Cedric held the nimbus 2001, completely unwilling to let go.
For those who love Quidditch, a good broom is as precious as a wife.
"Professor, may I request to use the Quidditch Pitch today?"
Cedric asked Professor Sprout.
"We must start training immediately!"
Professor Sprout looked at her student's enthusiastic demeanor and wouldn't dampen his spirits.
"Of course, I'll write you a pass right away."
She pulled out her quill and quickly wrote on the parchment.
"But Cedric, remember to take good care of these brooms."
"Don't worry, Professor!"
Cedric took the pass and looked at Charlie.
"Charlie, you absolutely must come watch our training."
Cedric's eyes were full of anticipation.
"I promise you, you won't be disappointed."
Charlie nodded: "Alright, I'll be there."
After breakfast.
Charlie slowly walked towards the Quidditch Pitch.
Summer had just passed, bright sunlight spilled onto the grass, and a gentle breeze blew.
Charlie sat in the stands, only to unexpectedly find two familiar figures there.
Hermione was engrossed in a thick book titled 'Quidditch Through the Ages'.
Ron, on the other hand, held a bag of chocolate frogs, eating them while looking out at the pitch.
"Why are you two here too?"
Charlie sat down beside them.
Hermione looked up: "Gryffindor is training today, so we came to watch."
"Gryffindor training? We Hufflepuff are training too."
"Huh?"
The three of them froze, as movement came from the pitch.
Cedric led the Hufflepuff team onto the pitch from one side.
All seven of them held brand new nimbus 2001s, their steps in unison.
But as soon as they entered the pitch, they saw two other teams also coming in.
The Gryffindor team entered from the left, Harry following behind their captain, Wood.
The Slytherin team entered from the right, Draco standing proudly at the very front of his team.
The three teams met in the center of the pitch.
The air instantly solidified.
The three teams glared at each other, sparks flying.
No one was willing to back down.
Wood was the first to speak: "We booked the pitch for today."
Flint sneered: "We booked it too."
Cedric held up the pass in his hand: "I have Professor Sprout's pass."
The three captains simultaneously pulled out their respective passes.
All of them stated permission to use the pitch today.
It was clearly a mix-up.
Draco stepped out from the Slytherin team.
His silver-grey eyes swept over the Gryffindor team, finally settling on Harry.
"Harry Potter."
Draco's voice carried obvious mockery.
"Last term you only relied on a good broom."
"This term my father sponsored seven nimbus 2001s for Slytherin."
He smugly patted the broom in his hand.
"Newer and faster than your Nimbus 2000."
"Guaranteed to make sure you Gryffindor don't get a single point!"
Harry's face turned very grim; this was clearly not good news, as it meant the entire Gryffindor team would be at a disadvantage.
"Charlie sponsors, you sponsor too, you horse manure copycat."
Charlie, Ron, and Hermione came down from the stands, and Ron mocked him.
Charlie's mouth twitched.
This kid insulted two people with one sentence.
Draco glared fiercely at Ron.
"Idiot Weasley, what the hell do you know!"
Hermione also chimed in.
"What's wrong with what Ron said?"
"Harry got on the team based on his skill."
"While you relied on your broom."
These words hit Draco where it hurt.
His face turned crimson, and he opened his mouth to retort.
"Mud..."
But halfway through his sentence, he suddenly realized Charlie was also there.
Draco instantly sobered up.
He remembered using that word to insult Charlie at the start of last term.
He had been thoroughly tormented.
Draco quickly changed his words: "Your mother is quite good, huh."
The Slytherin team members, who had been sneering, looked at Draco in confusion.
No, the mushrooms in the mushroom soup this morning weren't cooked through, were they?
Was Draco poisoned?
Hermione stood still, completely uncomprehending.
But she was polite, blinking her eyes: "It's... it's fine, thank you for your concern."
The atmosphere became extremely awkward.
Charlie looked at the stalemate between the three teams and offered a suggestion.
"How about this?"
"Three teams have a practical training match together?"
Wood frowned: "How can three teams play?"
"Even if we're all on the pitch, there are only two sets of hoops, how do we divide them?"
Charlie shrugged: "If we can't divide them, then don't."
"Just use one set of hoops, whoever scores gets points."
The Hufflepuff team at this point almost worshipped Charlie, so whatever he said went.
Cedric was the first to raise his hand: "I agree!"
The other Hufflepuff team members also nodded in agreement.
Gryffindor was a bit hesitant.
But several members of the team had followed Charlie to fight Lord Voldemort last term, and had even received 10 Galleons from Charlie.
"I think we can give it a try," Harry said.
Wood looked at the expressions of his team members, and finally nodded: "Alright, there's no better way anyway."
Slytherin now followed Draco's lead.
But Draco listened to Charlie.
"However Charlie says to play, that's how we'll play."
Although Flint was somewhat reluctant, since Draco had spoken, he could only agree.
The three teams thus haphazardly started playing a chaotic, unofficial match.
Charlie returned to the stands, pulled out the Fizzing Whizbees he bought at Honeydukes, and watched with relish.
Hermione rolled her eyes, flipping through 'Quidditch Through the Ages': "I've searched through the entire book and haven't found a way to play like this."
"Who cares," Charlie said, sharing his candy with Hermione and Ron.
"As long as it's fun to watch, isn't that enough?"
Ron watched the match with great interest.
"This seems much more exciting than a normal match."
The pitch was already a chaotic mess.
Twenty-one people flew around in the air, the scene extremely disorderly.
On the pitch, Cedric displayed astonishing skill.
He soared through the air on his nimbus 2001, moving at an incredible speed.
With his greater speed and longer reach, Cedric caught the golden snitch a step ahead of Harry.
"Beautiful!" Charlie applauded from the stands.
The Hufflepuff team members cheered excitedly.
The final score was in.
Not counting the 150 points for the golden snitch.
Hufflepuff 180 points, Slytherin 120 points, Gryffindor 80 points.
Gryffindor's brooms were far behind; unless Harry caught the golden snitch, it would be very difficult for them to win.
Cedric really wasn't boasting.
With the entire team having nimbus 2001s, their strength had clearly improved.
Hufflepuff's Quidditch level was no worse than the other two teams, and even more organized.
Although everyone who joins the Quidditch team has talent and interest.
But Hufflepuff often practiced Quidditch first before going back to do homework, dedicating their fullest energy to Quidditch.
If Slytherin and Gryffindor were to do the same, leading to a decline in grades, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape would show them what cruelty was.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"