After leaving the eighth-floor corridor, the two prepared to head back to the common room via the stairs.
But the next second, Kael suddenly saw Professor McGonagall just coming out of the Gryffindor common room.
That in itself wasn't too surprising, as Professor McGonagall was the head of Gryffindor, and she would naturally appear there.
However, Kael noticed that she was holding a finely-crafted broom.
A streamlined white ash handle, and the slightly upturned birch twigs at the tail, all identified it as...
The fastest broom in the world, the Firebolt.
Professor McGonagall looked delighted, a smile on her face that she wasn't trying to hide.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall," Kael said, and Conna beside him also greeted her.
"Good afternoon..." Professor McGonagall nodded, smiling as she asked, "Have you seen Potter? I have good news to tell him."
"No," Kael said, "We were just practicing the Patronus Charm in an empty classroom and didn't notice what was happening outside."
"I see, so how's it going?" Professor McGonagall looked at Conna.
She had already heard from some Hufflepuff students that the jellyfish Patronus at the last Quidditch match was summoned by Kael, so there was no need to ask him redundantly.
"Still a bit off," Conna said, pulling out her wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A fist-sized ball of silver light flew from the wand and began circling Conna non-stop.
"Oh, you have high expectations of yourself," Professor McGonagall said in surprise, "For a fourteen-year-old student, being able to summon a Patronus form is quite an impressive achievement.
And you shouldn't compare yourself with Kael and think you're not doing well, that's not accurate."
Professor McGonagall looked truly in a good mood, not only giving Conna proper encouragement but also making a small joke to comfort her.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself; the Patronus Charm won't appear in exams, and it's not needed for now..."
Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Dumbledore has already resolved the situation, and unless Sirius Black's whereabouts are confirmed, those Dementors will definitely not take a step into the castle actively."
Conna nodded.
After Professor McGonagall left, she turned to Kael and whispered, "Looks like we'll have a tough battle next week."
"Yeah," Kael scratched his head.
Professor McGonagall holding a Firebolt in the Gryffindor common room and looking for Harry was clearly to return the broomstick to him.
After all, given Professor McGonagall's obsession with the Quidditch Cup, if there were any problem with the broom, she couldn't possibly be this happy.
The two quickly returned to the common room and told the others about it.
The originally lively crowd suddenly fell silent, like Snape's Magic Potion Classroom.
Especially Cedric and the team members...
Even though they had anticipated this outcome, when the news was confirmed, they still felt a bit at a loss.
So, Cedric pulled Kael along to practice on the field.
The other members also went back to the dorm to grab their brooms.
It was too cold outside, the biting wind seemed intent on penetrating every corner of their bodies. In such weather, even training maniac Wood wouldn't want to stay outside.
But Hufflepuff had the Warm-Up Badge provided by Kael, so there was no need to worry about this.
From the afternoon until almost dusk, the Gryffindor team also came.
Many people already knew about the Firebolt, so Wood didn't plan to keep it hidden anymore.
They came to test this new broom, and of course, it wasn't without a hint of showing off... After all, Gryffindor hadn't won against Hufflepuff even once in recent years.
They didn't try to fight for the pitch, just took up the outermost area, using stones as a stand-in for the Golden Snitch during practice.
Riding the Firebolt, Harry looked like a gust of wind; no matter how tricky the angle was that Wood threw a stone, Harry would catch it in the next second.
Even when several players threw from different directions, not a single stone hit the ground.
Gradually, Hufflepuff's team members also lost focus in their training, as their eyes kept drifting sideways.
In the end, Cedric simply ended the practice early.
Kael walked out of the dim pitch alongside Cedric, carrying his broom.
The atmosphere was a bit gloomy.
Having only heard about it before, now seeing the speed of the Firebolt with their own eyes made them feel that their chances of winning were even slimmer.
"It's okay..." Cedric tried to lighten the mood, "Stones aren't like the Golden Snitch. To be honest, even without the Firebolt, I could do what Potter just did... If you don't believe me, we can find a place to test it out.
If I miss one, I'll treat everyone to Honeydukes' candy, your choice."
"We believe in you, Captain," Mikel suddenly laughed, "We were just... hungry, that's why we didn't want to talk."
"Exactly, that's it..."
"Yeah, my stomach has been growling since just now..."
"I heard there's pudding today, I really want to have dinner soon..."
The previously gloomy atmosphere suddenly disappeared, and everyone walked into the castle, chatting and laughing.
The auditorium remained as lively as ever, and when they came down after putting away their brooms, the Gryffindors had also arrived.
The Firebolt was placed in the center of the dining table, sign facing up, with many people gathered around to admire it and congratulate Harry on getting such an excellent broom to replace the Nimbus.
However, Malfoy seemed a bit displeased.
Just as Kael entered the auditorium, he saw Malfoy and his two cronies approaching near Harry.
"This broom has many special features, doesn't it?" A trace of malice in his eyes, "It's a pity it doesn't come with a parachute, in case you get too close to a Dementor."
Crabbe and Goyle snickered.
Harry ignored him, continuing to talk with Fred beside him, which made Malfoy's expression turn sour.
Kael watched from the side, suddenly finding it amusing.
Ever since Harry was inadvertently saved by Malfoy last time, the two sides hadn't spoken for quite a while.
Kael thought Malfoy would seize the opportunity to mock Harry, but he hadn't. It seemed Malfoy considered the incident of saving Harry an embarrassment, never bringing it up again.
This time, he was just mocking Harry's fear of Dementors.
Seeing that he was being ignored, Malfoy snorted coldly, squinting his gray eyes, and strode away.
But as he passed Kael, he loudly said, "I think you should invent an anti-fall robe, Gryffindor would definitely chip in to buy their Seeker a set..."
Without waiting for Kael's response, he had already joined the other Slytherin team members.
They huddled together, seemingly asking Malfoy whether that broom was truly a Firebolt.