The humiliating defeat against Slytherin left Gryffindor students feeling low for quite a while, and for a long time, they didn't discuss any topics related to Quidditch.
But Harry's Firebolt undoubtedly restored their confidence and rekindled their enthusiasm.
And this enthusiasm grew even stronger over time.
Especially by Friday, just in one morning, Gryffindor's hourglass score dropped drastically, going directly from second place back to last.
They were so excited that even in class they couldn't resist discussing Quidditch, and then the professors, unable to endure it, deducted their points.
Snape contributed the most to this, with half of the deducted points credited to him.
When Gryffindor finally realized, they found out that their house had lost nearly two hundred points... This result made them much more restrained.
By the next morning, Kael went to the auditorium for breakfast with Cedric and Conna.
Today was match day, and from the moment they stepped into the auditorium, there were many eyes on him and Cedric.
As the first team to face the Firebolt, the focus on them was no less than on Harry.
Especially Ravenclaw, where half of the table was watching them.
"Davis thinks it's a great opportunity to observe just how good the Firebolt's performance is."
Cho crouched beside Conna and whispered, "Besides, he couldn't think of any way to counter the Firebolt, so he wants to see what you guys will do.
By the way, are you really okay? If Gryffindor wins too many points, we won't stand any chance in the next matches."
"Don't worry, leave it to us." Cedric patted his chest confidently, "We've trained for a long time, I'll make sure Wood knows he's celebrating too early."
At a quarter to eleven, Hufflepuff headed to the locker room.
The weather today was nice, clear and cool, with a gentle breeze, making it very comfortable.
To be honest, this was not good news for Hufflepuff, as they had various gadgets provided by Kael, giving them an advantage in relatively bad weather.
But this was not something they could decide.
Outside, came the sound of the whole school students flooding into the stadium, the talking and shouting told without seeing, that there were certainly many people.
"Don't get nervous." As everyone prepared to leave the locker room, Cedric said, "We've trained many times, there's definitely no problem!"
They stepped onto the field outside, and the cheering was deafening.
But when the red-robed Gryffindor team stepped out, the cheers clearly grew louder.
Both teams came to the center of the field.
"Digory, Wood, shake hands!" Ms. Hooch said crisply, as Cedric stepped forward to shake hands with Wood.
"Mount your brooms, listen for my whistle, three... two... one..."
Kael only felt a rush of air.
The Firebolt was faster than any other broomstick, and in the blink of an eye, it had surged forward, with Cedric closely following, both of them circling in the air, squinting to find the Golden Snitch.
The commentary from the stands followed.
"The game has started, the biggest highlight of this match is Harry Potter riding the Firebolt, as written in 'Which Broomstick', the Firebolt was the national team's broomstick of choice in this year's World Cup..."
"Jordan, can you tell us about the match?" Professor McGonagall's voice intervened.
"No problem, professor, just introducing a bit of background info, and by the way, the Firebolt has a built-in braking device for faster acceleration..."
"Jordan!"
"Okay, okay, now Hufflepuff is controlling the Quaffle, this move looks familiar... Harris probably taught Kael his ball-stealing technique... he's getting ready to throw the ball... can Wood stop it..."
"Oh... Wood missed the ball, Hufflepuff scores!"
Harry swung his arm in the air, frustrated, and started searching for the Golden Snitch even more carefully, but when he turned around, he found Cedric following tightly behind him.
Whenever he tried to change direction, Cedric would overtake him, forcing him to change course.
Harry had a feeling that Cedric wasn't really focused on the Golden Snitch; rather, he just wanted to disrupt him.
"Let him see your speed, Harry!" Fred shouted, while aiming a Bludger at Kael.
Kael had just stolen the Quaffle from Angelina with a nimble roll-over, and was speeding towards the Gryffindor goalpost.
Facing the Bludger that Fred sent over, he had no intention of dodging.
In the next second, Mikel flew over from the side, swinging his arm to deflect the Bludger elsewhere.
"Just keep charging forward!" Will flew over from the other side, blocking the second Bludger.
"... Leave the rest to us!"
With their help, Kael smoothly got near the goalpost, then raised his hand to throw the ball... not into the goal, but over to Grace on the right.
"Diagonal pass... Kael's most used fake move!"
Jordan shouted loudly, "But it's useful... Wood's attention was all on Kael, Grace scores... she's a new Chaser for Hufflepuff this year... quite a charming girl!"
Wood stared at Kael, panting heavily, looking like an angry buffalo.
Kael shrugged, high-fived Grace, and then returned to the center of the field.
Less than five minutes into the game, it was 20 to 0, putting Gryffindor at a direct disadvantage.
In the stands, Hufflepuff's cheers almost drowned out Lee Jordan's commentary.
"Fred, George, what are you doing!" Wood roared, "Get him off that broom!"
"We've... been doing it!" Fred shouted, trying hard to hit the Bludger at Kael, "But their two Beaters seem to have settled around Kael... Damn, blocked again!"
At this time in the field, not only Kael had someone settled around him, Harry was experiencing the same.
Harry felt like Cedric was almost sticking to him, he couldn't shake him off because he couldn't keep speeding non-stop; he had to stop to look for the Golden Snitch.
Whenever he did, Cedric would catch up from behind and continue to interfere.
Once he saw it, the golden glint flapping its little wings behind Angelina Johnson's ear... but when he was about to accelerate over, Cedric blocked his view.
Though he quickly veered from another direction, in those crucial seconds, the Snitch was lost.
"Harry, now is not the time to be friendly."
Wood shouted loudly, having seen the Golden Snitch too, "If necessary, knock him off that broom!"
...