The maiden flight of the Fat Lightning broomstick was a resounding success. However, it also exposed some significant issues.
The powerful thrust provided by the rocket engine could theoretically allow the broom to reach speeds exceeding Mach 3 within the atmosphere. Yet, due to its aerodynamic shape—and the fact that the pilot was directly exposed to the open air—it unfortunately lacked the capability to break the sound barrier in actual flight. Even with magical protection, the force of breaking the sound barrier in that instant would be enough to tear a pilot apart.
If it were Six-Gate Hagrid, it might not be an issue. But for anyone else, even Kyle using his Demon Skin, it was impossible.
So, the choice was either to convert the Fat Lightning into a fully enclosed cockpit or to put more work into defensive magic. The former design was particularly useless. What was their original intention for designing the Fat Lightning? It was to provide the Hufflepuff team with a broom whose performance rivaled or exceeded the Nimbus 2001, ensuring they wouldn't be at a disadvantage during Quidditch matches. If the cockpit were fully enclosed, they wouldn't even be able to stick their hands out—how would they play Quidditch then? By hitting the balls with the engine nozzle at the tail?
Thus, they had to approach the problem through defensive enchantments.
In reality, they didn't actually need the Fat Lightning to have supersonic capabilities. Even if they solved the sound barrier issue, it would be impossible to play Quidditch while maintaining supersonic speeds. No matter how well magic protected them, colliding with an oncoming Quaffle or Bludger at supersonic speeds would result in nothing but instant death. Therefore, the Fat Lightning's top speed only needed to be slightly faster than the Nimbus 2001.
Aside from that, there was the issue of maneuverability. He and Cedric had performed the modifications based on the Cleansweep series, but the Cleansweep's maneuverability was completely unable to adapt to the upgraded speeds. While maintaining the same speed as a Nimbus 2001, the Fat Lightning's turning radius far exceeded its rival's. In other words, its flexibility was abysmal. Aside from raw speed, it was being thoroughly outclassed by the Nimbus in every other category.
This made the inclusion of vector nozzles absolutely necessary.
Speaking of nozzles, the issue of the tail flame also needed to be addressed. The Fat Lightning's tail flame could stretch ten to twenty meters into the air, with the hottest sections reaching temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius. If that flame hit someone, they could skip the cremation process and go straight into a box. Beyond suppressing the temperature of the tail flame, they also had to eliminate the interference caused by the engine's air jet on anyone behind them. Otherwise, Madam Hooch would never let them ride such a broom in a match.
Furthermore, the Fat Lightning's ugly appearance needed a makeover. The first-generation product was a rush job; they had simply shoved a broom handle onto a rocket engine. As the designer who had personally crafted the appearance of two generations of Alchemy Battle Armor, how could Kyle tolerate such a thing existing in this world?
The design was to be scrapped and rebuilt from the ground up.
Since they were using a rocket engine, they might as well give it the shape of a missile. At most, they could add a handle to the missile casing for the pilot to control the direction. Two foot pedals would be added to the sides toward the rear so the pilot wouldn't slide off the missile's smooth body. Finally, they would set up a Binding Curse that would only activate once the broom reached a certain speed—and just like that, they had seatbelts.
Those were the general improvements. After returning to the castle, Kyle and Cedric quickly finalized the design for the second-generation Fat Lightning. The Weasley twins also joined in on the manufacturing process. The two brothers were no longer penniless; while a Nimbus 2001 was still beyond their reach, they could now afford the material costs to build their own broomstick.
As time slipped by, this year's Halloween fast approached. While the performances for the Halloween feast were being scheduled, Dumbledore specifically sought out the Dreadful Four.
He mentioned that the performance they gave at last year's start-of-term feast—playing that "coffin-carrying divine tune" with the erhu and suona—was very interesting. Therefore, Dumbledore wanted the four of them to perform another program for Halloween.
Kyle refused without a second thought. His "Father" Dumbledore just loved arranging these flashy, flamboyant things. Kyle's time was worth millions per second; he didn't have time to accompany Dumbledore in some performance.
"I can give each of your Houses thirty points."
"One hundred."
"Fifty."
"Deal."
And so, for this year's Halloween feast, the Dreadful Four quartet was set to return to the music scene. However, Kyle found himself at a bit of a loss when it came to selecting the program. It wasn't a lack of options, but rather too many.
Having been brainwashed by the "Guichu" meme culture of Bilibili in his previous life, Kyle's imagination in this field was unparalleled. Forget Hogwarts—no one in the entire world in this era could surpass him. So, what kind of performance would cause a real sensation?
The Leek Spin song (Ievan Polkka)? The Dreadful Four, each holding a giant leek, hopping around on the High Table? Too embarrassing. Forget it.
The "Nuclear Explosion" song (aLIEz)? It was hype enough, but not suitable for a setting like the Halloween feast. This was a dinner, not a massive rave.
After leaving the Headmaster's office, Kyle pondered the matter until he ran into the Golden Trio, who had just finished their homework in the library. A bolt of lightning flashed through Kyle's mind.
"I've got it!"
"What?" Fred looked at Kyle, puzzled.
Ignoring him, Kyle walked straight up to the approaching Harriet. He explained the request Dumbledore had made to the Dreadful Four.
"A performance? Me?" Harriet pointed to herself in disbelief.
"Yes. Hermione and Ron, you guys should come along too."
Before the three could refuse, Kyle held up five fingers. "Professor Dumbledore said fifty points for each House."
The refusals on the tips of Harriet and Ron's tongues were instantly swallowed back down. Fifty points was a massive temptation for two underachievers. Harriet was mostly fine—after all, she could rely on the "Old Bat" Snape's favoritism in Potions to gain points for Gryffindor. The temptation was mainly for Ron.
Ron still hadn't gone to Cedric to get his wand repaired because he had no money. The damaged wand caused Ron to perform terribly in any class requiring a wand. Never mind gaining points; he was lucky if he didn't lose them.
Ron nodded vigorously. "When do we start practicing?"
"But Ron, you just promised me you'd go to Sir Nicholas's Deathday Party with me," Harriet said, frowning.
Little Miss Beaver (Hermione) also nodded. "If you promise someone something, you must follow through."
Kyle: "???"
What had he just heard? A Deathday Party? Three living people going to a banquet for a bunch of dead people? What were they thinking?
Kyle had been invited once before, but the twins had told him that there was no normal food at a ghost's banquet—only rotting, maggot-filled food that had been left out for who knows how long. That smell was truly beyond description. Moreover, because of the density of ghosts, the banquet hall would be as cold as a walk-in freezer. Add to that a hall decorated like a funeral parlor, and the atmosphere was as terrifying as it could get.
Perhaps some Muggle paranormal enthusiasts who loved courting death would enjoy such a scene, but Kyle would absolutely never attend.
After hearing Kyle's description, Harriet and Ron's faces turned green.
"I wouldn't go to Nick's Deathday Party if you killed me!" Ron shook his head faster than Kyle could spin his hands in a dance. He immediately sold out his best friend. "Anyway, you were the one who promised Nick, not me."
Harriet looked pained. "Can I not go? I'll just say I have to participate in a program for the Halloween feast..."
Hermione stopped mentioning the importance of keeping promises. After putting herself in Harriet's shoes, she realized she would also go crazy if forced to stay in a hall full of ghosts for two hours.
"Of course, no problem. You just have to explain it clearly to Nick," Kyle nodded.
What he didn't say was that it didn't really matter if they just stood him up; after all, that's exactly what Kyle had done last year. The ghosts had probably invited plenty of other students before. Having been stood up so many times, they wouldn't take it to heart.
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