The next evening, to celebrate Cedric's discharge from the hospital, the Hufflepuff players threw him a small party in the common room after practice.
Cedric being alright was undoubtedly great news for the team. Captain Harris even managed to get some Butter Beer from Hogsmeade Village and had a good drink with everyone else.
Mostly because he wanted to drink anyway.
As the team captain, Harris was under immense pressure. Especially after the first round of matches, he was so worried he was losing hair by the handful.
The opponents were too strong.
Gryffindor had the highest player quality, with almost no weaknesses.
Slytherin had great equipment and played dirty.
Ravenclaw had seven people...
For Hufflepuff, Cedric, the genius Seeker, was almost their only hope for a championship.
Harris raised his Butter Beer and clinked glasses with Cedric, saying, "Don't worry, this won't happen again.
I've planned to assign a Beater specifically to protect your safety. Next time if any Slytherin player dares to play dirty with you, that burly club will hit their face first."
Cedric frowned slightly, not very approving of his approach.
There are only two Beaters. If one of them has to protect him, the Chasers will lose their offensive advantage. If the opposing team leads by a large score, even catching the Golden Snitch wouldn't matter.
It seems to be more loss than gain.
Cedric shared his thoughts with Harris.
"Don't worry about that," Harris thought for a moment and said, "This is just an initial plan, and we can perfect it during practice matches."
Cedric tried persuading Harris several times to abandon this idea, but to little avail.
No matter how solid his reasons were, Harris would counter with, "Let's talk after the practice match."
After realizing he couldn't change Harris's mind, Cedric said no more.
So, they decided to wait until after the practice match to discuss further.
Kael also joined the celebration, but not being on the team, he didn't have to worry about all that. He just focused on enjoying the food.
He was curious to taste Butter Beer, but his hand was stopped by an upperclassman.
The reason being that young wizards below the fifth year weren't allowed to drink alcohol.
This left Kael somewhat disappointed, but there was nothing he could do since not even Cedric, the party's guest of honor, was drinking Butter Beer; he was drinking pumpkin juice instead.
After the party, everyone returned to their dorms.
The following days were uneventful.
Kael, like the other young wizards, attended classes, ate meals, and went to the library for homework, as if nothing had happened.
Even Gryffindor's Fred and George seemed more well-behaved, only managing to lose ten points over several days.
Professor McGonagall was extremely pleased, and her attitude toward them wasn't as harsh as before.
This situation continued until mid-November, when the second Quidditch match began.
It was a weekend morning when a rumor suddenly spread throughout Hogwarts.
"Did you hear? The Gryffindor team got a new broomstick."
In the auditorium, a Slytherin freshman was sharing the news he had just heard with others.
"A new broomstick?" Slytherin team captain, seventh-year Sevin Rozier's expression turned somber upon hearing the news.
Slytherin was set to play against Gryffindor in the afternoon. A new broomstick at this time was not good news.
However, it didn't end there. The student continued, "I also heard it's not just any broomstick, but an unreleased Nimbus 2000."
"Nimbus 2000?!"
Someone exclaimed, "That's impossible. My uncle works in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and even he can't get a Nimbus 2000. How could those Gryffindors get one?"
Then someone else joined in, saying, "I heard Bill Weasley got it from Egypt. They say he helped the Nimbus Broomstick Company with something important."
"Damn Weasley."
Someone angrily pounded the table, "What are we going to do for this afternoon's match? The Nimbus 2000's performance is definitely superior to our Nimbus 1700s."
The Slytherin student who spoke earlier stood up and said, "I'm going to write my uncle a letter right now, to see if he can get a Nimbus 2000."
"Will it be in time?"
"It should be."
...
Nearby, the Slytherin players listening all had dark expressions and lost their appetites.
Rozier flipped the plate in front of him in anger and shouted, "Damn it, why does it have to be now?"
Slytherin and Gryffindor have been rivals for a long time, and he couldn't accept losing to them in the match no matter what.
"Don't panic. The truth of the news is uncertain yet." Someone calmly analyzed, "Nimbus 2000 isn't a toy; they can't just give it away. This news appeared so suddenly, it might have been fabricated to confuse us on purpose..."
"Ohhhh~~~"
Just then, a series of exclamations echoed in the auditorium.
"Look, what's that!"
As if to contradict his words, just as he finished speaking, six long-eared owls flew in carrying a long package and landed on the Gryffindor table.
From the appearance, it was almost certain to be a broom.
Wrapped tightly, they could see that the broom's tail was longer than that of a Nimbus 1700 and its shape was different from the models on the market.
The Weasley twins were holding the package and talking excitedly with others.
Although the distance made it impossible to hear what they were saying, it was obvious that they were all extremely excited.
Especially the Quidditch players, who kept glancing this way with very peculiar expressions.
Rozier felt they were mocking him, which made him unbearable. He wanted to flip his plate again, only to find there was nothing left on his table.
So he flipped a freshman's plate next to him instead.
"Everyone, go and gather information." Rozier said through gritted teeth, "Regardless of the method, we must find out if that's a Nimbus 2000."
"What if it is?" someone asked.
"Then write home, find a way to get one too!" Rozier roared, "What are you waiting for, go!"
The Slytherin players scattered, and seeing this, the other little snakes also quickly left the auditorium.
At this moment, with Rozier in such a foul mood, they didn't want to stay and become targets of his wrath.
...