The second Quidditch match before Christmas, Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff, ended in an upset.
Before the match, everyone thought Hufflepuff had the better chance of winning. The two sides' Chasers were about evenly matched, with Ravenclaw even slightly stronger, but the clear gap between their Seekers was hard to overcome.
Cedric was noticeably better than Cho Chang in skill, experience, and fitness.
A few people in the know had also revealed that, shortly before the match, Cedric had subtly shown an interest in Cho Chang. Then Harry had swooped in like a god descending from heaven and stolen her heart. Within a week they were holding hands, within two they were kissing, and they had officially announced that they were dating.
Cho Chang had never responded to Cedric's advances, so Harry certainly couldn't be accused of stealing someone else's girlfriend.
Still, there was no way this counted as nothing. It was only because they were in Britain. Among the Russians or in France, this might well have sparked a duel, the kind that wouldn't end until someone was dead.
There might not have been a duel in Britain, but Cedric was definitely unhappy. And with him unhappy, all of Hufflepuff was bound to be unhappy too.
An aggrieved army was sure to win!
That was why almost everyone had favored Hufflepuff before the match. But once it began, they were all dumbfounded.
Out on the pitch, Cho Chang wasn't riding the Comet 260 everyone had seen her use before (another weakness people had identified before the match, since Cedric rode a Nimbus 2001, theoretically a whole class above the Comet). Instead, she was riding a dazzling Firebolt.
Just how scarce were Firebolts?
Even now, some professional teams still hadn't managed to equip themselves with them.
Although the Firebolt's undefeated record against