Eve immediately frowned and said coldly, "Don't drag me into trouble, Weasley."
Marcus shrugged. "This is Eve's own choice. She wants to use her Silver Arrow."
"This is a broom I bought with my own money," Eve said icily. "I have a good relationship with it, and besides—"
At that moment, the Gryffindors noticed someone approaching from a distance. He was tall and well-built, with black hair and an eyepatch covering one eye. It was none other than Nolan Von Draugr.
As he walked over, Nolan grumbled, "Why hasn't this started yet? Hurry up—I need test data for the broom. Time is tight."
"Oh, sorry, Nolan." Marcus shrugged and tilted his head toward the Gryffindors. "These guys have been holding things up. Apparently, they're waiting for their professor to save them."
"Is that so?" Nolan looked at Wood.
"Uh… we applied for permission from Professor McGonagall…" Wood's voice instinctively lowered in the face of Nolan's gaze. "She agreed to let us use the pitch today."
Nolan waved a hand impatiently. "And we have Professor Snape's permission."
"But—"
Seeing Wood faltering, Harry grew annoyed. Since when did Gryffindors back down to Slytherins? Especially to someone like Nolan Von Draugr? He didn't understand why Wood was acting so intimidated by a third-year.
"Von Draugr! You're not even on the Slytherin Quidditch team!" Harry called out loudly. "Why are you on the pitch? You should be sitting in the stands, like Ron and Hermione!"
Nolan pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. "You're wasting my time. I need to run a series of tests on Eve's broom."
"Tests?" The Gryffindors were taken aback. They all asked in unison, "What kind of tests?"
"I took Eve's broom apart and modified it." Nolan rolled his eyes. "I increased its speed."
"Oh my Merlin…" Angelina clutched her chest as if she had just suffered a shock. She let out a long sigh. "No wonder the Silver Lightning is so fast! We're losing because we don't have a genius boyfriend on our side…"
Nolan tilted his head, growing impatient. "I don't think anyone besides Eve can control that Silver Arrow. In fact, I even had Madam Hooch test it—she couldn't handle it either. Increasing the speed compromised its stability. Only a truly skilled flyer can control it—someone like Eve."
Eve tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, suddenly looking a little bashful. The cold demeanor from earlier had completely melted away.
"But!" Harry seized on another issue. "Modifying brooms is illegal! Aren't you afraid the Ministry of Magic will find out? They'll throw you into Azkaban!"
The young wizards exchanged uneasy glances. The atmosphere instantly turned serious.
Privately altering a broomstick was as serious as tampering with a wand. The Ministry wouldn't show any leniency in their sentencing.
"I didn't modify it privately." Nolan sighed. "I have an agreement with the Comet Broom Company. They appreciate my passion for speed and commissioned me to design their next generation of racing brooms. This model is based on the Silver Arrow, and Eve is my test pilot."
After explaining, he pulled out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, and urged, "We're out of time, Eve. Hurry up. We need enough data today, and I still have to do adjustments and formatting tonight."
Eve nodded, mounted the broom, and shot into the sky like a silver streak.
The moment she took off, a gust of cold wind swept across the pitch. The impact was so strong that the more delicate students—Draco and Harry among them—nearly lost their balance.
Eve's speed left everyone stunned—she was even faster than last year.
"Is this the maximum speed?" Nolan amplified his voice with magic, calling out from the ground.
"I don't know!" Eve shot across the sky, her voice carried by the wind. "But maybe it can go even faster!"
"Increase to maximum speed and hold it," Nolan instructed casually. A piece of parchment floated beside him, and a self-writing quill scribbled notes at a rapid pace.
The Slytherins exchanged glances. "Uh… what should we do, Nolan?"
"You're free to train as you like," Nolan replied offhandedly. "Once I finish gathering data on top speed, acceleration, and maneuverability, Eve will join the Chaser drills… Also, Montague, you Beaters can send Bludgers her way—no need to hold back. She won't get hit."
The Gryffindors watched as the Slytherin team took off one by one, their expressions turning increasingly sour.
Meanwhile, three Gryffindor girls were excitedly whispering about Nolan, while Wood looked like he was about to write "defeated dog" across his forehead.
Harry, livid, muttered, "We booked the pitch first!"
"Then hurry up and get in the air," Nolan said absentmindedly. "I still need obstacles for my test."
"You're using us as obstacles?!" Harry jabbed a finger at his own nose in disbelief. "You arrogant—!"
"Oh…" Nolan rubbed his forehead, considering for a moment before asking, "Would it help if I paid you a small fee for your trouble?"
Harry nearly fainted from rage.
Draco Malfoy descended gracefully, perched atop his gleaming Nimbus 2001. "What's wrong, Potter? Why haven't you taken off yet? I was thinking we could race—your Nimbus against mine… Oh, wait, that might be a bit unfair. Everyone knows yours is outdated."
The Slytherins in the air burst into laughter.
Nolan frowned. "Draco, what are you doing? Don't waste time. Save the taunting for the actual match."
Draco stiffened, then hurriedly flew away.
At that moment, Ron and Hermione arrived at the pitch. As for little Colin Creevey—he had wisely chosen to keep his distance from Nolan, looking as though he'd rather be anywhere else.
"What's going on?" Ron asked. "Why are there Slytherins here?"
Hermione, however, wasn't particularly concerned about that. Instead, she hesitated for a moment before stepping closer to Nolan. "Hey, Nolan… I've finished proofreading chapters six through eleven. I found a few errors and corrected them… but I'm not sure if my revisions match your expectations."
Nolan glanced at her. "Hermione? That's great. Do you know how to measure wind speed?"
"Uh… sorry, what?"
"Wind speed. The velocity of the wind." Nolan explained patiently. "I need constant wind readings—it can create unpredictable fluctuations in my data. If you don't know how, I can teach you a few spells."
Ron watched in bewilderment as Nolan led Hermione away, chatting about wind measurements. For some reason, he felt a little… weird about it.