Two Bludgers came flying at Eda, one in front and one from behind.
At their high speed, it looked like they would knock her right off her broom in the next second.
In the stands, Hermione and Ron watched the unsuspecting Eda nervously—they were already imagining her ending up in the hospital wing alongside Harry.
Would Eda end up like Wood, taken out just two minutes after the match began? The answer, of course, was no. She had long been prepared to handle anything that came her way.
Before the match, Eda had provoked the entire Slytherin team, taunted Flint—intentionally drawing attention to herself to relieve the pressure on her teammates.
If she could tank hatred from Snape without flinching, how could a few students faze her?
Since she already anticipated they'd come after her hard, Eda certainly wouldn't space out during the match. Though she couldn't quite claim to see in all directions or hear everything at once, her opponents weren't exactly untouchable masters either—of course she noticed the two Bludgers coming at her.
Eda first ducked her head to dodge the leading Bludger, then accelerated swiftly to shake off the one aiming for the tail of her broom.
But that wasn't the end—she went on to sarcastically clap at Slytherin's Beaters, as if saying: "Nice try, you almost got me."
Cheers echoed through the air, the deafening noise engulfing the entire stadium. But every Slytherin player saw her mocking applause, and her crisp claps rang clearly in all their ears.
That bit of mockery was only the beginning, not the end. While scanning the sky for a glint of the Golden Snitch, Eda kept hurling colorful insults at the Slytherin players.
"Flint, what are you doing? Angelina got past you like crossing an empty street in the morning!"
"Montague, what are you doing? Even Filch could defend against you easily—maybe you should go be his assistant!"
"Derrick, Bole, did you skip breakfast? A newborn baby could dodge your Bludgers!"
Eda didn't exactly want to help her team in this way, but there wasn't much else she could do. This was her best shot at disrupting the opposing team's mentality.
Of course, Eda wasn't a total mad dog—she didn't say a single trashy word to Slytherin's Chaser Dorian Pucey or Seeker Terence Higgs.
Those two were the most respectful players on the Slytherin team, and they never used rough fouls to attack Gryffindor players, so Eda gave them a pass.
So, like that, Eda zipped around with the Bludgers trailing her while spitting out trash talk, trying to mess with Slytherin's mental state.
Fred and George were nearby, guarding Eda while also knocking Bludgers toward Slytherin to disrupt their offense and defense.
The game's momentum kept shifting back and forth, but under the influence of Eda's constant taunts, Slytherin's increasingly rattled mindset started affecting their efficiency. After all, they were still just a bunch of students—not mentally tough enough to stay unaffected.
When Gryffindor took a fifty-point lead, Eda unleashed a full-team taunt.
She shouted, "Are you guys here to fight for second place? Pfft~!" Then she raised both hands to her neck and mimed a choking gesture.
Madam Hooch, who really couldn't watch any longer, blew her whistle. Out of humanitarian concern, she awarded Slytherin a penalty and gave Eda a warning, hoping she could show some restraint with her words.
If Quidditch had a rule for sending players off the field, Madam Hooch would've already thrown the endlessly yapping Eda out of the game. If even Madam Hooch couldn't take it anymore, let alone the opposing team.
During the penalty shot, the Slytherin players were clearly giving Eda strange looks—even Pucey and Higgs were glaring at her in fury. They no longer wanted to play Quidditch; what they really wanted was to beat Eda up.
That mouth of hers was just too much!
Fred and George gave Eda a thumbs-up from a distance. Even they hadn't expected Eda to be this sharp-tongued—clearly, she'd been holding back when roasting them before.
Flint, now with only thoughts of physically taking on Eda, failed to break through Wood's defense. After making the save, Wood raised an eyebrow at Flint.
That eyebrow raise didn't do much physical damage—but in terms of insult, it hit hard. Flint now just wanted to throw down his broom and brawl with this whole bunch of red-clad bastards.
Seeing that the penalty shot had been missed, Eda was about to open her mouth again when she saw Madam Hooch looking right at her with the silver whistle between her lips. Eda quickly shut up and swallowed her carefully prepared trash talk.
Eda closed her mouth. The stadium finally quieted down. With the 3D surround-sound taunting gone, things were calmer—but the game didn't get any better.
Anger and frustration don't just disappear once they boil over. What came next was reckless aggression and sloppy movements.
The Slytherin Chasers took turns charging Gryffindor's defense with the Quaffle in hand, but with their emotions clouding their judgment, they couldn't mount any effective offense. Instead, Gryffindor found chances to counterattack and extended their lead even further.
Now that she had quieted down, Eda began fully concentrating on searching for the Golden Snitch, while also keeping an eye on Terence Higgs's movements—after all, catching the Snitch was the only way to end the match.
If Higgs caught the Snitch now, Gryffindor's current lead would turn into a collection of sharp blades, stabbing into the hearts of every team member.
After searching for a long time, Eda finally spotted a glimmer of the Snitch in the direction where Terence Higgs was flying.
Higgs hadn't noticed the Snitch nearby, so Eda didn't rush over immediately to avoid alerting him. Instead, she flew at a casual pace halfway before suddenly accelerating and dashing toward the Golden Snitch.
Eda's sudden burst of speed did catch Terence Higgs's attention, and he spotted the Snitch too.
But Higgs had started late. Eda quickly caught up with him, and the two of them flew side by side, chasing after the Snitch while trying to bump each other off balance, hoping to gain an edge.
Physical contact is normal in ball games—Eda didn't expect any nitpicky fouls to be called.
What's the point if you only win because of the referee? As long as the physical contact was fair and not rough or harmful, Eda didn't see any issue with it.
Eda and Higgs jostled for position—he bumped her, she bumped him back.
Though she didn't have Higgs's physical advantage, her technique in using her strength was better. For a while, neither could shake the other off.
"Twist has spotted the Golden Snitch—she's flying toward it! Higgs has seen it too! Who will get there first?" Lee Jordan's voice echoed through the stadium. "Twist and Higgs are going head-to-head, both determined to catch that Snitch. Come on, Eda..."
Just as Lee Jordan described, the confrontation between Eda and Higgs was intense. Neither of them could precisely control their broomsticks. The Golden Snitch hovered briefly before their eyes, then suddenly veered away, shaking both of them off.
The Snitch's sudden turn was too abrupt—neither Eda nor Higgs reacted in time, and they had no chance to adjust their direction. By the time they stopped bumping into each other and turned their brooms around, the Snitch had already vanished.
At that moment, a sharp whistle echoed across the stadium, immediately followed by angry roars from the Gryffindor stands—and cheers from Slytherin.
Looking toward the sound, they saw Oliver Wood, his face covered in blood, slowly descending to the ground. He needed emergency treatment for his injuries.
It turned out that after Wood intercepted the Quaffle once again, an enraged Flint charged at him and punched him in the face.
Seeing the blood streaming down Wood's face, Eda guessed that Flint had either broken his brow bone or smashed his nose.
After a long period of silence, Eda began provoking Slytherin again—right in front of Madam Hooch. She made a throat-slashing gesture at Flint. She really had no fondness for this group of thugs.
With such unworthy successors, she couldn't imagine what Salazar Slytherin would think of his house today.
The match resumed. Although Gryffindor was awarded a penalty, Wood was unable to return to the game immediately. With one player down, Gryffindor fell into a passive position. Taking advantage of the unguarded goalposts, Slytherin quickly narrowed the point gap. By the time Wood returned, Gryffindor's lead had nearly vanished.
Slytherin's fouls didn't just target Oliver Wood—whoever held the Quaffle became the next victim of their "enthusiastic hospitality."
They would surround the ball carrier, one player blocking Madam Hooch's line of sight, while another used punches and kicks until the ball carrier let go of the Quaffle or was knocked off their broom.
It was a tactic they used often.
Today, they tried that tactic again—but unfortunately for them, it wasn't going to work this time.
They'd picked the wrong opponent and the wrong moment.
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