Flying Broom

Chapter 13 Flying Broom

With money in his pocket, he felt secure. With the financial backing, Ian spent less than two hours buying the dozen or so essential items listed on the admission notice, not even including the fifteen minutes he spent chatting with Mrs. Malkin.

Not only that, he also bought all the textbooks for grades 1-3, just in case. As for why he didn't buy the fourth-grade books, the answer was found after asking Old Tom: although he was 14 years old by year, his birthday was September 23.

Hogwarts has its own magical contract, and birthdays after September 1st, even if only by one day, are counted as the next year in the Book of Admission.

After buying all the items on his list and having Owl Mail delivered most of them, Ian walked lightly to the Quidditch boutique on the side of the road.

Ian had planned long ago to buy a flying broom and a box with an infinite extension spell, because in the post-apocalyptic environment, a flying broom could effectively avoid more than 80% of the parasites' perception.

There are no blind spots in the air; as long as you carefully avoid birds perched on rooftops or in trees, the high altitude is a natural safe zone. As for the box with its infinite extension magic, this kind of spatial equipment is simply an essential artifact for survival in the apocalypse.

However, Ian has no intention of buying a suitcase in Diagon Alley right now. He learned that due to the Ministry of Magic's secrecy laws, suitcases can only be expanded to twice their original size when using the Infinite Extension Charm, so he decided not to buy one through official channels.

Actually, it was more because he confronted Dumbledore, thus gaining the headmaster's promise and trust, allowing the world's greatest white wizard to secretly make him an infinitely expandable backpack. Isn't that great?

While Newt might not dream of having the kind of space he desired, a space of at least several tens of square meters, the size of two or three rooms, was still easily within Dumbledore's grasp.

Quidditch broomsticks are clearly the most popular item among young wizards. As soon as Ian reached the door, he saw a large number of children gathered around, exclaiming in amazement at a beautifully crafted broomstick in the shop window.

Even though tomorrow is the first day of school, and many summer homework assignments are still unfinished, nothing can stop their love for Quidditch and their enthusiasm for the new brooms.

Watching a spectacle is in his nature, and Ian was curious to see what kind of broom was being watched by so many children. He noticed a small wooden tag hanging next to the flying broom, displaying its name, model number, and specifications.

Upon closer inspection, wow! A Nimbus 2000. Excuse me, I'm leaving now.

The children's drooling expressions and the parents standing behind them exchanging wry smiles clearly showed that this expensive luxury was not only unaffordable for Ian, but also for most ordinary wizarding families.

Although Ian didn't intend to buy this expensive-looking thing, he still curiously pushed open the door and asked about the price.

"New product launch! Only 450 Galleons during the summer vacation! Today is the last day of the discount!" The shop owner smiled like a 200-pound child.

"!!!"

He was shocked. Although he had previously earned a fortune of 1000 Galleons from selling gold, he never imagined a broom could sell for such a high price. A brand-new Nimbus broom costing 2000 Galleons was roughly equivalent to Arthur Weasley working for four months without eating or drinking…

Arthur Weasley: ...

Regarding this magical Ferrari, Ian said he would stick to his plan and just buy a flying antique.

The flying brooms on the shelves are displayed according to series: the Nimbus series, the Comet series, and the Sweep series.

The shop owner clearly realized that this customer was different from the other kids who came in to browse and freeload; he was someone who genuinely intended to buy something. So, he enthusiastically continued to introduce other models of brooms in the Nimbus series.

Even with the so-called older Nimbus models, Ian was speechless after glancing at their prices. His lips twitched, and he said, "Boss, this series doesn't look very cool. What's that hanging over there?"

In addition to the three main series, the store also has many individual brooms hanging in the back of the store inconspicuously.

"Silver Arrow 79, excellent durability and wind resistance, balanced speed, smooth start, especially suitable for you to practice Quidditch at school, safe and stable..."

Ian interrupted his explanation, speechless. "Balanced speed? Smooth start? Does that mean this broom is not only slow, but its acceleration is also like that of a drunkard?"

The boss shrugged. "But it's safe, isn't it? And you're still young, you don't understand. A man shouldn't be too fast. A broom that performs steadily like this is the best."

Ian genuinely didn't expect that he would be allowed to drive under such circumstances. And was it really appropriate to say these things to a student?

Seeing Ian's face darken, the boss reluctantly went to another broom. "Fireball type, explosive initial speed, and top-notch straight-line flight, but its shortcomings are also very obvious, insufficient climbing power..."

Moreover, it has poor agility in the air. Don't expect it to be able to turn within three meters. When it takes off, it's like a mad donkey. If you want to turn, you have to be at least 5 meters away before it starts to deviate from its angle.

So many people were hit head-on while riding it, and that's why it was discontinued in less than six months. The few I have left are almost all rare, discontinued models.

These individual brooms all have various problems, and considering that I need to be on guard against parasitic birds at all times, acceleration and flight speed are of paramount importance.

Therefore, Ian decided to give up the comfort and stability of household brooms and instead chose the sport broom - the Fireball.

However, the Fireball series also has a fatal problem: due to the long production stoppage, there are almost no spare parts available.

In other words, this broom is almost disposable; it will stop working immediately if it gets scratched or bumped, and there's no possibility of replacing parts or repairing it.

Based on the principle that money is saved, Ian immediately seized the opportunity and began a back-and-forth, tug-of-war bargaining process with the shop owner.

"Oh dear, you can't judge its value solely by its practicality. It's a discontinued, limited edition, you know? That means it might become an antique in the future, a rare antique, worth far more than just a few thousand Galleons..."

Seeing that the boss was still trying to continue his glib and eloquent sophistry, seemingly unwilling to stop, Ian interrupted him without hesitation:

"120 Galleons, that's settled. Or I can leave, and you can continue to collect this 'rare and precious' item until it appreciates to several thousand Galleons."

After some haggling, Ian finally got his first flying broomstick for 125 Galleons.

After confirming that everything planned for the day was completed, I returned to the Leaky Cauldron bar, and it was already quite dark.

After enjoying a delicious dinner prepared by Old Tom, Ian glanced at the now empty bar and felt that staying there was pointless, so he went straight back to his room to pack the various items he needed to take to school the next day.

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(End of this chapter)