The First Showdown Between Rivals

"Up!"

Harry's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable certainty.

Before the words had even left his mouth, the Comet 260 at his feet seemed to hear its master's call. With a whoosh, it sprang precisely and powerfully into his hand, like a loyal hunting dog.

"Whoa—"

Gasps rose from the crowd.

Ron's mouth fell open in envy.

A flicker of unmistakable jealousy crossed Malfoy's face.

A hint of approval showed in Madam Hooch's hawk-like eyes. "Very good, Mr. Potter."

Then her sharp gaze was caught by an even more incredible sight.

Lin Yuan.

He hadn't even spoken.

He simply stood there, gazing down at the broom by his feet.

Then the broom moved.

It didn't "jump" or "leap."

It "floated" upward with a slow, graceful ease that seemed to defy gravity.

Without making a sound, like a feather lifted by a gentle breeze, it rose vertically in an incredibly smooth, gentle motion until it reached the level of Lin Yuan's palm. Then, like the most obedient pet, it settled meekly into his hand.

The whole thing was as fluid as a work of art.

If Harry's success was an explosion of talent and instinct, full of wild beauty,

then Lin Yuan's was a display of absolute control, with a chilling elegance that spoke of order and law.

"..."

The gasps around them abruptly stopped.

Everyone stared blankly at Lin Yuan and the broom in his hand, which was far too docile to seem real—as if they'd all been hit with Petrificus Totalus.

Ron's mouth gaped even wider, wide enough to fit a Quaffle.

Hermione's brow furrowed deeply. Her mind raced, searching through every book she'd ever read for a reasonable explanation, but in the end, she came up empty.

Malfoy's expression had shifted from jealousy to disbelieving fury.

The approval in Madam Hooch's hawk-like eyes had turned to utter shock.

She'd taught Flying Class for so many years and seen countless talented students, including Charlie Weasley and Harry's father, James Potter.

But she'd never seen anything like this.

It was as if the broom were offering its loyalty to its king.

"...Th-that was very good too, Mr. Lin." Madam Hooch cleared her throat, forcing down her shock and regaining her instructor's authority. "All right, everyone else! Keep going! Don't stop until your brooms obey you!"

For the next ten minutes, most of the students struggled fiercely with their brooms.

For Lin Yuan, it was a somewhat boring wait.

He watched the "script" unfold around him, right on schedule.

At last, under Madam Hooch's guidance, everyone managed to make their broom jump into their hand.

"Good. Now, mount your brooms," Madam Hooch ordered, her voice carrying a note of warning. "Don't take off yet. I want you to get a feel for your broom's balance first. When I blow my whistle, push hard off the ground with both feet, rise a few feet, then drop straight back down."

But mishaps were always an indispensable part of the "script."

Just before Madam Hooch could put the whistle to her lips—

"Ah—!"

A terrified scream shattered the calm of the training ground.

Neville Longbottom.

His poor broom seemed to have suddenly developed a will of its own. Before he could even prepare, it shot into the sky.

"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted, but it was already too late.

Neville flew higher and higher, screaming like a rag doll strapped to a runaway rocket and spinning wildly in the air.

At last, he slipped off the broom and fell from twenty feet up. The soft grass broke his fall, but a bone-chilling crack still rang out.

His broom kept climbing, drifted into the castle's stone wall, then vanished into the distance.

Madam Hooch rushed over at once to check Neville's injuries.

"His wrist is broken," she announced, her face grim. "Poor boy. All right, all of you stay exactly where you are! Don't move! Anyone who leaves the ground will be expelled from Hogwarts! I'm taking him to the Hospital Wing."

With that, she hurried off, supporting the sobbing Neville.

The moment she was gone, Lin Yuan knew that another key moment in the "main plot" had arrived.

Sure enough.

"Did you see that? The look on that idiot's face!" Draco Malfoy burst into a shrill, gleeful laugh.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Parvati Patil snapped angrily.

"Oh, are you standing up for Longbottom?" Pansy, the Slytherin girl who looked like a pug, said shrilly. "I never thought you'd be into whiny little fat boys, Patil."

Just then, Malfoy's eyes lit up.

He bent down and picked a glittering glass ball off the grass.

"Look!" he said, holding it up triumphantly. "It's that idiot's Remembrall!"

"Give it back, Malfoy!" Harry stepped forward at once, his voice cold and firm.

"No." A nasty smile spread across Malfoy's face. "I think I'll hide it somewhere... interesting. How about up on the roof?"

He swung onto his broom and, with a practiced push off the ground, easily rose into the air, a taunting smile on his face.

"Want it, Potter? Come and get it!"

Harry's face flushed scarlet.

Madam Hooch's warning still rang in his ears, but his anger at seeing his friend bullied and his instinctive sense of justice made him cast those warnings aside.

He mounted his broom and pushed off hard without a moment's hesitation.

"Whoosh—"

He shot into the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow.

"Harry, don't!" Hermione's scream was left far behind.

High in the air, the chase between the "rivals" began.

Harry flew with raw, natural talent.

He seemed to have become one with his broom. Every turn and burst of speed came instinctively, precise and swift.

Malfoy was a decent flyer too, but against Harry, a natural Seeker, he soon found himself struggling to keep up.

At last, Malfoy angrily flung the Remembrall high into the air, then turned and flew back toward the ground.

Like a hunting falcon, Harry swooped down in a beautiful burst of speed and caught it securely just before it hit the ground.

On the ground, the Gryffindor students erupted into thunderous cheers.

But just then, a stern voice froze every cheer.

"Harry Potter!"

Professor McGonagall had appeared on the training ground at some point. Her face was darker than the sky before a storm.

"Come with me."

Harry's face turned deathly pale.

Everyone thought he was about to be expelled.