The fierce wind and heavy rain did not diminish with the arrival of the Quidditch match, remaining just as it was yesterday.
But as the most popular sport at Hogwarts, even in such heavy rain, the entire school still came out to watch the match as usual.
They ran towards the field, and some had their umbrellas blown away halfway, leaving them to lower their heads to brace against the fierce wind.
Kael's waterproof and water-resistant badge played a major role at that moment, as the Hufflepuff team members stood at the forefront of the stands amidst the storm, without any umbrellas, yet not a drop of rain touched them; even their hair remained dry.
Their unusual appearance naturally caught the attention of others.
Malfoy came running from the direction of the locker room, still in his green team uniform.
"Kael... how did they do it? Did you invent something new again?"
"Sort of." Kael pointed to the shiny item on Cedric's chest.
"Waterproof and water-resistant badge, a must-have for rainy days."
"I'll buy one," Malfoy said without hesitation, not even asking the price.
"A wise choice." Kael pulled out a new one and handed it to him, "Now... ten Galleons."
Malfoy took the badge and reached into his pocket... The next second, his face suddenly turned awkward.
He had forgotten that he had changed into a uniform with no pockets, which meant he had no money with him.
"As one of our valued customers, you can try it out first." Kael said at the right moment, "You can decide whether or not to pay after the match."
Malfoy's expression relaxed considerably, and he made a few nonchalant remarks.
The gist being... he didn't forget to bring money; he just wanted to experience the treatment of a valued customer suddenly.
Plus, no matter how effective it was, he would pay; the Malfoy Family would never disappoint a friend over Galleons.
After Malfoy left, quite a few young wizards came up to inquire.
But with the lowest price at five Galleons, the sales of the waterproof and water-resistant badges weren't that great.
But there's no helping it; prices for magic items are like that, five Galleons is already very low.
Of course, the map doesn't count; that's considered a welcome gift for new students, classified as a benefit.
In the last few minutes before the match started, Malfoy returned.
"I'll buy six more," he said, then handed Kael seventy Galleons, "and about the one I bought earlier... I've already tried it just now, and it's quite effective."
Coincidentally, Oliver Wood also arrived at this time.
"I heard from Professor McGonagall that there are rainproof tools here," he asked, "How much are they?"
"Regular ones for five Galleons, dragon scale ones for ten Galleons," Kael said.
"Two regular ones," Wood took out ten Galleons and handed it to Kael.
Malfoy sneered beside them, looking at Wood disdainfully.
Wood was unfazed by this.
"Tools don't represent skill, Malfoy, you guys are sure to lose."
Malfoy wanted to retort, but Ms. Hooch was already walking towards the center of the field, forcing him to run back quickly.
As for Wood, it was simpler; he just rode his broom down from the stands, handing the waterproof and water-resistant badges to two younger Chasers.
A few minutes later, with the blast of Ms. Hooch's whistle, the match began.
Cheers erupted from the stands.
"This feels fantastic," Hufflepuff's new Keeper came over from the front, "At least a hundred people were looking at me just now, including Gryffindor's Angelina Johnson, she looked over three times, I'm sure she's smitten with me."
"You must be mistaken, she was clearly looking at me..."
The group laughed and sat down beside Cedric, with one turning to ask:
"Kael, are you really giving us this badge?"
"Of course," Kael nodded, "we agreed on it earlier."
"That's ten Galleons..." the person sighed, "Next time something like this happens, make sure to call me, I can stand all day."
"No problem," Kael smiled.
At that moment, more cheers erupted from the stands.
Slytherin scored the first goal, causing some Slytherin students to excitedly throw away their umbrellas.
Amidst the cheers, Cho and Mikel squeezed through the crowd.
"Did we miss anything?"
"Just in time, Slytherin just scored the first goal," Kael said, looking at them, "How are you guys?"
"Great," Mikel grinned, "The Sopophorous Bean's effect was fantastic, though smashing it on the table so hard gave me a bit of a headache."
"I also ate the other half of the Swollen Candy." Cho said, "Madam Pomfrey didn't notice anything off at all."
"That's good then."
"Thanks to your Lighting Spell," Mikel sat down, semi-jokingly, "Honestly, I thought only I could do it, but you managed too, without even fainting."
"It's nothing, just relied on the help of Magic Text." Kael waved it off.
They watched the match while chatting, or rather, spent most of the time chatting.
The heavy rain affected not just the players but was unfriendly to the spectators too.
Through the rain, they could barely make out shadows darting back and forth, but identifying who those shadows were was difficult.
On the commentary stand, Lee Jordan refrained from making witty remarks for the first time; he had to concentrate entirely on guessing who had the ball by their blurry figures.
"Nice... Gryffindor pulled back ten points... well done, Angelina... um, maybe it's Spinnet..."
The sky grew increasingly dark, and as the first lightning bolt streaked across, the situation on the field worsened.
Lee Jordan had never wished for a match to end so quickly, but under these conditions, spotting the Golden Snitch was incredibly challenging.
"This match won't last until the evening, will it?" Mikel asked, "It's so cold, I should've worn a warmer robe."
"If the Golden Snitch isn't caught... it will!" Cedric said, "Though school matches are simpler than professional ones, the rules are the same.
I remember Hogwarts' longest Quidditch match record was two days... that match also decided the worst two Seekers in school history."
"No..."
Kael suddenly said, "I don't think it'll last until evening."
He looked up at the overcast sky.
Another lightning bolt flashed... briefly illuminating the sky and revealing hundreds of hooded figures.
The Dementors, they stood there, and a terrible chill began spreading throughout the field.
The crowd's cheers abruptly stopped, turning into terrified screams.
"Damn it, I wondered why it suddenly got so cold!"
Mikel jumped up from his seat, "Why are these creatures here?"
"Probably attracted by the joyful atmosphere on the field," Kael said, "Dementors feed on people's happiness, and the current field is like a sumptuous feast for them... Few Dementors can resist such temptation."
"What should we do..." Mikel asked, shivering as he tightened his robe, hoping it might warm him a bit.
"It's okay." Kael, watching the approaching Dementors, reassured, "Professor Dumbledore surely won't let them stay here."
"But Professor Dumbledore isn't at the castle,"
Mikel said, panicking a bit, "This morning, Professor McGonagall went to the hospital wing to get some stimulant potions, and I overheard her talking to Madam Pomfrey while pretending to sleep... Professor Dumbledore went to London earlier and won't be back until tonight."