Saturday morning arrived, and the Quidditch pitch was once again a scene of bustling crowds and deafening cheers.
For the Hufflepuff players, the pressure for this match was immense.
Because the Father-Sorrowers had been busy helping build the "Skynet" system, the production of the Fatty Lightning broomsticks had been delayed. They had only been in possession of these new brooms for less than a week.
Even though Cedric Diggory had been dragging them through intensive training every single day, their level of synergy with the brooms was still struggling to improve.
The performance of the Fatty Lightning was simply too superior. The engine's thrust-vectoring nozzles gave the broom a turning radius far beyond any other model; it could even perform mind-boggling maneuvers like making sharp, acute-angle turns.
Furthermore, its speed far surpassed the Nimbus 2001, making it an even greater leap from the Cleansweep series they usually used.
Consequently, adapting to the accelerated pace of the game brought on by the Fatty Lightning required a significant amount of time. A week was nowhere near enough; they needed at least a month.
"The Hufflepuff team is coming out! Just like Slytherin, they've outfitted their entire squad with brand-new brooms!"
Lee Jordan was serving as the commentator as usual, shouting at the top of his lungs from the podium.
"Word is that the Hufflepuff team's brooms were all sponsored by Kyle Dumbledore!"
When Lee Jordan said this, he put a heavy emphasis on the name "Dumbledore," dropping all sorts of hints to Professor McGonagall that the Gryffindor Quidditch team was also in need of an upgrade.
"This is their first appearance since switching to the new brooms! Let's see what they've got!"
"Whoa, here they come!"
Everyone's gaze followed Lee's words toward the entrance tunnel at the edge of the pitch.
The "Hufflepuff Villains" emerged, each carrying a matte-black... missile.
Yes, a missile.
Any Muggle-born wizard with even a passing knowledge of such things felt a cold sweat break out. Was this the same thing they had seen recently—that "rocket" being launched from the Quidditch pitch?
So, that wasn't a rocket test flight... no, it was a broomstick maiden flight?
Soon, it was time for Kyle's favorite part: the trash-talking phase.
Kyle rubbed his face, and in an instant, he transformed into the image of Severus Snape, ready to deal some psychological damage to Slytherin.
In the stands, the real Snape's face darkened instantly. He stood up from his seat in a rage, drawing his wand as if ready to hit this insolent "Little Demon King" with a Levicorpus.
However, upon catching Albus Dumbledore's gaze beside him, Snape took a deep breath and ultimately sheathed his wand.
"Marcus Flint!"
As he roared the name, Kyle deliberately used magic to mimic the "Old Bat's" voice.
Hearing "Snape's" voice, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint, immediately gave a violent shudder.
"I have signed so many permission slips for you to use this pitch! If you cannot defeat Hufflepuff while wielding Nimbus 2001s, then come to my office tonight to skin toads!"
The Hufflepuff players all looked at the "Old Bat" beside them with lines of exasperation on their foreheads.
Then, Kyle transformed again, this time into the likeness of Dumbledore. "If you win against Hufflepuff, I'll expel the lot of you!"
Seeing this, Dumbledore's face instantly became even darker than Snape's had been just a moment ago.
Professor McGonagall nearly choked on her own saliva.
The corner of Snape's mouth curled into a subtle arc.
Go ahead and enjoy the joke at my expense—now it's your turn.
Up in the commentary box, Lee Jordan was so shocked by Kyle's outrageous antics that the microphone slipped from his hand. The mic hit the floor with a loud thud that echoed through the magical broadcasting system.
Madam Hooch was doing her absolute best to stifle her laughter.
She had refereed countless Quidditch matches; what kind of unexpected situation hadn't she seen? She was professionally trained and generally would not laugh—unless she truly couldn't help it.
Just like now. Having held it in since Kyle turned into Snape, Madam Hooch finally lost it when he became Dumbledore, letting out a sudden pfft of laughter.
"Mr. Dumbledore, please cease your Human Transfiguration magic."
Still maintaining Dumbledore's appearance, Kyle spoke with feigned gravity. "Rolanda, I believe there is no rule in Quidditch that prohibits the use of Human Transfiguration."
A few veins popped on Madam Hooch's forehead. "Change back!"
Seeing that Madam Hooch was on the verge of exploding, Kyle became obedient in an instant.
The match began shortly after.
The tailpipes of the seven rocket-propelled broomsticks ignited with a ghostly blue flame, carrying the seven players as they shot into the sky at incredible speeds.
Thanks to the acceleration capabilities of the Fatty Lightning, Hufflepuff was the first to seize the Quaffle.
"Did you see that?! The performance of Hufflepuff's new brooms is extraordinary! When will we in Gryffindor get brooms like those?!"
Professor McGonagall rolled up her newspaper into a tube and smacked Lee Jordan on the head. "Focus on the commentary!"
Although the Fatty Lightning brooms were self-made by the four Father-Sorrowers—making them much cheaper than the Nimbus 1800 from years ago—the material costs for each broom still reached nearly a hundred Galleons.
Hufflepuff had a "wealthy mogul" like Kyle to foot the bill.
Over in Gryffindor, George and Fred were still as broke as ever. Most of their money was spent on buying alchemy materials; at most, they could only afford their own brooms.
If Gryffindor wanted to outfit their entire team, the remaining five hundred Galleons would have to come out of Professor McGonagall's pocket.
"Slytherin's defense has been broken through by Cadwallader on a solo run! They can't keep up with his speed at all! He's going for the goal!"
"Ah! What a pity! That beautiful toss was intercepted!"
Kyle's Bludger support was a step too slow. He realized that without using Monstrous Strength, the speed of the Bludgers he hit couldn't quite keep up with the pace of the game.
However, he had no intention of using Monstrous Strength. Slytherin didn't have any opponents as formidable as the Weasley twins. He was already riding a Fatty Lightning; wouldn't using Monstrous Strength on top of that just be a slaughter?
For the rest of the match, Kyle basically spent his time slacking off.
He realized that while the Hufflepuff players couldn't perfectly adapt to the speed of the Fatty Lightning, the Slytherin side couldn't adapt to their Nimbus 2001s very well either.
The match could essentially be described as a "noob fight," except compared to Hufflepuff, the Slytherin side was significantly more "noobish."
With Kyle and Cedric both coasting, the other five Hufflepuff players managed to pull ahead by over a hundred points in what was effectively a five-on-seven.
Ultimately, the match ended when Cedric caught the Golden Snitch.
The final score was fixed at 370 to 20.
The members of the other three Houses were mostly numb to such results. They had seen four-digit point gaps before; a mere three hundred and fifty points this time meant a certain "Sky Demon" had been quite merciful.
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)