Malfoy and Harry

After leaving the Seventh Floor corridor, the two prepared to go back to the common lounge via the stairs.

But the next second, Kyle suddenly saw Professor McGonagall walking out of the Gryffindor common room.

This wouldn't be surprising at all; Professor McGonagall is the Head of Gryffindor, so of course she would be here.

But Kyle noticed that she was also holding a beautiful broom.

The streamlined ash wood handle and the slightly upturned birch branch at the end all indicate its identity...

The world's fastest broom, the Firebolt.

Professor McGonagall looked beaming, with an undisguised smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall," Kyle said, Kanna, who was standing next to him, also greeted him.

"Good afternoon..." Professor McGonagall nodded and asked with a smile, "Have you seen Harry Potter? I have some good news to tell him."

"No," Kyle said. "We were practicing the Patronus Charm in the empty classroom and didn't notice what was happening outside."

"I see. So how's it going?" Professor McGonagall looked at Kanna.

She had already heard from some Hufflepuff students that the jellyfish Patronus from the last Quidditch match was summoned by Kyle, so she naturally didn't bother asking him.

"Almost there," Kanna said, taking out her wand.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A fist-sized ball of silver light flew out of the wand and began to swirl around Kanna.

"Oh, you've set your expectations too high," Professor McGonagall said in surprise. "For a fourteen-year-old student, being able to summon the nascent form of Patronus is a remarkable achievement."

Also, you can't judge your own performance solely based on Kyle's performance; that's inaccurate."

Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a really good mood, not only giving Kanna plenty of affirmation, but even cracking a little joke to comfort her.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The Patronus Charm won't be on the exam, and you won't need it for now..."

Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Dumbledore has taken care of everything. Unless Sirius Black's whereabouts are confirmed, those Dementor will never set foot in the castle again."

Kanna nodded.

After Professor McGonagall left, she turned to Kyle and whispered, "Looks like we're in for a tough fight next week."

"Yeah." Kyle scratched his head.

Professor McGonagall appeared in the Gryffindor common room with Firebolt, looking for Harry, clearly to return his broom.

After all, given Professor McGonagall's obsession with the Quidditch Cup, she wouldn't be this happy if there really was something wrong with the broom.

The two quickly returned to the common room and told the others what had happened.

The once lively crowd suddenly fell silent, just like Snape's Potions Classroom.

Especially Cedric and his teammates...

Although they had expected this outcome, they were still somewhat at a loss when the news was actually confirmed.

So Cedric dragged Kyle to the court for extra practice.

The other members also returned to their dormitories and picked up their Broomstick.

It was too cold outside; the biting wind seemed to seep into every corner of the body. Even a training fanatic like Oliver Wood wouldn't want to stay outside in this weather.

But Hufflepuff has warm-up badges provided by Kyle, so there's no need to worry about that at all.

The Gryffindor Quidditch Team arrived in the afternoon and continued until nearly evening.

Now that many people know about the Firebolt, Oliver Wood no longer intends to keep them hidden.

They came here to test the new broom, though it's possible Oliver Wood was also showing off... After all, Gryffindor hadn't beaten Hufflepuff even once in years.

They didn't even have the right to use the playing field; they just occupied a small area on the very edge, using stones instead of the Golden Snitch for training.

Riding the Firebolt, Harry looked like a gust of wind; no matter how tricky the angle of the stone Oliver Wood threw, Harry would catch it in the next second.

Even when several players threw from different directions, not a single stone landed on the ground.

Gradually, the Hufflepuff team members lost interest in training and would often unconsciously glance to the side.

Finally, Cedric simply ended his training session early.

Kyle, carrying his broom, walked side-by-side with Cedric out of the dimly lit stadium.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber.

They had only heard about it before, but after witnessing the speed of the Firebolt firsthand, they felt their chances of winning were even slimmer.

"It's alright..." Cedric tried to lighten the mood. "Stones are different from the Golden Snitch. To be honest, even without the Firebolt, I could still do what Harry Potter just did... If you don't believe me, we can find a place to try it out."

If I miss one, I'll treat everyone to Honeydukes candies, you can choose whatever you like."

"Of course we believe you, Captain." Mikel suddenly chuckled twice. "We were just... hungry, that's why we didn't want to talk."

"That's right, that's exactly it..."

"Yes, my stomach has been rumbling since earlier..."

"I heard there's pudding today, I can't wait to eat dinner..."

The previously somber atmosphere seemed to vanish instantly, and everyone walked into the castle chatting and laughing.

The Great Hall was as lively as ever. By the time they finished putting down their brooms and came over, the Gryffindor had already arrived.

The Firebolt was placed in the center of the table, sign facing up, and many people were gathered around looking at it, congratulating Harry on getting such a fine broom to replace the Nimbus.

However, Malfoy seemed somewhat unhappy.

As Kyle entered the Great Hall, he saw Harry approaching with his two henchmen.

"This broom has many special properties, doesn't it?" A glint of malice flashed in his eyes. "It's a pity it doesn't have a parachute, in case you get too close to a Dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.

Harry ignored him and continued talking to Fred beside him, which made Malfoy's face turn very ugly.

Kyle, watching from the side, suddenly found it a little funny.

Since Harry was unintentionally saved by Malfoy, the two have not spoken to each other for a long time.

Kyle thought Malfoy would seize on this incident to ridicule Harry, but he didn't. Malfoy seemed to regard saving Harry as a disgrace and didn't mention it at all.

This time, they just came to mock Harry's fear of Dementor, again.

Seeing that the other party ignored him, Malfoy snorted coldly, narrowed his gray eyes, and strode away.

However, as he passed Kyle, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I think you should invent a protective robe; Gryffindor would definitely pool their money to buy one for their Seeker..."

Without waiting for Kyle's reply, he walked over to the other Slytherin members.

They huddled together, seemingly asking Malfoy if the broom was a real Firebolt.