A Certain Magical Hogwarts

The next morning, William didn't wake up until 9 a.m.

By the time he arrived at the Quidditch pitch, the Ravenclaw Quidditch tryouts were already underway.

With a thermos in one hand and a pillow in the other, William headed for the stands, fully prepared to take a quick nap.

"William, don't you think this is a bit much?" Cedric asked, glancing at him sideways. "Don't tell me you snuck out for another midnight stroll after we got back?"

Hermione, sitting nearby and busy drafting another suggestion letter, paused her quill mid-air and looked up with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"Ha-ha… of course not!" William replied, his survival instincts kicking in. "I was just so excited about today's Quidditch tryouts that I couldn't sleep."

In truth, William was excited, but not because of Quidditch tryouts.

After countless loops in time, he'd played more than enough Quidditch matches, including high-stakes games with Hogwarts' top teams. He was a seasoned veteran by now.

No, his excitement stemmed from the potion Snape had given him the previous day. 

He had stayed up late analyzing its ingredients in the Room of Requirement, working until 4 a.m. Naturally, he was sleep-deprived.

Instinctively, William reached up to touch his hair. Late nights were the mortal enemy of a full head of hair.

Luckily, his hair was still thick and healthy, with no signs of thinning. Sure, they say a balding wizard is a powerful one, but William didn't want to graduate only to be mistaken for someone's uncle when he was barely eighteen.

That was something reserved for programmers, and willam should try to avoid it.

Sipping the revitalizing potion from his thermos, William turned his attention to the field.

At that moment, the Seeker tryouts were in full swing, and Cho Chang was among the competitors.

Cho was easily the brightest star on the pitch.

Riding her Nimbus 1700, she darted across the field at breakneck speed, leaving the other candidates far behind.

She sat steadily on her broomstick, her hair, tied back loosely with a red ribbon, whipping wildly in the wind as she soared.

Students from multiple houses had come to watch, their eyes glued to Cho. Even the Boy Who Lived was among them, gazing upward in awe, utterly entranced.

While William personally thought Cho's looks were average, from the people he had come into contact with, he came to understand that she fit the quintessential British aesthetic—ethereal and picturesque.

It wasn't surprising that Cedric had fallen for her at first sight.

After all, Hogwarts had its share of strikingly beautiful witches, but few could command the skies like Cho on a broomstick. It was an entirely different kind of appeal.

Cho accelerated again, her movements as light as a feather. She executed a sharp mid-air turn and effortlessly snatched the Golden Snitch.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

"I've got it!" William suddenly exclaimed.

"Got what?" Cedric asked curiously.

"Our shop's logo. We've been struggling to come up with something eye-catching."

Their shop didn't have a physical storefront yet, but the business was starting to take off. A distinctive logo was all they needed now.

"What is it?" Cedric pressed.

"A witch on a broomstick!"

"That's not a bad idea," Cedric agreed, glancing up at Cho.

He fumbled through his pockets, sighing. "I should've brought a camera. I could've captured Cho in action."

"Hmm… but it feels like something's missing," William said, frowning slightly.

"What's missing?"

"A black cat and a tape recorder," William replied with a grin. "Although, I suppose our orange tabby Boba Tea will have to do. Wonder if he's afraid of heights?"

Cedric stared at William in confusion, clearly not getting the joke.

William's mind wandered to another matter. During the summer, underage magic was restricted at home. To work around this, he'd need to buy a house in a wizarding village, where his spells couldn't be detected.

He could even modify the house into a moving castle, just like Howl's. Now that was the magical life he dreamed of.

Meanwhile, George and Fred were busy with Hermione's copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, which featured the latest Nimbus 2000.

After last year's mishap, the school had replaced all old brooms with Nimbus 1700s.

The Nimbus 1700, capable of reaching 130 miles per hour and performing stationary 360-degree turns, was reliable.

But honestly, the Nimbus 1001, 1500, 1700, and even the original 1000 didn't differ much in performance.

The Nimbus 2000, however, was a game-changer. It could accelerate to 100 miles per hour in just thirty seconds and reach a top speed of 170 miles per hour.

Its sleek design was also a head-turner. The polished redwood handle, neatly bundled tail twigs, and golden model number etched on the shaft made it the ultimate status symbol.

George ran a finger longingly over the picture. "What if we bought a few of these?" he murmured enviously.

Every Quidditch player dreamed of owning the best broomstick available.

It was like audiophiles and their quest for the perfect headphones—even if it cost a small fortune.

Back in his previous life, William couldn't tell the difference between the $3 earbuds he'd ordered online and his roommate's $300 pair.

William glanced at George and asked, "Do you know how much a Nimbus 2000 costs?"

"Uh… a lot," George replied seriously.

Their father's monthly salary was barely seventy Galleons. Officially, he was the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, but in reality, the job didn't offer much in terms of perks, just a steady but meager paycheck.

A single Nimbus 2000 would take months of saving to afford.

Cedric nodded in agreement. "That's right. One Nimbus 2000 would mean selling a hundred fake wands."

Fake wands went for five Galleons apiece, and Cedric's low prices meant his profits were razor-thin.

"So," William said, looking at them with a smiling glint in his eye, "what are we waiting for? Let's place the order! Five Nimbus 2000s—see if we can get a discount, maybe fifty percent off?"

William's enchanted maps had already earned him 300 Galleons just from Malfoy, and he'd sold twenty-five of them in total.

Splurging on a few brooms wasn't extravagant at all. It wasn't like they weren't spending their own hard-earned money.

Fred cheered. "This is amazing! I've never bought anything so expensive before."

Cedric, however, hesitated. "Wait a second—two for Gryffindor, two for Ravenclaw, and only one for Hufflepuff? That's not fair! We should get another one."

William patted Cedric's shoulder with mock seriousness. "Son, your math is off."

"How so?"

"Think about it: Cho's going to be your girlfriend someday, right?"

Cedric glanced at Cho, still zipping around in the air, then nodded firmly. "Right."

"Then her Nimbus 2000 is practically communal property, isn't it? And Fred and George share everything."

"Hmm… that does make sense."

William crossed his arms, clearly pleased with himself. "So, when you put it that way, the only one who's truly alone here is me. Obviously, Ravenclaw deserves an extra broom."

"Ugh!" The group collectively rolled their eyes. They'd never met anyone so shameless.

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