The first Quidditch match after a year's hiatus, coupled with the school's new brooms, brought continuous excitement that showed no sign of calming even after breakfast.
Kael walked out of the castle with everyone else.
The frost-covered grass crunched underfoot as they hurried across the field to the Quidditch Pitch.
Within five minutes, more and more people arrived at the pitch, and the stands quickly filled up with an eager crowd that was palpable even from standing there.
"I really don't know who will win this time." Mikel said excitedly, staring at the empty pitch, "Though I hope it's Gryffindor, if Slytherin wins, it would be more beneficial to us."
Due to the large number of new Hufflepuff players, their strength had declined to a certain extent. Although they were confident that Kael and Cedric could make up for this lack, Harry's Firebolt was an undeniable enormous threat.
As friends and D.A. companions, Mikel naturally hoped Gryffindor would win, but from the team's perspective, he didn't want Gryffindor to score too many points.
Mikel had been conflicted about this for many days.
"I don't know either, but Gryffindor has a better chance of winning." Cedric said.
"Slytherin replaced their two Beaters with new ones, but aside from being strong, they know almost nothing about Quidditch."
"Who are they?" Mikel asked.
"Crabbe and Goyle," Cedric replied.
"Those gorillas?" Mikel blurted out. "Can they even tell a Quaffle from a Bludger?"
"Who knows." Cedric shrugged, "Anyway, last time when I went to apply for pitch usage, I saw them practicing on brooms... They couldn't even manage the basic turns."
"Tsk," Mikel smirked, "What was Montague thinking? If Quidditch were aerial wrestling, they'd surely win."
"That's not entirely impossible," Kael glanced at the sea of green and silver across the Slytherin stands, "We really need to watch out; if they recklessly crash into us, we might have to exit the field immediately."
"Deliberately crashing into people...?" Cedric frowned. "Montague wouldn't be that shameless, right?"
"Are you sure?" Kael replied, "Then why did he recruit two people who are only big but completely unfamiliar with Quidditch for the team?"
Cedric was silent for a moment.
"Okay, forget I said that."
"It's starting!" someone suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned their gaze to the pitch below.
From the position of Hufflepuff, Gryffindor's team could be clearly seen exiting the locker room.
Umbridge stood by the entrance, ensuring everyone could see her distributing the new brooms.
Angelina, Fred, and George all received theirs; they were using the old Cleansweep Five, which was far inferior to the Cleansweep Eleven.
Fred and George smiled earnestly at Umbridge, expressing genuine sincerity, and kept speaking... presumably offering compliments.
Umbridge, who initially intended to make things difficult for them, ended up muddled and handed over the brooms.
However, Harry did not go to pick up a broom; he didn't even glance at Umbridge and walked straight past.
His Firebolt was far superior to the Cleansweep Eleven, and he had no need to change.
The same went for Slytherin on the other side; although Nimbus 2001 was an older model, its price and status as a high-end product from Nimbus still made it better than the Cleansweep Eleven.
The two teams walked to the middle of the pitch and, at the referee Ms. Hooch's request, captains Angelina and Montague shook hands.
"Now mount your brooms..."
Ms. Hooch blew her whistle vigorously.
The match began, the Quaffle was thrown into the air, and all the players rose into the sky amidst a wave of deafening cheers from the stands.
"Johnson, Angelina Johnson has grabbed the Quaffle, she looks like an eagle on her new broom..."
On the commentary stand, Lee Jordan shouted excitedly, "What a fantastic girl, I've been saying for years, she still won't go out with me..."
"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly carried to everyone's ears.
"Just kidding, Professor..." Lee Jordan chuckled, "She dodged Montague, a beautiful Sloth Grip Roll... Oh, that was close, she nearly got hit by a Bludger, but the new broom saved her. The excellent maneuverability of the Cleansweep Eleven allowed her to dodge this attack, something the Cleansweep Five couldn't do..."
On the stands, all support for Gryffindor breathed a sigh of relief for Angelina.
"This is troublesome now."
On the Hufflepuff stands, Mikel said worriedly, "Gryffindor was already a formidable opponent, now with these nice brooms, it's going to be even harder."
Cedric listened to the discussions around him and suddenly furrowed his brow.
"What's wrong?" Kael asked, "Are you worried about that too?"
"Oh, no..." Cedric shook his head, "Actually, the new broom replacement is more beneficial to us. Apart from your Firebolt, all the brooms in our team are inferior to the Cleansweep Eleven, including my Nimbus 1700.
"So in terms of this, Gryffindor doesn't have any advantage; rather, Slytherin might be the least pleased."
"Then why did you suddenly become serious?" Kael asked.
"I just thought of something else." Cedric whispered, "You might not have noticed, when Harry walked past Umbridge, her expression didn't look good.
"Do you think there might be a forced requirement that everyone should use the new brooms... Of course, it doesn't matter to us, but your broom is a Firebolt."
"What's the problem with that?" Kael smiled, unconcerned. "Don't forget Harry's broom is also a Firebolt; he's the Seeker. With everyone using the Cleansweep, our advantage is actually greater."
"But what about Slytherin and Ravenclaw," Cedric said, "They don't have Firebolts."
"When I used the Nimbus 2000, I never complained. Besides... You're here, aren't you?" Kael glanced at Cedric, "With equal brooms, don't tell me you would lose to Malfoy and... oh, and Cho."
"Of course, provided some people don't deliberately go easy." Kael's voice was particularly emphasized in the last sentence, as if reminding him of something.
"I would never lose to them," Cedric said loudly, attracting quite a bit of attention.
Fortunately, at this moment, Angelina just scored with the Quaffle through the goalposts, once again diverting everyone's attention.
"I'm serious about Quidditch," Cedric said, rolling his eyes at Kael, "Besides, Cho wouldn't allow me to hold back."
"Then what are you worried about?" Kael laughed, "If Umbridge really does this, it would alleviate the biggest obstacle on our road to victory. We'd actually have to thank her for that."
...