At Hogwarts, the hardest day is the first day of school. Except for a few people, all other students can't seem to cheer up on this day.
Because this day not only means the official end of the pleasant holiday, but also staying up all night to make up homework... Almost every house's common room is lit throughout the night.
But this year is different.
On this school day, an announcement on the bulletin board at the entrance of the auditorium made everyone instantly forget all those unpleasant things.
Professor Lupin's Patronus Charm Club is finally starting, scheduled for 8 o'clock in the evening on the next day, at the same location as last year, still the auditorium.
"I can't wait..."
"Really want it to start soon..."
"Why can't it be tonight..."
The crowd discussed this matter excitedly.
Although it's now seldom that you could see the shadows of Dementors on campus, the last scene on the Quidditch pitch was just too impressive to forget.
Especially those Patronuses, shining with silver light like elves, fascinate everyone.
"Oh, is it finally starting?" Cedric was also somewhat excited.
His Patronus Charm was stuck at the last step, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't condense that silver light into a real Patronus.
"Are you going, Kael?" Conna asked, "Or do you plan to stay in the common room?"
"Let's go together, just take it as a deeper study." Kael said, "There probably won't be many people left in the common room tomorrow, there's no point in going back by myself."
In Hogwarts, such large-scale events are not often encountered, so you definitely shouldn't miss them.
"Harry, look quickly, Professor Lupin is going to teach us the charm to deal with Dementors."
At this time, Ron's excited voice suddenly came from beside them.
"Once you learn this charm, plus the world's best broomstick, Firebolt, you will definitely beat other houses handily..."
Hmm?
Cedric's ears twitched, quickly catching the key point.
He swiftly turned his head and asked, "Ron, did you just say Harry got a Firebolt?"
"Ah, no..."
Ron was startled and quickly denied, "You misheard, I didn't say anything just now."
He just remembered, Wood planned to keep the Firebolt as a secret weapon, not letting them tell anyone.
And Gryffindor's next competition happens to be against Hufflepuff.
In other words, this secret weapon was meant to deal with Cedric and Kael.
Ron quickly made up an excuse, ready to muddle through.
But before he could speak, Harry directly said:
"I didn't buy it; I can't afford such an expensive broomstick." He said, "The Firebolt was a Christmas gift I received."
"Hey, Harry!" Ron secretly tugged Harry's sleeve, whispering, "Is it really okay to just tell them like this? Don't forget our next match, the opponent is Hufflepuff."
"It's okay, Ron." Harry gently shook his head, "The Firebolt is the fastest broomstick, even if they know, I won't lose."
"Alright then..." Ron sighed.
On the other side, upon learning that the Firebolt was a Christmas gift from someone else, Cedric gasped, saying enviously,
"I remember you live with your aunt and uncle, they are really nice to you..."
"You misunderstood."
Mentioning his aunt and uncle, Harry's smile disappeared, and his expression turned sour, as if seeing Snape's sneering face. He quickly explained:
"They wouldn't even give me a regular broom for cleaning unless it was broken and unwanted."
"Not your aunt and uncle?" Cedric was a bit confused, "Then who would give you such an expensive thing..."
"I don't know either." Harry shook his head, "But Hermione said maybe it was Sirius Black who gave it to me, to... um... let me fall during the match."
"That's nonsense!" Ron said angrily, "Black is busy avoiding the Dementors, how could he possibly go to Diagon Alley to buy a broomstick!"
Because of anger, Ron's ears turned red.
"And even Professor McGonagall believed such words, she even said she wanted to take apart the Firebolt, that's a Firebolt, take it apart? Ridiculous!"
Kael noticed Hermione was indeed not with them; the trio, who were usually inseparable, were rarely apart.
"It's not impossible." Cedric shrugged and said, "For a gift with unknown origins, no matter how valuable, it should be carefully inspected.
Just for peace of mind, don't forget Harry is going to fly fifty feet high, finding a problem with the broomstick then would be too dangerous."
Ron pouted, apparently not agreeing with such possibilities, muttering in a small voice: "Anyway, the Firebolt is taken by Professor McGonagall now, you probably hope it has some problems, this way..."
He said something afterward, but his voice was too low for anyone to hear.
Harry looked somewhat embarrassed, "Don't misunderstand, Ron didn't mean that."
"I understand." Cedric didn't pay much mind to Ron's words either.
"What he said isn't entirely wrong; if I said I didn't think that way even slightly, I'd probably be lying to myself.
But Harry, losing a match is much better than falling from the sky again.
And there is still plenty of time before the match, enough for Professor McGonagall to complete the inspection."
"Yes, I know." Harry said.
The conversation basically ended here.
Before leaving, Kael suddenly looked at Ron and asked, "What if that broomstick really was sent by Black?"
"Then I will apologize to Hermione and Professor McGonagall." Ron said, "But that's impossible."
"Hope you're right."
Kael walked past Ron, and Harry seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't in the end.
Back in the common room, Cedric suddenly slapped his thigh and started pacing aimlessly.
Though he didn't say it, he was indeed concerned about Gryffindor having a Firebolt.
He had looked it up; the Firebolt could accelerate to 150 miles per hour in just ten seconds, with a maximum speed of even 300 miles.
His Nimbus 1700 could only reach 100 miles at most, with essentially no chance of winning against the Firebolt. Unless he could swiftly catch the Golden Snitch when Harry wasn't reacting.
But that was equally difficult.
Having been opponents for three years, Cedric knew Harry's strength very well.
He was an excellent Seeker, unlikely to make such mistakes; if it were Slytherin's Malfoy, it might be a different story.
This year won't end in defeat, right?
"Kael..."
After a few turns, Cedric suddenly asked, "Do you think there's really an issue with that Firebolt?"
"Unlikely." After a moment of thought, Kael replied: "It's not easy to tamper with a broomstick, especially the Firebolt which is coveted by all professional teams. Its safety is, of course, more important.
And it doesn't make much sense; every match at Hogwarts has professors present. Even if Harry falls, he won't be in trouble.
Blake studied here before, there's no reason for him not to know this."
"Oh..."
Listening to Kael's analysis, Cedric sighed softly, continuing his pacing.
He had to think if there was any way to counter the Firebolt.