Legend of Unity-The wizarding world

Chapter 23

After some practice Harry shouldered the Firebolt and he and Ron walked out of the shadowy stadium, discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, its acceleration, and its pinpoint turning. They were halfway toward the castle when Harry, glancing to his left, saw something that made his heart turn over — a pair of eyes, gleaming out of the darkness. Harry stopped dead, his heart banging against his ribs.

"What's the matter?" said Ron. Harry pointed. Ron pulled out his wand and muttered "Lumos!" A beam of light fell across the grass, hit the bottom of a tree, and illuminated its branches; there, crouching among the budding leaves, was Crookshanks. "Get out of here!" Ron roared, and he stooped down and seized a stone lying on the grass, but before he could do anything else, Crookshanks had vanished with one swish of his long ginger tail. "See?She's still letting him wander about wherever he wants — probably washing down Scabbers with a couple of birds now. . . ." Ron said furiously, chucking the stone down again.
Harry didn't say anything. He took a deep breath as relief seeped through
him; he had been sure for a moment that those eyes had belonged to the Grim.

They set off for the castle once more. Slightly ashamed of his moment of panic, Harry didn't say anything to Ron — nor did he look left or right until they had reached the well-lit entrance hall.

/ Line break /

Harry went down to breakfast on morning of quidditch match with his Firebolt. As Harry entered the Great Hall, heads turned in the direction of the Firebolt, and there was a good deal of excited muttering. Harry saw, with enormous satisfaction, that the Slytherin team were all looking thunderstruck.

"Did you see his face? He can't believe it! This is brilliant!" said Ron gleefully, looking back at Malfoy. Wood, too, was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolt. "Put it here, Harry" he said, laying the broom in the middle of the table and carefully turning it so that its name faced upward. People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon coming over to look. Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Harry on having acquired such a superb replacement for his Nimbus, and Percival's Ravenclaw girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, asked if she could actually hold the Firebolt. "Now, now, Penny, no sabotage! Penelope and I have got a bet on Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!" said Percival to the team as she examined the Firebolt closely. Penelope put the Firebolt down again, thanked Harry, and went back to her table. Percy gave a thumbs up from Ravenclaw table his Royal broom Pegasus was beside him and Harry realised most of the students are comparing both brooms.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice.
Draco Malfoy had arrived for a closer look, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him."Yeah, reckon so" said Harry casually. "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute — in case you get too near a dementor" said Malfoy, eyes glittering maliciously Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. "Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy Then itcould catch the Snitch for you" said Harry.

The Gryffindor team laughed loudly. Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed, and he stalked away. They watched him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, no doubt asking Malfoy whether Harry's broom really was a Firebolt. At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and Harry, though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring.

"You know what we've got to do If we lose this match, were out of the running and Ravenclaw will win house cup. Just — just fly like you did in practice, and we'll be okay!" said Wood as they prepared to leave the locker rooms.

They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team. She was shorter than Harry by about a head, and Harry couldn’t help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight lurch in the region of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to do with nerves. When Harry turned to see Percy who is wiggling his eyes at him Harry blushed.