From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

Fortunately, the Grimoire of Destruction gave him unlimited potential. As long as he continues to grow, one day Ivy will become a super-powerful individual.

It was noted that the brooms above the Slytherin table not only covered the students filling the Great Hall, but also the professors sitting at the Teachers' Table.

“Severus.” Professor McGonagall’s expression was grim, for she had keenly predicted that Gryffindor was likely to suffer another crushing defeat, and perhaps even miss out on the Quidditch Cup this year. “I hope you noticed the commotion in the Great Hall. To be precise, it happened at the Slytherin long table.”

Having already learned the origin of Nimbus 2001 from Lucius Malfoy's letter, Snape reluctantly lifted his head from his pea gravy.

“Thank you for reminding me, Minerva.” Snape tried to sound like he had just realized something, then he stood up from the faculty table and swept across the auditorium like a bat.

“Mr. Doom,” he said, approaching Ivy and staring at the Howling Flame on the table, “I doubt that the pet cats allowed by the school include any magical creatures.”

“Oh, Professor.” Ivy glanced back at him, then tapped Xiaoyan’s head, making a clinking sound. “It’s made of ceramic, so strictly speaking, it’s not a magical creature.”

Snape stared intently at Ivy's face for a good ten seconds without blinking, making everyone worry about his dry eyes.

“Mr. Malfoy has written to me explaining the situation, but that does not mean I allow you to disrupt the dining order in the Great Hall.”

Ivy was able to confirm that there was no clause about "dining order" in the school rules, so it must have been made up by Snape on the spot.

“Alright,” Ivy said, pulling the big cat into her arms. The cat brandished its claws defiantly at Snape. “I’ll get this sorted out in no time.”

"Flint!" Ivy called out to Troll One, who huffed and puffed his way across the long table, knocking a group of students off balance.

"Professor, sir." Troll One's etiquette training was quite good. If Barnabas had had this skill back then, he wouldn't have been hung outside the House of Response for hundreds of years.

Ivy directed seven broom packages to fly over and line up beside him: "These are your new brooms, but you can only open them when you get back to your dorm."

Flint grinned foolishly and grabbed all the broom bundles.

Ivy shrugged at Snape, meaning "It's all done."

The latter did not speak (perhaps nodded almost imperceptibly?), and turned to walk towards the faculty and staff's long table.

Seeing Snape leave, Troll One asked excitedly, "Was that Nimbus 2000, sir?"

Ivy shook her head: "Nimbus 2001."

"What? Nimbus 2001!"

Now even the ghosts in the cellar below the Great Hall knew, and Snape, who hadn't gone far, immediately stared at Troll One with a terrifying gaze.

Flint immediately realized he had made a mistake, grabbed a broom, and rushed out of the auditorium without looking back.

Although the instigator had left, the entire auditorium was still buzzing with excitement. All the students were discussing Nimbus 2001.

"I can't believe that Nimbus Corporation would release Nimbus 2001 at the very beginning of the year. We haven't even had a full year of Nimbus 2000s yet!" Even on Quidditch match day, Harry could still hear Gryffindor students complaining like this. He agreed with them in his heart because he was about to compete against seven Nimbus 2001s.

The stands were packed with people, all dressed in different colors representing their favorite teams. Harry didn't dare look at the Gryffindor contingent, knowing he was about to bring them a defeat. He lowered his head and walked into the dressing room below the stands.

The atmosphere in the Gryffindor locker room was extremely oppressive. Even the Weasley twins, who always managed to put on a smile, were silent, not to mention Captain Wood, who was hanging his head and seemingly lost in thought.

Harry felt he should say something inspiring, but the thought of those seven brand-new flying brooms made him speechless.

Time ticked by, and the match was about to begin. Harry's heart pounded in his chest.

“I don’t know what to say…” Harry heard himself say, and everyone in the dressing room looked at him, a feeling that made him feel suffocated. “I only joined Hogwarts six months ago… I’ve only recently learned to play Quidditch… I haven’t even learned much magic yet…”

Whether it was George or Fred who let out a good-natured laugh, Harry suddenly felt less nervous.

“But I love it here—the delicious breakfasts, the fun classmates, the amazing magic, and of course, you guys, my teammates. Everything about the wizarding world fascinates me. I feel at home here, and my classmates are like family to me…” Harry paused, then added, “Maybe except for Malfoy…”

Everyone in the locker room immediately put on a smile, and the atmosphere became lively.

Yes, that's it.

Harry told himself to say something more.

"The other side does indeed have seven Nimbus 2001s..."

Harry was horrified to find that the smiles on everyone's faces had frozen.

Why did I bring this up? Harry wanted to punch himself.

“Maybe we’ll lose today…” Harry felt his stomach and intestines getting tangled together, as if he were in a wrestling match.

"...But we are Gryffindor!"

Sparse applause filled the dressing room, but mostly relaxed smiles; Harry noticed that everyone looked much more relaxed.

“Your speech was terrible.” Wood patted Harry on the shoulder with such force that it felt like he wanted to nail Harry to the ground. “But you’re right, we are Gryffindor, and we will never give up!”

A small cheer erupted in the locker room, and everyone stepped onto the field with a do-or-die mentality.

Madam Hooch and the Slytherin Quidditch players were already waiting there. Harry watched as the two captains clasped hands and shook them with a force that seemed to want to crush each other.

"On your marks! Get ready!" Mrs. Hooch shouted, then took out a silver whistle and blew the starting whistle for the match.

Chapter 79 Lansky's Feint

After all this discussion, Harry finally saw the true face of Nimbus 2001.

It was a broom with a straight, smooth black wooden handle, silver foot pedals and a broom handle, plus many neatly arranged branches. The overall style was much more luxurious than the simple Nimbus 2000.

It's a really good broom.

Harry thought to himself.

Unfortunately, it was filled with giants. Of course, Ivy was excluded.

The sixth-year Seeker who had faced Harry in the last game was now a substitute, and Ivy sat upright on that beautiful broom, gliding across the field with lightness and smoothness.

Did he really never play Quidditch, as he claimed?

Before doubt could even take hold in Harry's mind, he heard his captain Wood's voice: "Focus, Harry! You're our only hope!"

Harry gave Wood a grateful look, then was horrified to see him nearly knock off his broom by the Slytherin troll captain in a very disheveled state.

"Toot—" Madam Hooch blew her whistle. It was an offensive foul, committed by Slytherin's Chaser against Gryffindor's goalkeeper.

So possession of the ball was handed to Gryffindor. Harry's heart, which had been in his throat, eased slightly: "At least the first goal was scored by Gryffindor."

Angelina, Gryffindor's renowned Chaser (thanks to Li Jordan's boasting, everyone in the school knows she's beautiful), prepares for her penalty kick. Her Comet 260's straight-line acceleration is impressive, and combined with her flashy ball-handling, she's sure to confuse the opposing goalkeeper. In fact, allowing the Chaser and goalkeeper to go one-on-one usually ends with the offense scoring.

In the blink of an eye, Angelina had traversed the entire offensive zone. After several swift changes of direction, she aimed at the top of the goal. The Quaffle shot towards the goal like lightning. Slytherin goalkeeper Miles Blaitch barely had time to react; his hands were still tightly gripping the wooden handle of his Nimbus 2001.

Goal! Harry clenched his fist, ready to hear the cheers from the stands.

"Oh no!" came a disappointed cry from the crowd as the Quaffle was knocked away.

How could this be? Harry simply couldn't believe what had happened.

Miles Blaitch's arm didn't manage to lift off the broom in time, but the Nimbus 2001's powerful performance helped him stop Gryffindor from scoring. He deflected the Quaffle with his face!

Even with two bright red streaks of blood hanging beneath his red nose, Miles Blaitch merely grinned at Gryffindor, revealing two rows of white teeth, making no attempt to wipe them away. It was as if they weren't wounds, but rather his medals.

Harry never expected that the Slytherin team would change so much in just a few months.

Although they were always tall and big, they would pester Mrs. Hodge for free throws at the slightest bump or bruise.

In Fred and George's words, it was like a giant baby chasing after its mother for milk.

But now… Harry doesn’t understand what’s going on; those Slytherin Quidditch players are acting like they want to devour them alive.

Harry followed the Slytherins' gaze and saw Ivy, who had been flying the highest on Nimbus 2001, land. He approached Miles Blaise, pointed at his still-bleeding nose, and whispered something. The bleeding immediately stopped.

The game then resumed, with Slytherin in possession of the ball.

Their tactics only came to Harry's mind with one adjective: barbaric.

The three chasers rampaged across the field, never letting go of the Quaffle. Even when Fred or George slammed the ball at them, the giants simply relied on the speed advantage of Nimbus 2001 to charge forward, showing no intention of dodging or passing the ball.

Harry witnessed firsthand how Marcus Flint, the troll captain, was hit in the back by a Bludger, but he only wobbled slightly on his broom to regain his balance, and the Bludger flying around him was quickly dealt with by the other two hairy Slytherin beaters.

Harry noticed many similarities between the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch teams, such as both having a pair of brothers as hitters. The only difference was that Gryffindor had the Weasley twins, while Slytherin had a pair of mountain trolls.

Nimbus 2001's speed gave the entire Slytherin team a terrifying advantage. Their Chaser didn't need to pass the ball; he could simply hold down his broom and charge towards the goal. The Gryffindor players had virtually no chance of catching up unless they intercepted it in advance.

But interception tactics can't always work, especially when your opponents are a bunch of giants. What's worse, this year's Gryffindor Chaser are all beautiful girls. When the two groups are flying through the air on broomsticks, Harry can't help but think of Beauty and the Beast.

"Oh!"

Gryffindor captain and goalkeeper Oliver Wood collided with Slytherin's Chaser again. This was the third penalty of the match, and thankfully, Gryffindor's other Chaser, Arya Spinnet, finally scored, breaking Gryffindor's goal drought.

Harry glanced at the score: 60-10, Slytherin leading by 50 points.

"I still have time." Harry anxiously scanned the arena, praying the Golden Snitch would appear soon. If they could catch the Golden Snitch before the score difference widened to 150 points, Harry could help his team turn the tide.

He looked up at Ivy, who was being carried higher by Nimbus 2001. Judging from his figure, he seemed completely unaffected by the stronger winds at high altitudes.

Suddenly, Ivy lunged downwards with her broom in hand. Although Harry knew it might just be a feint, he decided to follow closely, while secretly becoming more alert.

It was almost vertically downwards, and it was accelerating continuously.

Usually, Harry himself would perform such dangerous stunts. Watching his friend play so dangerously on the broom made Harry's heart pound. What frustrated him even more was that his Nimbus 2000 couldn't keep up with Ivy's Nimbus 2001.

As they drew closer to the ground, the strong winds knocked Harry's glasses askew, making it difficult for him to see clearly what was below. He kept telling himself it was a trap, but he continued to follow Ivy as they plunged downwards.

The pitch almost completely filled Harry's field of vision, except for a dark green square not far ahead. Harry knew that it was Ivy's cloak, and his eyes were fixed on it, determined to follow Ivy's movements.

"Whoosh."

Ivy piloted Nimbus 2001, tracing a slanted arc with a light and graceful motion, before smoothly returning to the air before crashing into the ground.

I knew it was a trap!

Harry didn't have time to think; he could only use all his strength to pry the broom head upwards.