The next evening, after their training, the Hufflepuff Quidditch players held a small party in the common room to celebrate Cedric's discharge from the hospital.

Cedric being okay was good news for the team. Captain Harris had also gotten some butterbeer from Hogsmeade village. He had a good time drinking it with everyone.

Mainly, because he wanted to drink it himself.

As team captain, Harris had a lot of pressure. Especially after the first game, he was losing his hair, one by one, with worry.

The opponents were too strong.

Gryffindor's players were the best. There were no weak spots.

Slytherin had good equipment and didn't play fair.

Ravenclaw had seven players…

For Hufflepuff, Cedric, the genius Seeker, was practically their only hope for winning.

Harris raised his butterbeer and clinked glasses with Cedric, "Don't worry, that won't happen again.

I'm planning to have a Beater specifically protect you. Next time, if those Slytherins dare to attack you again, the big, sturdy bat will hit them in the face first."

Cedric frowned. He didn't really agree with his plan.

There were only two Beaters. If one was protecting him, then the Chasers' attacking advantage would be gone. If the other team gained a large lead, it wouldn't matter if he caught the Snitch. It would be a loss either way.

Cedric told Harris about his thoughts.

"Don't worry about that." Harris thought for a moment, "That's just the initial plan. We can work on it when we do some practice games."

Cedric tried to persuade him to give up on the idea a few more times, but it was to no avail.

Even if his reasons were valid, Harris would just block him with, "We can talk about it after the practice games."

After realizing that he couldn't change his mind, Cedric stopped arguing.

Fine, they would talk about it after the practice games.

Kyle also participated in the party, but he wasn't part of the team, so he didn't have to worry so much. He could just eat.

He wanted to try butterbeer, but as soon as he reached out, an upperclassman stopped him.

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The reason? Students under e fifth year couldn't drink.

This made Kyle a little disappointed, but he couldn't help it. Besides him, even Cedric, the star of the party, was also drinking pumpkin juice.

After the party, everyone went back to their dorms.

The next few days passed as usual.

Kyle, like the other students, attended class, ate meals, and thwent to the library to do homework. It was as if nothing had happened.

Even Fred and George from Gryffindor had become more normal. In a few days, they had only lost ten points.

This made Professor McGonagall very relieved. Her attitude towards them was no longer as harsh as it had been.

This situation continued until the middle of November when the second Quidditch match began.

It was a weekend. In the morning, a rumor suddenly spread throughout Hogwarts.

"Did you hear? The Gryffindor team has a new broom."

In the Great Hall, a new Slytherin student was talking to the others about the news he had just heard.

"New broom?" The Slytherin team captain, seventh-year, Sevyn Rosier, looked gloomy after hearing the news.

Slytherin was going to play Gryffindor this afternoon. Having a new broom right before the game wasn't good news.

However, that wasn't all. The person continued, "I also heard that it's not an ordinary broom, but the Firebolt 2000, which hasn't been released yet."

"Firebolt 2000?!"

Someone exclaimed, "That's impossible. My uncle works in the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic. He can't even get a Firebolt 2000. How did those Gryffindors get it?"

At this time, someone else joined in, "I heard it was Bill Weasley who got it from Egypt. Apparently, he did a big favor for the Firebolt company."

"Those damned Weasleys."

Someone angrily pounded the table, "What about the match this afternoon? The Firebolt 2000 is definitely much better than the Firebolt 1700 we're using."

The Slytherin student who had spoken earlier stood up and said, "I'm going to write a letter to my uncle. See if he can get a Firebolt 2000 too."

"Will it be in time?"

"It should be."

…

The Slytherin team players, hearing this, all looked gloomy. They couldn't even eat their food.

Rosier slammed his plate onto the table in anger, "Damn it, why now?"

Slytherin and Gryffindor were old rivals. He couldn't accept losing to those guys.

"Don't panic, the news isn't confirmed yet." Someone analyzed calmly, "The Firebolt 2000 isn't a toy. It's not something you can just get. Besides, this news came too suddenly. It might be a ploy to confuse us, made up on purpose…"

"Oh…"

At this moment, cheers suddenly erupted in the Great Hall.

"Look, what's that!"

As if to spite him, just as he finished speaking, six long-eared owls carrying a long package flew in and landed on the Gryffindor table.

You could tell it was a broomstick just by looking at it.

Because it was wrapped tightly, you could clearly see that the tail of the broom was longer than the Firebolt 1700. Its shape was also different from any other models on the market.

The Weasley twins were holding the package and excitedly talking to everyone else.

Although the distance made it difficult to hear what they were saying, you could tell that everyone was very excited.

The Quidditch players, especially, kept looking over. Their eyes were very strange.

Rosier felt like they were mocking him. He was about to slam the plate down in anger, but he realized that there was nothing left on his table.

So, he slammed a new student's plate.

"Everyone go find out." Rosier said through gritted teeth, "No matter what you have to do, you must find out if that thing is really a Firebolt 2000."

"What if it is?" Someone asked.

"Then write a letter home and try to get one too!" Rosier roared, "What are you waiting for? Go!"

The Slytherin players scattered. Seeing this, the other Slytherins also left the Great Hall.

Rosier was in a bad mood. They didn't want to stay and get on his bad side.

...