Students' lives at school are quite monotonous, both in the magical and non-magical worlds. The saddest part is that Hogwarts students cannot use electronic devices; it's not just a restriction imposed by the teachers, but a true "block," where all electronic devices cease to function at Hogwarts.
This means that while Muggle students enter the 21st century carrying music players, video games, and smartphones for their school entertainment, young wizards are limited to playing Quidditch, magical chess, and strolling through Hogsmeade, just like students a hundred years ago.
Young wizards from magical families can manage, but how can Muggle-born children endure life without electronic devices?
This demand has created a market. Young wizards wish to play Mario, GTA, Genshin Impact at Hogwarts, leading magical merchants to seek ways to create magical consoles and video games.
At this moment, the magical world may experience significant development in the field of spells. Entertainment media for young wizards will also diversify.
But for now, we are in the 1990s of the 20th century, so entertainment media for young wizards are quite limited. Due to the lack of entertainment options, Quidditch matches remain significant events.
The latest match was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
This match has generated much anticipation, and the reason is simple: both teams are equipped with the most advanced brooms, the Firebolts.
The appeal of these brooms to those who love Quidditch is simply irresistible. This can be seen in Madam Hooch's behavior. She found an excuse to participate in the pre-match training between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams.
"Look at their balance!" exclaimed Madam Hooch as she praised the Firebolts. "The Nimbus series has a slight tilt at the back, making the broom feel a bit 'heavy' after a few years of use. But with the Firebolts, they've improved that. They're much more balanced overall. Plus, the broom is thinner than the Cleansweep series, it resembles the old 'Silver Arrows' that are no longer in production. It's a pity, I learned to fly on a Silver Arrow, it was a very beautiful broom..."
Madam Hooch talks about flying brooms like Professor Scamander talks about magical creatures, often going off on tangents and rambling easily for a long time. Only when Wood reluctantly said they needed training did Madam Hooch stop talking.
However, she didn't leave; instead, she sat in the stands next to Ron. The reason Ron was here was that Harry agreed to let him try the Firebolt after the training. This pleasantly surprised Ron and completely pulled him out of his emotional shadow caused by Scabbers.
The fact that the rat he had slept with for years was a man was tough for anyone and had caused Ron severe psychological trauma. Harry had secretly thought that if Scabbers had been a witch, Ron would have been better off.
Scabbers was caught before the Christmas holidays. After a New Year, Ron's mood improved quite a bit, but he still felt melancholic. As Ron's best friend, Harry felt it was his duty to cheer him up.
What better way to cheer him up than to let him ride a Firebolt?
So, after training, Ron received the broom with a joyful expression and soared into the sky with a "whoosh" sound. He flew around the pitch until nightfall.
Harry held the Firebolt and walked enthusiastically alongside Ron as they discussed the broom's performance. This was how they walked back to the castle entrance, where the lights shone brightly. It seemed that Ron had completely left Scabbers behind.
Ravenclaw's training took place the next day and went exactly the same way, except this time Madam Hooch focused on criticizing the destructive impact of mass production in the broom industry.
"In my opinion, if they could keep producing the Silver Arrow series, for example, and could develop a broom that's no less than the Firebolt, that would be great...," muttered Madam Hooch as she shook her head regretfully. Then, she handed the broom to the students and instructed them to start training.
In the nearby stands, Tom and Hermione were sitting, watching the training. The treatment Hermione performed yesterday had a remarkable effect; Tom's tongue had fully recovered and left no lingering effects. Progress on their project had also accelerated considerably today.
Their appearance here was Tom's suggestion, who thought that study should be accompanied by leisure time. After completing his essay on "Why Muggles Need Electricity?" he took Hermione to watch Ravenclaw's training together.
The training itself was dull, simply watching the players fly up and down, performing various tactics. However, the serenity of that moment was precious to Tom and Hermione.
"Why don't you participate in the matches?" Hermione asked, a bit curious.
"Why should I participate in the match?" Tom responded. "It's not necessary; there are more interesting things than joining the match..."
"What things...?" Hermione was about to ask, but then she saw Tom's black eyes and felt as if a claw had gripped her shoulder.
Madam Hooch, who was nearby, rolled her eyes and moved a bit farther away without saying anything.
Fortunately, Tom's movements weren't too exaggerated, and he didn't dare to do more. He hugged Hermione as he leaned back in his seat and whispered in her ear, "You could learn to fly on a broom too; I'll teach you when we have time."
Hermione initially wanted to decline the offer because after so many flying lessons, she already knew she had no talent for broomstick flying. But before she could say anything, the words inexplicably turned into, "Alright, deal, but don't complain that I'm clumsy."
The two were chatting when suddenly Hermione's eyes narrowed as she saw an elegant figure in the sky.
"I hadn't noticed before, but Cho Chang is quite pretty," Hermione complimented Cho Chang softly. "An oriental beauty."
Tom felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and the word "danger" seemed to hover over his head.
"Oh, really?" he responded with apparent disinterest. "I just heard she's a very talented Seeker, didn't know she was attractive too."
Hermione shot him a look without saying anything.
"I'm bad at recognizing faces, to me, they all look the same. But you're different; your essence, I remember it clearly," Tom said as he tilted his head and kissed her delicate lips.
Mmm!
Hermione couldn't maintain her distant expression. Madam Hooch, who was far away, stood up and left the pitch.
After a while, the two could peacefully enjoy that quiet moment. Tom reclined in his seat, with a tranquil expression as he watched the small black dots in the sky. Meanwhile, he gently stroked Hermione's hair as she lay in his lap, her cheeks flushed, and her breathing erratic.
Meanwhile, the Ravenclaw team members continued to train diligently. The use of the Firebolt was even better than they expected. With just a light touch, the broom responded and soared across the field as if it were flying. Riding it made the colors of the stands blur.
When Richie released the Golden Snitch, Cho Chang easily dodged the Bludger and sped backward. Approximately ten seconds later, she caught the newly released Golden Snitch.
The Ravenclaw team members cheered with joy.
Richie repeatedly released the Golden Snitch, and Cho Chang easily captured it again and again. The Firebolt lifted the spirits of the Ravenclaw team, and each player performed at their best.
"Victory will be ours, Ravenclaw!" Richie exclaimed excitedly once everyone was back on the ground. The others also shouted in joy, and their voices were carried away by the wind.
"Thank you." After Richie announced that the training was over, instead of returning to the castle to freshen up, Cho Chang ran toward the stands.
Seeing someone approaching, Hermione quickly got up from on top of Tom and hastily fixed her clothes. Fortunately, the sun had already set, and the light was dim, so many details couldn't be seen.
"It's not a big deal; I just gave something to someone who needed it," Tom said as he waved his hand. "Are you getting used to it?"
Cho Chang nodded excitedly. "It's an incredible broom; I feel like there's nothing I can't do when I'm riding it."
"Don't underestimate Potter; he also has a Firebolt," Tom said with less confidence than Cho Chang. He felt that even with the Firebolt, Cho Chang wouldn't be a match for Harry because Harry also had one.
Just like the classic saying "all money is the same as no money," having a Firebolt meant that no one had a Firebolt, and Cho Chang's situation hadn't changed at all.
"You don't realize the difference between the Firebolt and the Cleansweep until you ride them," Cho Chang nodded, still confident in herself.
At that moment, Tom noticed that Cho Chang was still using an old Cleansweep instead of a Firebolt. The Cleansweep couldn't even compare to the Nimbus 2000. For her, the most important thing about the Firebolt was that it allowed her to compete on an equal footing with Harry.
'It's better for everyone to have a Firebolt than no one having it. Because people's incomes vary, and having a Firebolt is better than riding the old brooms they used to have, as the quality of brooms also varies,' Tom thought.
"Shall we head back for dinner? It's getting dark," Cho Chang invited.
"Of course," Tom replied quickly, with no reason to refuse, and he was also hungry.
The three of them headed back to the castle together.
During the journey, through their conversation, Tom learned that Cho Chang was British and born in the UK. Her mother worked at the Ministry of Magic and didn't give her much money to spend, nor did she support her much in her pursuit of playing Quidditch.
"This is a competition for men; what's a girl like you doing in it?" Cho Chang perfectly imitated her mother's tone. "But still, I really like Quidditch because it allows me to fly in the sky."
At that moment, the three arrived at the Great Hall.
"In short, thanks, Jordan. I finally have a chance..." Cho Chang said before parting ways with Tom and Hermione. She headed to the end of the table and sat with some of her friends.
"What her mother said isn't wrong; girls are at a disadvantage in terms of physical endurance, so I've always wondered why there isn't a separate competition for men and women in Quidditch," Hermione raised an eyebrow as she led Tom to an empty seat.
"Maybe it's because the magical world has a small population. Organizing separate men's and women's Quidditch competitions would be even more difficult. In fact, just organizing a Quidditch competition is a challenge. Even if there's only one Quidditch competition, it would already drain the full potential of the magical world," Tom revealed.
Generally, in all kinds of sports competitions, there are separate divisions for men and women. Due to significant physiological differences between men and women, male athletes have a significant advantage over female athletes. If divisions aren't clearly defined, the situation can be exploited by some dishonest players.
For example, in some competitions, groups are divided based on gender and hormone concentration, leading transgender athletes "from men to women" to compete in the women's category and win medals. Although they verbally claim to identify as women...
These are the detrimental outcomes of unclear categorization.
However, in the magical world, there are no separate categories; wizards and witches compete together! The fundamental reason for this is the scarcity of population in the magical world, making it impossible to organize separate Quidditch competitions for wizards and witches. In fact, just one Quidditch competition would already drain the full potential of the magical world.
Muggles have soccer, basketball, tennis, ice hockey... while wizards only have Quidditch. The reason there are no other popular sports in the magical world is simply due to the lack of population.
But for wizards, it seems that there's no need for another popular sport; they love Quidditch and enjoy it.
...
The next morning, early, the Gryffindor players arrived at the Great Hall. Harry was escorted by his dormitory mates because they believed the Firebolt needed a fan club. Similarly, the Ravenclaw students thought the same.
As a result, two teams appeared in the Great Hall. They placed their brooms in the center of the table for everyone to see.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Cunning students began placing bets on which House would win.
Tom saw that even Percy was joining in on the fun. He made a bet with his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater, wagering ten Galleons on the outcome of the match. Being a Gryffindor student, Percy decided to challenge his girlfriend and risked all his savings (which weren't actually enough to cover the ten Galleons) by betting on Gryffindor's victory.
His girlfriend, Penelope, was a Ravenclaw prefect and also a friend of Cho Chang, so naturally, she supported Ravenclaw.
Seeing this bet between the couple, Tom felt that Percy wouldn't have an easy time regardless of whether he won or lost.
At ten-fifteen, both teams headed to the changing rooms. The students in the Great Hall also formed a crowd and left the castle for the Quidditch pitch.
Tom looked up at the sky: it was clear, cool, with a gentle breeze. It was a good day for the match.
Harry changed into his uniform and headed out to the pitch. The Ravenclaw players were already waiting for them in the center of the field.
One figure on the team caught Harry's attention.