Chapter 31 Equipment cannot make up for the gap in strength
After Halloween, Hermione gradually forgave Ron and Harry, and the relationship between the three of them was no longer so stiff.
Aaron's brave stand also left an indelible impression on Hermione, but he was unaware of this. In his view, their revolutionary friendship was still at the 'good friends' stage, far from deepening, and certainly not as important as signing in to get stronger.
It's worth mentioning that Harry and Ron's view of Snapealso changed a little; perhaps he wasn't so hateful after all. After all, the Dean of Slytherin managing to save a Gryffindor student before anyone else was quite telling.
The next day, Great Hall.
Although it was breakfast time, the Great Hall was noticeably livelier than usual.
Because today was Saturday—no, because the Quidditchseason was about to begin, and the first match was Gryffindor against Slytherin.
Harry sat at the dining table, a bit absent-minded, his plate full of delicious food, but he had no appetite at all.
"Eat some toast! Hurry and eat."
"Ron's right, Harry, you've got a big game ahead of you!"
"But I'm not hungry," Harry said.
Snape walked over, a playful smile on his face. "Good luck today, Potter.
As the famous Harry Potter, I'm sure a small Quidditchmatch is child's play for you, even if the opponent is Slytherin."
After saying this, Snape walked towards the teachers' table, leaving the three of them looking at each other.
"He still hasn't changed, always so sarcastic," Ron grumbled, annoyed. "He talks as if Slytherin has already won."
"Don't say that. Aaron's flying skills are really impressive," Harry said. Today was his first match, and he was already nervous enough, let alone facing someone whose flying talent was no less than his own.
"So what?" Ron was still unconvinced, but his voice was a little softer than before. "Fred and George also scouted Slytherin's training, and the news they got was that Aaronhas never participated in training."
"No way!" Harry's eyes widened, somewhat incredulous. "Could he have been training in secret?"
"No, I specifically asked. Wood takes this Quidditch match very seriously, and he sends people to the stadium almost every day to monitor the personnel configuration and training status of each House.
Before today, the active players on the training ground were still Slytherin's original team members, and the Seeker was still Terence. However, for some reason, their training has indeed been very diligent, much more so than before."
Harry pondered for a moment, feeling somewhat relieved. "From the sound of it, Aaron might have joined the House team at the last minute."
"Exactly!" Ron patted his chest. "So be confident. No matter how good his flying talent is, he can't be a match for you, who has been training for several weeks."
"Is that so?" A surge of confidence suddenly welled up in Harry's chest, and he felt his appetite increase considerably.
"I think we shouldn't just guess wildly. Your guesses might not be correct.
You haven't known Aaron for the first day; would he do something he's not confident about?" Hermione suddenly said, pouring a bucket of cold water on the flame of confidence in Harry's heart.
"Hermione!" Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't boost their morale and lower ours. Aaron hasn't participated in training for over a month."
"I know what I say is a bit blunt, but what about Snape?
Do you think Professor Snape would casually pick a first-year student as a Seeker?" Hermione asked, and Harry and Ron were both speechless, their hearts becoming inexplicably heavy.
"How about you, Hermione, go ask Aaron what preparations he's made for the Quidditch match over the past month?" Ron said weakly. "You two are the closest; if you ask him, he might tell you."
"Heh!" Hermione showed a hint of sarcasm. "Sometimes I really wonder if you're an idiot.
This kind of thing is clearly team confidential information. The match is about to start; you want me to go inquire about this? How is that any different from asking him to betray his teammates at the last minute?
Harry, you're also a Seeker. Do you think it's appropriate for me to do that?"
"Of course not," Harry said.
Ron's face fell a bit, and he said sheepishly, "I was just curious, after all, it concerns the honor of Gryffindor."
Just then, a bird's cry suddenly came. Harry's owl, Hedwig, flew over with a long package and placed it on Harry's dining table.
"Mail so early in the morning?" Hermione said, surprised.
"But I've never received mail before!" Harry was even more surprised, curious about who sent him this mail. Would his aunt's family send him something?
Don't be silly; they wished he would die outside and never return.
"Open it first," Ron said, then proceeded to unwrap the package.
A moment later, an exquisite flying broom appeared before the three of them.
"It's not just any broom, Harry, it's a Nimbus 2000!" Ronpointed to the 'Nimbus 2000' emblem on the broom's tail, his excitement almost overflowing.
"But who sent it?" Harry murmured. Then he suddenly thought of something, turned to look at the teachers' table, and sure enough, saw Professor McGonagall smiling at him, instantly understanding a lot.
Seeing the brand new broom, Snape couldn't help but get a few more dark lines on his forehead. "Minerva, you're really generous, just giving away a Nimbus 2000 like that?"
"Not as generous as you! You're very good at keeping secrets. I didn't even know you changed the Seeker at the last minute," Professor McGonagall retorted.
"Last minute?" Snape smiled slightly. "That word isn't quite precise. Aaron joined the House team over a month ago, shortly after you made an exception and recruited Harry Potter into the House team."
McGonagall frowned. She hadn't known that, but for Aaronto be so valued by Snape, his strength must not be weak, at least better than Terence.
But she looked at the Nimbus 2000, which she had purchased at great expense, and her confidence grew considerably.
Although equipment doesn't determine everything, when the strengths are similar, the side with better equipment often has more advantages, and Harry Potter is the most talented flyer among Gryffindor's first-years, so he will definitely make good use of this flying broom.
"Regardless, the champions of this Quidditch match will definitely be Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall said confidently, refusing to lose in terms of morale.
"I'll be watching!" Snape said coldly, then walked towards Aaron.
Aaron was calmly eating breakfast when he suddenly noticed the surroundings quiet down, and a figure appeared in front of his dining table. So he reluctantly put down his fork. "Professor Snape, do you know it's very impolite to suddenly appear behind someone while they're eating?"
"Harry Potter has a new Nimbus 2000. You'd best pay attention during the match later. If you lose..."
"There's no 'if'. I won't lose.
To give a simple example, even if a first-year student has an elder wand, he is not a Prefect's opponent."
"Hmph!" Snape raised an eyebrow, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. "Quite confident, aren't you? I hope your performance on the field won't disappoint Slytherin!"
"It certainly won't. I usually don't make promises lightly, but when I do, I always keep them," Aaron said indifferently, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Snape nodded in satisfaction and left the Great Hall directly.
After Snape left, Draco leaned in. "Aaron, what you just said was so imposing, you even intimidated Professor Snape."
"Ah! I can't help it. I've been self-reliant since I was young," Aaron said with a sigh. "My parents were away from home for long periods, so I was always the one to greet guests when they came.
After doing it many times, I gradually learned the art of speaking.
Simply put, speak to people as people, and to ghosts as ghosts."
Draco swallowed, "You've had it quite tough."
"It is tough, but who told me I'm an only child?
Although unwilling, the honor of the Gaius Family is for me to inherit and carry forward.
Aren't you the same?"
Malfoy silently lowered his head, feeling inferior but also fortunate that he was born into a good family, as the heir of the House of Malfoy.
Pure-blood among Pure-bloods, a Pure-blood lineage that had never been broken for thousands of years was an unparalleled honor.
In other words, as long as they didn't make any major mistakes, this honor could be passed down. However, to restore the glory of the House of Malfoy was still a long and arduous task.
His great-grandfather passed this task to his grandfather, and his grandfather also passed this task to his father. Now, his father seemed to want to hand this task over to him.
Thinking of this, Draco suddenly shivered. No, this curse must end with his generation.
"What's wrong with you? Aren't you sick?"
"No, I just suddenly understood some things," Draco said.
"That's good. Do me a small favor. When I'm playing later, I'm entrusting Abey to you to look after." Aaron said, picking Abey up from under the table.
"This..." Draco looked at the adorable Abey, who was so cute it was deadly, and nodded blankly.