Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 396 Autumn - Zhang, though defeated, is still glorious
The winter wind swept across the Quidditch pitch with its chill, and the blue and bronze flags interwoven with green and silver fluttered wildly in the cold wind, as if drumming up support for the duel.

Perhaps due to the weather, a somber atmosphere permeated the entire stadium.

The match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin went into a heated phase right from the start.

Just as Cho Chang told Harry before the match, the Ravenclaw team took this match very seriously.

Since the start of the new semester, team captain Roger Davis has led by example, guiding all team members to train hard.

When the match officially began, the Ravenclaw team members' flying broomsticks created a dense net in the air as they all rushed towards the arena.

Although most of the Ravenclaw players' brooms are of the Sweeping series, a level below Slytherin's Nimbus 2001, the Slytherin players clearly did not expect such a rapid offensive from their opponents.

Before the chasers could even react, they were thrown into disarray by this coordinated attack.

The three Ravenclaw Chaser exchanged knowing glances—Randolph Burrow, after getting the Quaffle, used a teammate's screen to sidestep and pass it to Jeremy Stlayton.

After receiving the ball, Jeremy Stlayton performed a light somersault in the air to avoid the lone ball, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the ball toward the goal.

The final attack was carried out by Captain Roger Davis.

He stretched out his arm, his fingertips almost brushing the inside of the goalpost, and sent the ball into the goal circle.

"Goal! Ravenclaw scores first! Captain, you're setting a great example!"

As Lee Jordan began his commentary, a wave of blue-bronze cheers erupted from the stands.

Davis punched his teammate's shoulder hard when he landed, his knuckles turning white from the force.

In the following match, Ravenclaw firmly grasped the initiative, going on a 70-0 run.

Don't be fooled by the intimidating score; since each successful shot earns ten points, it was essentially seven consecutive qupins, which could only be described as a minor climax.

But Slytherin were not to be trifled with after all.

They quickly regrouped and adopted a man-to-man marking tactic, which soon broke the deadlock and successfully scored the first goal.

Immediately afterwards, they captured several cities in quick succession, as if unleashing a storm.

The scoreboard numbers jumped wildly, and Ravenclaw quickly responded, bringing the score to 90-70.

Faced with this situation, Ravenclaw decisively called a pause, disrupting Slytherin's rhythm.

When the timeout ended and the players returned to the court, their eyes showed a newfound calmness.

They quickly regained the upper hand and widened the score gap again.

"Look at that feint! Merlin's beard! Ravenclaw's batter is like a walking ball!"

Oh! The Slytherin batter has swung!
Just two inches away from hitting the drifting ball!

Commentator Lee Jordan was speaking with great enthusiasm and passion, making the whole thing incredibly exciting.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Slytherin also promptly called a pause.

In the stands, Wood frowned as he watched the two teams clash fiercely.

Both Ravenclaw and Slytherin were their next opponents, so he observed them very carefully.

Taking advantage of the pause, Wood turned his gaze to Harry: "Harry, what do you think?"

Harry was taken aback when the captain suddenly called on him, then pondered for a moment before answering:
"Judging solely by the strength of both teams, Slytherin is still slightly stronger."

If the match continues, Slytherin will definitely catch up with Ravenclaw, or even surpass them.

"Ah, is that so?"

Hermione was somewhat surprised to hear Harry's words.

In her view, Ravenclaw should be the one with the upper hand right now.

She instinctively looked towards Sherlock beside her.

Seeing this, Harry also looked over at Sherlock, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Sherlock nodded: "Harry is right. With both sides being evenly matched, the boost from seven Nimbus 2001s should not be underestimated."

After Malfoy's Nimbus 2001 was destroyed by the Willow, he brought a new Nimbus 2001 with him this semester.

Clearly, his parents bought him a new one during the holiday.

Just as Sherlock analyzed before, his parents probably thought that Nimbus 2001 was enough to handle the Quidditch Cup at Hogwarts, so they didn't spend extra money to upgrade to Nimbus 2001 Super.

Normally speaking, their idea is not wrong at all.

But who would have thought that Harry would have a godfather who didn't play by the rules, who would give Harry a Firebolt?

"Does that mean Ravenclaw is doomed to lose?"

Upon hearing this, Ron immediately said with a displeased expression, "I don't want to see Malfoy acting all smug anymore."

Wood stared intently at the arena: "Not necessarily, the key is still the Golden Snitch... uh, the timeout is over!"

As it turns out, Sherlock and Harry's analysis was absolutely correct.

After the game restarted, Slytherin indeed caught up in the score.

As time went on, Ravenclaw gradually began to decline.

As the key players in determining the outcome of the match, both Cho Chang and Malfoy, the Seekers, are desperately searching for the Golden Snitch on the field.

On one occasion, Cho Zhang clearly saw the Golden Snitch, but unfortunately, it was thwarted by a Blink ball thrown by the Slytherin batter.

When they tried to search for it again, the golden thief had vanished without a trace.

The Ravenclaw batters then retaliated, sending their runners to cause trouble for Malfoy on several occasions.

However, this allowed Slytherin's three chasers to score in quick succession, rapidly narrowing the score gap between the two sides.

After a while, Sherlock suddenly said, "Ravenclaw is going to lose."

"what?"

The people nearby looked on in surprise, "Aren't they tied now?"

"useless."

Sherlock calmly stated, "Ravenclaw can no longer stop them from scoring, and the gap between the two sides will widen further."

As they were talking, Slytherin scored another goal, making the score 140-150.

"Flint scores! Slytherin makes it ten points! This is the first time Slytherin has taken the lead in this match!"

The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team looked at each other in bewilderment.

Their professional competence had already made them understand Sherlock's meaning.

But Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Luna blinked, not quite understanding.

Harry's eyes were fixed on Cho Chang, who was flying across the field, and his worry was evident.

Back in first grade, Ron had told Malfoy that Comet 260 was pretty dazzling, but it wasn't even in the same league as Nimbus.

Keep in mind that Harry's flying broomstick at the time was a Nimbus 2000.

Malfoy's current flying broom is the Nimbus 2001, which has even better performance.

From Harry's perspective, Cho Chang is also a formidable opponent.

With her superb skills, she managed to nimbly escape Malfoy's clutches.

There was even one time when she was just a hair's breadth away from catching the Golden Snitch, thus ending the match and helping Ravenclaw secure the victory.

Unfortunately, it was just a little bit short.

Especially in highly competitive arenas, the slightest difference can lead to a huge error.

As the match progressed, Harry had a vague sense of unease.

His keen Quidditch sense told him that Cho Chang was very likely to suffer a crushing defeat on the field this time.

"Two hundred and seventy, two hundred and eighty, two hundred and ninety, oh no!" Harry kept calculating the score difference between the two sides, and when the score between Ravenclaw and Slytherin became 150:290, Harry finally couldn't help but stand up.

"Time is running out for Ravenclaw."

Fred Weasley frowned, rubbing his red hair with a hint of regret in his voice.

Just then, a deafening cheer erupted from the stadium.

Slytherin's Chaser scored again, making the score 150-300.

“There’s no chance anymore.” George Weasley sighed, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Now that things have come to this, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny have finally come to their senses.

Ravenclaw's fate is sealed.

If Qiu Zhang can catch the Golden Snitch before the score gap widens to 150 points, they still have a chance to win.

Now...it's too late!
"The Golden Thief!"

Just then, Ginny, who hadn't said much, suddenly spoke up, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

Qiu Zhang lowered his body and flew towards the other end of the arena.

Malfoy was a beat slow to react, but he followed closely behind and caught up quickly.

Qiu Zhang knew very well that if the match continued unchecked, the gap between the two sides would only widen.

Therefore, we must seize this opportunity to catch the Golden Snitch and end the match.

That way, the two sides can still fight to a draw.

Otherwise, you lose!
Seeing Cho Chang and Malfoy's moves, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin batters all considered using a wandering ball to interfere with the opposing Seeker.

However, at this moment, both of them were in full swing, nimbly adjusting their direction in mid-air to avoid the wandering ball that was attacking them.

"The Golden Snitch is just ahead! Qiu Zhang has once again dodged the deadly attack of the wandering ball!"

Excellent! She's now a full body length ahead of Draco Malfoy!

However, Malfoy still did not give up; his flying broomstick was Nimbus 2001!

Undoubtedly, comets are indeed very dazzling, but they cannot compare to a halo!

The gap between the two sides is narrowing steadily, and the outcome remains to be seen!

Ron: "..."

Lee Jordan's commentary drove the entire audience into a frenzy.

The most exciting moment of this match is about to arrive!

With two excellent Seekers marking him at the same time, the Golden Snitch has nowhere to escape!
Now it all comes down to who can catch it first and end this close match.

Cho Chang's flying skills were ultimately slightly better than Malfoy's, and he also discovered the Golden Snitch's trail earlier than Malfoy, giving him an early advantage.

However, Malfoy's flying broom was superior, and at the crucial moment, he held onto Cho Chang tightly and refused to give up.

However, Qiu Zhang maintained her advantage. At the last moment, she nimbly flipped over and reached out to grab the golden thief.

Then, just like Harry Potter, she raised her right hand high, letting everyone see that she had caught the Golden Snitch.

"Well done! Ravenclaw's Seeker, Cho Chang, caught the Golden Snitch first, earning Ravenclaw 150 points!"
The match ended in a draw!
What an intense and exciting match! Let's thank both teams for their wonderful performances.

It must be said that the final chase was incredibly thrilling. If the Golden Snitch had held out a little longer, Cho Chang might have been caught by Malfoy…

"call……"

Harry let out a long sigh of relief; he was no longer in the mood to listen to Lee Jordan's analysis.

It's all just correct nonsense. If given more time, Cho Chang might indeed be overtaken by Malfoy.

But on the field, there are no "what ifs".

The fact that the two sides have managed to draw is not a bad result.

"Sherlock..."

He was about to speak to Sherlock when Lee Jordan's impassioned voice interrupted him:

"Wait, it's not a tie!"

The referee has confirmed the goal; Slytherin has won the match!

"what?"

Harry turned around abruptly and saw the Slytherin members hugging and cheering.

In contrast, the Ravenclaw players all looked dejected.

The scoreboard showed 300:310, with Slytherin suddenly gaining 10 points.

"What happened? Why did the score change?"

Harry asked quickly.

"Because just a second before Cho Chang caught the Golden Snitch, Slytherin scored another goal," Fred Weasley said with a disgruntled expression.

“Ms. Hodge has just ruled the goal valid, so the final score is 300:310, Slytherin wins,” George Weasley said.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise: "How could this be?"

The match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin ended in this way.

I thought it would be a draw, but Slytherin won in the end, and it was a close call.

As a team that has won multiple championships, Slytherin's players are not only strong, but also have a wealth of experience in major tournaments.

It was this experience and strong resilience that enabled them to seize the opportunity in the final stages and win the game.

Don't even mention how risky the win was.

A win is a win.

This result surprised everyone.

However, this does not include Wood.

He excitedly told the Gryffindor Quidditch players that this was great news for Gryffindor.

"That's not how it's said, is it?"

In the Gryffindor common room, Ron, upon hearing the news, said with a puzzled expression, "Only defeating Ravenclaw would be good news for us, right?"

“You’re absolutely right, Wood thinks so too – that’s why he increased the team’s training sessions to five times a week.”

"...Please accept my condolences, brother."

Ron patted Harry on the shoulder.

Harry sighed deeply and looked at Sherlock.

Wood's actions meant that he only had one night a week to do his homework.

Every Thursday, he would go with Sherlock to receive a special Defense Against the Dark Arts class taught by Professor Lupin—to defend against Dementors.

For Harry, this was even more tiring than the five Quidditch training sessions a week.

The fatigue from Quidditch training is physical, while the fatigue from training to resist Dementors is both physical and mental.

Sherlock naturally noticed Harry's gaze.

He smiled slightly and turned his head to look at Hermione sitting next to him.

Harry followed Sherlock's gaze and sighed when he saw Hermione.

(End of this chapter)