Harry ignored Draco's words and instead placed the long, rectangular package she was holding on the bench next to her, beginning to unwrap the cloth covering it.
Herman came down from the stands and stood next to Draco, without saying anything to comfort her.
Replace them? How could we let them off so easily?
If Snape knew these people were talking to Harry like that, they'd be in big trouble.
Herman looked away and focused on the package Harry was unpacking.
He already had some idea of the shape: long and narrow, wider at one end than the other, wrapped tightly in dark fabric, much like the packaging seen in movies.
"What have you been up to? Why are you so late?" he asked anyway.
Harry pulled the cloth off the package, revealing a brand-new flying broom. The varnish on the broom handle gleamed with a warm amber luster in the afternoon light, and the branches at the end were neatly trimmed, each one tightly joined together, without a single fork in the branch.
The logo of Nimbus 2000 is above the broom handle, with silver lettering embedded in the dark wood grain, appearing as if it is inlaid with a layer of shattered silver when the sunlight shines on it.
Harry picked up the broom and weighed it in her hand, saying calmly, "Since we're participating in Quidditch Match, we naturally need a decent flying broom."
Herman stared at the broom, a thought racing through his mind.
Nimbus 2000. This isn't something you can just buy anytime. Although Diagon Alley sells them, the price is definitely not something someone like me, who's secretly trading money and using school grants, can afford. At the very least, I'll have to wait until my planned business with Kramer is on track.
He asked curiously, " Diagon Alley also has a delivery service, can you order remotely by mail?"
Harry rolled her eyes at him, her gaze conveying a "what the hell are you talking about?" kind of meaning. "That's a service only Muggle offer. The Wizarding World doesn't have that kind of service. I just got this; my godfather delivered it to me."
When Herman heard the word "Godfather," he silently did some mental calculations.
Sirius should be in Hogsmeade right now; it seems one visit from Sirius wasn't enough.
Has he settled down in Hogsmeade? At the very least, he made another trip to Hogsmeade today to deliver a flying broomstick to Harry. He really doesn't take the Ministry of Magic's wanted notice seriously.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. It's not surprising that a wanted criminal known as the Wizard Slayer would deliver a broom to his goddaughter in Hogsmeade. Besides, Hogsmeade is full of hooded Vampire these days, so hiding Sirius wouldn't be a big problem.
Draco leaned closer to examine the model number on the broom handle, tilted her head, and said with a hint of belated realization, "You bought it yourself? Wouldn't it be a waste if my dad gave me that flying broomstick to the Slytherin Quidditch Team in a few days?"
After she finished speaking, she paused for a moment, then, as if suddenly remembering something, glanced at Herman beside her.
His gaze held an air of "I'm very generous," and he raised his chin. "Little brother, do you want it? Or you can have it."
Herman paused for a moment, then accepted it almost without hesitation. "Thank you, big sister!"
Why not take something that's free?
Although he wasn't particularly interested in flying brooms, and even worried that riding one might be bad for his prostate, it was still a luxury in the Wizarding World, so having the chance to ride one was quite nice.
Even if you don't ride it, it's pleasing to the eye to hold.
I wouldn't really feel comfortable riding Harry, since saying "riding Harry" directly is ambiguous and I'm afraid Harry would beat me up.
Draco nodded, seemingly satisfied with her arrangement, and then turned her attention back to the court.
She stood on tiptoe, peering into the distance, muttering, "Training's starting, Harry, hurry up and get ready, don't be late."
Harry propped the broom up on her shoulder and glanced across the court.
Training has indeed begun.
Marcus blew his whistle, and all the players lined up and did warm-up runs around the field.
It was obvious that Marcus had a problem with Harry, and without any prior explanation or instruction, he went straight into sparring training.
Harry didn't join the warm-up; she stood at the edge of the court and watched for a while before finally mounting her broom and flying up after the warm-up was over.
Herman and Draco returned to the top row of the stands.
From that angle, everything on the field looked so clear it was as if it had been shrunk into an oval box, with people and brooms moving back and forth inside, at more than twice the speed they appeared to be on the ground.
The rules of the practice match were simple: a regular Quidditch Match. But because it was an internal team practice, there were no spectators to interfere, making the game faster and the competition more direct.
Draco leaned on the railing, her eyes following the red-haired figure moving back and forth across the court. At first, she was excited, but soon she started to doze off, clearly uninterested.
However, Herman remained focused, not out of interest, but because he noticed that Harry was being targeted on the field.
It started as Bludger.
The two black iron balls whizzed back and forth in the air above the field at great speed, accompanied by a dull whistling sound.
Under normal circumstances, the Bludger will randomly attack the player closest to it. The Beater's job is to use the bat to hit it in the direction of the opposing player, control its trajectory, and protect his own teammates.
But Harry's two Beater were clearly slacking off.
The two riders trailed far off at the edge of the line on broomsticks, their bats dangling in their hands. They would occasionally swing them symbolically, but most of the time they just watched the Bludger fly past them without even trying to stop it.
Meanwhile, Terence's Beater was unusually active. Every time Bludger near him, he would rush up and swing hard, sending the ball hurtling towards Harry.
Once or twice could be considered a coincidence, but three or four times is not.
The Bludger seemed to have been pre-programmed, flying towards Harry from all directions of the court, with tricky angles and increasing speed each time.
On one occasion, it even charged from Harry's blind spot from behind. If Nimbus 2000 hadn't been so agile, that ball would probably have hit her directly in the back.
Harry didn't take the hit head-on.
She swooped down on her Nimbus 2000, the broom tracing a smooth arc through the air as she passed through the narrow gap between Flint and the other two players.
The Bludger chased after her at incredible speed, accompanied by a muffled whistling sound.
At the end of her dive, Harry yanked her broom up sharply, skimming almost the ground as she passed. The pursuers behind her didn't have time to turn and crashed into another Bludger right behind her.
The two Bludger collided in mid-air, producing a dull metallic clang, and bounced several meters away.
Harry didn't stop to catch her breath; she immediately pulled up the broom and charged towards the goal.