Stunning Test Flight

Fred and George processed the unicorn's magical horn according to the earlier design blueprints. They carved runes into the horn, turning it into the magical core of a flying broom.

The Weasley Twins had never fought such a well-funded battle in their lives. A magical horn could bear far more runes than ordinary magical materials, allowing the brothers to construct their technical vision with ease.

In the end, Hermione Granger carefully embedded the flying broom's magical core, made from the unicorn's magical horn, into the middle of the broom's bamboo shaft, where it became the ferocious heart driving this performance monster.

Ron stroked the completed flying broom and murmured softly, "This is practically a work of art... Beautiful. It's just too beautiful..."

Zhang San urged, "Come on! Let's find somewhere to test the broom. Harry and the others should be training at the Quidditch pitch right now, so we can borrow the place for a test flight."

Hogwarts's annual Quidditch Cup began in November and lasted until April of the following year. At this time of year, all four Hogwarts houses seized every moment to train, and the Quidditch pitch was never idle.

Today happened to be Gryffindor's training time, so Zhang San and the others could use the Gryffindor team's training ground to conduct the broom's test flight.

Fred and George were also members of the Gryffindor house team. However, the time the two brothers spent researching prank items and flying brooms had seriously eaten into their Quidditch training, and they had nearly been kicked off the team by Gryffindor's captain, Wood.

By the time the group arrived at the Quidditch pitch, Fred and George's faces were filled with conflict.

They really had no face to show their teammates. Their lack of training had caused Gryffindor to lose to Slytherin in the first match of the season.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, had conscientiously fulfilled his duties as Seeker, circling the pitch with due diligence. Though he eventually caught the Golden Snitch, ending the first match in spectacular fashion.

But Gryffindor's front line had been crushed by Slytherin. Even though Harry caught the Golden Snitch at the end and earned Gryffindor one hundred and fifty points, they still lost narrowly because their total score could not overcome the deficit.

If the Weasley Twins had not been naturally optimistic, the pressure of losing the match would have sent them straight into depression long ago.

So they were still rather awkward when facing their teammates. The loss really had been their fault, and there was no way they could wash their hands of the responsibility.

Oliver Wood looked displeased as he watched the group arrive at the Quidditch pitch. In a sarcastic tone, he asked, "Well, if it isn't our busy inventors, the Weasley brothers?"

Fred gave a tactical cough. "Ahem... Captain, we brought the secret weapon that'll win us the Quidditch Cup."

Wood looked at the strange-looking broom in Ron's hands and asked, "This is your secret weapon?"

Fred gave a dry laugh. "That's right. Trust me, you're about to witness a miracle."

Zhang San called over Harry Potter, who had been training. "Harry, ride your Nimbus 2000 as the control group in a moment."

Harry had long known that Zhang San and the others had been researching flying brooms these past few months. He had served as the control subject more than once, so he was already thoroughly familiar with the work.

"Is this the latest prototype?" Harry Potter asked, looking at the bamboo broom.

Zhang San nodded. "Unless something goes wrong, this will be the ultimate version. It'll push the Quidditch pitch's top speed to new heights."

Harry said with a smile, "I'm looking forward to it!"

At that point, Wood could no longer be bothered with being angry. He called the players down from the air and cleared the pitch for the broom test to prevent any collisions.

Although Captain Wood was dissatisfied with Fred and George's training attitude, they were actually quite close in private. At a critical moment like this, he naturally had to support his brothers. Any complaints or snide remarks could wait until later.

Under the intense scrutiny of the Gryffindor players, Harry Potter mounted his Nimbus 2000, while Ron Weasley climbed onto the "Bamboo Mark I" they had brought.

Wood raised an arm and shouted, "Training Route One, prepare for takeoff..."

"Tweet!" With a shrill whistle, Harry and Ron pushed off with both feet at the same time, their brooms carrying them straight into the sky.

The moment the brooms took off, the gap in their performance became glaringly obvious. The Nimbus 2000 had a top speed of three hundred kilometers per hour, while the Bamboo Mark I had a theoretical top speed of eight hundred kilometers per hour.

And eight hundred kilometers per hour was not the broom's limit—it was the limit of what its rider could endure. Since competition flying brooms were not allowed to have protective barrier magic applied to them, flying at eight hundred kilometers per hour was practically suicidal for a wizard.

Thus, from the moment they took off, Harry on the Nimbus 2000 could only eat Ron's dust from behind, and he soon realized in despair that the distance between them was steadily widening.

Harry therefore lost his status as the control group, and the rest of the test could only be Ron's solo performance.

He needed to complete Training Route One for Quidditch. For a flying broom, fast straight-line acceleration alone was not enough, because all kinds of unexpected situations could arise on the Quidditch pitch.

For example, being surrounded by opponents or struck by Bludgers. These required a flying broom to have outstanding maneuverability, excellent balance, and responsive handling, allowing a wizard to perform difficult moves such as sharp turns and precise hovering even at high speeds.

The Quidditch players' usual training routes included these drills. Running through several classic training routes was enough to basically test the quality of a broom's performance.

Ron's performance next practically made the Gryffindor players' eyes pop out. Unmatched acceleration, sudden stops so violent they could not keep Newton's coffin lid shut, and flashy, nimble maneuvering... Every bit of it demonstrated the Bamboo Mark I's terrifying performance.

Oliver Wood froze. He grabbed Fred by the arm and asked, "What kind of broom is this? How can it be so powerful?"

"This is the result of several months of our research—the Bamboo Mark I. Of course, this is only the laboratory version. Its materials are unimaginably expensive. The mass-produced model's performance will definitely be reduced; it won't be this terrifying," Fred explained.

Wood stared intently at the Bamboo Mark I. If Gryffindor had brooms this powerful, wouldn't they be able to sweep across the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch?

If their Chasers could ride something like this, the opposing team could exhaust themselves and still never catch up... Wouldn't they be able to score however they wanted?

Riding the Bamboo Mark I, Ron easily dominated Quidditch Training Route One. He completed the entire course in only one-third of the time others needed.

The result left everyone stunned. If such a powerful broom appeared on the Quidditch pitch, every other brand of flying broom would become trash.

Terrifying—simply terrifying... A group of little Hogwarts wizards had actually developed a flying broom that utterly crushed its competitors in performance. This could practically shake up the entire flying broom industry.

Nimbus was dumbfounded, Comet was shocked... Firebolt wept bitterly and said: Why did the world make me, only to make you too?