Chapter 271: Quidditch Match Begins
Time flew by, and Hogwarts was bustling with excitement again. The Quidditch match was about to begin. The day of the match was exceptionally sunny. The weather was beautiful, seemingly a good omen. The entire Quidditch Pitch at Hogwarts was filled with a sea of people.
Harry stood in the Gryffindor team's locker room, holding his broom. His fingers gently traced the smooth wooden handle of the Firebolt. The sleek lines and cold touch made his heart beat a little faster. After practicing for so long with Wood's relentless training, he absolutely couldn't make any mistakes this time!
The buzz of conversation rushed in like a tide. Almost everyone's eyes were glued to the broom in his hand. After all, the price of several thousand Galleons was enough to make most wizards gasp.
"Hey, Potter, mind if I take a look at your new broom? I finally see you've gotten a new one." Malfoy's voice, as usual, was sarcastic, and he squeezed out from the crowd, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. After his eyes lingered on the broom in Harry's hand for a moment, he sneered. "Tsk, tsk, don't tell me it's all looks and no substance, and you won't even be able to catch the Snitch! A broom can be as good as it gets, but if the person riding it is useless, it's all for nothing!"
Harry looked up, his eyes flashing. "At least it's better than someone riding that rickety old broom of his. Who was it that fell into the pumpkin patch during a practice match? Did his head get kicked in during that Magical Creatures class, and it still hasn't healed?" He remembered very clearly that during a Slytherin practice a while ago, Malfoy, after recovering, tried to show off and almost fell off his broom, only to be saved by Crabbe's magic.
"What did you say?!" Malfoy's face turned pale with anger, but he couldn't think of a comeback. Harry's Quidditch record was right there; he had never beaten him. "My broom is the latest model! Rickety? Are you crazy?"
Harry, imitating the occasional expression Dylan would give Ron, rolled his eyes upward. "Oh, so it's not the broom that's useless. Then I guess there's nothing to be done. A person is useless, and a good broom is all for nothing!"
Malfoy's face was white and then green. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he just let out an angry huff, turned, and led his followers to the Slytherin stands.
On the other side, on the stone steps leading to the mixed Gryffindor and Hufflepuff stands, Dylan and Cedric were walking side by side. Cedric's eyes were still on Harry's Firebolt, and he couldn't help but say again, "The balance of that broom looks different. Just now, from a distance, it was so still on the ground that the wind couldn't even move it. It's a great piece of work."
Dylan responded nonchalantly, his gaze passing over the crowd and landing on the Ravenclaw team's locker room. There, Qiu Zhang was looking down, adjusting her Beater gloves. There was a thin bandage wrapped around her wrist. According to Cedric, this was an injury she sustained last week when she was hit by a rogue Bludger. It was said that the bandage was only removed yesterday.
"Speaking of which," Dylan stopped and leaned on the stone railing, glancing down. "Is Cho's injury really okay? I heard that she almost couldn't hold on to her broom during practice yesterday. Didn't Ravenclaw consider replacing their Seeker?"
Cedric also stopped and turned to look at Dylan, his eyes a little more cautious. "She specifically tried this morning and said she was completely fine." He paused, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, and looked at Dylan suspiciously. "Why are you asking? You seem very concerned about Cho and why do you call her by her first name? Are you two close?"
"You're crazy," Dylan said, rolling his eyes. It was this guy who kept bringing up Qiu Zhang all the time. And ever since Cedric heard Qiu Zhang say that all the good date ideas were given to them by Dylan and that she thought she was dating Dylan instead of him, Cedric suddenly became wary of Dylan. To which, Dylan could only serve a nice slap. Even if it wasn't on the face, it was at least a slap on the back of the head.
Dylan took out a bunch of grapes from his pocket. There were still water droplets on the purple-red skins. "You should have just told Cho to rest. Anyway, even if Ravenclaw had a few more Beaters, Gryffindor would definitely win this match."
"How can you be so sure?" Cedric asked in disbelief. "Don't tell me you foresaw it with divination?"
Dylan didn't answer. He just threw a grape into his mouth. When he bit into it, sweet juice burst out. He mumbled, "Just wait and see."
Cedric looked at his confident demeanor and couldn't help but feel a little worried for Cho. Since this guy said so, he must have already used divination to see the future! This guy… people who could do divination were just too good. But at this moment, he collected his thoughts and started thinking about how he should comfort Cho later. Should he first praise her for flying well today, or should he say that Harry's broom gave him too much of an advantage?
Soon, both teams were standing in the middle of the pitch. Gryffindor's red uniforms and Ravenclaw's blue uniforms were exceptionally vibrant under the sun. When the captains shook hands, Oliver Wood squeezed the Ravenclaw captain's hand so hard that it almost broke his finger bones. Harry and Qiu Zhang exchanged a look and nodded at each other. They were opponents but also acquaintances, so there was no need to be as tense as their captains.
Just then, "BEEP !!!" Madam Hooch's silver whistle drew a sharp arc in the air. All the brooms lifted off the ground at almost the same time and shot into the sky. Harry squeezed the handle of the Firebolt between his legs. He shot out like an arrow from a bow. He instantly left the other players behind. He could even feel the wind whistling past his ears at almost twice the usual speed! However, it wasn't much more agile than the broom Dylan had given him. The speed increase was just more noticeable.
Harry narrowed his eyes, his gaze scanning every corner of the pitch. Whether it was the shadow of the stands or the top of the goalposts, or even the gaps in the clouds, there could be a Golden Snitch hiding there. He had to be extra careful!
"Ladies and gentlemen, the match has begun!" Lee Jordan's voice came from the commentary box, amplified by magic. "First of all, I have to say, the biggest highlight today is definitely Harry Potter's Firebolt! This broom is the first choice of this year's World Cup national team, and it's said that its speed can reach…"
"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly boomed through the speakers with obvious anger. "I asked you to comment on the match, not to do a broom advertisement!"
"Okay, okay, I understand, Professor." Lee Jordan's voice immediately became much more serious, but he still couldn't help but add, "Let's first look at the players' status Gryffindor's Katie Bell has the Quaffle, and she's flying toward the opposing goal! The two Ravenclaw Chasers are trying to intercept her…"
Cedric was listening happily in the stands. He couldn't help but say to Dylan, "Only Fred and George can get along with him. Even the house commentator is so unconventional."
Dylan was tossing a seedless grape into the air and catching it with his mouth. He mumbled in response and handed the bunch of grapes to Cedric. He had treated this bunch of grapes this morning with his improved "seedless spell." The skin was completely intact, but there were no seeds left inside. This spell was originally a modification of the misfire spell Lockhart had used to break Harry's arm bones. Now, he used it on various fruits, and the effect was unbelievably good, a true blessing for the lazy!
Also, it wasn't that difficult to standardize and stabilize the misfire spell Lockhart had used. Dylan hadn't even worried about it. The main credit for the spell's improvement belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. He was basically reaping the benefits of someone else's labor.
A few days ago, he had even used this spell to make boneless chicken feet, which surprised Luna for a long time. Speaking of which, Luna surprisingly loved the boneless chicken feet he made. So Dylan simply made a variety of flavors and let Luna take most of them back to eat slowly.
Cedric picked a few grapes from the bunch and chewed on them slowly. When his eyes returned to the pitch, he frowned again. Qiu Zhang was following Harry closely. Although her broom was noticeably a half-beat slower, she always gritted her teeth and kept up whenever Harry tried to accelerate and pull away.
It was clear that she knew that once she was shaken off by the Firebolt, she would never have another chance to find the Snitch. Cedric couldn't help but sigh. After all this effort, the result would likely be disappointing. He didn't know how he would comfort his girlfriend after the match.
However, as the match progressed, Cedric began to feel a glimmer of hope. The score was very close after half an hour of play. If things continued like this, it would all come down to who could find the Golden Snitch. Even though Dylan had made a prediction, what if his girlfriend found the Golden Snitch?
At this moment, Gryffindor had scored three goals, and Ravenclaw was not to be outdone, scoring two. Just as Katie Bell was about to throw the fourth Quaffle, a Ravenclaw Beater suddenly swung his bat. A Bludger, with a whistling sound, shot straight toward Harry! Harry was looking down at a patch of grass on the ground.
A golden thing seemed to have flashed there, catching his attention. He was about to dive down, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Bludger shooting toward him. He paused and pulled the broom handle sharply. The Firebolt instantly rose. The Bludger flew past his boots and hit the stands in the distance, causing a gasp from the crowd.
"Damn it! That's so ungentlemanly!" George's roar came from the pitch. The next second, he swung his bat and hit another Bludger. The ball instantly shot like a cannonball toward the Ravenclaw Beater who had just attacked. The other person obviously didn't expect the counterattack to be so fast. He tumbled on his broom in a panic and barely managed to dodge it, almost falling off his broom.
The next moment, Katie Bell flicked her arm, and the Quaffle accurately went through the Ravenclaw goalpost, making a crisp clang.
Lee Jordan in the commentary box slammed his hand on the table, making the magical speakers buzz. His voice was filled with an uncontrollable excitement, igniting the entire Gryffindor stands like a spark. "Score! Gryffindor scores another ten points! The score is now 80 to 0 look at that difference. The Ravenclaw Keeper's arm must be getting sore!"
His eyes shifted and stuck to Harry's Firebolt again, his voice filled with admiration. "Look at Potter! He's flying low. He's definitely testing the Firebolt's ultimate performance! That sharp turn just now was not even half an inch off. The Comet 260 that Qiu Zhang is riding can't keep up at all. It's like an old horse chasing a gust of wind "
"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall's voice, like a piece of ice thrown into hot oil, boomed through the speakers with an undeniable authority. "Did you get paid by the Firebolt manufacturer? If you deviate from the match commentary one more time, you're getting off that commentator's stand!"
Lee Jordan reluctantly shut up, but after a couple of seconds, he couldn't help but mutter. "I'm just telling the truth…" The words were soft, but they were still transmitted to the stands by magic, causing a burst of laughter from the Gryffindor students.
Perhaps the laughter stimulated the Ravenclaw team, or perhaps the 80-to-0 score was just too glaring. Their Chasers seemed to have been injected with new vitality. Their captain, Roger Davies, was the first to break through the Gryffindor defense with the Quaffle. He was followed by Chambers and Avery. In just ten minutes, three Quaffles went through the Gryffindor goalposts in a row.
Lee Jordan's commentary finally returned to normal, but his voice was a little more nervous. "Ravenclaw scores three in a row! The score is now 80 to 30. Gryffindor is only ahead by fifty points!"
Harry was circling high in the sky, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the wooden handle of the Firebolt. The tail of the Firebolt gleamed with a dark brown luster under the sun. Every grain of wood seemed to be made for speed. His gaze scanned every corner of the pitch. Just then, a golden flash caught his eye behind a Ravenclaw Beater. The light was very faint, like a speck of golden dust melted by the sun, but it couldn't escape his eyes, which had been trained by Wood's devilish regimen.
Harry immediately pressed down on the broom handle. The Firebolt was as if it was being pulled by an invisible hand, instantly diving toward the golden light. But just as he was a few feet away from the golden light, Qiu Zhang, riding her Comet 260, suddenly cut in front of him. Her broom just barely blocked the space between Harry and the Golden Snitch.
Her blue uniform was plastered against her body by the wind. With a shake of her wrist, the edge of her bandage was faintly visible under the sun. It seemed that her old injury had been triggered by the sharp turn.
(End of Chapter)
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