The Youngest Quidditch Player

"Here, let's see if you can catch it!" Malfoy shouted, hurling the glass ball high into the air before rapidly descending toward the ground.

He had already begun to consider retreating. Harry's sudden display of flying talent had given him a bad feeling.

But he had only dropped a meter when he heard, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The Flying Broomstick continued descending, but Malfoy was left behind, frozen quietly in midair.

"Ah—ah—ah—help!" Malfoy was terrified, wildly flailing his arms and legs in the air.

Harry was already chasing the Remembrall Malfoy had thrown, and had long since flown up to the castle towers.

So he did not hear Malfoy's cries for help. Otherwise, he definitely would have turned back for a look.

Crabbe, Goyle, and the other Slytherin students were in a chaotic mess on the ground, but no one dared get on a broomstick to bring Malfoy down.

"Put Malfoy down!" the chubby Goyle shouted at Tierra, but he did not dare approach, because Tierra was holding not only a wand but also a broomstick.

Ever since Crabbe and Goyle had been beaten senseless on the train last time, they had learned just how formidable Tierra was. They only dared talk tough from a distance.

"Put him down!" Pansy, the ugly Little Witch, chimed in. "Otherwise, when Madam Hooch gets back, I'll make you regret it."

"Madam Hooch's order was not to touch the broomsticks before she returned." Tierra smiled faintly, putting on a righteous expression as he said, "Student Malfoy violated Madam Hooch's order by taking a broomstick into the air without anyone protecting him. When I saw Malfoy about to slip off his broomstick, I used the Levitation Charm to save him from getting hurt."

"Madam Hooch should praise me!"

As soon as Tierra said this, the area immediately fell silent.

Everything he had said was true. Madam Hooch had indeed strictly forbidden the young wizards from flying their broomsticks.

"That's not right! Malfoy was about to come down, but you suddenly used the Levitation Charm to freeze him in midair!" Pansy suddenly realized.

"Is that so? What I saw was Malfoy about to fall off his broomstick." Tierra then looked at the Gryffindor students. "Madam Hooch should give Gryffindor points, right?"

"Right!" At the mention of points, nearly all the Gryffindor students eagerly echoed him.

As an adult, stirring up the young wizards' emotions was as easy as pie for Tierra.

While the two sides were confronting each other, Harry slowly flew back, still clutching the Remembrall in his hand.

"Yeah! Yeah!" the Gryffindor crowd shouted.

"Harry Potter!"

But their cheers were quickly interrupted by Professor McGonagall, who was running toward them.

"And Malfoy—what, what is going on here?" McGonagall spotted Draco Malfoy hovering in midair at once.

"Professor McGonagall!" Tierra stepped forward and, before McGonagall could explode, rattled off in one breath, "Malfoy violated Madam Hooch's orders and flew into the air on his own. He even snatched the Remembrall from the injured Neville! Harry tried to stop Mr. Malfoy, but Malfoy showed no remorse and threw the Remembrall far away instead. Then he lost his balance and fell off his broomstick, so I used the Levitation Charm to suspend him in midair temporarily. Professor McGonagall, please bring Malfoy down quickly."

Tierra poured out a long string of words in one breath, putting on an appropriately anxious expression.

With Tierra interrupting her like that, much of McGonagall's anger faded. Instead, she looked back and forth between Tierra and Harry with some surprise.

It left Tierra utterly baffled. What did this have to do with him?

"Mr. Wu, how long have you been keeping Malfoy suspended in midair?" McGonagall asked.

"Um... probably... a few minutes?" Tierra answered uncertainly.

By then, Harry had dismounted his broomstick and stood obediently behind Tierra with his hands behind his back and his head lowered.

Tierra had never received a systematic wizarding education, so he did not know how immense the magical power required to keep a living creature suspended in midair was for a first-year student.

"Harry, come with me." McGonagall waved her wand, and Malfoy, floating in midair, drifted gently down to the ground like a feather.

The moment Malfoy landed, he suddenly burst into loud tears. Even Tierra felt a little guilty listening to him, wondering whether he had gone a bit too far with Malfoy.

"Harry, come with me." With that, Professor McGonagall strode toward the castle, while Harry mechanically followed behind her.

With Malfoy, their backbone, scared out of his wits, Slytherin put up no effective resistance and remained as quiet as mice until Madam Hooch returned.

Of course, there was no reaction after Madam Hooch returned either. Only Malfoy, once he had recovered somewhat, kept glaring hatefully at Tierra.

Having achieved his goal, Tierra did not intend to provoke Malfoy again for some time afterward.

At dinner, Harry returned in high spirits. Though he was filthy, he looked positively radiant.

He told Ron and Tierra what had happened after he and Professor McGonagall left the field.

Ron was lifting a steak-and-kidney pie to his mouth, but halfway there, he forgot all about it.

"A Seeker?" he said. "But first-years never... You must be the youngest House team player in years."

"In a century," Harry said, pinching off a piece of pie and stuffing it into his mouth. After that thrilling afternoon, he felt especially hungry.

"Wood told me." Harry glanced at Tierra after speaking and found Tierra smiling at him too, still wearing that faint smile.

Ron, on the other hand, had an enormous reaction. He was too astonished, too shocked, and could only sit there, staring blankly at Harry.

"I start training next week," Harry said. "Don't tell anyone, though. Wood wants to keep it secret."

At that moment, Fred and George Weasley entered the Great Hall. They spotted Harry at once and hurried over.

"Well done," George said softly. "Wood told us. We're on the House team too—we're Beaters."

"I'm telling you, we're definitely taking the Quidditch Cup this year," Fred said. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year, our team is definitely going to shine. You're bound to be brilliant, Harry. When Wood told us, he was so excited he could barely get the words out."

"But we have to go. Lee Jordan thinks he's found a new secret passage that leads outside the school."

"I'm guessing it's the passage behind the statue of Gregory the Flatterer. We found that in our first week here. See you."