Chapter 400: The Firebolt
Chapter 400: The Firebolt
At Hogwarts, the most dreaded day is the first day of school, when, except for a few individuals, all the other students are unable to feel happy.
Because this day not only marks the end of the enjoyable vacation, but also means staying up all night to finish homework... Almost every Common Room in the school is lit up all night.
But this year is different.
On the first day of school, a notice on the bulletin board at the entrance of the Great Hall makes everyone instantly forget about all the unpleasant things.
Professor Lupin's Patronus Charm Club is finally starting, scheduled for the following evening at 8 o'clock, in the same location as last year, still in the Great Hall.
"I can't wait..."
"I wish it could start sooner..."
"Why can't it be tonight..."
The crowd excitedly discusses this news.
Although it is now rare to see Dementors on campus, the scene that occurred on the Quidditch Pitch last time was too impressive to forget.
Especially those guardians with silver light shimmering around them, like fairies, made everyone yearn for them.
"Oh, is it finally starting?" Cedric is also a bit excited.
His Patronus Charm is stuck at the last step, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't gather the silver light into a real Patronus.
"Are you going, Kyle?" Conna asks, "Or are you staying in the Common Room?"
"Let's go together, it's like in-depth learning." Kyle says, "I guess there won't be many people left in the Common Room tomorrow, and it's no fun for me to go back by myself."
At Hogwarts, such large-scale activities are not common, so they can't be missed.
"Harry, look, Professor Lupin is going to teach us the spell to fight Dementors."
At this moment, Ron's excited voice suddenly comes from beside them.
"Once you learn this spell, combined with the world's best Firebolt, you'll surely defeat the other Houses..."
Hmm? Cedric's ears twitched, and he quickly caught the key part.
He turned his head quickly and asked, "Ron, did you just say Harry bought a Firebolt?"
"No, it's not..."
Ron was startled and quickly denied it, "You must have misheard, I didn't say anything."
He just remembered that Wood wanted to keep the Firebolt a secret weapon and didn't want them to tell anyone about it.
Moreover, Gryffindor's next opponent is Hufflepuff.
In other words, this secret is meant to be kept from Cedric and Kyle's team.
Ron quickly thought of an excuse to get out of this situation.
But before he could even open his mouth, Harry beside him said directly, "It wasn't bought, I can't afford such an expensive broom." He said, "The Firebolt was a Christmas gift I received."
"Hey, Harry!" Ron secretly tugged at Harry's sleeve and whispered, "Is it really okay to tell them this? Don't forget that our next opponent is Hufflepuff."
"It's fine, Ron." Harry shook his head, "The Firebolt is the fastest broom, and even if they know about it, I won't lose."
"Alright then..." Ron sighed.
On the other side, upon learning that the Firebolt was a Christmas gift from someone else, Cedric gasped in envy,
"I remember you live with your aunt and uncle, they're so nice to you..."
"You misunderstood."
When Harry's aunt and uncle were mentioned, the smile on his face disappeared, and his expression became as unpleasant as if he had seen Snape's sinister smile. He quickly explained,
"They wouldn't even give me an ordinary broom for cleaning, unless it was broken and they didn't want it anymore."
"Not your aunt and uncle?" Cedric was puzzled, "Who else would give you such an expensive gift..."
"I don't know either.
"Harry shook his head, "But Hermione said it might be from Sirius Black, to... um... make me fall during the match."
"That's nonsense!" Ron exclaimed angrily. "Black is busy evading Dementors, how could he possibly go to Diagon Alley to buy a broomstick?"
Ron's ears turned red from anger.
"And Professor McGonagall also believed this and said she would take apart the Firebolt. A Firebolt! It's absurd to take it apart!"
Kyle noticed that Hermione was not with them, and the usually inseparable trio was separated.
"It's not impossible," Cedric shrugged. "For a gift with an unknown origin, no matter how valuable it is, it should be thoroughly inspected."
It's better to be safe than sorry, especially since Harry will be flying fifty feet up. It would be too dangerous to discover any issues with the broomstick at that height."
Ron pouted, clearly not believing in such a possibility, and muttered under his breath, "Anyway, now that Professor McGonagall has taken away the Firebolt, you probably hope there's something wrong with it, so..."
He continued speaking, but his voice was too soft for anyone to hear.
Harry looked a little embarrassed. "Don't get me wrong, Ron didn't mean it that way."
"I understand," Cedric didn't pay much attention to Ron's words.
"He's not entirely wrong. If I say there's absolutely no such thought, even I wouldn't believe it.
The correct version is available on the 69th book bar! 6=9+book_bar first release of this novel.
But Harry, losing the match is still better than falling from the sky again.
There's still a long time before the match, enough for Professor McGonagall to complete the inspection."
"Yeah, I know," Harry said.
The conversation ended there.
Before leaving, Kyle suddenly looked at Ron and asked, "What if that broomstick was indeed from Black?"
"Then I'll apologize to Hermione and Professor McGonagall," Ron said. "But that's impossible."
"I hope you're right."
Kyle walked past Ron, and Harry seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he didn't speak.
Back in the common room, Cedric suddenly slapped his thigh and started pacing aimlessly.
Although he didn't say it, he was still concerned about Gryffindor getting a Firebolt.
He had learned that the Firebolt could accelerate to 150 miles per hour within ten seconds, and its maximum speed could reach 300 miles per hour.
His Cleansweep 1700 could only reach 100 miles per hour at its fastest, so it basically had no chance against the Firebolt. Unless he could quickly catch the Golden Snitch before Harry reacted.
But that was also difficult.
As opponents for three years, Cedric was very familiar with Harry's skills.
He was an excellent Seeker, and it was unlikely for him to make such a mistake. If it were Malfoy from Slytherin, there might be a chance.
This year, they won't lose like this.
"Kyle..."
After turning a few circles, Cedric suddenly asked, "Do you think there might be a problem with the Firebolt?"
"Not very likely," Kyle said after a moment of thought. "It's not easy to tamper with a broomstick, especially one like the Firebolt, which is used by all professional teams. Its safety performance is naturally more important.
And the purpose of doing so is not significant. There are professors present at every Hogwarts match, so even if Harry falls, he won't be in danger.
Black studied here before, he should know this."
"Oh..."
After listening to Kyle's analysis, Cedric sighed softly and continued pacing.
He needed to think of a way to restrain the Firebolt.
(End of Chapter)
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