In the end, Harry managed to catch the Golden Snitch without any mishaps.
The speed advantage brought by the Firebolt made Cho Chang, riding her Comet, barely able to eat his dust from behind, and Harry even cast a "Heart-Clearing Mantra" buff on himself. He felt as if he'd been chopping fish at the shop for ten years, his heart as cold as a knife.
Do you think he would care?
If necessary, Harry thought he could really knock Cho Chang off her broom, just like Wood said.
And those "Dementors" were actually members of the Slytherin team and a few other house members in disguise, led by captain Marcus Flint, with Draco Malfoy as the brains. Unsurprisingly, they were scared out of their wits by "Hagrid"—
It's hard not to be afraid when a three-meter-tall giant is charging at you in white light, even trying to grab your head—though it didn't catch them after all. But the Slytherin little wizards were scared out of their wits, so under Professor McGonagall's interrogation, they spilled the whole plan like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
"It was all Marcus's decision—"
Goalkeeper Miles Blaise said shakily, standing in the middle at the time, "Hagrid" targeted him first; a mass of unknown white mist wafted around his face, scaring Miles out of his wits.
And Marcus, always jeered at by Professor Snape as one of the two trolls, quickly gave up the mastermind Malfoy. He said the purpose was to scare Harry Potter off the Firebolt, and if it worked, he might be sidelined for a while, making their next match easier to win…
Malfoy, still struggling to argue, closed his eyes in despair.
Can't carry them.
Absolutely can't carry them.
The final result was Slytherin losing a whole 150 points, and Mr. Filch gaining a group of free labor for half a term. The sneaky smile on the man's face while he escorted them off the field made everyone present clench involuntarily—
Even Snape's usually gloomy face seemed much more amiable.
"Oh!!!!"
But soon, the lingering fear was washed away by joy as the Gryffindor players hoisted Harry, clutching the Golden Snitch, onto their shoulders and noisily ran towards the castle.
"It's okay, there's another chance—"
On the stands, Cedric was rubbing Cho Chang's wrist as the audience began to disperse, the sunset painting half the sky pink.
"Does that mean you're conceding?"
Cho Chang smiled, not looking too disappointed. After all, Harry was riding a Firebolt, an overwhelming hardware advantage, yet she had blocked Harry's path to the Golden Snitch several times. No one could blame her; it was a no-sticky situation.
The next match was Slytherin versus Gryffindor, then it would be their game against Hufflepuff.
"Ced, if you throw the match, I'll report you to Professor Sprout—"
William raised his head. Although not interested in Quidditch, he was keen on giving Cedric a hard time. His words, putting Cedric in a chokehold, left the boy somewhat aggrieved as he raised his head.
William, however, just smiled and turned back to watch Hagrid, standing with a leash in hand. "I'm not sure, but Harry's Patronus Charm was always taught by Lupin. Maybe you can ask him back at the castle?"
"Alright…"
Hagrid scratched his head and muttered, still puzzled about why Harry's Patronus was him.
But William had a good idea why, as his Patronus could also transform freely—yes, rather than the Dragon shown in the last Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match, it could continuously change based on his mood.
At the time, the sight of a glowing train engine as his Patronus on the Hogwarts Express lit up everyone's eyes.
Like Thomas the Tank Engine.
Meaning, if Hagrid wanted to see now, he could summon a white Hagrid.
But this ability was tied to Ancient Magic, and changing a Patronus's form was… especially after Dumbledore researched how to send messages with the Patronus Charm, given that the Charm's non-replicable nature was always a factor, even with Polyjuice Potion, as normally a Patronus doesn't change form.
And William's ability effectively overthrew Dumbledore's method from within—
Which was truly groundbreaking, plus he suspected Harry's Patronus probably had the same reason as his.
Because when he first learned the Patronus Charm, he once conjured an ice cream cone, simply because of the hot weather. He was miserable for nearly a whole week until he later discovered he could change his Patronus at will.
Yep, he happily researched it for a while; back then, he even made a Dementor version of the Patronus…
Mastering the art of fighting poison with poison + muddying the waters.
Looks like he still needed to teach Harry this—but it shouldn't be hard, as it mainly required a mental breakthrough.
"Meow~"
Just as they were getting ready to leave, Crookshanks, nestled on William's lap, naturally got up with the boy and landed on the ground. Ignoring Hermione's call, it flicked its tail and hopped onto the chair beside Hagrid, then coughed up a hairball onto the seat—