it and make Neville look for it," Malfoy said. He then mounted his broom, circled around for a moment, and flew high into the air. "What's wrong, Potter? Can't reach me?"

Harry glared at him, grabbed a broom, and climbed on.

Just as he was about to take off, Hermione called out to him. "Harry, you absolutely can't do this. Madam Hooch just said so, and besides, you don't even know how to fly yet."

Harry ignored her, pushed hard off the ground, and flew straight toward Malfoy.

"What a complete idiot," Hermione said speechlessly.

"Another wizard with a talent for flying," Aaron said, looking up at the scene with some emotion.

"Aaron, stop just watching and get Malfoy to come down. He should listen to you."

"Uh... Hermione, I think you've misunderstood something. Didn't you just try to talk Harry out of it? Did he listen?"

"This..."

"See? He's my friend, not my servant. For the sake of our friendship, he might listen to my advice, but in truth, I have no right to order him to do anything," Aaron explained patiently.

"But... they..." Hermione looked at the two on brooms high in the air, unable to hide the worry on her face.

"It's fine. At most, this counts as a prank between students. Professor Hooch was only trying to scare them," Aaron said calmly.

If students could be expelled simply for using brooms during a flying lesson while the teacher was absent, less than half of Hogwarts's students would be left by now. And among those expelled, Gryffindor, the house most fond of pranks, would definitely account for more than half.

Besides, one of the boys on those brooms was the son of a board member, while the other was the Boy Who Lived from the prophecy. Dumbledore would expel neither of them.

A moment later, Harry steadied his broom and stopped in front of Malfoy. "Give it to me now, or I'll knock you off."

"Big words."

Harry did not waste any more words and reached out to snatch it.

But just as he was about to touch the Remembrall, Malfoy spun his broom in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, dodging him perfectly.

Harry had barely turned his broom around when Malfoy looked back and provocatively tossed the Remembrall in his hand. "Then do something about it!"

With that, Malfoy hurled the Remembrall into the distance. Harry's pupils widened slightly as he accelerated after it on his broom.

Seeing this, Aaron frowned slightly. Draco had gone a little too far this time.

That spoiled brat had been indulged too much. It would probably take quite a bit of effort to set him straight.

Harry truly had considerable talent when it came to flying. Though it was his first time using a Magic Broom, he handled it with exceptional skill, catching the Remembrall just before it crashed into the castle wall.

By sheer coincidence, Professor McGonagall, who was working in her office, saw the whole thing. If Harry had not caught the Remembrall in time, it would have landed right in her office.

After Harry landed on the lawn with the Remembrall, the Gryffindor students cheered and ran over, all praising him for what he had done.

While they were cheering, Professor McGonagall strode over and gave Harry Potter a long look. "Harry Potter, come with me."

Draco and his two lackeys watched Harry follow behind Professor McGonagall with his head hanging low, mocking him with sneers.

"Is that so funny?" Aaron asked.

"Of course. Harry Potter brought this on himself. Maybe he'll be expelled tomorrow," Draco said with a laugh, already thinking about how he would celebrate when he got back.

"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. This is only a minor issue. Professor McGonagall is Gryffindor's Head of House. She won't expel one of her own students over this," Aaron said, pouring a bucket of cold water over Malfoy's excitement.

"Hmph! Then he's just lucky."

"Perhaps. But you really shouldn't have thrown Neville's Remembrall away," Aaron said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Malfoy frowned.

"What did Professor Snape say about Harry Potter in class? Fame alone isn't enough. As one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Malfoy Family has always been a symbol of pure-bloods. In other words, the Malfoy Family's reputation is no less than Harry Potter's. It is a reputation your family has built up over hundreds of years.

"What you did just now was no different from tarnishing your family's name. Throwing Neville's Remembrall might seem insignificant when it's Draco doing it, but what if Draco were replaced with the heir of the Malfoy Family?

"Those who know might see it as a prank, but those who don't might think you're using your status to bully others!

"Oh, right. If I remember correctly, the Longbottom Family is also one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"I..." Malfoy froze for a moment, then fell silent. He had never considered any of that.

For the first time in his spoiled life, Draco experienced something else that came with fame: pressure.

Thinking of this, Malfoy suddenly became a little uneasy. "I understand. I won't do things like that again."

"It's good that you understand." Aaron was quite satisfied with his little lecture, though it could not really be called a lecture. Pure-blood families truly should defend their family honor. There was nothing wrong with that.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall led Harry to the entrance of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Wait here," Professor McGonagall told Harry, then went inside herself.

"Professor Quirrell, excuse me. May I have a word with Wood?"

Professor Quirrell, who was holding a large Chameleon while lecturing to the students, suddenly trembled. Once he understood, he immediately nodded. "Y-yes, yes, of course."

An older male student with a Gryffindor crest pinned to his robes followed Professor McGonagall out of the classroom.

Professor McGonagall brought him before Harry Potter and explained, "Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker."

"What?" Harry Potter looked utterly bewildered. Wasn't he supposed to be punished? How had he suddenly become a Seeker?

And was it really appropriate to make someone who did not even know what a Seeker was into one?

However, seeing the excited expressions on Professor McGonagall and Wood's faces, he wisely kept those thoughts to himself.

News that Harry Potter had become the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team did not stay secret for long. By evening, the entire school knew.

Ordinarily, first-year students were not qualified to play in Quidditch matches, but that was nothing to Professor McGonagall, Gryffindor's Head of House and an avid Quidditch fan.

She went straight to Dumbledore and easily got him to make an exception.

Perhaps it was because Dumbledore had also graduated from Gryffindor, and Gryffindor had not won the House Cup in far too long. A Quidditch championship could earn the house quite a few points!

After dinner, Ron and Harry walked through the corridors, both looking especially excited.

"A Seeker? The house team has never accepted a first-year student. You must be the youngest player ever."

"Yes, and the youngest in a century. That's what Professor McGonagall said. She wants me to attend training next week."

The twin brothers George and Fred appeared behind them at some point. One of them said excitedly, "Brilliant, Harry! Wood told us."

"Fred and George are on the team too. They're Beaters," Ron explained.

The other twin said, "Our job is to make sure you don't get beaten black and blue. But there's no way nothing will happen. Quidditch is brutal."

"Very brutal. But no one's ever died. Sometimes someone disappears after a match, but they show up again a month or two later."

Harry's expression changed slightly when he heard that. He had not known this sport loved by nearly every wizard carried such great risks. Was it too late to back out now?

It was probably too late. The news had already spread everywhere, and everyone knew. If he asked to leave the team now, he would be utterly humiliated.

Noticing Harry's expression, Ron encouraged him. "Go for it, Harry! Quidditch is awesome. It's the most exciting thing there is, and you're the best."

"But I've never played Quidditch before. What if I make a fool of myself?" Harry said worriedly.

Hermione, who had been reading, walked over with a smile. "You won't make a fool of yourself. It's in your blood."

As she spoke, she led the two of them to Gryffindor's Quidditch memorial. James Potter, Harry Potter's father, had his name engraved on it, and he had also been the house team's Seeker.