Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 360 Two Fire Arrows

Helga's plan was simple: she intended to appease Salazar while simultaneously showering his apprentices with lavish gifts. With this two-pronged approach, how could she not defeat this old viper?

With the Christmas holidays approaching, Helga also got to work. But before appeasing Salazar, she planned to give her good apprentice a reward first.

That was the last day before the Christmas holidays began. After breakfast today, the students would pack their bags and board the Hogwarts Express to return home and enjoy their wonderful Christmas holidays.

Just as the young wizards were excitedly discussing their holiday plans, the owls flew in.

This was a typical day at Hogwarts, but what was different today was that six snow-white, long-eared owls stood out from the flock: they were carrying a long, thin bundle together.

All the students stopped eating and looked at the flock of owls in the air.

Some of the older students recalled Harry two years earlier, when he, as a first-year student, also received a similar package during breakfast containing the best flying broomstick available at the time. Rumors later circulated that the broomstick was sponsored by Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House.

Judging from Harry's subsequent performance, he clearly lived up to the high performance of this broom.

Given the precedent, the students already knew what was in the package. The only remaining question was who the broom was for and what kind of broom it contained.

Cedric, like the other students, was eager to know who the package belonged to. Unexpectedly, six owls swooped down and landed steadily in front of him. The long, thin package knocked over several cups, making a mess of the edge of the Hufflepuff table.

After causing a commotion, the six owls flapped their wings and flew away. Then another owl flew over and dropped a letter on the package.

Cedric was extremely surprised: Is this for me? Should I take it back to my dorm and open it?

He first tore open the letter, which read: "Open the package, this is my Christmas present for you—I look forward to the day you lift the Academy Cup."

Cedric looked toward the teachers' table and saw Professor Hufflepuff pick up his wine glass and raise it toward him.

Once he understood who had sent the gift, Cedric didn't hesitate any longer. He tore open the long, thin package, and a beautiful, glittering flying broom landed on the dining table.

Cedric reacted quickly, grabbing the broom to prevent the perfect work of art from getting porridge and pumpkin juice on it.

After that, Cedric examined the broom closely, and then he was stunned into breath: he could see clearly that this broom was the same Firebolt he had seen in Diagon Alley! There was no way he could be mistaken!

He felt like his brain had stopped working.

The Hufflepuff team members sitting nearby also tossed aside their breakfasts and ran to Cedric's side to admire the world's best-performing broom—the Firebolt, which had already proven its excellence in the recent World Cup qualifiers.

"I can't believe it," Chaser Zacharias Smith said in a hoarse voice.

"Me too," Cedric replied blankly. He could feel the broom vibrating, so he let go. The fire bolt, without any support, floated in mid-air, allowing him to see from the golden serial number at the top of the flying broom all the way to the perfectly smooth, streamlined tip.

"Merlin above!!!"

……

The professors in the faculty seats were also stunned: Professor Sprout was actually so generous? He just threw out a fire arrow right away?

Professor McGonagall fell into deep thought: she thought that her act of giving Nimbus 2000 back then was unprecedented and would never be repeated, but she did not expect Pomona to be even more willing to spend money than herself.

Pomona Sprout, the headmistress of Hufflepuff School, was completely bewildered: Who? Who would be so generous as to give away such an expensive broom? Even the Diggory family couldn't afford such an expensive broom!

At that moment, she caught a glimpse of the subtle interaction between Professor White and Cedric. Professor Sprout's mind went blank for a moment, and she immediately realized who had sent the broom.

"Professor White, it's you?!" Her voice couldn't hide the shock she felt.

Hufflepuff smiled without saying a word, and simply nodded silently.

Professors: !

"Why not send it on Christmas Day?" Professor McGonagall suppressed her churning emotions and asked Professor White, who was sitting next to her.

"Such a wonderful thing should definitely be opened in public! Opening it at home just doesn't create the same atmosphere," Helga said, her eyes practically disappearing with laughter. She wanted Cedric to experience the astonished gazes and envious feelings of being the center of attention. Opening a gift at home wouldn't have nearly as many spectators.

Looking at Smith White's smiling face, Professor McGonagall immediately understood.

Indeed, Professor White is not short of money now. Her doll orders are probably booked until next year, and she has enough money to buy Hogwarts.

Just as everyone's attention was focused on Cedric and the fire bolts beside him, another flock of owls flew into the hall, each carrying a long, thin package.

Young wizards and professors: ? ? ?

This time, the package was delivered to the table in Gryffindor and tossed in front of a bewildered Harry.

Could it be...?

With trembling hands, Ha opened the package, and a flying broom that looked exactly like the one Cedric was holding rolled onto the table.

A second fire bolt!!!

The entire auditorium erupted in uproar.

Meanwhile, in a secluded mansion in Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black was throwing a letter violently to the ground.

"Damn it, damn it! How come they shipped it now?! I remember telling them the delivery time was during the Christmas holidays!!! What's the use of apologizing?!" Sirius was furious with Elleby and Badmore Flying Broom Company. They had gotten the shipping time wrong and sent the brooms a day early.

After catching his breath, Sirius quickly sat down at his desk and began writing a letter to Harry—a letter that was originally planned to be sent to Harry on Christmas Day, but now had to be sent ahead of schedule.

But what Sirius didn't know was that Harry was so overwhelmed with joy that his head was buzzing and he didn't care at all that his Christmas presents had arrived early.

This is a Firebolt! With this broom, Harry is confident he can hang Malfoy up and beat him. Judging from Malfoy's expression at the Slytherin table, Draco is practically envious.

"I'll write to my father right now, and I'll definitely be back with a fire crossbow when the holidays are over!" Malfoy said confidently.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Here's the second update. I'm off to write the next one now~

Welcome everyone to join the group and chat with me! I feel so lonely when no one's around to talk to me!

(End of this chapter)