Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 156 155: The grand event ends, intimidation before the exam
early morning.

The gorgeous sunshine shines on Hogwarts, making its ancient outline sparkle. The bright weather seems to be giving face to the long-awaited little wizards.

When the castle gate was opened, the little wizards who had temporarily suspended their classes immediately filed out, and they talked in groups about their favorite school players.

Both senior and junior students were very emotional.

Everyone's face was filled with unstoppable excitement and joy.

"I barely slept last night, just thinking about today's score."

"Ah? So you've bet a lot, all your remaining pocket money, right?"

"Not only that, I also borrowed a lot of [campus loans] from little Grindelwald. Although the interest rate is a bit higher, if I win, I won't be short of pocket money for the next seven years."

"Hiss, you dare to borrow money from the little witch? Aren't you afraid that if you can't pay it back, your whole family will be forced to work to pay off the debt? I heard that her elder has been active in the interview columns of major newspapers around the world recently."

"I would like to borrow the [Ian Loan] from that little Ravenclaw wizard, but he said he would not lend money to gamblers. What can I do? There is only one chance to make a fortune like this in a year."

"Hiss, it seems that our little professor has more conscience... But I also sometimes heard that little Grindelwald was not so treacherous before he played with the little professor."

……

There was constant discussion among the crowd.

The so-called grand event was actually the final between the Quidditch houses. This was why Ian took the time to go back to the Room of Requirement to water the trees without feeling too many ups and downs or emotions in his heart.

no way.

Perhaps this is a rare event for other Hogwarts students, but Ian has never been interested in Quidditch, a sport that has no fairness at all.

If Ian had not always adhered to the principle of integrating himself into the group as much as possible and had not placed a bet of five gold Galleons on the twin brothers' handicap, he really did not want to watch the so-called finals with other little wizards. The latter reason accounted for a little more than the former reason.

"Letting me watch Quidditch is like asking the President of Brazil to watch the Dragon Country national football team." Ian couldn't quite understand why his two roommates looked so excited and eager to try.

Even though Ravenclaw had been eliminated last week, William and Michael were still passionate about Quidditch and both of them even held up banners supporting Hufflepuff.

Ian found it hard to empathize with that nervous and excited look.

Perhaps they bet a lot of their fortunes on this match? Well, in Ian's opinion, the most exciting part of this kind of match is probably the gambling handicap set up by a few troublesome Gryffindor students.

"To be honest, Ian, you have such great flying skills, but we can't understand why you don't like Quidditch. You can obviously achieve great honors and achievements in this sport." William held a two-foot canvas in his hand, on which the Hufflepuff emblem was painted with magic.

The badge flashes and looks very beautiful when viewed from a distance. It was made by Ian at the request of the two roommates, so it naturally has a more eye-catching effect than other people's banners.

"Yes, yes, Quidditch players enjoy the right of priority in choosing a mate on campus." Michael always seemed more precocious than other little wizards in this respect.

It could also be because his little black girl had recently fallen madly in love with a player from Slytherin College - the final of this school competition was between Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

"I don't think Ian needs the right to choose his spouse." William muttered quietly beside him. This was not flattery, but a feeling from the heart.

After all, even the senior students wanted to make a move on this young wizard with impeccable looks and strength. It was certainly impossible for Ian to have the same emotional troubles as Michael and him.

"If Quidditch could be reformed, I think I would still be interested in it." Ian did provide Madam Hooch with a Quidditch reform plan.

however.

The plan he had spent a full ten minutes to come up with ultimately fell on deaf ears. Wizards were a conservative group, and this was especially true when it came to Quidditch.

We can also see this with William and Michael.

"It's already perfect enough, Ian. It doesn't need any new elements." Michael looked at Ian, who was walking not far ahead, with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, yes, Quidditch has always been like this for so many years." William also agreed. They couldn't even imagine how Quidditch could be reformed.

"If you count the Quidditch match data from the past fifty years, I mean the data from all over the world, you will find out how much unfairness is hidden in these nearly a thousand games."

"On average, we can score about 150 Quaffles in each game, which is about points. It is almost impossible for the score difference between the two sides to exceed points."

"Among all the recorded matches, there are only less than 60 matches where the score difference between the two sides is so large. This means that whoever catches the Golden Snitch will win."

"No matter how many points we were behind or how good our opponent's tactics were, out of nearly a thousand games, the outcome of 856 games depended on which team caught the Golden Snitch."

"What does this mean? It means that in more than 95% of the matches, the final outcome is determined by the Seeker. I think the inventor of this sport must have been a Seeker himself."

"In my opinion, given the situation, why not cancel all other rules and sports and just let everyone catch the Golden Snitch together?"

Ian talked eloquently, and all he talked about was detailed data, which left his two roommates speechless. It seemed that their love for Quidditch was weakened a lot.

They are rational Ravenclaw students, so they can better understand what Ian means. After pondering the data, they also feel it is quite incredible.

obviously.

Before Ian, no one had ever counted this kind of thing.

"Now that you mention it...it seems I have to work hard to become a seeker, otherwise it will be a tragedy." William sighed and looked like an old man.

"Perhaps the first seeker in history was Merlin's youngest son, and the person who invented Quidditch wanted to please him." Michael was using his own bizarre thoughts.

"Why are you so bored with collecting Quidditch statistics?" William looked at his roommate in front of him curiously. In his impression, Ian was not someone who would be interested in Quidditch.

“To write a paper.”

Ian still remembered his original intention of publishing the paper. Only for a paper that did not involve any scary magic, the dean of their college, Filius Flitwick, would agree to help him revise and publish it.

In fact, Ian also went to see Professor McGonagall, but when Professor McGonagall heard that his research topic was about a fruit tree transformed by Transfiguration and whether the fruit could be eaten, she immediately stopped Ian's behavior. It was obvious that she was afraid that such a paper would mislead many wizards after it was published.

After giving Ian several lessons on Transfiguration, the Gryffindor headmaster had gradually come to realize that there was something strange and incomprehensible about Ian's Transfiguration.

"Okay, but even if you say that, I still hope Hufflepuff can win the game." Michael has no interest in publishing the paper for the time being.

He was more concerned about whether he could have extra money to give the little black girl a better end-of-term gift. Michael didn't bet much, but the amount of one gold galleon was also the result of his frugality.

"Yeah, as long as Slytherin doesn't win." How much William bet was an unsolved mystery, but judging from his usual behavior, he didn't seem like he could afford much pocket money.

"I don't mind."

That’s Ian’s heartfelt point.

True.

Whichever of the two colleges wins will not only enjoy the honor and applause, but will also be able to add a lot of points to their own college. However, this will not have any impact on the outcome of the College Cup.

after all.

Just by walking up to the scoring hourglass of the House Cup, even students who were not very good at math would realize that even if they won Quidditch this year's House Cup, it would be difficult to change the outcome.

No matter which house wins Quidditch, it cannot shake the natural advantage.

In Ian's words.

Ravenclaw is a house full of talented people who all love to study. This is the normal situation for a house. Most of the first-year wizards actually believed his words.

however.

The seniors were very confused. They didn't understand why Ravenclaw seemed to be on drugs. This year's house scores were so far ahead. Of course, because they believed in the authority of Hogwarts, they would rather accuse the professors of favoring students with good academic performance than to think that someone was cheating.

This made Professor McGonagall secretly relieved. As the only professor who knew the truth except the headmaster, she had actually been paying more attention to the little wizards from other colleges during class. However, she still found that the score gap between the colleges was getting bigger and bigger. In the end, she had no choice but to give up.

to be frank.

Professor McGonagall also hinted to Ian not to go too far, but unfortunately, Ian thought she was talking about him secretly tutoring others. The irrelevant conversation made Professor McGonagall feel helpless.

So much so that she had no interest in her favorite Quidditch match - perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Gryffindor failed to make it to the finals and was taking a break.

"Look! Ian! That's Cedric! A heroic man!" William immediately burst into excited voice after seeing his favorite player.

Rediscovered my love for Quidditch.

After watching several of Cedric's games, William bought a pair of underwear from Cedric, which is enough to show his admiration and love for Cedric.

"I heard that he will be able to join the national team in the future, but I think he should become an Auror who punishes evil and eliminates evil." Michael was not as excited as William.

But he obviously also praised Cedric.

There are many people in Hogwarts who like Cedric, the Hufflepuff boy. Even Ian has to admit that this gentle senior does have rare excellent qualities and personal charm.

"That means I was born in the wrong era."

Perhaps only Ian himself could understand his feelings. If Aunt AK Rowling had lived in the era of cool novels, perhaps Cedric would have been the destined protagonist she chose.

after all.

Cedric has all the qualities that a good male protagonist in a good novel should have - Ian has dealt with this senior several times and has some affection for the helpful Hufflepuff senior.

This is why he bet on Hufflepuff to win.

On the Quidditch pitch.

The players have entered the locker room to prepare.

As time went by, the stadium stands that were empty just now gradually began to fill up with people, and pairs of expectant eyes looked towards the locker rooms of both teams.

Ian looked for her. Aurora was not there.

I don't know if he was busy promoting the campus loan business in the castle, but after hearing that Aurora was doing this kind of business, Ian couldn't help but sigh for a long time about the gap between himself and the real third-generation black.

"That's right. For someone with a family background and involvement in organized crime, it's inevitable that he would make money from this." Ian knew that Aurora was making money in an illegitimate way, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with campus loans.

Aurora is dark again.

At least Aurora didn't take away people's wands or send threatening letters to their families when they couldn't pay back their loans.

The rumors about working illegally in the school are all rumors. According to Aurora, as long as everyone owes her money, there will always be a time in the future when she will need this kind of relationship.

Maybe in Ian's eyes he seems a bit stupid and rich, but who knows, he might really be playing the long game to hook a big fish. This is somewhat similar to Ian's [Ian Loan].

"good morning guys!"

"I'm Steve Zhou, the commentator for this game. Today is the last exciting Quidditch match of this school year. Let's look forward to it being a thrilling and life-and-death game."

Perhaps there is a reason why the commentator next year will be replaced by another little wizard. Although the ups and downs of this year's commentary are emotional, it is difficult to ignite people's passion.

The words and sentences used are too simple.

of course.

The audience cheered loudly.

This made the commentator named Steve Zhou very satisfied. As the players from both sides took the court one by one, the game officially kicked off. Ian had already calculated how many young wizards had not come to watch the final.

"Forty-seven."

Apparently, despite Quidditch being the most popular sport in the entire wizarding world, quite a few students chose to miss this so-called grand event during the finals.

Especially for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw who failed to advance to the finals. The former didn't want to see Slytherin showing off, so only some students who opened the handicap and participated in the gambling came to the scene, while the latter rationally chose better time management after Ravenclaw was eliminated.

After all, it is near the end of the semester.

Our own college failed to make it to the finals, and there is no suspense about the college cup scoring, so everyone will naturally spend more time preparing for the final exams.

Half of the forty-seven absent students were from Ravenclaw House, especially the fifth and seventh year students, who had to face more rigorous and important exams.

Being able to spend one more hour in the library, or one more hour studying on your own, may give you more confidence. The young eagles have their own standards for what to choose.

"Goal! Hufflepuff scored!"

"Damn it! What the hell is that Slytherin Seeker doing!"

"Foul! He won't be punished for this? What a shady deal!"

……

Even if it's not a hostile college.

But the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff was also very tense. Athletes are like this. Their competitive spirit will drive them to do their best to win on the field.

The way Slytherin House won was just like what everyone thought of them, which was somewhat unscrupulous. As long as the rules allowed, they would always find some loopholes.

In less than ten minutes, the battle on the field became fierce, especially the fly-like Marcus, who maliciously knocked others down and laughed mockingly.

This instantly ignited the anger of the Hufflepuff players. Although Ian didn't like Quidditch very much, he also watched it with gusto. He mainly liked the feeling of the two houses starting to fight.

"My suggestion is to give each of them a knight's lance instead of a baseball bat." Ian's hellish joke fully illustrates how much real anger there was between the two academies on the court.

Naturally, no one would adopt his suggestion.

Seeing that the situation was becoming more and more dangerous, Professor McGonagall immediately ordered a pause for a few minutes to allow players from both sides time to reflect and calm down.

Perhaps this was the Vice-Principal's majestic presence. Slytherin became much more restrained after the start of the second half, which resulted in the Quidditch game, which was on track, suddenly losing its appeal in Ian's eyes.

After a very long time.

Under Ian's yawning bored gaze.

"Cedric! Cedric found the Golden Snitch! He accelerated! He was approaching the Golden Snitch!" The commentator's voice was a little hoarse.

But his emotions became more and more excited.

"Oh! It's not far from Cedric, but it seems that Slytherin has also discovered the Golden Snitch, and they have begun to implement interference tactics against Cedric!"

"Breakthrough! Cedric broke through the interference!"

"Both seekers are now aiming at the Golden Snitch! The game has reached the most exciting moment!" It has to be said that this commentator's choice of words and sentences is quite poor.

But he did have a passion for Quidditch. The atmosphere in the stands was extremely tense, and Ian saw Professor McGonagall even holding the hand of the Hufflepuff headmaster next to her.

Obviously.

She also has her own secret support in her heart.

"Could it be that Professor McGonagall is also a big fan of Cedric?" Ian thought about how much Professor McGonagall loved Quidditch. The more he thought about it, the more he thought this was possible.

As time passes by.

The game finally came to an end.

"Oh! Oh my God! It's Cedric again! It's him! It's definitely him! How could it not be him! He used an extremely tricky angle to avoid another interference from Slytherin house and successfully caught the Snitch!"

"Cedric Diggory! He has created a miracle again!" The commentator shouted at the top of his lungs, and the Slytherin players and college students looked quite ugly.

however.

The facts are established.

Although they were resentful, they were not the kind of people who could not stand losing. The crowd in the stands began to boil, and a large number of yellow banners and flags were raised into the sky by magic.

"Bang~!"

There were also students who were not very good at magic and blew up the flags, but the smoke did not affect the warm atmosphere. Countless little badgers screamed and wanted to climb out of the stands and rush into the stadium.

They also have an unrestrained and wild side. Cedric was lifted into the air by a group of excited students. He was treated like a hero, which made Cedric very happy.

In addition to the Slytherin students who were in a bad mood, the little wizards who lost their bets were also in a bad mood. Ian looked around and couldn't help but worry about the Hogwarts tower tonight.

"This is a gambling dog."

Ian felt that Snape must have placed a lot of bets as well. Professor Snape had the ugliest look on his face in the entire stadium. After the game, he simply threw away his robe and left the stadium early.

“Thanks to the Hufflepuff players! And thanks to the Slytherin players! They brought us a wonderful, unique and exciting game!”

"Let's celebrate Hufflepuff House and express our regret for Slytherin House." After the game, the vice-headmaster gave a seemingly impartial speech, but Professor McGonagall looked so happy that it was hard to tell whether she really felt sorry for Slytherin House from the bottom of her heart.

……

After the Quidditch game, life at Hogwarts returned to normal, with everyone discussing and attending classes, and it seemed no different from before.

Only those who help Filch and other wealthy little wizards and do dirty work for a small reward can still prove how many people have fallen into "class degradation" as a result of Quidditch.

In other words, Filch has been obsessed with blowing himself up every day and going to the hospital every day, so these little wizards can get rewarding labor from Filch.

“Perhaps this can be considered as my merit.”

Ian's preparation for the final exam has come to an end. The professors have another set of test questions specifically for him, so this makes him a little nervous.

Especially after seeing that Grindelwald got a Ukranian Iron Belly from somewhere, the little wizard's nervousness and anxiety about the final exams were pushed to a new level.

of course.

This uneasiness and nervousness was not because of any awe for the Blackbelly, but because he asked a casual question when he saw Grindelwald performing magical transformation on the Blackbelly in his underground palace.

“Is this my final exam?”

The little wizard was even curious enough to come up and kick the Ukran's iron belly a few times when it was glaring at him.

however.

Grindelwald's answer made him instantly lose interest in the half-blood dragon.

"This is a test for other students."

The sinister Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's smile was very intriguing.

"For you, I have another test. Remember to eat less before the test, otherwise I will take a picture of you vomiting and show it to all my students."

It's almost like a social death warning.

This made Ian unable to sleep well for several nights.

Until the day of the exam.

He was wondering what test Grindelwald wanted him to take.

(End of this chapter)