Firebolt

At Hogwarts, the first day of school is the hardest to get through. Except for a few exceptions, all the other students are not happy on this day.

This day not only marked the official end of the enjoyable holiday, but also meant staying up all night to catch up on homework... The lights were on all night in almost every college's common room.

But this year is different.

On the first day of school, a message on the bulletin board at the entrance of the Great Hall made everyone instantly forget all the other unpleasant things.

Professor Lupin's Patronus Charm Club finally began, scheduled for 8 p. m. the following day, in the same Great Hall as last year.

"I can't wait..."

"I really want it to start soon..."

"Why can't it be tonight...?"

The crowd was excitedly discussing it.

Although it's rare to see Dementor on campus these days, the scene that happened on the Quidditch Pitch last time was so memorable that I can't forget it.

Especially those Patronus, shimmering with silver light and resembling elves, captivated everyone's hearts.

"Oh, is it finally going to begin?" Cedric was equally excited.

His Patronus Charm was stuck at the last step; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't condense the silver light into a true Patronus.

"Are you going, Kyle?" Kanna asked. "Or are you staying in the common room?"

"Let's go together, consider it a chance to learn more," Kyle said. "I doubt there will be many people left in the common room tomorrow, and it wouldn't be very interesting for me to go back alone."

Such large-scale events are rare at Hogwarts and are definitely not to be missed.

"Harry, look! Professor Lupin is about to teach us a spell to deal with Dementor!"

Just then, Ron's excited voice suddenly came from beside them.

"Once you learn this spell, along with the world's best Broomstick Firebolt, you'll definitely crush the other academies..."

Um?

Cedric's ears twitched, and he quickly caught the key point.

He turned his head quickly and asked, "Ron, you just said Harry bought a Firebolt?"

"Ah, no..."

Ron was startled and quickly denied it, saying, "You misheard me, I didn't say anything."

He then remembered that Oliver Wood intended to Firebolt as a secret weapon and not let them tell anyone.

And Gryffindor's next opponent happens to be Hufflepuff.

In other words, this secret weapon was designed to deal with Cedric and Kyle.

Ron quickly came up with an excuse to get away with it.

Before he could even speak, Harry, standing beside him, blurted out:

"I didn't buy it; I couldn't afford such an expensive broom," he said. "The Firebolt was a Christmas present."

"Hey, Harry!" Ron tugged at Harry's sleeve and whispered, "Is it really okay to just tell them like that? Don't forget our next match is against Hufflepuff."

"It's alright, Ron." Harry shook his head gently. "Firebolt is the fastest broomstick. Even if they find out, I won't lose."

"Alright then..." Ron sighed.

On the other side, upon learning that the Firebolt was a Christmas present from someone else, Cedric gasped and said with envy,

"I remember you lived with your aunt and uncle, right? They were so good to you..."

You've misunderstood.

The mention of his aunt and uncle caused Harry's smile to vanish, replaced by a truly ugly expression, as if he were seeing Snape with a sinister grin. He quickly explained:

"They wouldn't even give me a regular broom for cleaning, unless it's a broken one they don't want anymore."

"Not your aunt and uncle?" Cedric asked, somewhat puzzled. "Who else would send you something so valuable...?"

"I don't know either." Harry shook his head. "But Hermione said it might have been given to me by Sirius Black, so that... um... I would fall down during the game."

"That's nonsense!" Ron said angrily. "Black is busy dodging Dementor, how could he possibly go to Diagon Alley to buy a broom!"

Ron's ears turned red from anger.

"And Professor McGonagall believed that too. She even said she wanted to take the Firebolt apart! It's Firebolt, you know! Take it apart? That's absurd!"

Kyle noticed that Hermione was indeed not with them; the usually inseparable trio were unusually separated.

"It's not impossible," Cedric shrugged. "A gift of unknown origin, no matter how valuable, should be carefully examined."

"Just to put my mind at ease. Don't forget Harry's going to fly fifty feet high; it would be too dangerous if they found out there was something wrong with the broom then."

Ron pursed his lips, clearly not believing that was possible, and muttered under his breath, "Anyway, Professor McGonagall has taken the Firebolt now, so you're probably hoping something's wrong with it, right? That way..."

He said something else after that, but his voice was too soft for anyone to hear.

Harry looked a little embarrassed. "Don't get me wrong, Ron didn't mean that, did he?"

"I understand." Cedric didn't really pay attention to Ron's words.

"What he said isn't entirely wrong. If I said I had absolutely no such thoughts, I probably wouldn't even believe it myself."

But Harry, losing the game is much better than falling from the sky again.

"And there's still plenty of time before the match, enough time for Professor McGonagall to complete the examination."

"Yes, I know," Harry said.

That basically concludes the discussion.

Before leaving, Kyle suddenly looked at Ron and asked, "What if that broom really was a gift from Black?"

"Then I will apologize to Hermione and Professor McGonagall," Ron said, "But that's impossible."

I hope you're right.

Kyle walked past Ron, and Harry seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

Back in the common room, Cedric suddenly slapped his thigh and began pacing aimlessly.

Although he didn't say it, he was still quite concerned about Gryffindor Firebolt.

He knew that the Firebolt could accelerate to 150 miles per hour in just ten seconds, and its top speed could even reach 300 miles per hour.

His Nimbus 1700 can only reach a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour, which is basically no match for the Firebolt. Unless he can catch the Golden Snitch before Harry can react.

But this is equally difficult.

Having been Harry's rival for three years, Cedric knew Harry's strength very well.

He's an excellent Seeker, it's impossible for him to make such a mistake. It might be more likely if it were Malfoy from Slytherin.

Hopefully, this year won't end in defeat.

"Kyle ..."

After circling around a few times, Cedric suddenly asked, "Do you think there might actually be something wrong with that Firebolt?"

"It's unlikely," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "It's not that easy to tamper with a broom, especially a broom like the Firebolt that's coveted by all professional teams. Its safety features are naturally even more important."

Moreover, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Professors are present at every match at Hogwarts, so even if Harry did fall, he wouldn't be hurt.

Black had studied here before; there was no reason he wouldn't know that.

"Oh..."

After listening to Kyle's analysis, Cedric sighed softly and continued pacing.

He needs to think of a way to counter the Firebolt.