Justin's words made Sean pause, but unexpectedly, Justin suddenly grew enthusiastic, rattling off a stream of words like a machine:
"We can definitely let the Hogwarts students read it for free first!
I'm sure everyone's been tortured enough by boring History of Magic lectures, Professor Binns' vague explanations, and those terrifyingly long History of Magic essays!"
He grew even more excited:
"If the feedback is good, we can contact a publisher to release it. Just think—students from more than one wizarding school will need this!"
Sean didn't answer immediately; he knew that distributing and publishing books was a long process.
"The notes aren't comprehensive."
Sean said softly. He studied History of Magic purely for the sake of the subject itself.
Even if Justin's idea was somewhat feasible, it wouldn't change Sean's planned study process.
Still, any extra benefits wouldn't be unwelcome.
"Alright, alright. But after you finish the notes, at least let me try selling them among the young wizards, okay?"
Justin's voice had grown much quieter, filled with a sincere plea.
Sean nodded.
…
Hogwarts on Monday was far livelier than usual.
In the hallways, classrooms, and common rooms, young wizards could be seen enthusiastically discussing something at any moment.
Sean found it all rather puzzling but had no intention of digging deeper.
He was heading toward a hidden classroom.
In the hallway, Sean suddenly heard a cough, and looked up to see Sir Cadogan—
He had tied straw to himself, attempting to disguise himself as a scarecrow in a picturesque rice-field painting.
But he had forgotten to remove his armor and sword.
Hogwarts portraits often moved about and sometimes felt no different from furniture.
So what could be more entertaining than seeing who could stay disguised as another portrait the longest?
Unfortunately, Sir Cadogan was never very good at this kind of disguise.
Imagine him mimicking Mrs. Violet, sitting in her frame, wearing her hat, and speaking loudly and comically.
Roughly the same effect as Snape in drag.
"Cough cough—"
Sean heard the coughing again and, somewhat exasperated, tore off a page, wrote Sir Cadogan's name in big letters, and stuck it on the portrait.
"Oh—Mr. Green! You've found me again!
How sad… why don't you go discuss Quidditch with them!"
Sean heard a miserable scream.
"Oh—dear Sir Cadogan, you couldn't even last three minutes—pathetic. Looks like you owe me another bottle of firewhisky!"
Then came a teasing female voice.
Sean turned, puzzled; this was the second time he had heard the word "Quidditch."
But soon, his curiosity was answered.
In the hallway, an older student pushed past the younger ones and posted a piece of parchment with gold trim on the notice board.
The first-year students immediately cheered—they were going to have flying lessons!
This Thursday and Friday.
After reading it, Sean also felt a little excited,
which led to him arriving at the practice room carrying several books:
Tracing the Origins of Quidditch, The Wonderful Quidditch Ball, Complete Guide to Flying Brooms, Flying Broom Care Manual, Official Quidditch World Cup Guide.
Among these, the most widely known was The Wonderful Quidditch Ball.
When Sean received the book from Mrs. Pince,
she told him that the book was "handled roughly every day, drooled on, and generally abused."
Sean felt that, for any book, this was high praise.
So his interest in the book grew even stronger.
"Ravenclaw left behind at Hogwarts—"
"Crowns, moving staircases, portraits."
Sean slightly anticipated the Owl's question and entered the classroom under the Owl's stern gaze.
"Sean? What are these you're carrying—"
Justin helped carry three of the books, letting Sean's bright green eyes peek out again.
"Wow! The Wonderful Quidditch Ball! I heard getting this book from Mrs. Pince is harder than reaching the sky."
Justin whispered in astonishment.
"Hmm?"
Sean was a bit puzzled.
"Because some young wizards really did use it as a pillow—and ended up drooling all over the book."
Hermione explained, slightly exasperated.
"So… want to read it together?"
Sean placed the book on the table.
Justin's longing eyes could no longer be restrained; he was the first to pull a chair over, followed by Hermione.
The three little heads huddled together.
"The diligent research of Kenworthy Whisp unveils the true treasure trove of facts about this wizarding sport previously unknown. A truly captivating book.
—Batilda Bagshot, author of History of Magic"
Opening the book revealed an introduction, with comments from the familiar Ms. Batilda Bagshot.
"Mr. Whisp has limitless potential. If he continues his good work, one day he may even have the chance to take a photo with me!—Gilderoy Lockhart, author of Magical Me"
This was Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart, whom Sean had only a tentative familiarity with—well, it did sound like something he would say.
Sean skipped that part and read further:
[So far, wizards have not invented any spell that allows them to fly in human form without tools, so they have tried many methods, all to no avail. A few rare Animagi could enjoy flying, but they are extremely uncommon. Later wizards transformed themselves into bats.]
"Bats?"
This was certainly unexpected, and Justin exclaimed aloud.
The three continued reading curiously, though they all knew,
if wizards could really use bat transformation effectively, flying brooms would never have appeared.
[This was proven foolish. Wizards who transformed into bats could fly freely, but with a bat's head, they inevitably forgot their destination while flying. Floating in midair was commonplace.]
Reading further, Sean's green eyes suddenly lit up.
[Now, we take this fact for granted: every wizarding family in Britain owns at least one flying broom. Yet we rarely stop to ask:
Why?
Why did this unassuming broom become a legally sanctioned wizarding vehicle?
Why do we Westerners not use flying carpets, beloved by our Eastern brethren?
Why don't we use flying barrels, chairs, or bathtubs—why brooms?]