novelcrest Chapter 142 Quidditch Match
Chapter 142 Quidditch Match
Chapter 142 Quidditch Match (Part 2)
"This damn weather," Sean grumbled, looking down.
Even though he has lived in England for over twenty years, he still can't stand the country's unpredictable weather—it reminds him of some unpleasant things.
For example, the expression on your ex-girlfriend's face in a past life.
The sky was originally clear and blue, but after dinner, a dark cloud mass rose up on the horizon. Like a greedy beast, it quickly devoured the once clear sky.
As the sunlight was gradually blocked, the sky changed from azure to a hazy gray. The distant mountains and buildings appeared even heavier under the somber sky, and a sense of oppression filled the air. The clouds thickened, and the sky grew darker, as if night had fallen.
The wind began to howl, and the leaves swayed in the breeze, as if announcing the approaching storm. The previously warm temperature plummeted, sending a chill through the air. The clouds in the sky churned and rolled, seemingly brewing a heavy rain.
Hermione sat anxiously in the dressing room waiting for Harry.
When Harry entered the dressing room, she quickly came up to him and offered her her blessings.
"Good luck, Harry!"
Of course, it wasn't just a blessing; she had originally intended to give Harry a few words about Polyjuice Potion, but seeing the Quidditch players walking in, she didn't bring it up.
The Gryffindor players changed into their bright red team uniforms, and an atmosphere of unity and fighting spirit filled the locker room.
As is customary, Captain Wood stood before everyone and began his pre-match morale-boosting speech.
"Slytherin's flying brooms are indeed more advanced than ours," Wood admitted. "That's a reality we have to face. But remember, the people on the brooms are the key to victory. The effort and sweat we put in are unmatched by them. We persisted in flight training in all kinds of adverse weather conditions—"
Wood continued, "Today, we're going to show them what a mistake it was to let that little rascal Malfoy infiltrate the team with money."
Wood's chest heaved with excitement. He turned to Harry, his gaze unwavering, and said, "Harry, it's all up to you today. You must prove that a great Seeker isn't something you can cultivate just because you have a rich dad. You must catch the Golden Snitch before Malfoy does, at any cost for our victory."
Fred winked at Harry, trying to ease the tension: "So don't be too stressed, Harry." When they walked out of the locker room and onto the field, they were greeted by a noisy commotion.
The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students cheered, eager to see Slytherin defeated.
However, the Slytherin students booed and jeered, trying to distract their opponents. Quidditch teacher Ms. Hooch asked the two captains, Flint and Wood, to shake hands. They glared at each other, their hands gripping each other tightly as if trying to crush each other's.
"Listen to my whistle," Ms. Hodge said solemnly. "As the whistle blew, the crowd erupted in clamor, and the fourteen team members shot into the leaden sky like arrows released from a bow."
Harry flew higher than all the other team members, squinting as he looked around anxiously, searching for any trace of the Golden Snitch.
"Are you alright, Scarface?"
Malfoy's mocking voice came from below as he weaved beneath Harry on his broom, seemingly showing off his speed.
Harry ignored him, focusing intently on searching for the Golden Snitch.
Suddenly, a heavy black ball flew toward Harry. He narrowly escaped, only feeling the ball brush against his hair as it flew past.
George swung his bat and sped past, trying to hit the wandering ball at a Slytherin player.
However, the bouncing ball, like a boomerang, repeatedly changed direction, aiming straight for Harry's head.
Harry had to speed up to escape the ball's pursuit.
Fred and George did everything they could to protect Harry, but the bouncing ball seemed to be drawn by a magnetic force, relentlessly pursuing him.
The rain began to pour down, large drops hitting Harry's face and splashing onto his glasses, blurring his vision.
With the combination of the terrible weather and the crazy running ball, Harry felt unprecedented pressure.
Halfway through the game, Slytherin was already leading 60-0.
That crazy bouncing ball was clearly Slytherin's "secret weapon" for victory, as it did everything it could to knock Harry off the plane.
Fred and George flew close to Harry, trying to shield him from the bouncing ball's attack, but in doing so,
Harry was then unable to concentrate on finding the Golden Snitch.
"Someone tampered with this—this—wandering ball—" Fred muttered as he hit the wandering ball with all his might.
George also realized the seriousness of the problem: "We need to pause the game."
He gestured to Wood while doing everything in his power to stop the ball from attacking Harry.
Wood caught George's signal, and the game was temporarily suspended as Ms. Hodge's whistle blew.
Harry, Fred, and George landed on the ground, still having to dodge the crazed, wandering ball.
The Gryffindor team members quickly huddled together, choosing to pretend they couldn't hear the Slytherin members' mockery and taunts.
Anyway, it's not the first or second time.
Before Harry joined the team, they were already somewhat used to this.
At that time, they not only had to face ridicule and mockery, but also had to hand over victory to those who mocked them.
This was the situation that they found most unbearable. Wood anxiously asked what had happened, and Fred and George angrily explained the strange behavior of the ball and their suspicion that the Slytherin team might have tampered with it.
However, when they found Ms. Hodge together, she said that the ball had been locked in her office and there had been no abnormalities before.
Faced with such a dilemma and doubt, Harry displayed extraordinary calmness and courage—recklessness.
As long as you don't die from recklessness, just recklessly go all out.
He decided to face the out-of-control ball alone, letting Fred and George return to the other players to protect them and look for scoring opportunities.
Despite Arya Spinnet's concerns and objections, Harry firmly declared, "We can't lose to Slytherin because of a crazy running ball! Quick, Oliver, tell them to leave me alone!"
His courage and determination inspired the entire team and won rounds of applause and cheers from the audience.
Under Harry's leadership, the Gryffindor team returned to the intense competition.
"It's all your fault!" George roared angrily at Wood. "'Either catch the Golden Snitch or die on the field.' How could you say such a thing to him? You must have lost your mind!"
At this moment, Ms. Hooch intervened, asking Wood in a calm tone, "Can the game continue?"
'
Wood glanced at Harry, and seeing the determination in his eyes, he made up his mind. "Alright," he announced, "Fred, George, you heard what Harry said. Don't interfere. Let him deal with that bouncing ball by himself."
The rain intensified, and with a whistle from Ms. Hodge, Harry pushed off and soared into the air.
The whooshing sound of the ball echoed behind him, and he knew that the merciless ball was coming again.
Harry nimbly soared through the air, rising and falling, sometimes spinning, sometimes making sharp turns, and sometimes drawing a zigzag pattern.
Raindrops pounded against his glasses, and even as he hung upside down to dodge the ball's attacks, water poured into his nostrils. He could hear the jeers of the crowd, and he knew he might look a bit like a wolf, but the clumsy ball couldn't change direction as easily as he could.
He flew around the edge of the field like a roller coaster, keeping a close eye on the Gryffindor goalposts through the rain, watching as Derian tried to break through Wood's defense.
The whooshing sound rose again in Harry's ears; he knew the Looping Ball had once again slipped past him. He quickly changed direction and sped away.
"Potter, are you dancing ballet?" Malfoy scoffed, as Harry awkwardly spun through the air trying to dodge the ball.
Harry fled in panic, with the Loitering close behind, only a few feet away from him.
He turned around angrily to glare at Malfoy, but unexpectedly discovered the golden snitch hovering above Malfoy's left ear.
Meanwhile, Malfoy was busy mocking Harry and was completely unaware of this.
Harry hovered in the air, his heart pounding, hesitant to rush toward Malfoy for fear that Malfoy would look up and discover the Golden Snitch.
boom!
His hesitation cost him dearly; the ball struck his elbow hard, sending a searing pain through his body.
In a daze, he swayed precariously on his flying broom in the rain, one knee clinging tightly to the broom, while his right hand hung limply at his side.
The ball came again, this time targeting his face.
Harry abruptly changed direction, his mind focused on only one thing: rush towards Malfoy.
Through the misty rain, Harry, enduring excruciating pain, rushed towards the mocking face.
He saw a flicker of fear in Malfoy's eyes; clearly, the other man hadn't expected Harry to be so resolute.
"What do you want to do—" Malfoy asked in a panic, trying to dodge.
Harry released his uninjured hand and suddenly grabbed, his fingertips touching the cold, golden Snitch.
However, because he was only holding the broom between his two legs, he lost his balance and fell straight to the ground.
Before he lost consciousness, he heard gasps from the audience.
With a loud crash, water splashed everywhere, and Harry fell into the mud, rolling off the broom.
His arm was twisted at an odd angle, and the excruciating pain made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
Amid whistles and shouts, he gripped the golden snitch tightly in his hand.
"Aha," he managed to squeeze out a sentence, "we—won."
He fell into a coma as soon as he finished speaking.
Hermione searched the faculty seating area for Professor Sean, but unfortunately, the seat that should have belonged to Sean was now empty.
at the same time.
Tonks' office.
A man and a woman were sitting facing each other, and an indescribable tension filled the air.
Tonks felt the intense gaze of her senior, Phillips, across from her, which made her feel both embarrassed and uneasy.
She lowered her head, trying to avoid his sharp gaze, but Phillips's eyes seemed to have a penetrating power, staring straight at her, leaving her nowhere to escape.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too awkward, so Tonks started fiddling with her bracelet, trying to find something to talk about to ease the tension. She cleared her throat and said, "Senior Phillips, is there something you need?"
"Has your junior been avoiding me these past few days?" Sean asked directly, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Tonks was caught off guard by the question; she hadn't expected Sean to be so direct.
She paused slightly, then avoided his gaze and said softly, "No, senior, I wasn't deliberately avoiding you, I've just been quite busy lately—"
Sean sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "Junior, I know you might have some misunderstandings about me, or feel uneasy. But I hope you know that I have never meant any harm."
He paused, then continued, "Actually, I called you to apologize. If anything I did before made you uncomfortable or bothered, I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean it; I just might not have expressed myself well."
Listening to Sean's words, Tonks felt a mix of emotions welling up inside him.
She looked up at Sean and found his eyes filled with sincerity and expectation... Perhaps, she...
"Hey, I—" Tang Wusi began, wanting to say something, but not knowing how to express himself.
Sean interrupted Tonks and said softly, "Tonks, actually, I came here not just to apologize."
He took a deep breath, as if trying to muster his courage.
"I'm going to be in the dark room for the next chapter, it'll be released later."