Chapter 405: Malfoy and Harry
Chapter 405: Malfoy and Harry
After leaving the eighth-floor corridor, the two were about to head back to the Common Room via the stairs.
But the next second, Kyle suddenly spotted Professor McGonagall just exiting the Gryffindor Common Room.
This wasn't unusual; as the Head of Gryffindor House, it was only natural for Professor McGonagall to be there.
However, Kyle noticed that she was holding an exquisite broomstick.
The streamlined handle made of white wax wood and the slightly curved birch branches at the tail all indicated its identity...
The world's fastest broomstick, the Firebolt.
Professor McGonagall looked cheerful, with an unconcealed smile on her face.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall," Kyle greeted, and Conna followed suit.
"Good afternoon..." Professor McGonagall nodded and asked with a smile, "Have you seen Potter? I have some good news to share with him."
"No," Kyle replied, "We've been practicing the Patronus Charm in an empty classroom and didn't pay attention to what was happening outside."
"I see. How's it going?" Professor McGonagall turned to Conna.
She had already heard from some Hufflepuff students that the jellyfish Patronus on the Quidditch pitch the other day was summoned by Kyle, so there was no need to ask him.
"It's almost there," Conna said as she took out her wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A silver light the size of a fist flew out of her wand and started circling around Conna.
"Oh, you're being too hard on yourself," Professor McGonagall said in surprise, "For a fourteen-year-old student, being able to summon a rudimentary Patronus is an impressive achievement.
Besides, you shouldn't judge yourself solely based on Kyle's performance; that's not accurate."
Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a genuinely good mood, not only giving Conna ample affirmation but also making a little joke to comfort her.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The Patronus Charm won't appear in exams, and you won't need it for now..."
Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Dumbledore has already resolved the matter. Unless Sirius Black's whereabouts are confirmed, those Dementors will not take another step into the castle."
Conna nodded.
After Professor McGonagall left, she turned to Kyle and said in a low voice, "It looks like we're going to have a tough battle next week."
"Yeah," Kyle said, running his hand through his hair.
Professor McGonagall, holding the Firebolt, appeared at the Gryffindor Common Room, apparently to return the broomstick to Harry.
After all, with Professor McGonagall's obsession with the Quidditch Cup, if there was indeed a problem with the broomstick, she wouldn't be this cheerful.
The two quickly returned to the Common Room and shared the news with the others.
The originally lively crowd suddenly fell silent, as if they were in Professor Snape's Potions class.
Especially Cedric and the team members...
Although they had already guessed the outcome, when the news was confirmed, they still felt at a loss.
So, Cedric pulled Kyle to the pitch for extra practice.
The other team members also returned to their dorms to retrieve their own flying brooms.
It was too cold outside, and the bone-chilling wind seemed to penetrate every corner of their bodies. Even Wood, the training enthusiast, didn't want to stay outdoors in this weather.
However, Hufflepuff had the Warm-Up Badges provided by Kyle, so they didn't have to worry about this problem.
From the afternoon until almost evening, the Gryffindor team also arrived.
Many people already knew about the Firebolt, so Wood didn't plan to keep it a secret anymore.
They came here to test out the new broomstick, and of course, there was no denying that Wood wanted to show off a little... After all, in recent years, Gryffindor had never won against Hufflepuff.
They didn't argue over the use of the pitch either, they just occupied the most peripheral area and used stones instead of Golden Snitches for practice.
Harry, riding the Firebolt, looked like a gust of wind. No matter how tricky the angles of the stones that Wood threw, Harry would catch them in the next second.
Even when several players threw from different directions, not a single stone could land on the ground.
Gradually, the Hufflepuff players also lost their focus on training and would unconsciously glance to the side.
In the end, Cedric decided to end the practice early.
Kyle carried his own broomstick and walked out of the dark pitch alongside Cedric.
The atmosphere was a little subdued.
They had only heard about it before, but now they had witnessed the speed of the Firebolt with their own eyes, and they felt even more hopeless about winning.
"It's okay..." Cedric tried to lighten the mood, "Stones and Golden Snitches are different. To be honest, even without the Firebolt, I could still do what Potter just did... If you don't believe me, we can find a place to try it out."
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If I miss one, I'll treat everyone to Honeydukes Candies, you can choose whatever you like."
"Of course we believe you, Captain." Michael suddenly laughed, "We were just... hungry and didn't feel like talking."
"That's right, that's how it is..."
"Yeah, my stomach has been growling since just now..."
"I heard there's pudding today, I really want to eat dinner quickly..."
The previously subdued atmosphere seemed to have disappeared in an instant, and everyone walked into the castle chatting and laughing.
The Great Hall was as lively as ever. After they finished putting away their broomsticks, the Gryffindors had also arrived.
The Firebolt was placed in the center of the dining table, with the label facing up. Many people gathered around to look at it and congratulated Harry on getting such an excellent broomstick to replace the Cleansweep.
However, Malfoy seemed a little unhappy.
As Kyle walked into the Great Hall, he just happened to see Malfoy approaching Harry with his two cronies.
"This broomstick has many special functions, right?" Malfoy said with a hint of malice in his eyes, "It's a pity it doesn't come with a parachute, in case you get too close to a Dementor."
Crabbe and Goyle snickered.
Harry didn't pay any attention to him and continued talking to Fred next to him, which made Malfoy's face turn sour.
Kyle watched from the side and suddenly found it a little amusing.
Ever since the last time Harry was unintentionally saved by Malfoy, the two of them hadn't spoken to each other for a long time.
Kyle thought Malfoy would seize the opportunity to mock Harry, but he didn't. Instead, he seemed to treat saving Harry as a trivial matter and never brought it up again.
This time, he was still only mocking Harry's fear of Dementors.
When Harry ignored him, Malfoy scoffed, narrowed his gray eyes, and walked away in large strides.
However, as he passed by Kyle, he shouted in a loud voice, "I think you should invent a fall-proof robe, Gryffindor will definitely collect money to buy a set for their Seeker..."
Without waiting for Kyle's response, he walked over to the other Slytherin team members.
They huddled together, seemingly asking Malfoy if the broomstick was a genuine Firebolt.
(End of Chapter)
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