After Wood placed the Firebolt on the table, students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff came over to look—even though Ravenclaw was playing against Gryffindor today.
The Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, Cedric Diggory, even made a special trip over to congratulate Harry again on getting such an excellent broomstick to replace his Nimbus, even though he'd already congratulated him once on the train.
Harry had no doubt about Cedric's sincerity. But he couldn't help remembering what Luna had said on the train last time.
Cedric was sneaking glances at Cho Chang.
Thinking of this, his look at Cedric became somewhat strange.
Could it be that Cedric, like himself, was the type easily influenced by appearance?
After Cedric left, Percy came over with his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater.
The two looked like they'd reconciled. Percy had his arm intimately around Penelope's waist and specifically asked Harry if Penelope could take a closer look at the Firebolt.
Harry had no problem with that, of course.
While Penelope examined the Firebolt carefully, Percy lowered his voice to Harry and the other Quidditch team members.
"Penelope and I made a bet—ten Galleons on the match result. Harry, you'll be fine, won't you?"
Harry: "..."
Percy said urgently in a low voice, "You must win. That's ten Galleons. I don't have that much money to lose to her."
After the couple left together again, the Quidditch team members looked at each other.
"What kind of behavior is it to bet with someone when you don't have the stakes?" Fred asked with a smile.
"Do you really need to ask? That's trying to get something for nothing." said George.
"If this match wasn't so crucial for us, I'd almost want to deliberately lose to Ravenclaw."
"Right, Percy's expression would be priceless then."
"I really want to know what would happen if he couldn't come up with ten Galleons for Penelope."
"At least before leaving school, he'd definitely have to keep Penelope very well 'serviced.'"
"Is your 'service' appropriate?"
"If you think it's appropriate, then it's appropriate. If you think it's inappropriate... hehe."
"Enough, you two!"
Seeing the twins getting more and more worked up, Angelina Johnson said irritably.
"There are girls here. Watch what you say!"
Fred and George exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Speaking of which, betting with your own girlfriend and trying to win money from her?
I really don't know how Penelope fell for your Head Boy brother."
"To be honest, we're just as curious about that as you are, Angelina."
"I bet Penelope's head must have been damaged, otherwise no one would agree to become Percy's girlfriend."
"Actually, Percy's character is quite decent."
Sherlock suddenly spoke, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
"Ha, Sherlock, are you serious?" said Fred.
"Do you have some misunderstanding about the meaning of the word 'decent'?" said George.
"No misunderstanding—whether as Prefect or Head Boy, he's undoubtedly very competent.
You can question his methods, but you can't deny the correctness of his actions."
Sherlock looked at the twins and said calmly.
"The only problem is that he chose the wrong direction. Sometimes, choices are more important than ability itself."
Everyone looked at each other. But thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true.
Even though Ravenclaw was playing against Gryffindor today, the Slytherin team members looked worse.
Almost all of them were looking at the Firebolt with gloomy expressions. Only Draco, who had already seen it once on the train, seemed relatively normal.
The other Slytherin team members huddled together, asking Malfoy questions, and every few sentences they'd glance toward the Firebolt.
"Yes, that really is a Firebolt. I saw it on the train."
"No need. Potter is annoying, but he wouldn't make a spectacle of himself for something like this."
"Don't forget, though his real father is dead, he still has a rich dad."
"Yes, my mother told me that Sirius Black is the last heir of that Black family—you know, the oldest magical family."
Facing the team members' questions, Malfoy answered one after another, suppressing his impatience.
Yes, the Firebolt was indeed a very luxurious flying broomstick, and it was indeed shocking for it to appear in inter-school competitions like Hogwarts.
But the facts were right in front of them. Was this really necessary?
They were even questioning its authenticity?
What idiot would publicly show off a fake flying broomstick?
Especially a Firebolt?
In that instant, Malfoy couldn't help but question whether coming to Hogwarts was the right choice.
After all, before entering this school, his father had wanted to send him to Durmstrang Institute instead of Hogwarts in Britain.
Durmstrang was one of the three largest magical schools in Europe, located in northern continental Europe, willing to accept international students from as far as Bulgaria.
This school valued blood status greatly, never admitted Muggle-born students, and emphasized Dark Arts in its curriculum.
This was exactly what the Malfoy family had always valued.
Draco himself would have been happy with it too.
However, before father and son could execute their plan, it was vetoed by Narcissa Malfoy.
Loving her son dearly, she wanted him closer to home.
So, Draco ended up at Hogwarts after all.
Fortunately, like his parents, he was sorted into Slytherin, where the atmosphere was somewhat similar to Durmstrang.
But looking at it now, these people didn't seem very intelligent.
On the other hand, the former Prefect and current female Head Girl, Gemma Farley, didn't care much about blood status but could earn Malfoy's respect.
And so, amid a complex mixture of envy, jealousy, and resentment, the time came to a quarter to eleven.
Wood stood up and announced. "Let's go!"
The Gryffindor team surrounded Harry, who was carrying the Firebolt, and marched in a grand procession toward the changing room.
Today's weather was completely different from the day they played against Hufflepuff last year.
It was clear, cool, with a gentle breeze.
This time, there would be no visibility problems.
Though Harry was nervous, he was beginning to feel the excitement that only Quidditch matches could bring.
They heard the sound of the whole school pouring into the stadium outside.
Harry took off his black robe and revealed his Quidditch uniform.
"You know what we need to do," Wood said as they prepared to leave the changing room.
"I asked Granger to do another analysis before the match. If we lose this game, we're completely out of hope.
It's actually very simple. Just fly like we did in training yesterday, and we'll definitely be fine!"
They walked out onto the pitch to deafening cheers.
The Ravenclaw team in blue robes was already standing in the center of the pitch.
Seeker Cho Chang was the only girl on the team, making her particularly conspicuous.
Since Harry had shot up in height this year, she was now a head shorter than him, though she'd been taller in first year.
Despite being terribly nervous, Harry couldn't help noticing that she was stunningly beautiful among all those playing.
The two teams stood facing each other behind their respective captains. She smiled at Harry and gave him an encouraging gesture.
Harry immediately felt his stomach give an odd lurch, which he didn't think was related to nervousness.
This feeling was exactly the same as when he first met Cho Chang in his first year.
No, I can't do this. It's wrong to judge someone purely by appearance.
Harry thought to himself. He was just criticizing Cedric earlier, but now he was the one judging by appearance—seeing a pretty girl and instinctively thinking she must be a good person.
But... Cho Chang really was beautiful!
Just looking at her, even doing nothing else, made him feel happy.
"Wood, Davies, shake hands now."
Madam Hooch said briskly.
Oliver Wood and Ravenclaw's captain Roger Davies shook hands as instructed.
Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had a good relationship, and Wood and Davies were also friends.
At this moment, Wood happened to notice Cho Chang's gesture to Harry and saw Harry's expression, frowning.
"Don't try using a honey trap, Davies."
Davies raised an eyebrow. "Same to you, Wood."
Don't think he didn't know—he'd also heard about Gryffindor's plan to have Harry charm Cho Chang.
After saying this, the two captains' hands separated.
Madam Hooch didn't notice that the two captains had respectively assigned their Seekers the 'beauty-trap'. She began signaling both teams to prepare.
"Mount your brooms, listen for my whistle—three—"
All the Quidditch players immediately pushed off and soared into the air.
Without question, the Firebolt flew faster and higher than the other brooms.
Harry circled above the pitch, squinting as he began searching for the Snitch while keeping his ears open for the commentary.
The commentator for this match was still Lee Jordan, friend of the Weasley twins.
"Hello, everyone!
The match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw has officially begun!
It's worth mentioning that the biggest focus of this match is the Firebolt!
Third-year Seeker Harry Potter is riding it for Gryffindor.
According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt is the national teams' broomstick of choice for this year's World Cup—"
Lee Jordan was thoroughly knowledgeable about the Firebolt and was now sharing information, making people marvel at the breadth of his knowledge.
"He's started advertising the Firebolt just like you said," Hermione couldn't help saying to Sherlock in the stands. "Though I think he should just mention it briefly and focus on the match. This way seems to have his priorities mixed up."
"Come on, Hermione, it's a Firebolt!" Ron couldn't help saying. "If I were commentating, I'd definitely say all that too."
"That's why you can't be a commentator," Hermione said irritably. "Professor McGonagall will definitely stop him."
As if to confirm Hermione's words, Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly interrupted Lee Jordan's passionate introduction.
"Jordan, could you tell us about the match?"
"No problem, Professor—just providing some background!
By the way, the Firebolt has a built-in automatic braking system that can ensure—"
"Jordan!"
Professor McGonagall's voice contained suppressed anger.
Seeing that the cat lady professor was really getting angry, Jordan didn't dare provoke her further and quickly changed the subject.
"All right, all right. Gryffindor now in possession, Gryffindor Chaser Katie Bell lining up to shoot..."
"See, I told you!" Hermione said triumphantly. Ron shrugged, not planning to argue with Hermione.
Luna nodded gently and said seriously, "Yes, you're right."
Hermione: "..."
Why does this feel strange?
Sherlock didn't care about any of this. While watching the match, his gaze caught sight of a shadow in the stands.
So far, no one seemed to have noticed the large black dog hiding there.
It was almost one with the shadows, completely invisible unless you looked carefully.
Under normal circumstances, students' parents weren't allowed to enter Hogwarts.
Even former Order of the Phoenix members like Sirius weren't exempt.
But after transforming via Animagus, it was different.
On the school stands was a black dog—what did that have to do with innocent me, Sirius Black?
Not to mention his good friend Remus Lupin was a professor at the school.
Of course, Sherlock believed this couldn't escape Dumbledore's notice, but he was simply turning a blind eye.
In fact, before this match officially began, Sherlock had already predicted that Sirius would definitely come to watch his godson's match.
Moreover, after last time when Sirius thought it was because he scared Harry during the match that Harry fell off his broomstick, the guilty Sirius wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything.
This was Harry's first match riding the broomstick he'd given him. It was significant for both Harry and Sirius.
Harry hadn't discovered that his godfather had already arrived at the pitch.
At this moment, he swept past Katie, looking around for a golden gleam.
But he didn't find any gleam—instead, he found divine beauty.
Cho Chang was following close behind him.
Never leaving, never abandoning.
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