New Broom and Good News (3)

She cleared her throat and continued reading. "To express our sincerest apologies and thank you for your continued trust and support of the Nimbus brand, the Nimbus Company will, as quickly as possible, deliver a brand-new, not-yet-publicly-released 'Nimbus 2001 Hogwarts Special Commemorative Limited Edition' broom to Hogwarts as compensation and a token of our goodwill, to be personally handed over to you by Professor McGonagall."

The hospital ward fell silent in an instant.

It was so quiet that they could hear the wind threading between the castle towers outside, so quiet that they could hear a Hufflepuff student with a cold sneeze in the ward next door.

Then Ron's voice exploded.

"Nimbus 2001? And a special limited edition?!" His eyes went as round as Galleons, and some nearly crazed, jackpot-winning gleam reflected in his blue pupils. "Merlin's Peeves! That's absolutely brilliant! Malfoy's been showing off nonstop just because he bought an ordinary one! A limited edition? How fast must that be?!"

He sprang up from his chair, sat back down, then sprang up again, as though he were doing a round of chest compressions. His mouth hung open and would not close, while the freckles on his face darkened with excitement, as if someone had scattered reddish-brown sesame seeds over them.

Fred and George whistled too. Fred's whistle was long and shrill, like an owl's cry, while George's was short and sharp, like a referee's whistle. "Wow! A blessing in disguise, Harry!" Fred said, the first genuine smile in days finally appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Limited edition!" George chimed in, his eyes sparkling. "Maybe it's even gold-plated? With the Hogwarts crest engraved on it?"

"Or a Slytherin snake?" Fred deliberately added.

"Shut up," George said with a laugh, shoving him.

Harry was stunned.

The news had come