𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 ✓

𝟏𝟐

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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐: 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry, Ron, and I were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning, Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. I secretly thought it was a creepy three-headed dog that could have nearly killed us, but didn't say so. Harry hadn't been so happy in days. 

In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and we spent a lot of time wondering what could need such heavy protection. 

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. 

"Or both," said Harry. 

But as all we knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, we didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all - to them - that they saw this as a bonus. 

All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later. 

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall, as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by along, thin package carried by six large screech owls. I was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of Harry, knocking his bacon to the floor. We had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel. 

Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky because it said: 

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. 

 It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session. 

 Professor McGonagall 

 Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read. 

 "A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."

"What is that?" I whispered. 

"The best broom in the world," Ron whispered. 

 We left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before our first class, but halfway across the entrance hall, we found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it. 

 "That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." 

 Ron couldn't resist it. "It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." 

 "What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."