Compared to the distracted Slytherins, the atmosphere on the Gryffindor side was much more cheerful, and their laughter grew even louder after watching Rosier storm out of the auditorium.
"George, is this the Nimbus 2000?"
After the Slytherins had all left, a boy with dark skin and long hair couldn't wait to get to the twins, urging, "What are we waiting for? Show us!"
His words were immediately echoed by others.
"Yeah, open it up and show us."
"By Merlin's beard! This has to be the best broomstick ever. Even the professional teams probably don't have Nimbus 2000s."
But despite the crowd's urging, Fred and George didn't seem in any hurry to open the package.
George glanced sideways with a look of disgust and said, "Hey, Lee Jordan, I'm Fred. Don't you recognize us yet?"
"Sorry, Fred, can I see—"
"No, I'm Fred."
Next to him, the real Fred hooked an arm around George's shoulder and said, "Seriously? You fell for such a simple trick? I'm starting to question whether you're really our best friend."
Poor Lee Jordan looked completely lost. He stared at the two identical faces next to him, unable to find any difference between them. They were practically duplicates.
"Okay, Fred, George, I'm sorry," Lee Jordan sighed, shaking his head before taking a deep breath. "Whoever you are, can I please just have a quick look at the Nimbus 2000? Please?"
Under normal circumstances, Lee would have pointed a finger in the twins' faces, mocking their silly sense of humor and throwing in some colorful slang to insult them. But this time, he didn't. He even apologized, bowing slightly.
He really had no choice. As a massive Quidditch fan, the temptation of seeing a brand-new broomstick, one not even released yet, was far too great. He wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he didn't get a glimpse.
"What Nimbus 2000?" Fred gave him a puzzled look. "I don't know what you're talking about. The broom we use is obviously the old Cleansweep Five."
"I get it, you're trying to keep it secret," Lee Jordan said, glancing around before lowering his voice. "But now that the Slytherins are gone, we're all on our own. It's fine, just a quick peek..."
Fred and George remained silent.
"Why don't we head back to the common room?" someone suggested. "It'll be safer to look there."
"You can't do this," objected some small witches and wizards from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. "We want to see it too!"
But no one really paid attention to their protests. The Gryffindors crowded around the twins and rushed out of the auditorium.
However, when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, they realized Fred and George had disappeared.
"They must've snuck away while we were upstairs," Lee Jordan said, feeling deeply aggrieved. "Can you believe it? They turned on their own people!"
By noon, the atmosphere at the Slytherin table was still heavy.
All morning, they had scoured Hogwarts, but there wasn't a single trace of Fred or George. It was as if the two had vanished into thin air. Additionally, those who had sent letters home didn't have any luck either. Some of the more temperamental parents had even scolded them in their replies, telling them to focus on their studies and stop daydreaming about impractical things.
Rosier was one of them.
Nimbus 2000? I've got a Nimbus 2100 if you want it!
He crumpled the letter in his hand into a ball and was about to toss it aside when he suddenly reconsidered, lowering his hand and angrily asking, "Still no news?"
The students around him exchanged glances, but no one spoke a word.
"Useless!"
Just as Rosier was about to flip over his plate in frustration, a Slytherin player came rushing over.
"Captain, I found something out!"
Marcus Flint grinned, revealing a row of large teeth. "When I passed by the Quidditch Pitch, I saw the Gryffindor team there. They must've been trying to secretly test the performance of their broomsticks while we were eating in the Great Hall."
Rosier looked up. Sure enough, none of the Gryffindor team members were in the Great Hall.
"Captain, should we go take a look?" Marcus asked cautiously.
"Let's go!"
Without hesitation, Rosier led the group towards the Quidditch Pitch.
As Marcus had said, the Gryffindor team was indeed there, but instead of training or testing their broomsticks, they were... fighting?
More precisely, the Weasley twins were fighting each other, while the rest of the team struggled to break them apart.
Seeing this, Marcus exclaimed in excitement, "Internal conflict in Gryffindor?"
With the match scheduled for the afternoon, internal discord among their rivals was great news for Slytherin.
Rosier also noticed that the package delivered by owl in the morning was placed near the passage. And there wasn't anyone around guarding it.
...
A minute later, the Slytherins left the Quidditch Pitch, huddled closely together, shielding someone in the center of their group. They didn't return to the Great Hall to continue eating, nor did they go back to their common room. Instead, they found an empty classroom and quickly slipped inside.
Once the door was shut behind them, they spread out, revealing the person in the middle—Rosier—holding a long, slender package tightly in his arms.
"Captain, are you sure it's okay to hide here?" Marcus asked nervously. "I still think it's safer to put it in the common room..."
Before he could finish, Rosier silenced him with a sharp kick.
He wasn't planning on stealing the broom for himself; he simply wanted to keep it hidden before the match to ensure Gryffindor couldn't use it. What sense would it make to store it in the common room, where anyone might accidentally spill the secret? If word got out that a Slytherin had swiped a broom, Professor Snape would never forgive him.
Rosier scanned the room. The thick layer of dust on all the desks made it clear that the space hadn't been used in ages.
"This'll do," he said, nodding. "Make sure you hide it well."
But no one moved. The group just stood there, staring at the person holding the package.
After an uncomfortable silence, someone finally spoke up. "Why don't we open it and take a look? What if it's not even a broom inside? We'll have wasted our time."
The others nodded in agreement.
"No, we can't open it," Rosier decided, snatching the package from the boy's hands and setting it aside.
He knew Gryffindors too well to fall for their tricks. If the rumor about the broomstick was fake, the package probably contained something unpleasant. It was safer to leave it untouched.
"Ho ho ho, clever boy," came a sing-song voice from outside the window.
The group turned to see Peeves, the mischievous poltergeist, floating just outside, his face twisted in a gleeful grin.
"Get lost, Peeves!" Rosier snapped.
"Rude boy, you'll pay for that!" Peeves sneered, his eyes narrowing.
Without warning, he smashed the window and lobbed a balloon filled with some strange liquid into the room.
The balloon didn't hit anyone, but landed perfectly on the package. For reasons unknown—whether it was the liquid or some other force—the package began to swell rapidly, like it was filling with air.
"I knew it... damn Peeves!" Rosier cursed under his breath, already turning toward the door.
But when he grabbed the handle, the door wouldn't budge. It was jammed shut, trapping them all inside.
Desperate, Rosier pulled out his wand. "Bombar—"
"Boom!"
Before he could cast his spell, the package erupted with a deafening explosion. A foul, noxious stench instantly filled the room, making everyone gag.
The smell was so overwhelming that even Peeves, still hovering outside the shattered window, cackled as he drifted away, leaving the Slytherins stuck in the stinking mess.