Chapter 120: Firebolt

In Torchwood's conference room stood a huge long table. At the top of the table on the side against the wall was a glass exhibition cabinet containing the diary. All members gathered here every Sunday to express their opinions to their hearts' content and could also consult the wise senior sealed in the diary at any time.

After the visit, the children crowded Mrs. Fontroy and left their newly built headquarters, and used the secret passage on the third floor to send her back to Honeydukes. Trig left with her because he had long planned to spend Christmas with his mother.

After returning to the dormitory, Harry lay on the bed, thinking about his mother with a restless mind. For anyone, hearing their mother screaming and crying to Voldemort, and then being killed, it is very difficult to forget such a thing immediately.

"Huff, huff." Neville bumped the door open and came in, startling Harry so much that he sat up from the bed directly.

"What did you go do?" Harry asked in surprise.

"I'll explain later." He dropped such a sentence vaguely, then fell asleep on the bed.

Not long after, Luo En also came back, holding a large cake roll in his hand.

"What's wrong, Harry?" he said. "You look unhappy."

"I'm alright." Harry said with some melancholy. "Just remembering that Black hasn't been caught yet, and the broom problem hasn't been solved either, so it's hard not to be worried."

"Oh, right, do you remember that note?" Luo En seemed to have remembered something. "I remember it mentioned Christmas."

Harry took out the note Zhang Qiu gave him, and it did indeed write "Unwrap the precious Christmas gift" on this line.

"Think optimistically, perhaps you can receive a new broom on Christmas day?"

"The Firebolt takes two thousand Galleons; I also made a great determination when I bought the first one." Harry said with distress. "Who would give me a broom?"

"Perhaps Professor Lupin will; aren't you saying he was your father's good friend in school?"

"Forget it, Lupin can barely support himself in that state." Harry shook his head. "Where would he get the spare money?"

"Then you can look forward to Snape." Luo En continued to guess irresponsibly.

"Whatever, in short, we'll know the answer the day after tomorrow." Harry put the note away gently, and his mood felt a bit better.

Early on Christmas morning, Harry looked at a large pile of packages by his bed, and there was indeed a long, thin thing. Unless someone gave him a clothesline pole, he could almost be certain that this was a flying broom.

The joy of receiving the broom overwhelmed Harry's mind all of a sudden. He was almost impatient to unwrap it, but just at this moment, a hand grabbed him.

"Riddikulus!" Harry cast this spell at the shadow in the wardrobe without thinking.

"Calm down, Harry, it's me." Professor Doudou said. "Christmas gifts are very dangerous. What if Black sent you a bomb?"

"Uh..."

"Imagine, you think you received a gift, happily untie the wrapping rope, and then trigger the switch." He said alarmingly. "Then, bang!"

"You're right, Professor." Harry said disappointedly. "We'd better move these things out to unwrap."

To prevent the bomb from blowing up the school walls, Professor Doudou carefully maintained his Levitation Charm and moved all the gifts sent to Harry to an open space by the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Except for Zhang Qiu who had made an appointment early, Harry discovered with some embarrassment that many students, whether he knew them or not, had come to watch the fun.

"Back off, children, back off, this isn't a joke!" Professor Doudou tried his best to persuade the onlookers to go far away, and then started to unwrap the gifts.

"A sweater and nut brittle." He read. "From Mrs. Weasley."

"This isn't strange." Luo En shrugged. "The gift Mom gives everyone is a sweater."

"But there are nuts here, Harry, are you allergic to nuts?" Professor Doudou interrogated. "Nuts could have been mixed in."

Harry spent a long time explaining to him that the book pages Ivy sent weren't soaked in poison, the watch Sir Crowley sent wouldn't explode, and he wasn't allergic to wool, peanuts, dairy products, etc., or anything that appeared in the gift pile.

Finally, under everyone's curious gaze, Professor Doudou unwrapped the last package, the long, thin one that looked like a flying broom at a glance.

Luo En, who was closest, gasped directly and couldn't control himself, shouting: "Firebolt!"

The onlookers boiled over all of a sudden; many people gasped in surprise, and Harry even felt the temperature around him rise a bit.

"No signature?" Professor Doudou looked at the package. "Who sent this to you, Harry?"

"I guess it might be Professor Lupin or Professor Snape; they were both good friends of my parents before they died." Harry said, biting the bullet.

"Oh, then it's fine." Professor Doudou nodded. "I generally don't investigate the privacy of professors."

Harry tried to pick up the broom and stroked its streamlined handle gently. He was certain in his heart that this must have been sent by Snape.

Snape is a recognized Potions Master; he must have earned a lot of money from Potions, perhaps the price of a Firebolt didn't count for much to him; secondly, Snape's view of him was very awkward—both caring and protective, yet unwilling to get too close, so sending a gift without a signature was very reasonable; finally, he also planned to give him a Christmas gift this year, perhaps Kalan told him in advance, and Snape decided to send a return gift—this was a very possible thing to happen.

"Next, I have to check this book carefully." Professor Doudou took away "Anna Karenina" sent by Ivy. "Some high-level crimes will use psychological means to suggest you commit suicide without you knowing, which is also something that must be guarded against."

"Alright, anyway, I'm not in a hurry to start reading." Harry had his whole mind on the Firebolt at this time, and he said casually.

"One more thing, I also have to give you a Christmas gift." Professor Doudou took out a small box from his pocket. "This is a Sneakoscope; when there is any suspicious person around, it will spin and shine."

"And." He blinked, "I like the teddy bear you sent very much."

After giving the Sneakoscope to Harry, Professor Doudou pulled out a few items he thought were suspicious from the gift pile, planning to take them to check together.

"Can I borrow it to try?" After the professor left, Luo En looked at the Firebolt with envy and said.

"Of course, we'll go to the pitch to test fly this afternoon." Harry stroked the tail of the Firebolt lovingly.

"Expected." Zhang Qiu shrugged. "But divination says you'd better take the broom to show McGonagall once."

"Why?" Luo En asked subconsciously.

"Of course, to let her rest assured." Harry said happily. "Tell her, Gryffindor's ace Seeker is back."

Before eating lunch, they packed up the gifts scattered outdoors, then hurried to McGonagall's office. Harry raised the Firebolt like showing off and said with a smile: "Look, Professor, this is the Christmas gift I received."

"Oh, my god!" McGonagall adjusted her glasses in surprise. "Who sent it?"

"I guess it's Professor Snape, because there's no signature."

Professor McGonagall looked at Harry suspiciously for a long time before saying: "I am certain this is exactly what you need, but does Snape really have such a kind heart?"

"Actually, we met his old classmate in Hogsmeade, and he told me that Snape and my mother were good friends in school." Harry explained. "I also planned to give him a gift, perhaps that Mr. Sangster let it slip in advance."

"Let me see, there doesn't seem to be any dark curse on the broom either." McGonagall sighed. "Alright, speaking of which, last year I originally considered giving you a Nimbus 2000, but I didn't expect you to buy one in advance yourself."

"Hahaha." Harry scratched his head. "In short, Professor, I have the confidence to win this year's Quidditch House Cup."

"Of course, can't let down the Firebolt." McGonagall sent them out of the office with a smile.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Harry noticed that the tables of each house had been moved to the side of the wall, and only one table and twelve chairs were placed in the middle of the hall. Professor Deng Buliduo and the heads of the four houses were sitting on one side of the table, and on the edge were Professor Doudou and Filch.

Besides that, there were only three other students; the two first-years looked quite nervous, facing a Slytherin fifth-year student who seemed a bit angry.

"Merry Christmas!" When Harry, Luo En, and Zhang Qiu approached the table, Deng Buliduo said: "Only a few of us are left, sitting by house is really stupid... sit down, sit down!"

"Wait." Zhang Qiu suddenly said. "I remembered I need to fast today..."

Her words were only half finished when Professor Trelawney suddenly walked into the Great Hall in a rush. She was wearing a dress inlaid with green metal pieces, looking just like a dragonfly.

"I was just doing divination, Headmaster," Professor Trelawney's voice sounded like it came from a misty distance, "and I felt amazed. I saw myself giving up my solitude and coming to attend your luncheon. How could I refuse the stimulation of fate? So I rushed over from my tower immediately, please forgive my lateness..."

Just as Deng Buliduo stretched out his wand to draw chairs for them, Trelawney grabbed Zhang Qiu's shoulder, "You cannot leave, child, I cannot eat at a table of thirteen people; the first person to stand up will die..."

"But, Professor, Celestial Empire people cannot eat at a table of fourteen people." Zhang Qiu said unpleasantly. "That way everyone will die." ===== CHAPTER 121 =====