Merlin's Big Underpants!

Chapter 27 Merlin's Baggy Pants! Brooke and Hermione had only just arrived at the pitch.

The twins each came running over with two broomsticks in hand.

Fred was slightly out of breath as he handed the two dark brown brooms to Brook and Hermione respectively.

"Whew, Cleansweep Seven, the Quidditch team's broomsticks. Not as good as a Nimbus 2000, but way better than those old relics from Flying Class."

George winked and deliberately lowered his voice.

"But be careful—if you break them..."

He dragged out the last syllable, and they said in unison with Fred:

"Wood will skin us alive."

They exaggeratedly hugged their shoulders and shivered.

"But if you really do break them..." Fred suddenly put on a sly expression, tapping the broom handle with his fingertip.

"How about Master Brook buys two Nimbus 2000s to pay off the debt? Just in time to lend to the team for practice."

Brook rubbed his thumb over the dragon-hide binding on the broom handle, lost in thought.

All the first-year wizards today were talking about flying and Quidditch.

He also knew that Quidditch needed seven people.

If the Nimbus 2000 wasn't too expensive, buying seven and lending them to the Quidditch team might earn him the goodwill of the entire Gryffindor house.

No matter how he figured it, it was absolutely a win.

"How much is a Nimbus 2000?"

"Merlin's beard!" George nearly choked on his own spit. "You can't be serious? Each one costs five hundred Gold Galleons!"

"Hiss!" Brook sucked in a sharp breath.

That shop in Diagon Alley had only cost him a thousand Gold Galleons.

Two broomsticks were worth an entire shop.

This was basically the Lamborghini of the wizarding world!

Counting the nearly two thousand Gold Galleons left in his vault, he'd thought he was rich.

Guess he'd been too hasty.

Hermione suddenly cut in, "School rules clearly forbid first-years from bringing brooms!"

She stood in front of Brook like a protective lioness, her finger nearly poking the twins' noses.

"Ah, right, right, right." Fred grinned and stepped back half a pace, his gaze sweeping over Brook's twitching mouth.

"Flying Class is starting." George smoothly changed the subject.

Practical teaching was far more thrilling than theory.

The twins had Brook and Hermione mount their brooms right away.

One took charge of each, starting the instruction.

"Keep your balance!"

George circled around while riding his broom backward. "Imagine your spine is a second broom handle..."

"Good, just like that, Hermione. You can give the broom handle a light tug to lift a bit higher, and speed up a little too."

George rode his broom, guarding beside Hermione.

But she was flying at a snail's pace two meters off the ground.

His protection seemed a bit unnecessary.

The little girl's face flushed slightly, her eyes full of excitement and nervousness.

No matter how George encouraged her, she never dared to pull the broom higher.

But as the flight continued, she gradually regained some confidence.

As for Brook's side, it was a lot wilder.

At first, he followed Fred's instructions properly.

Sitting steadily on the broom, feeling the breeze brush past.

But scenes of sword-flying from his past life kept overlapping in his mind like a movie.

He suddenly pushed off with both hands and stood up on the broom.

The wind howled past his ears, and he felt as if he had merged with heaven and earth.

Only then did Brook experience an unprecedented exhilaration.

He suddenly understood why wizards' flying style had always felt a bit off to him.

Because as a man of the Great Xia, pride in standing between heaven and earth was forever in his bones.

"Riding the true course of heaven, steering the six breaths of change."

This was the freedom he sought.

"Merlin's baggy trousers!"

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Fred's jaw nearly hit the floor.

He hurriedly steered his broom to accelerate after Brook, his wand gripped tight.

"Slow down! Slow down! Brook, ahead..."

Just as Brook was about to crash into the stands, he stomped his right foot hard on the broom's tip.

The broom shot vertically up along the stands, carving a perfect semicircle thirty meters in the air.

"I must be crazy. What did I just see?"

Fred forgot to steer for a moment, his eyes locked on Brook.

George's shout cracked with excitement, "Unbelievable! Brook!"

Brook had finished his romp, gradually guiding the broom to a stop five meters above the grass.

Hermione's scream pierced the sky.

"Brook!!!"

When she saw his death-defying move, anger overpowered fear, and she shot her broom straight at him.

In a flash of lightning, two figures collided midair.

"Holy crap."

Brook wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist, turning his back to the ground to shield her tightly.

He kept casting the Levitation Charm on himself, trying to slow their fall.

The twins were stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Snapping out of it, they hurriedly cast deceleration charms, but their aim was off, and the spells didn't work as intended.

With a soft thud, Brook and Hermione hit the grass.

Brook felt a sting in his back.

But his Levitation Charm seemed to have worked—it felt about as bad as a stumble, no real injury.

"Hermione, you okay?"

Hermione snapped out of her shock, her eyes full of fear.

Her voice trembled, "I... I'm fine, Brook. How about you? It's all my fault..."

"I'm fine, but you're a bit heavy," Brook teased.

"I—I am not."

Hermione pouted and scrambled off Brook.

If Brook could joke, it meant he really was fine.

Hermione's fear and worry faded bit by bit with his joke.

Just then, the twins flew over in a hurry.

They landed beside Brook and Hermione, concern written all over their faces.

"Are you two okay? Any injuries?" Fred asked anxiously.

Brook smiled faintly, "I'm fine, and Hermione's okay too."

George let out a sigh of relief, "Thank Merlin, you're both fine. That scared the hell out of us."

He and Fred helped pull Brook to his feet.

"Brook, you're a genius. That vertical spin was insane."

Fred grabbed Brook's shoulder excitedly.

"If Wood had seen that, he'd drag you onto the Quidditch team for sure."

George's eyes gleamed with hope, eager for Brook to give a yes.

"Too bad first-years can't join the team, or we'd have our Seeker sorted," Fred said, a bit disappointed.

"What if we begged Professor McGonagall?" George suggested.

The twins said in unison, "Brook, you want in, right!"

"Ah, I'll think about it."

Brook really wasn't that interested in Quidditch.

His principle was: if you can sit, don't stand; if you can lie down, don't sit.

So when it came to sports, he'd rather be a spectator than a player.

Of course, there was one sport that was an exception.

The twins tried to persuade Brook a few more times, but seeing his firm stance, they didn't push further.

Their measured approach made Brook think a bit more highly of them.

He hated people who stuck like glue the most.

Afterward, Brook couldn't escape a round of complaints from Hermione.

After all, his earlier move of stomping the broomstick into a vertical spin had looked genuinely dangerous.

He just listened with a chuckle.