From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

"He didn't catch the Snitch, he almost swallowed it!" Even though the game had ended twenty minutes earlier, Slytherin's Quidditch team captain, Flint, was still grumbling incessantly.

"Ignore him, Harry! That's the lament of a loser." Ron gave Harry a heavy slap on the shoulder. "160 to 10, and you caught the Golden Snitch almost right at the start! I bet this match took one of the longest in all of the school's games!"

“I have to thank Flint for this,” Harry said with a frank expression, raising his voice so that the Slytherins nearby could hear. “If he hadn’t bumped into me with his broom, I might have missed the Golden Snitch.”

"Pah! Let him be happy for a while! He won't be so lucky in the next game!" Flint spat on the ground and left with the rest of the Slytherin players.

"Hahaha." Seeing their opponent's disheveled appearance, the Gryffindors surrounding Harry burst into loud laughter.

“Oh, right, Harry. Hagrid came to watch your first match too, sitting right next to us, but he didn’t say a word to us, like he had his mouth sewn shut.” Ron shrugged. “He’s still upset about what happened that day.”

Perhaps Hagrid is right; the Philosopher's Stone really isn't something we should worry about. Doesn't Professor McGonagall think so too? Several professors have provided it with magical protection, even Professor Dumbledore. It's perfectly safe for it to stay at Hogwarts.

Harry thought to himself, "Perhaps we should find some time to apologize to Hagrid..."

The celebration party in the Gryffindor common room lasted a long time until Professor McGonagall appeared from behind the portrait of the Fat Lady, at which point everyone dispersed.

“You know what, Harry?” Harry heard Ron say before the bed curtains were drawn. “I thought your broom might have some problems today. After all, Ivy completely took it apart. But it seems Ivy’s technique is pretty good; at least it flies very smoothly… What do you say, what if we start a flying broomstick company with Ivy after we graduate? You, the greatest Seeker at Hogwarts, can be the brand name, Ivy can manufacture the brooms, and Hermione can manage the accounts…”

"And what about you?" Harry was momentarily captivated by Ron's reverie, but when he asked the question, all he received in response was Ron's snoring.

……

In the potions classroom, Ivy had finished preparing all the potion ingredients for the day and was getting ready to pack up and leave.

“Mr. Doom,” Professor Snape called his name in a short tone that Ivy had never heard before, without drawing out the syllables or adding any emphasis.

Normally, Snape's words are precise and elegant, yet overly polite, making his sarcasm immediately apparent. However, once you get used to them, they become strangely appealing, much like "I really want to kiss your ass with my boots."

Ivy would usually mimic Snape's tone in retaliation, since Snape couldn't continue to deduct points from Ivy. Over time, Snape tried to avoid communicating with Ivy, only using simple language to describe the potion ingredients to be processed that day at the beginning of detention.

So when Snape called out to him, Ivy's expression looked very strange.

But Snape overlooked this: "I've heard you have an antique broom from the 19th century? Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Hodge have mentioned it more than once in the faculty lounge."

Ivy nodded, making a listening expression.

“Very good, then you are now a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team.” Snape didn’t give Ivy any time to react. “You don’t need to come here for solitary confinement anymore. I only have one requirement for Quidditch: beat Gryffindor.”

Before Ivy could answer, Snape kicked him out of the Potions class.

Chapter 52 New Members of the Slytherin Quidditch Team

Perhaps Snape felt ashamed by Slytherin's crushing defeat, so the very next morning he announced in front of all the Slytherins that Ivy would be joining the Quidditch team.

There were no cheers, no applause.

All the students in the Slytherin common room gasped and turned to look at Ivy.

Ivy said she was used to it and gave a polite bow with a calm expression.

"Clap clap clap..." Cassandra was the first to clap, and then the others in the common room seemed to wake up from a dream and offered a less-than-hearted round of applause.

“Mr. Flint,” Snape called out from the top of the steps to Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, “Mr. Doom’s position on the team is up to you to decide, and you can report to me before the next game.”

Seeing Flynn nod, Snape flicked his sleeve and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you may now proceed with your meal." He then left the common room.

But even after Snape left, the crowd in the common room did not disperse.

The prefect, Gemma Farley, stepped forward and stood on the landing of the stairs.

“Mr. Doom,” she called Ivy’s name, “do you remember what you said that day?”

Ivy didn't understand which sentence she was referring to, so she didn't respond.

“The strong make the rules, and the weak obey them,” the female prefect continued. “We’re all waiting for your rules.”

"One duel and you've all been subdued?" Ivy casually picked at her fingernails. "I thought you'd have more backbone."

The Slytherin common room fell into a deathly silence; no one seemed to have expected Ivy to say such a thing.

After the devastation caused by two generations of Dark Lords, the remaining wizard supremacists and pure-blood supremacists in the magical world are nothing more than the remnants of the dead.

They had neither the impulse to sacrifice themselves for ideals nor the desire to pursue the highest ideals; they were merely using these slogans to unite a group of pathetic creatures who were also thinking about petty gains.

Although these poor wretches still hold a certain amount of power and wealth in reality, it does not change the fact that they are about to face decline.

Ivy's ambition was never to lead a bunch of scheming people to fight for power in the magical world, but to use magic, a technology that transcends common sense, to seize real power.

Therefore, he never took these classmates seriously.

“I have only one rule: from now on, the word ‘Mudblood’ will not be allowed in Hogwarts Castle.” Ivy didn’t take the Slytherins’ feelings seriously, so she only stated a very simple rule.

Standing on the steps, Prefect Gemma Farley could hardly believe her ears. She hadn't expected that the Slytherins' submission and subservience would only earn them such a dismissive remark.

"Why..." The voice came from somewhere, but it represented the feelings of all the Slytherins present.

“Because I have no intention of ruling the world, nor of fighting against death,” Ivy chuckled and replied, “my goal is to push the limits of magic. And tell me… what can you offer for this goal?”

No one answered.

Even if someone did answer, Ivy wouldn't care.

Because there are very few wizards in the world who are truly close to their limits, Voldemort's area of ​​expertise basically overlaps with Ivy's, both being in the direction of dark magic. Grindelwald has spent most of his life in the prison drawn by Dumbledore, and it is difficult to predict how much magical skill he still possesses. Therefore, only the strongest white wizard, Dumbledore, is still of reference value.

Therefore, Ivy wouldn't give up Hogwarts until she had gotten all the useful stuff out of Dumbledore, not to mention the world-famous forbidden book section.

Scanning the once-silent Slytherin common room, Ivy spoke again: "The Quidditch team will gather at the pitch after dinner tonight. Since it's the Headmaster's order, I'll do my job."

After saying that, he ignored everything in the common room and left.

Ivy has been quite busy lately. Besides continuing to use his expertise in creating artifacts to develop some interesting little inventions, he is also continuing to search for things he finds interesting in the Grimoire of Destruction.

For example, this specialization—eye magic.

In the Grimoire of Destruction, this feat is described as follows:

A spellcaster can cast a spell with a casting time of no more than six seconds using their gaze. It can remain in one eye for up to eight hours, and one spell can be stored in each of the other eyes, up to a maximum of two.

In Ivy's view, this specialty could almost be considered the precursor to the Mystic Eye. If this connection between the body and magic could be greatly strengthened, perhaps one day in the future, Ivy could skip preparation time and cast spells directly with her gaze.

In that case, Ivy's eyes might also have become magical materials to some extent. For example, the throat pouches of a fire dragon that can breathe fire, the fur of an invisible beast that can become invisible, and the body of a bird-snake that can change size at will.

The Eye Spell feat is well-suited to a curious guy like Ivy, both in terms of practicality and versatility. Therefore, he decided to choose it the moment he saw it.

In the D&D universe, spells can be cast seamlessly. But what about wizard spells? Ivy is already able to use some wandless, silent versions of spells. If these spells could be cast with just her eyes, wouldn't that greatly enhance both their stealth and intimidation?

Casting a petrification spell with just a glance is equivalent to Medusa in mythology. Going even further, if one could cast "Avada Kedavra" with a glance, wouldn't that steal the spotlight from the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets?

Just by imagining the future, Ivy had already foreseen many possibilities; it was practically a specialty tailor-made for him.

Snape relieved him of confinement and instead asked him to join the Quidditch team and win the next game against Gryffindor.

This undoubtedly gave Ivyton a lot more time to study magic, not to mention that he no longer gained much experience points from processing materials in the Potions classroom.

To this day, Ivy's first-circle spell list still contains a spell that has never been used: Find a Familiar.

Ivy had once planned to use it to summon a black cat as a pet, but now that magical research takes up a lot of his time, he has given up on the idea.

Cats are furry abysses. Ivy believes that any wizard who aspires to explore magic should not keep a cat. Who can resist the temptation of a cat?

If you own a cat, you'll be so captivated by its fur, paws, meows, and delightful purrs that you'll neglect your studies of magic.

Ivy knew she was a capricious person with little self-control, and if she really got a cat, her progress in studying magic would probably fall far behind.

In that case, let's not use this magic in the first place!

Under no circumstances should you step into the abyss called cat!

Chapter 53: Slytherin Quidditch Training Begins!

Quidditch is a rather irrational sport.

Ivy understood the sport when she first read about it in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a child.

While playing ball on a flying broomstick is certainly cool, that's not why Ivy likes Quidditch.

The rules of Quidditch are quite simple: the oval-shaped playing field is divided into two teams, each occupying one half of the field, with two goalposts erected at the apex of the oval.

There are three goals, each at a different height. You score 10 points by throwing the Quaffle into the goal.

That's all the facilities for the stadium.

Quidditch is, after all, a sport involving a ball, so a ball is essential in Quidditch.

Besides the Quaffle mentioned earlier, Quidditch also requires two other balls: the Golden Snitch and the Runner.

In a Quidditch match, there are two Blink balls, both made of iron and about 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, slightly smaller than a soccer ball. They are enchanted with a flight spell that allows them to automatically track the player riding on their broomstick. They fly restlessly through the air, constantly trying to interfere with the player's movements and attempting to knock the player off their flying broomstick.

The last one is the Golden Snitch, which can be considered the most important part of Quidditch. A match only ends when the Golden Snitch is caught; otherwise, a Quidditch match could last for months.

It is a walnut-sized, gold-painted metallic sphere with a pair of silver wings, allowing it to fly nimbly through the air. Although wings are not necessary for levitation and flight in magic, the Golden Snitch was originally designed to replace a magical creature called the Golden Flying Man, hence the symbolic silver wings.

To distinguish the first player to touch the Golden Snitch, each Snitch is enchanted with the ability to remember the skin of the first person to touch it. To ensure this, a new Golden Snitch is used in each Quidditch match, and before taking off, they are never touched by anyone's skin, not even by the craftsmen who created them, as they always wear gloves while working.

To distinguish it from the Blink and the Golden Snitch, the Quaffle is a red-painted ball, similar in size to a soccer ball. However, as it's used in a flying sport, the Quaffle is also enchanted. While it doesn't fly automatically like the other two balls, it's enchanted with a "grasp charm" to make it easy for players riding flying broomsticks at high speeds to catch it. In addition, it's enchanted with a "slow-fall charm" to ensure that if carelessly thrown by a player, it won't fall to the ground too quickly, allowing the game to continue smoothly and preventing multiple restarts.

That concludes the introduction to the playing field and ball used in Quidditch. Next, we'll cover the positions and responsibilities of each player.

A Quidditch team that takes to the field consists of seven players: a goalkeeper to guard the three baskets, a Seeker to catch the Golden Snitch and end the game, two Beaters to deal with the two Runners, and three Chaser to catch the Quaffle and score.

Everyone on the team must perform their duties and concentrate on their tasks; in other words, they cannot touch the ball outside of their assigned target.

Alright, now that you've read this far, you must have a complete understanding of the rules of Quidditch, right? So hop on your flying broomstick and have an exciting Quidditch match with your friends!