The Return to Hogwarts

With a plan in mind, Harry felt as if he were back on the intense and exciting Quidditch pitch. He constantly adjusted his position, sending out false signals, and restrained Crabbe and Goyle like a dangerous Seeker. Finally, after half a minute, when the relative positions of the two boats on the churning water were finally satisfactory to Harry, he shouted loudly at Crabbe and Goyle, who had once again overshot their targets due to excessive speed.

"Can't you guys be a little smarter?"

Harry sneered.

"Without Malfoy, you seem to have degenerated into savage monstrosities!"

“How dare you say that, Potter!” Crabbe roared. “I think you’re the one who’s a piece of trash!”

Immediately, Crabbe and Goyle really did resemble two small trolls, their eyes fixed only on Harry's mocking smile, completely ignoring everything around them.

"Speed ​​up, Hermione!"

Upon seeing the two men approaching menacingly, Harry's heart skipped a beat. He gripped the helm tightly and asked Hermione to channel all her magic into the small oak boat beneath them. Instantly, the boat sped forward like a car accelerating, crashing directly into a cloud of mist floating on the water.

The familiar sound of the wind whistling in his ears, Harry, who was speeding along on the boat, unexpectedly found a bit of the thrill of riding his beloved Nimbus 2000 and soaring freely in the air!

Even so, the distance between the two speeding boats was still decreasing at an alarming rate, and it seemed that they would collide heavily in just a few seconds!

"Harry!"

Hermione, who was crouching at the stern, nervously warned as she watched the approaching shadow behind her.

Swish!

"Hold on tight, Hermione!"

Suddenly, Harry crouched down and jerked the rudder hard, causing the small boat to bounce on the water and in the air like a stone skipping across the water!

At first, Crabbe and Goyle didn't care, thinking that Porter was just using the same old trick. However, when they turned around and their oak boat drifted forward on the water, they realized something was wrong. The boat was heading in the mud pit where the Hinkpunk had previously driven them crazy!

call!

The raging wind instantly dispersed the strangely shaped plumes of smoke, and a muddy vortex about twenty feet in diameter suddenly appeared in Crabbe and Goyle's horrified eyes. Also startled by them was a Hinkpunk, about the size of a house-elf, that shifted between reality and illusion like wisps of mist.

The Hinkpunk, carrying the swaying 'ghost fire', stared blankly at the giant ship that seemed like a behemoth to it. Before it could even scream, it was smashed to pieces!

The reason why the mud whirlpool where Hinkpunk crouches has such a strong suction is because it is home to a type of silverfish that is widely found in the Indian Ocean—the Lamora. This fish has strong magical powers, and in the Middle Ages, magicians on long voyages would use them as anchor chains to secure their ships.

This was a tragic thing for Crabbe and Goyle.

The sudden stop of the boat was a disaster for them, given their immense inertia. Amidst a piercing scream, the two men leaped through the air, tracing graceful curves, before crashing into the water like depth charges.

The comical scene before him made Harry, who had come to a stop not far away, burst into laughter, and even Hermione, whose eyelids were drooping and who seemed listless, couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

But the tragic fates of Crabbe and Goyle did not end there.

Just as Crabbe and Goyle, who were still dizzy from the fall, were getting back to their feet, a large group of Heracles swam over from nowhere. They circled around them and kept spitting water jets at them, making Crabbe and Goyle howl in pain. This time, even Hermione couldn't feel any pity for them.

Congratulations on successfully passing the first round of selection!

A familiar voice suddenly echoed across the vast lake.

"Then, the remaining warriors will compete for the glory of victory on the track!"

"It's Professor Blaine's voice!"

Harry, who had just helped Hermione up, immediately realized what was happening. Before he could even process what Professor Blaine meant, the surrounding space suddenly began to boil like water. Then, Harry felt a sense of disorientation, as if he were being propelled into the sky while the earth receded rapidly into the distance.

The moment his vision cleared and swept across the unmasked space, Harry's face darkened instantly.

Three hundred feet away, Ron and Parvati, their faces bruised and battered, were using their oak boat, stuck vertically in the mud, as a shield to dodge a group of Heracles' water arrows. Exhausted, Lavender and Seamus leaned against the gunwale, resigned and motionless. Many other Gryffindor classmates were in similar situations. Only Neville and Dean seemed to be in a similar condition to him and Hermione.

Harry gave a rough look at the Slytherin group, specifically the Malfoy and Parkinson pair, who were mocking the two Gryffindors they had sent into the mud.

Millison Burst, the tall and stocky man who had a grudge against Hermione, was glaring coldly at them. Theodore Nott behind her was silent, seemingly having not expended much energy.

In addition, there was another group in Slytherin, a girl who was fairly good-looking, Daphne Greengrass, and her teammate Blaise Sabine, who were discussing the current situation in hushed tones, and they were equally energetic.

It must be said that in a game with no prior information, the more tactful and cautious Slytherin has an advantage over Gryffindor.

"Three against two, our mana is being used up much faster!"

As a Quidditch expert, Harry was also adept at analyzing the game situation, and within a few glances, he had already foreseen what was about to happen.

Chapter 204 The Game (Part 5)

The changes around them weren't over yet. The clouds and mist floating on the surface of this vast lake rapidly gathered under the influence of magic, forming two fog walls that were a mile long. In the center of these fog walls was the track for the final competition.

One by one, the injured young wizards, who were no longer able to compete, floated up from the cabins or the water and drifted towards the land outside the classroom. The remaining five small boats returned to the shore and lined up neatly in a row. Professor Blaine, who hadn't appeared for a while, suddenly emerged from some corner, smiling broadly at the young wizards' mournful eyes.

"So, isn't it pretty obvious what to do next?"

Amosta pointed to the track divided by the fog wall and said happily,

"Slytherin has three groups, and Gryffindor has two groups. Next, you will race as fast as you can to the other side. Some of the cute little creatures you just saw will be randomly placed on the track. At the end of the track, there will be a fork, one leading to glory and the other to defeat. Only by making the right choice will you achieve final victory."

“If I were you, Potter,”

After Professor Blaine finished explaining the rules, Malfoy smiled insincerely.

"I'll take that old, worn-out broom and go sweep up bird droppings from the owl's hut right now. You know that, so you don't humiliate yourself!"

Faced with Malfoy's provocation, Harry didn't immediately retort. He helped the trembling Hermione up, glanced at the Slytherins who had already reached a consensus, and then, panting, said sarcastically...

"It certainly surprises me, Malfoy. I thought your only loyal servants were those two big oafs."

"There's no need to sow discord, Potter."

Surprisingly, Theodore Nott, the thin, frail boy on Millison Burst's ship who seemed somewhat aloof from the rest of Slytherin—a boy Harry had barely paid attention to before—said in a low voice.

“Longbottom poses no threat to us, Potter. As long as we get you into the water, Slytherin wins. And if Gryffindor loses you in tomorrow's Quidditch match, they won't be able to beat Hufflepuff either. It's killing two birds with one stone.”

Nott's words immediately provoked a fierce reaction from the Gryffindor wizards resting on the shore. Ron yelled "Despicable!" and tried to rush up and punch Nott, but was forced back by a look from Amosta.

Not bad, young man, your thinking is quite clear.

Although Amostah didn't say a word, his eyes still revealed a faint appreciation. Most of the descendants of these pure-blood wizard families that had been passed down for thousands of years were good-for-nothing playboys, but occasionally a very few, under the cultivation of elite education, were indeed outstanding.

Harry pursed his lips. To be honest, he knew that Malfoy and his gang had this in mind from the beginning, but he was still quite surprised that this Slytherin would say it so frankly.

"What do we do, Harry?"

Neville, soaked to the bone, blinked, looking completely lost.

“There’s only one way, Harry,” Hermione whispered, her face still pale. “You have to give me up—”

Harry was about to say something when Hermione interrupted him.

“If you want to win, you have to do this, Harry, and Dean—”

Hermione then looked at Dean, whose dark skin had also turned pale, and said, "And you, Dean, you have to give up the competition too. We're in similar condition, and if we persist, we'll only be a burden!"

Alright, now Harry, Neville, and Dean all understood Hermione's meaning. Rather than keeping two people who were no longer of any use, they should merge the teams and streamline them into a single, combat-ready force. This way, they might be able to find a chance of victory in the foreseeable siege by Slytherin.

“A very wise choice, Miss Granger—”

Amosta nodded approvingly at Hermione, then turned to the group of sprawled little ones and said with a smile,

"Please wait a moment, everyone. I will take you all to the hospital shortly."

Listen to this yourself, is this even human language?

The young wizards all had black lines appearing on their foreheads, and they were all thinking the same thing.

"Ha, I'll be waiting for you at the finish line, Potter. Hope you can swim faster!"

The moment Amosta announced the start of the match, Malfoy laughed triumphantly. Just as Harry had predicted, Malfoy had no intention of bothering him; he had handed over this 'glorious' task to Burst and Greengrass.

"Give Malfoy a piece of your mind, Harry!"

Standing on the shore, Ron, his face covered in mud, roared, "If you can't do it, you won't be sleeping in a bed tonight!"

Well--

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Ron, including Amosta and Hermione, all of whom showed expressions of astonishment.

"Oh, what's wrong?"

Ron shuddered violently under the gaze of so many strange people. He looked innocently at Hermione, who was trying not to laugh, and muttered under his breath.

"I mean, Harry and I share a dorm room. Nothing more."

Neville's chubby cheeks were flushed red. He seemed to be under a lot of pressure, having inexplicably become the hope of the whole village. If it weren't for Harry being there for him, he probably would have collapsed.

"What should we do, Harry?"

After Malfoy left, Greengrass and Burst did not rush out after him. Instead, they flanked Harry and Neville, watching them intently. It seemed they were determined to keep them occupied so that Malfoy could win.

“We can’t give up, Neville!” Harry said through gritted teeth.

The wind howled, and the stationary boat shot off like an arrow. Harry stared intently at Malfoy's rapidly receding figure, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"Get out of the way, Harry!"

Not only Neville, but many Gryffindors watching from the shore also anxiously shouted reminders. Harry turned around urgently, only to see Milison with a cold smile and Daphne with a calm but determined gaze, turning the headboard of the bed and forming an 'X' trajectory as it slammed into the stern of his boat!

click!

Harry's ship's bow was raised high like a pirate ship. If he hadn't been holding onto the rudder, he probably would have been thrown into the water. Neville was in an even worse state. He was lying prone in the cabin, his right hand on the wooden hemisphere of the ship's side. The sudden acceleration of the ship caused his body to slide uncontrollably, his face making intimate contact with the hull. By the time Harry regained control of the ship, Neville, whose nose had been injured, was covered in blood!

The angry shouts of the Gryffindors on the shore were almost enough to lift the roof off. Hermione rushed to Professor Blaine, shouting with unusual indignation,

"This is not fair! Slytherin is cheating! They are winning through despicable means! Is that allowed, Professor!"