Chapter 41: Chapter 41: A Once-in-a-Millennium Prodigy
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Indeed, the wire was George's trump card for controlling the broomstick.
How well one flew a broomstick primarily depended on the wizard's proficiency in operating it.
By wrapping a circle of wire around the broomstick, he could, in addition to controlling it with magic, also use magnetism for more precise adjustments—a dual safeguard.
In fact, with the dozens of pounds of weight of his clone body, magnetism alone could make him fly, just not as fast as a broomstick.
He also used this technique on his wand; there was a circle of wire at the end of his wand, so that if it ever slipped from his hand, he could instantly summon it back.
"Hold your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then lean slightly forward and drop vertically back to the ground.
Listen for my whistle: 3-2-1!"
As Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, the young wizards simultaneously pushed off with their feet, flying into the air on their broomsticks.
However, most were quite unsteady once airborne, cautiously maintaining their positions. But some, who already had experience, flew very well and quickly, like Ginny.
"Ginny, excellent! Quite good flying!"
Ginny's outstanding performance quickly caught Madam Hooch's attention. She couldn't help but praise her loudly, preparing to award points to Gryffindor, but she was quickly interrupted by gasps of astonishment.
Turning her head to look towards the Slytherin side, her face instantly showed an incredulous expression.
"Oh, Merlin! That's a Starfish and Stick, a Woollongong Zigzag, a Sloth Grip Roll, a Wronski Feint! It's impossible!"
What did she see? She saw George, the Star of Slytherin, actually performing high-difficulty Quidditch maneuvers that only world-class Quidditch players could master.
The Starfish and Stick, for example, was a move known only to top-tier Quidditch Keepers.
When the Quaffle was about to enter the goal and there wasn't enough time to block it, the Keeper would quickly hang upside down from the broomstick with one leg, blocking the Quaffle by spreading their four limbs.
The Woollongong Zigzag was an advanced technique for Chasers, moving at high speed in a zigzag pattern to confuse opposing Chasers.
The Sloth Grip Roll: when a Bludger attacked, the player would cling to the broom, hugging the handle tightly with hands and feet, rapidly spinning the broomstick like a drill to deflect the Bludger—an extremely difficult maneuver.
The Wronski Feint: the Seeker would pretend to see the Snitch far below, diving sharply towards the ground, causing the opposing Seeker to imitate them. However, the first Seeker would stop their dive just before hitting the ground, leaving the opponent no time to react and causing them to crash into the ground and pass out.
This maneuver required extreme control over the broomstick.
If one could master even one of these four maneuvers, they would be 100% qualified to apply for any position on a national Quidditch team: Seeker, Chaser, Beater, or Keeper.
Even Madam Hooch herself couldn't successfully complete all four maneuvers, let alone with the school's instructional Cleansweep brooms.
It was well known that the school's instructional Cleansweep brooms had decades of history. While fine for normal class flying, if flown too fast, they would shake and become difficult to control.
Yet, looking at George, he not only controlled it but also performed these four high-difficulty classic maneuvers.
"Twenty points to Slytherin! You may all practice freely. George, you come with me!"
Once George landed steadily, Madam Hooch yelled excitedly, stepped forward, grabbed George, and started walking towards the castle.
"You really are riding a broomstick for the first time?"
She asked incredulously as they walked.
George feigned a slightly shy nod:
"I couldn't ride where I lived, but I've read some books about Quidditch and related information."
He knew his plan had succeeded.
With the strength of his body and his magnetic control over the broomstick, let alone the four maneuvers he just performed, he could do ballet on the broomstick or perform several Thomas flares with no problem.
"Oh, you really... this is incredible..."
Hearing George's reply, Madam Hooch was almost incoherent.
In the Head of Slytherin's office, Snape was sitting in his chair, writing down his research notes on a newly invented potion, when he was suddenly disturbed by urgent knocking. He couldn't help but frown and wave his wand to open the door.
"Madam Hooch, is something so terribly important that it requires such haste?"
Seeing that it was Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, and his House's most outstanding student, his frown eased slightly.
Madam Hooch excitedly pushed George in front of Snape:
"Professor Snape, you Slytherins have produced a Quidditch prodigy seen once in a millennium! You simply won't believe it—this is his first time on a broomstick, and he performed..."
"Are all these things you're saying true?"
Snape, usually expressionless, lost his composure upon hearing Madam Hooch's words.
As the Head of Slytherin, he had very deep feelings for Slytherin House. He had always resented Slytherin's loss to Gryffindor last year, especially to Gryffindor with Harry in it.
If George truly possessed such powerful broomstick talent, then Slytherin would never lose again for the next seven years.
"I'm not old enough to be seeing things, and many children from your House saw it too."
Madam Hooch seemed somewhat angry at Snape's questioning.
Snape quickly said:
"I'm not questioning you, merely somewhat surprised."
He turned to look at George, showing a smile that was uglier than a frown:
"George, you are very good. Always very good.
This Saturday, I will personally arrange for you to join the Slytherin Quidditch team. If Gryffindor can make an exception, so can we in Slytherin!"
"Um... Professor, I don't really want to join the Quidditch team."
George replied, feigning some embarrassment.
Hearing George's words, Madam Hooch and Snape both froze, then almost simultaneously asked:
"Why?"
After all, joining the Quidditch team was every young wizard's dream. Moreover, George had such high broomstick talent; he was practically a born Quidditch player.
George looked up at Snape, coughed, and said:
"It's like this, compared to Quidditch, I prefer to study magic, especially Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Arts class is... so I need more time for self-study.
But joining Quidditch would mean frequent training, and then I wouldn't have enough time... Sigh... Self-study is really hard."
"What you're saying makes sense. Compared to Quidditch, studying magic is certainly more fundamental. And Lockhart truly is an imbecile... hmm..."
Snape fell into thought at George's words.
In his view, studying magic was definitely more important than Quidditch. He didn't have much interest in Quidditch itself; he mainly wanted Slytherin to win the Quidditch Cup as Head of House.
"Alright then, you will join the Slytherin team, and I will try my best to ensure they don't call you for training. And every weekend, I will personally spend half a day tutoring you in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
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