Comet. That was the name of this worn-out broom I was currently riding.
A broom that was practically an antique, having been released over sixty years ago.
And the top speed of that broom, as I measured it with magic... was a whopping 80 kilometers per hour.
The broom I used to ride barely reached 50 kilometers per hour, if that! And that was the newest model!
I muttered a string of curses under my breath.
Wizards, this Quidditch-obsessed race!
I simply could not understand how the people who made this broom and the people who were still using quills as the 20th century drew to a close were the same people.
If they had that kind of drive for development, shouldn't they have started by changing the Hogwarts Express?
While they had been so ridiculously conservative in other areas for a hundred years, why had the speed of a broom doubled in just thirty?
I gripped the trembling broom and barely managed to change direction as I thought.
80 kilometers per hour. Does that even make sense?
I simply could not understand if this was really something that should be handled by first-year students.
No, it's easy to say 80 kilometers per hour, but think about it. That was faster than most cars on the motorway!
You'd be called a madman if you drove at 80 kilometers per hour in the city.
And yet, they're letting children who have just turned eleven play with these dangerous things as they please? Is this really right?
Even Muggles have to become adults and pass a license test to drive a car, but there's no license test for these blasted brooms.
They should be making license tests for these brooms, not for easy magic like Apparition!
"Children, it's dangerous to fly like that! Come down at once!"
Just then, I heard Madam Hooch's voice.
Even though I was flying at full speed, her voice reached my ears clearly, and I brightened up and quickly descended towards the ground.
...That is, with the muscle memory of riding an old-fashioned broom.
Uh oh. This is dangerous. Seeing the ground approaching at a rapid pace, I instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Why isn't the speed decreasing?
As the Comet broom was plummeting like a meteor, I had no choice but to use magic.
'Aresto Momentum!'
Though the broom was descending at nearly top speed, no matter how good its technology was, it couldn't overcome the power of the Elder Wand.
The broom came to a sudden halt, less than a meter from the ground.
With a slightly pale face, I quickly jumped off the broom.
Seeing me, Harry approached with a bright smile.
"Master, you're really good at flying! I've never seen such an incredible emergency stop before! Should we have our bet later as promised?"
Is this kid messing with me on purpose? I even had that thought.
I kept a smile on my face while my mind was racing, looking for a way to back out of the bet.
When I saw Harry earlier, he was flying around as if 80 kilometers per hour was nothing. He was a natural.
If we had a race, I would lose, nine times out of ten. I didn't really care about losing a flight, but the problem was the karma I had built up.
'I was the Speed Master of Hogwarts in my day.'
'No matter how good you are, you're still no match for me.'
A cold sweat ran down my back as my own words flashed through my mind.
I really can't lose this.
Just then, my eyes fell on Hermione, who was looking dejected.
Come to think of it, Hermione had looked up a lot of books related to brooms.
I had told Hermione that you can't learn to fly a broom from a book, but at this point, I was wondering if there was anything I could get help with.
Hmm, so this is how Hermione must have felt.
I approached Hermione and asked.
"Why the long face?"
"Ah. It's you. Well, flying a broom isn't as easy as I thought."
"Didn't you look up a lot of books related to flying the other day?"
At those words, Hermione glared at me with fierce eyes again and said.
"Thanks to someone, I couldn't look up any books!"
Ah, right.
Hermione sighed and continued.
"Well, I did look up a lot of things. But what good does that do? No matter how well I know the correct posture, the broom has to listen to me."
As she said this, she looked at the broom in her hand with a sullen face.
No matter how much Hermione commanded it, it just moved as it pleased.
She pouted and said to me as if complaining.
"I saw you flying really well earlier. Do you have any secrets you could teach me?"
At those words, I hinted slyly.
"Thanks for the compliment. Well, it's important not to be scared. But the broom is much faster than you think, so it seems that's not easy for everyone."
At that, Hermione nodded as if in agreement, but then said negatively.
"Hmm, but according to the materials I've looked up, modern brooms can go as fast as 200 kilometers per hour. The broom we're riding is actually on the slow side. If I can't even ride this, I won't be able to ride a faster broom."
Blink, blink.
I couldn't believe what I had just heard, and I just stood there blinking foolishly.
The vibrations of the air that had entered my ears were simply not converting into meaningful information.
When I finally understood the meaning of her words, my mouth fell open.
200 kilometers per hour? Have they gone completely mad?
That's faster than most sports cars! At this rate, they could compete in F1. Are they really letting kids ride these without a license?
And they're not even using these for transportation, but for playing Quidditch.
It was like playing football with sports cars. Good heavens. This Quidditch-obsessed race!
Hermione giggled at my expression and said.
"It's faster than you think, right? From your expression, it seems you weren't very interested in brooms. Come to think of it, your riding posture was a little strange earlier."
Ping. At those words from Hermione, my ears perked up.
"Really? How was it strange?"
"Hmm, not strange, but more like a very old-fashioned way."
Hermione reached out and moved the position of my hands.
"Look, the way you're holding it is the style from before acceleration and direction control charms were put into brooms."
Hermione took my hands and pulled them forward on the broom. As a result, the corrected grip made me lean forward more than before.
"Yes, the book said that you have to ride like this to control the speed well."
I tried flying for a moment as a test, and indeed, I could tell that the broom's shaking had been significantly reduced compared to before. Though it was still hard to control the speed.
My broom wasn't like this.
But well, in any case, with this much, the rest could be sufficiently supplemented with magic.
You might think, is it okay to use magic in a sacred flying bet? Actually, I thought so too.
But no matter how sacred the bet is, it's less important than my dignity as a master. As I was thinking about how to beat my disciple, I nodded.
"Hermione, thank you. It certainly feels much smoother."
Hermione's eyes sparkled as she said.
"Really? If you're so grateful, can you now tell me what you did that day?"
"What day?"
"The day you disappeared in the library! What on earth did you—"
CRASH!
Just then, there was the sound of something falling to the ground.
I turned my head to see Neville, embedded in the ground.
Looking up at the sky, I saw a single broom making a swoosh sound as it flew far away without a rider.
In a word, it seemed he had let go of his broom.
Neville, who had fallen to the ground, was clutching his arm and groaning.
Madam Hooch saw this and ran over in surprise.
"Goodness, are you alright? Oh dear, you've broken your arm! Children, I'm going to take this poor boy to the hospital wing. Don't even think about touching your brooms while I'm gone!"
Ah, dear. I shouldn't laugh. Suppressing the smile that was creeping onto my face, I said to Harry, who had come up beside me.
"Harry, it's a shame, but it looks like we can't have our bet right now."
"I know. It's a little disappointing."
Perhaps because flying a broom suited his constitution, Harry looked at the broom in his hand with a face full of disappointment.
But no matter what, we can't disobey the strict words of our professor. Therefore, the bet is off. Yes, yes.
Just then, I heard Malfoy laughing at the sight of Neville being carried away.
"Heh heh, for a big guy, he's clumsy as can be."
At those words, I asked Malfoy, puzzled.
"Malfoy, didn't you say you should choose your friends by their family? He's a pure-blood, and his family is the Longbottoms, so what's the problem?"
The Longbottoms are also a historic and prestigious pure-blood family. I can't tell if that kid is a pure-blood supremacist or just thoughtless.
Malfoy's expression twisted as he glared at me.
"Potter, I haven't forgotten how you insulted my family last time! You can look forward to paying me back."
The one who reacted to those words was not me, but Harry.
"Malfoy, I don't care about your family. But if you insult Aisen, you will pay the price."
Hmm, I've raised my disciple well. But what is this Malfoy family going to do to get payback?
I don't even know if that family has the capacity to do so.
In any case, seeing Harry's reaction, Malfoy sneered and said.
"A price? What price are you going to make me pay? You? What are you going to do if I insult this nobody with no background?"
Honestly, for me, hearing such words from a little kid is just funny. But it seemed that was not the case for Harry.
Harry took the wand out from his robes, aimed it at Malfoy, and said.
"What am I going to do? This."
At the sight, murmurs were heard from both the Slytherin and Gryffindor sides.
Ron whistled and cheered for Harry, and Hermione said to me in a panic.
"Aisen, a fight is going to break out! You have to stop them!"
"Hey, this much is fine. No one will get hurt."
"If another professor sees this, our house will lose points!"
So that was the problem.
In any case, Malfoy, who saw Harry take out his wand, got an idea and jumped on his broom.
"What, you want to fight me? Then come and get me!"
And then, Malfoy flew up on his broom.
I don't really understand why he's doing that. Do I have to say that since he's a kid, it's hard to predict where his thoughts will jump?
It was certain that that kid hadn't seen Harry fly a broom earlier.
He must have been confident in his own broom skills, but in the end, it was just at a kid's level.
I don't know how well kids these days fly brooms, but it was certain that Harry had surpassed the level of a kid.
Seeing this, Harry thought for a moment, and then a smile spread across his face, as if he had thought of something very fun.
"Malfoy, have you forgotten that Madam Hooch told us not to fly our brooms?"
"Hah, scared, Potter? Come on up here! You can't, can you? Are you scared of heights?... huh? Huh?"
Just then, Malfoy's broom, as if it had lost control, began to soar higher and higher into the sky.
Everyone held their breath and kept their eyes on Malfoy in shock.
But at least I was watching Harry, not Malfoy, so I was able to catch his mouth muttering something.
That's a rising spell.
I let out a hollow laugh at my disciple's trick. Whoever taught him, he's using magic in the right place at the right time.
Regardless of the children's surprise, Malfoy's broom continued to rise.
And finally, when Malfoy had risen higher than the tallest tower of Hogwarts, Harry muttered, 'Descendo.'
And then, Malfoy fell.
Harry shouted in a dramatic tone.
"Oh no, Malfoy! That's dangerous!"
And then, he snatched the broom that had been standing next to him and ascended at high speed. It was truly the speed of an arrow.
Harry, who had shot up into the air, dived after the falling Malfoy. The children all held their breath and watched only Harry, his movements freer than a bird flying in the sky.
Finally, at just about three meters above the ground, Harry snatched Malfoy by the scruff of his neck.
And then, he sharply turned the broom, instantly changing direction from a near-vertical angle to horizontal.
Harry, who had descended to about one meter, tossed Malfoy onto the lawn.
"Keok! Huk! Keheuk!"
Malfoy, who had been grabbed by the scruff of his neck and thrown onto the lawn, coughed with a pale face.
It must have been a rather shocking experience.
Harry, who had casually tossed Malfoy aside, landed gracefully with a satisfied smile. He really is amazing on a broom.
"Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy! Goodness, what in the world is going on here!"
Just then, Professor McGonagall came running out of the main castle gate, shouting.
Seeing her, Harry answered nonchalantly.
"Ah, Professor McGonagall. It's just that, Malfoy was falling off his broom, so I had no choice but to catch him with my broom."
"No, even so, how could you...! In all my time at Hogwarts, I've never seen such...! This won't do, Potter! Follow me at once! Ah, Malfoy, you stop by the hospital wing and then come to my office!"
McGonagall, who was about to drag Harry away. But, I could read in McGonagall's eyes not anger, but some other emotion.
...Is that, ecstasy?
Just from that look, I was able to figure out the Deputy Headmistress's thoughts.
Goodness, to think that the only sane person, the Deputy Headmistress, is also a Quidditch fanatic. This school is doomed.
Harry was taken away by McGonagall, and he mouthed to me.
'Did I do well?'
I couldn't hold back a hollow laugh and said.
"Yes, you did very well."
Whoever raised him, raised him well.