#27 - Chapter 27 Selection Rules
The buzz surrounding the Muggle Studies class lasted a whole day.
Little witches and wizards, whether they had attended or not, from lower and upper years, were all discussing yesterday's Muggle Studies lesson.
It wasn't until after dinner that this hot topic finally subsided.
The little witches and wizards then began to enthusiastically discuss the upcoming Quidditch tryouts tomorrow.
In the Gryffindor common room, Charlie, as the Gryffindor team captain, was giving a pep talk to his teammates.
"For tomorrow's tryouts, I hope everyone can be in high spirits."
Go all out and beat those Slytherins!
Let's go!
We are the strongest!
Come on! Let's guess the tryout method for tomorrow..."
......
At twenty past eight on Saturday morning, when Sebastian arrived at the lawn in front of the castle, the Quidditch teams from all four houses had already arrived.
Even Professor McGonagall was there; she's a huge Quidditch enthusiast.
She didn't want to miss such a big event as the Quidditch team tryouts.
The lawn was packed with people; basically all the little witches and wizards who were interested in Quidditch had arrived.
What's Hogsmeade compared to Quidditch? It takes a backseat!
Professor Swann was personally in charge of today's tryouts.
Don't forget, before Professor Swann came to Hogwarts, he was the world's number one Seeker!
And, isn't this the Quidditch team tryouts?
Why not go to the Quidditch pitch?
The students were all looking forward to seeing what unique methods Professor Swann, who was full of tricks in Muggle Studies, would have at the Quidditch tryouts.
Sebastian looked at the Quidditch teams from the four houses with satisfaction.
Good!
Very spirited!
When he saw the Slytherin team, he frowned slightly.
Marcus's appearance...
It really lowers the average attractiveness of the Slytherin team...
Forget it, forget it.
It's not a beauty contest.
As long as they play Quidditch well, that's enough.
Sebastian greeted Professor McGonagall, then waved his hand, signaling everyone to follow him down towards the Black Lake.
Before long, he led the little witches and wizards to an open space by the Black Lake.
First, he took out several flying brooms specifically for the tryouts, and then he took out the alchemical props prepared for the tryouts—a scoreboard more than two meters high.
Sebastian stretched out his wand and used magic to steadily erect the scoreboard on the ground, then waved it towards the Black Lake.
Instantly, colorful halos appeared above the Black Lake, like thousands of brilliant rainbows, shining in the bright sunlight.
They surrounded the Black Lake, arranged in a high and low, staggered manner, the diameter of the halo was two meters, and there was a large number on each.
Between individual halos, there were also Bludger-like black spheres constantly shuttling back and forth.
Seeing this scene, the little witches and wizards immediately erupted.
"What kind of magic is this? It's so beautiful!"
"Is this to have the players ride their brooms through these halos?"
"Look! Halo number 11 is so close to the lake surface. After diving down from halo number 10, you'll accidentally plunge into the water!"
"More than that! Look into the distance! After flying through halo number 20, you have to make a sharp right turn immediately, otherwise you'll miss halo number 21!"
......
Seeing this scene, Professor McGonagall walked to Sebastian's side and exclaimed:
"Truly amazing! Sebastian, you can precisely control your spells from so far away.
I'm a little curious, how far have you gone in magic now?
However, we'll talk about these later, let's start the tryouts first."
Nodding to Professor McGonagall, Sebastian called the dumbfounded Quidditch players together.
"Today's tryouts will test each player's basic skills—flying ability!
What you need to do is, ride your flying broom and accurately pass through each halo, circling the Black Lake once.
Only the fourteen people who fly the fastest and best can enter the special tryouts in the afternoon."
Sebastian raised his hand and pointed to the two halos closest to them, explaining:
"Timing starts from passing through halo number 1, and timing ends when exiting halo number 36.
You need to pay attention, only after successfully passing through the previous halo will the next halo turn green.
If the halo in front doesn't turn green, then you need to return in time and pass through the previous halo again. Otherwise, the score is invalid.
Also!
During the flight, each time any part of your body touches these halos, the flight time will increase by 2 seconds.
If you are hit by a black sphere, the flight time increases by 10 seconds.
If there's anything you don't understand, you can look at the rule introduction on the back of the scoreboard, there are detailed graphic explanations.
To be fair, next, we'll draw lots to determine the order of appearance."
After drawing lots, looking at the players with worried expressions, Sebastian encouraged them:
"Don't be nervous, it doesn't matter if you don't fly well once, everyone has three chances.
The final score will be based on the shortest flight time.
Player number 1, you have ten minutes to prepare.
Dismissed!"
Looking at the number 1 in his hand, Charlie took a deep breath.
Not very lucky.
But it doesn't matter, let me, the captain, lead the way for the team!
Shaking his head, he dispelled the distracting thoughts in his mind and began to carefully observe the halos on the Black Lake, then simulated the flight in his mind.
At this time, the Black Lake was crowded with onlookers, and their discussions never stopped.
"Oh dear! Number 1 is really unlucky, only has a short 10 minutes to prepare!"
"That's right, it's more advantageous to go later, after all, you can learn from the experience of the previous players."
"I don't think so! I think the more you watch, the more nervous you get, it's better to fly early."
"Looking at it this way, Professor Swann's rules are quite reasonable. Everyone gets three chances, only the fastest flight is counted."
"Although Professor Swann is a Slytherin, he acts quite fairly."
"Yeah! He even prepared the flying brooms, avoiding unfairness in terms of equipment."
The Gryffindors Fred and George squeezed to the side of the Gryffindor players to cheer them on.
When they found out that Charlie was the unlucky number 1, they comforted him one after another:
"Charlie! We believe you are the best!"
"That's right! Your skills have been certified by Professor McGonagall!"
Unfortunately, Charlie was completely immersed in the flight simulation in his mind at this time, and didn't hear what they said at all, but felt that his brothers were a bit noisy.
......
The 10 minutes passed in a flash, Sebastian stood out and shouted loudly in a booming voice:
"Quidditch team tryouts officially begin.
Player number 1, get ready!"
Charlie walked out of the crowd, followed by shouts of encouragement behind him.
He straddled a flying broom, looked at the number 1 halo that had turned green, and cheered himself up silently in his heart.
Let's go!
