"Wood puts the Quaffle back into play! Pass to Alicia, and the Gryffindor chaser surges forward! Beaters from both teams begin an active struggle with the Bludgers, trying to knock them into each other and into the opposing chasers! What tension from the very first minutes of play! Alicia is forced to pass to Katie, but she has nowhere to break through. Beater threat! Pass to Angelina… Granger darts in like an arrow from ground level and intercepts the Quaffle! A magnificent loop and a pass to Pris, the second chaser! What is Malcolm doing?! Why did he throw the Quaffle into empty space toward the Gryffindor hoops?! Our chasers rush back to their half of the field for the Quaffle…"
A bright lightning bolt lit up the sky, blinding everyone for a brief moment.
"Granger! The Hufflepuff chaser managed to accelerate to enormous speed, diving from the sky after the Quaffle! The Quaffle is his, but this is a terrible trajectory! How will he avoid crashing into the ground now? On what grounds is he maneuvering at almost a right angle?!"
The pouring rain and wind significantly reduced the players' flight speed, robbing them of visibility and ease of maneuvering. But it seemed not to bother Hector at all. A yellow dot, jerking left and right, he rushed toward the hoops. Another lightning bolt close to the pitch flashed brightly across everyone's eyes. Hector's reaction and his broom's capabilities allowed him to make a sharp, instantaneous dash aside, vanishing from Wood's field of view. The keeper's experience suggested Hector's trajectory to Oliver, but he was not where Wood expected to see him.
"Another goal, and Granger brings Hufflepuff twenty points already! Unheard of audacity!" Lee Jordan crowed cheerfully.
"Go! Hufflepuff! Go! Hufflepuff!" came from the majority of students.
Such a situation, naturally, could not please the Gryffindors, and they began to support their team even more actively. Herd instinct is strong in teenagers, after all. Hermione could not resist either, cheering for Gryffindor and Potter, who still had not managed to spot the golden Snitch in the sky.
"Pff," Malfoy snorted. "I had no doubt…"
"Granger catches up to Alicia! Alicia tries an evasive maneuver, but Granger seems glued to her! Fred, judging by the number, sends a Bludger at the Hufflepuff chaser with a powerful strike. Such aggression! What lightning fast barrel roll under the chaser, and the Quaffle is back with Granger! Bludger!"
Because of Hector's maneuver, who a moment ago was between the Gryffindor chaser and the Bludger, and now found himself on the other side, knocking the Quaffle from her hands, the Bludger found its victim in Alicia instead of Hector. She stayed on her broom, but her ribs, if not broken, were at least cracked.
No one stopped the game, because that is a natural occurrence, an injury in Quidditch. Gryffindor had no substitutes, so they could only continue. It took only a few seconds for Hector, Malcolm, and Tamsin to carry the Quaffle to the Gryffindor hoops with an utterly insane passing sequence, and Hector scored with a kick, having first spun very sharply and quickly on his broom to add more force. The Quaffle flew like a projectile, and even Wood's hand could not stop it.
The match continued. The weather worsened, it grew colder, and lightning flashed more often, only occasionally giving everyone a moment's respite. It grew darker, but not because of the time of day. The clouds thickened more than ever. Many Gryffindors found the situation extremely symbolic. They were losing, and losing spectacularly. Thanks to the coordinated work of the Hufflepuff chasers along with Hector's incredible maneuverability, he still had not shown his maximum. Thanks to the equally coordinated work of the Beaters, who for once did not need to cover all three chasers, only two. Thanks to all these factors, the Hufflepuff team led with a score of one hundred sixty to ten. Once, the keeper had lost focus, and paid for it.
"Oliver Wood calls a five minute break for the team!" Lee Jordan announced loudly, and the two opposing teams began to fly back to their exits, stepping onto ground completely covered in puddles, restless from the relentless rain.
"How does it happen," Lee continued, and all the fans and other spectators in the stands could hear him clearly despite the weather, "that the Gryffindor team is losing by such a crushing score? Professor McGonagall?"
"Obviously, Mr. Jordan, the Hufflepuff team not only acquired an extremely maneuverable player in the person of Mr. Granger, but also prepared specifically to play against the Gryffindor team. As I have repeatedly pointed out to the team, their weakness lies in playing on a single plane and neglecting tactics in emotionally difficult moments."
"But before, we did not have such obvious problems, professor."
It seemed the commentators decided to occupy the audience with analysis.
"The Gryffindor team's tactic, centered on massed play in one plane, mainly the plane of the hoops, has been neutralized by Hufflepuff through strict formation play. By positioning players at the vertices of an imaginary bipyramid, they simply rotate it, and the Gryffindor plane of play shifts after the Quaffle. It is also worth noting that a heavy emphasis in this game is placed on the point differential, and the play is built around Mr. Granger. Even then, the lead chaser does not attack Wood without cover from at least one Bludger."
"Put simply, professor, Gryffindor players are smeared across a plane, while Hufflepuff are everywhere, above, below, and to the sides. And while shifting, they change their position however they please, while ours chase the Quaffle back and forth."
"Exactly, Mr. Jordan. It should also be noted the weather conditions, in which the Gryffindor Seeker is not particularly productive. The Hufflepuff Seeker's tactic is strict side by side following of Potter, distracting him and dragging out time. Under such conditions, Mr. Potter is simply unable to spot the Snitch first and capitalize on his speed advantages."
"Which, to my great and deepest regret, are not all that numerous compared to Cedric's. And Potter's broom is better, too. Professor McGonagall, does that mean Hufflepuff is relying purely on point differential?"
"As it seems to me, they are creating a safe buffer of one hundred sixty points. Even if Mr. Potter catches the Snitch, the victory will go to Hufflepuff, albeit with a minimal increase in points."
"But the difference is one hundred fifty so far."
"The Gryffindor team has already begun playing on the edge of serious fouls. But even that has not slowed the frequency of goals. I am forced to admit that increasing the score difference is only a matter of time."
"Well, the forecast may be grim, but the teams are already ready to return to the field. Just look at the Gryffindor Seeker. He is practically glowing with happiness! It seems this team will still fight!"
"Hooray!" the Gryffindors in the stands shouted over each other, competing in volume with the thunder.
The match continued. The sky grew gloomier, the wind colder, and the rain fell nearly icy. But the fans only grew more excited, seeing Potter take a much more active position in the game. He no longer flew like a blind kitten, and that inspired hope.