18
The next morning, Snape received a brand new stirring rod. It had just the right length and was just as springy as Snape liked them. The potions master ran his finger along the mahogany handle lovingly. He loved this advent calendar. For a moment he wondered whether Dumbledore had added some magic to determine who would be the right recipient for which gift but it seemed too monumental a task. Then again, this was Dumbledore.
The potions master shrugged and conjured a soft cloth to polish the silver although it was brilliantly shining to begin with.
He was interrupted be the person beside him, his evil master, the Dark Lord.
"Look, Severus!" cried the wizard. "I got a broomstick servicing kit!"
"Wonderful," Snape admired the content of the elegant wooden box as was expected of him. "And good quality, too. Somebody went out of their way to make the receiver happy."
"It's a pity that I do not own a broomstick," sighed the evil wizard. "I haven't needed one in years because I can fly."
"You can borrow Draco's," Lucius leaned forward to look past Dumbledore. "I'm sure he would be honoured."
"Nonsense," said the Dark Lord. "Why would I want to service your son's broomstick? I'm not his servant."
"You could owl-order a broomstick," Dumbledore pointed out. "The virus doesn't travel via owl post."
"What a splendid idea!" the Dark Lord emptied his teacup in haste and took his leave to order a broomstick for his servicing kit.
"I brought a catalogue!" cried Bellatrix and hurried after her master.
The Dark Lord's order arrived during lunch.
Snape was surprised to see not one but two owls bring broomstick-shaped parcels.
"My Lord?" he asked as he caught one of the parcels before it fell into his bowl of tomato soup.
"What good is it to service a broom if you don't use it," the Dark Lord explained. "Therefore I decided to hold a broom race. The second broomstick is the prize for the winner."
"What a great idea!" cried Dumbledore.
Snape was not so thrilled. "We can't miss lessons again! The students need their education." The other heads of house agreed.
"We can make it a night race!" cried the Dark Lord.
Dumbledore was thrilled. "A night race! Splendid! We can test courage and skill, the most noble treats in a witch or wizard." He proceeded to inform the students that the race was going to take place after dinner.
The Dark Lord ordered Lucius and Bellatrix to help Dumbledore organise everything since he had no time. "I need to service my broomstick in order to optimize my performance," he informed his followers.
"The broomstick is brand new," Lucius pointed out.
The Dark Lord made a disapproving sound. "Do you have an idea what being stuck in a parcel and being transported by a bird can do to a broomstick? It's a miracle if this broomstick flies at all before it is serviced properly."
The blond rolled his eyes but agreed to do as his Lord asked.
After dinner the population of Hogwarts castle made their way outside to the banks of the black lake. A couple of students were carrying their brooms but most just wanted to watch.
The headmaster and his helpers had conjured bleachers along the lakeshore. The spectators took their seats. Many students had brought blankets to be more cosy. Some of the older students conjured blankets for those younger boys and girls who hadn't thought of bringing any.
The contestants gathered around Dumbledore, among them the Dark Lord with an expertly serviced broomstick, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, all four Weasley children, Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, the whole Hufflepuff Quidditch team and Severus Snape.
The potions master was not an enthusiastic flyer but the headmaster had taken it upon himself to talk him into competing in order to have a teacher on the circuit just in case the Dark Lord got carried away.
The last competitors were Lucius and Bellatrix who had insisted to follow their Lord.
"We have put the track above the lake," Dumbledore explained. "I have come to an agreement with the merpeople who will save all those who fall into the lake. I request a round of applause for Professor Snape who will brew a batch of flu potion in exchange for their service."
Snape glared at the headmaster angrily. His part in the deal had not been mentioned to him before. On the other hand, a flu potion was going to be a great opportunity to try out his new rod, and – the Slytherin in Snape rejoiced – this should enable him to talk his way out of any workshops for the weekend.
"The circuit is easy enough," Dumbledore explained. "You will start when I blow the whistle." He held up the whistle in question. "First you have to reach the red light over there," he pointed at the light, "when you come closer, you will notice the light is actually a hoop. You have to fly through it. From there you have to fly to the yellow light. There you will find a limax juggling with Christmas ornaments. You have to catch the ornament and bring it back whole. Before you return here, you have to seek the green light though." Again, he pointed out where the green light was. "At the green light you will find three hoops which have to be passed top to bottom in a nose dive. Once you have done that, you will return here. The winner is whoever touches down in this circle" – a circle of fire burst into existence around the contestants – "first and is able to present an undamaged Christmas ornament. The prize for the winner is a broomstick donated by the Dark Lord. Are there questions?"
There were none and two minutes later they were off.
Snape didn't go at full speed in order to be able to watch the Dark Lord, Lucius and Bellatrix from behind.
It soon turned out that the fastest flyers were Potter, Malfoy junior and the Dark Lord. They passed the red light neck and neck and reached the yellow one within moments. At the yellow light though, the two seekers had a clear advantage on the Dark Lord. Both students caught an ornament in full flight while the older wizard had to slow down to grab one. By the time the evil wizard had regained his speed, the boys were almost a hundred meters in front of him.
Snape gasped when the Dark Lord jumped off his broom in mid-flight. The wizard shrunk the broom, put it into his pocket and continued his flight unaided. When he was not hindered by the broomstick, the Dark Lord was a much faster flyer. He gained ground on the boys and shortly after the green light obstacle he overtook them.
Behind the three in the lead, Snape and Lucius were racing neck and neck. The two men sped their brooms up by sheer power.
When Snape touched down, he witnessed the angry protests of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy who accused the Dark Lord of cheating.
"It's not in the rules that I have to use the broomstick," the Dark Lord pointed out.
"It's in the name of the contest!" cried Potter.
"It was announced as a night race. It's night. I didn't change that. There's nothing you can do." The Dark Lord stood his ground.
The audience booed. Clearly, they thought that the use of a broomstick had been obligatory without the rules stating so.
"Have you checked the ornament?" Snape asked the headmaster.
"No!" cried Dumbledore. "Tom, your Christmas ornament, please!"
The dark wizard reached into his pocket and roared with rage. The glass bauble he had caught must have collided with the broomstick in his pocket and was now in shards.
The Gryffindor and Slytherin seeker both produced perfectly intact baubles from their pockets.
Dumbledore declared them both winners because they had touched down at the same time and the stands went wild.
Both houses, Slytherin and Gryffindor started a victory party by the lakeside and took it inside a little later. The loudest among the Gryffindors was Ginevra Weasley who had beat her three older brothers.
Dumbledore invited the adults to the Great Hall for a little after-race-party. There were little sandwiches, champagne and cocktails decorated with fruit. The Dark Lord reached for a piña colada and promised to donate the second broomstick, too, so that both winners could have a prize. His anger about the broken bauble was forgotten over his favourite cocktail.
Snape had a glass of wine and a couple of sandwiches before he excused himself and returned to his quarters under the pretence that he wanted to start brewing the flu potion for the merpeople.