The 86 Goes Uphill

Watching the old broom lying stiffly on the ground, Roy copied the others and held out his hand, calling softly:

"Up."

The broken stick on the ground did not move an inch. If he had not seen Cedric summon his broom into his hand beside him, he would have suspected the thing could not fly at all.

"Up!"

Roy shouted twice more in succession, but the broom still did not budge. Seeing the students around him successfully get their brooms one after another, he could not help wondering if his own was broken.

"Hey, Cedric, help me see if this broom of mine is broken."

Roy kicked the broom on the ground over to Cedric's feet. Cedric held his own broom in one hand, stretched out the other, and said quietly:

"Up."

The broom that had stubbornly refused to listen immediately floated up obediently and landed steadily in Cedric's hand.

Cedric tossed the broom back, and Roy caught it in one hand.

"Looks like it isn't broken. Maybe you should be more sincere?"

Faced with Cedric's unreliable suggestion, Roy refused to believe it and held out his hand again, shouting repeatedly.

"Up, up, get up!"

Most of the young wizards on the field had already gotten their brooms into their hands. Roy gradually grew anxious. Why would this broom just not listen to him?

Noticing more and more people looking his way, Roy felt a little embarrassed. Bee Bro still had his reputation to uphold at school. With things having come to this, Roy could only secretly use a spell.

"Broom, come here."

Roy used an extremely refined wandless, nonverbal Summoning Charm. Most fully qualified wizards might not even be able to cast a spell this difficult, but for Roy, who had mastered Ancient Magic, it was not much harder than an ordinary Summoning Charm.

Many people who had wanted to laugh at Roy saw that he had gotten his broom into his hand as well. Finding it dull, they turned away and began studying their own flying brooms.

Seeing that nearly all the young wizards had their brooms in hand, Madam Hooch began instructing them to mount their brooms and hover.

Everyone followed suit, straddling their brooms and giving a light push with their legs. Their feet left the ground.

The broom might not listen to Roy, but flying one was no challenge for him. Back when he had been in the military, he had done everything from soaring through the skies to crawling through the dirt. He quickly figured out the procedures and principles for controlling a flying broom.

It was obvious that many students already knew how to ride flying brooms. Some were not satisfied with merely hovering and kept bobbing up and down through the air.

No one did anything especially outrageous in this class. Children being a little lively in PE was harmless enough. Once the last young wizard had safely taken off, Madam Hooch announced that they could spend the rest of the time freely.

Of course, Madam Hooch did not dare relax. These little ancestors could fall out of the sky at any moment. Flying patrols through the air on her broom, she kept a tight grip on her wand, ready to use the Levitation Charm to catch any student who fell at the first sign of trouble.

Marcus Flint's flying skills really were impressive. He rode his broom back and forth through the air like a rocket, and from time to time flew over to Aisling's side, showing off his skills like a gorilla in mating season.

Even seated on a flying broom, Aisling maintained an elegant posture. A group of Slytherin girls hovered around her, while she remained utterly indifferent to Marcus Flint's constant boasting.

Fred and George were also excellent fliers. Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor was no worse than the twin brothers, despite being a girl.

Among the Hufflepuffs, Cedric was the best flier. He did not ride around showing off fancy maneuvers. His ability lay in pure control and physical coordination, with a deceptively simple yet formidable mastery of turning and accelerating.

As for Roy? Don't make Bee Bro laugh. Would a special forces soldier who had flown fighter jets on the battlefield fail to figure out how to ride a lousy broom?

Flying on a broom was pretty interesting, but only that. After flying around for a while, Roy went to sit in the stands and rest.

While chatting with the other students seated in the stands, Roy kept an eye on what was happening in the air.

Sure enough, it was impossible for Slytherin and Gryffindor not to clash. Marcus Flint mocked the Weasley Twins for being too poor to afford a decent flying broom, and the brothers immediately shot back that Slytherin had not won the Quidditch Cup in years. In recent years, they said, Slytherin had repeatedly been defeated by Weasley's Bill and Charlie working together.

The atmosphere instantly became tense, and the conflict escalated. Cedric stepped forward to break it up, but Slytherin already had no fondness for Hufflepuff. Just as an aerial brawl at Hogwarts seemed ready to erupt, Madam Hooch stepped in and sharply stopped everyone.

With a professor intervening, there was naturally no way for them to fight.

Marcus Flint was seething with anger and directly proposed settling the matter with a flying contest. The losing side would have to apologize to the other house.

Gryffindor immediately refused to back down. Cedric had originally wanted to stay out of the dispute, but the Weasley Twins dragged him into the competition.

"Fine! We'll see who can fly around all of Hogwarts's towers first! If we lose, we'll admit we're inferior to you Slytherins. If you lose, admit defeat properly!"

Though Angelina Johnson was a girl, she was not the least bit intimidated by the tall, powerfully built Marcus Flint.

"Fine! If I win, you Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs will all have to admit that you're no match for us Slytherins!"

Provoked like that by Flint, even Cedric's good temper could not endure it. His voice carried a trace of anger.

"Then let's compete. We Hufflepuffs aren't afraid of you."

How could Roy miss something this lively? He rode his broom into the air with a teasing smile on his face.

"A competition? Count me in too!"

In the end, each of the four houses selected two contestants. The course required them to fly around all of Hogwarts's towers, then return.

Gryffindor sent Fred and Angelina. Hufflepuff fielded the brotherly racing duo of Roy and Cedric. Slytherin sent Flint and another student from a pure-blood family.

Before the competition began, Cedric brought over a slightly newer broom to exchange with Roy.

"That Nimbus 86 in your hand is too slow. They're all using Cleansweep Sevens. You'll be at a disadvantage with that broom."

Roy waved a hand arrogantly, his tone making it clear that he did not take the others seriously at all.

"Why would I need to change brooms just to deal with them? Roy's blade doesn't cut the old or the young. Just watch me drift."

The students from several houses were all extremely enthusiastic about the competition. Six brooms hovered at the starting line, while thunderous cheers came from the stands.

Fueled by adrenaline, Cedric was incredibly excited. The others were no better. No one traded trash talk now; every expression was more serious than the last.

Those who wanted to win did not smile. Fred had his eyes closed, sitting motionlessly on his broom as though he had already been flying for some time.

Cedric glanced at Roy beside him. No matter when it was, Roy always looked calm and composed. Cedric took a deep breath, his eyes turning deathly focused as he waited for the starting signal.

Madam Hooch personally served as referee and blew her whistle hard. All six flying brooms shot forward at once.