Chapter 18: Nimbus 1001
"Let's go buy your uniform," said Euphemia, pointing toward 'Madame Malkin: Robes for All Occasions.'
The family entered Madame Malkin's store. They were greeted by a smiling, plump witch dressed in mauve.
"Hogwarts, dear?" asked the witch, noticing James' age easily.
"Yes, three plain working tunics. And one in a robe," nodded Euphemia.
"A robe?" asked James, puzzled.
"Yes, dear. For special occasions like the Christmas ball. You'll need to wear something fancier. You'll look very cute," replied Euphemia, grabbing James' cheek affectionately.
James couldn't say no to his mother, so he ended up agreeing. He was used to her loving behavior and it didn't bother him at all, even if she does it in public.
His father and grandfather went to the other stores to buy books and other supplies to speed up the process. That way they could go see the broom as quickly as possible.
Madame Malkin placed James on a footstool slipped a long tunic over his head, and began to mark the proper length. He was the only customer, maybe it was because they bought things so quickly, it had only been a day since they received the letter and they had over a month to shop.
After a while they left the store with everything they needed, as their father and grandfather were not in sight they stopped to eat ice cream, while they waited for them.
After a while, Fleamont and Henry arrived, both with many items: the books (James wanted to use his parents' books which were the same, but Fleamont and Euphemia wanted him to use new ones), parchments, quills, the cauldron, etc.
His father also bought a set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a brass folding telescope with an assortment of basic potion ingredients.
"Right...that's it," said Fleamont, checking the list sent to James.
"Let's go to the Nimbus store!" said James excitedly.
His parents looked at him with smiling faces and followed him. The store was still full of children who had their faces glued to the window. Many noticed James entering with his parents were envious.
The broom store was much more elegant and larger than Ollivander's dingy store. Its windows glittered, showing how thorough the employees were. Three brooms can be seen in the window. Two are the Nimbus 1000 model and the middle one, the newest and most desired by all the children, the Nimbus 1001.
Upon entering, the smell of polished wood and the soft sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of the quidditch books welcome visitors. Dark wooden shelves house an extensive catalog of flying brooms. One section is devoted to competition brooms, with state-of-the-art models on display. Some corners are decorated with memorabilia from legendary matches, photographs of famous players, and even a locket with a replica of the Snitch.
There are also mannequins dressed in professional team uniforms displaying the perfect combination of uniform and broom. Usually, the store is always bustling with people, but this time it was much more crowded than the previous times James had visited the store.
This was for one reason: the Quidditch World Cup was just around the corner. It would be held in Great Britain, in August, that is, in less than a month. It's basically like the World Cup, where teams from all over the world participate in a tournament that lasts about a month.
The Quidditch World Cup is held every four years. It was supposed to be held last year in 1970, but due to a problem that many do not know it was canceled. James was very sad since he and his family were going to attend, luckily it was not canceled and postponed for another year.
This cup will be the 416th edition, and its venue will be in Great Britain, which makes it easier for James and his family to attend the games, there are several rumors that they are building a big stadium for the final.
Because of the one-year delay, the excitement and expectations for this edition were even greater, so there were more people than usual in the quidditch-related houses.
After waiting for more than 20 minutes, they were attended by a plump, short man with a strange mustache. His expression was very flattering, an experienced salesman. Anyway, they would buy the Nimbus 1001.
The salesman told them all the details of the broom and how they built it something that exasperated James, as he knew. However, he said nothing and let the man speak. Finally, he shut up, and Fleamont paid the galleons needed to buy the broom, and they left the store which was getting more and more crowded.
This day, James got two very precious items for him: his new wand which looked very formidable. He didn't let what Ollivander said about it being harder to control discourage him.
And the Nimbus 1001, the newest broom on the market and very expensive, in fact, more expensive than his wand, something James didn't understand, although he loved quidditch, his wand had a higher priority than a broom.
When he got home the first thing he did was to quickly go to the training room, first he warmed up a bit with basic spells, and then he came face to face with one of the magical manikins.
To one of the mannequins, he placed a wooden branch in his hand, similar to a wand, although it was simply wood without any magic. He positioned himself a few feet away and looked at it.
"Expelliarmus!" shouted James.
There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light from his wand.
The flash hit the mannequin, and the first thing it did was that the wand that was in his hand flew very high. Then the mannequin went back many meters until it collided with the wall.
'Whoa... the power is much greater, but it took a lot more concentration to control the wand,' thought James with sweat on his forehead.
Plas, plas, plas
James turned his head and noticed that his father was applauding, "Splendid, son," praised Fleamont, who was no longer so surprised by James' great talent.
Expelliarmus also known as the disarming charm is the central pillar of formal dueling. When the opponent is disarmed, an honorable victory is achieved.
It was very rare for a student, who was about to enter the first year at Hogwarts to know how to use such an enchantment. On the other hand, the spell that James cast was not a simple Expelliarmus, since in addition to disarming the mannequin, he managed to make the mannequin retreat many meters backward. If it were a person, he would have sent it flying to the ground. So his understanding of the spell is much deeper than that of a beginner.
"Thank you. I learned from the best," James said with a smile. His father was a very skilled duelist, despite his age he was still very powerful, so far James couldn't beat him even once in a formal duel.
"I feel sorry for the Slytherin boys if they decide to mess with you, even the upper years will have trouble against you," Fleamont said with a smile approaching James.
"Th-thank you..." said James, a little nervous as he remembered the sorting ceremony. He was afraid of being left in Slytherin. What would his father and mother say if such a thing happened?
He knew his parents wouldn't stop loving him, and most likely wouldn't even give it a thought, if such a thing happened, but under no circumstances did he want to disappoint them.
"I wonder if Augusta saw your ability, would she still have the same thought?" said Fleamont, scratching his chin.
"I don't know... Frank seems very skilled," said James, not knowing what to say.
In his past life, he was always praised for his skills, whether it was about study, music, sport, etc. However, he was never arrogant or anything like that, although he had his pride, he was not haughty, nor arrogant.
In this life, it is the same, but with magic, the difference is that he is a little embarrassed to be compared with other children, as he feels he has a great advantage and that is to be reborn.
Since he was born he kept the memories of his past life, so it is obvious that his understanding is much higher than that of a child of his age, for that reason every time he is compared with boys of his age, he is ashamed.
"I'm sure you'll be the best student, still, you must have fun. In my student years, I played one or two pranks with my friends," said Fleamont, fluttering James' hair.
James nodded that was one of his main goals when he started school. He didn't want to be a lonely nerdy bookworm who spent all his time studying.
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