Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 788 About Quidditch

Late February, Saturday.

11:00 AM.

Loren walked out of the hallway. He had just filled out the detention receipt in Professor McGonagall's office and also filled out the file for the Special Contribution Award.

Previously, they had brought back a lot of information on school management from Ilfamoni, including academic magical research and institutionalized record-keeping. Hogwarts also consciously standardized the storage of this information.

Professors Flitwick and Sprout began planning to reorganize the club into a research group, transforming club members into researchers, making it seem legitimate. Vice-Headmaster Snape intended to convert Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets into an archive, while also preserving research records.

Even though Professor McGonagall has not officially taken over as president, the atmosphere among the professors has already changed.

The contrast is stark, and I wonder if the principal feels any shame.

"Welcome to the second half of the Hogwarts Quidditch season! Today's teams are Hufflepuff and Slytherin!"

"The losers' bracket matches are often more intense and exciting, with the disappointed players eager to wash away their shame. The winner of this match will challenge the winners' bracket again and may even have the opportunity to compete for the Quidditch Gold Cup!"

"Who will break through the barriers and emerge victorious? Let's witness it together..."

Today is Quidditch match day, the losers' bracket match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

Loren was a few minutes late and missed the start of the match.

Arriving at the Quidditch stadium stands, I searched for Hermione while looking at the scoreboard behind the scoring ring and listening to the students in the stands analyzing the game.

The entire school's faculty and students believed that the outcome of this competition was not in any suspense, and even Professor McGonagall, who loved Quidditch, was not very enthusiastic.

For Slytherin, the return of their former Seeker, Malfoy, to the starting lineup, coupled with the team's high morale after last semester's failure, has fueled their training even in the freezing weather. Hufflepuff, on the other hand, is in a much tougher position. Their Seeker is a newcomer this year, and their goalkeeper's skills don't match their thinking. Their only advantage is their optimistic attitude; they're still smiling as the match approaches.

Not far away were Hufflepuff's audience, and several older students were huddled together whispering.

"Ernie, do you think it's possible that one of the Slytherin players might suddenly get diarrhea, like being unable to leave the bathroom, and then we could easily win?" Justin squinted at the aggressive Slytherin team and turned to ask.

Ernie's eyes widened slightly. "Merlin's Beard, Justin, you didn't poison them, did you?"

"Maybe, I mean maybe."

Hannah sighed, seemingly quite regretful: "Indeed, there are several potions that can achieve the same effect..."

"..."

I never expected that the honest Hufflepuff would have such a thought.

Loren chuckled and continued eavesdropping until he noticed a gaze from his right rear. He turned to look and saw Hermione sitting calmly behind him, having watched him for who knows how long.

"Players, get ready!"

Lady Hooch put the whistle in her mouth, the whistle for takeoff sounded, and Slytherin immediately launched a fierce attack.

Half an hour later, Hufflepuff was defeated.

When the commentator announced the result, the audience was noisily discussing the match. Some said the goalkeeper kept conceding goals, some said Slytherin's Seeker Draco Malfoy was too fast, almost as fast as Harry Potter, who had been the Seeker of the Year for several years, and some said Hufflepuff was in last place again, just like in previous years.

Ron thoughtfully reviewed the tactics Slytherin had just displayed, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry frowning at Malfoy. A smile appeared on Ron's face as he slowly moved closer.

"Isn't this always the problem with the golfers?"

"He's just a new player."

"He's already played a few games; he's not a new player anymore."

"Losing the game isn't solely the Seeker's fault."

"It was his fault. When Malfoy discovered the Golden Snitch, what was he doing? He was staring blankly at Goyle across from him."

"Putting aside the Golden Thief's 150 points, is the goalkeeper entirely blameless?"

"..."

Why does Harry's tone sound so sassy?

Loren looked back at the field. The players on both sides had different expressions. The Slytherins were excited and jumping for joy, while the Hufflepuffs had somewhat forced smiles. In particular, the players who were about to graduate could not hide their disappointment.

Immediately, Hufflepuff's students swarmed around the veteran players. Ernie put his arm around one of the players' shoulders, punched him in the chest, and congratulated him with a smile: "Finally, you can get rid of the hard training. You can relax on weekends from now on."

"We still need to train new players."

"It's a bit easier now."

"yes."

"We'll have a gathering in the common room tonight, as a kind of retirement ceremony for you all."

"Ha ha……"

The Hufflepuff players grinned, waved, turned, and headed to the locker room to take off their jerseys—jerseys they would never have the chance to wear again.

The past seven years have been Gryffindor's seven years, the past seven Quidditch seasons have been Gryffindor's seasons, Harry Potter's seasons, the legendary Seeker who joined the team as soon as he enrolled and went on to win six consecutive championships, and this year should be his again. But that doesn't mean these guys are just insignificant supporting characters. They've trained in stormy weather and discussed tactics all night long...

Now, it's all over.

Loren withdrew his gaze, pondered for a moment, then turned to Hermione and asked, "What do you think about us sneaking into Hufflepuff's common room tonight and joining their party?"

Hermione rolled her eyes: "I don't know how the party went, but the professor will definitely put you in jail for another two weeks."

"..."

Loren fell silent.

That makes perfect sense and is hard to refute.

……

April is here in the blink of an eye.

April is the rainy season, and Hogwarts is shrouded in the continuous spring rain. The rain washes away the ice and snow, and the temperature in Scotland suddenly approaches summer. The Tyrone Willow sprouts new buds, the grass on the ground grows out of the ground, and the shrubs are dotted with a few flower buds. The sound of cicadas can already be heard in the Forbidden Forest.

Sunday, April 5th.

There's one week left until Easter.

Around 10 a.m., a boy dressed in the standard Gryffindor wizard's robes walked out of the foyer and walked briskly along the field path. Based on his experience accumulated from years of Quidditch training, it was easy to tell that his destination was the football field.

After reviewing the month's training schedule and thinking carefully for a few minutes, Harry could confirm that there was indeed no training planned for today.

What is Ron doing at the stadium at this time?

And it was done secretly, behind his back, to the basketball court.

Harry peered through the crack in the door at Ron's retreating figure, his eyes narrowed slightly, his mind replaying Ron's recent unusual behavior—

I can never find him after dinner; he's neither in the dorm nor in the common room.

I don't participate in Wizard's Chess or Gobblestone, and I haven't even played much tabletop Quidditch.

The most suspicious thing was Quidditch practice. Ron was always lagging behind, going to the broomhouse with the reserve players to organize the equipment!

Merlin above!

This was the job he disliked the most after being promoted to team leader.

Although Ron is usually down-to-earth and only emphasizes that he is the team captain when chatting and joking, he used to make others organize the equipment. In his words, "I organized the equipment before I became captain. If I still organize the equipment after becoming captain, then what's the point of being captain?" He had an arrogant expression, so he was always asked to practice throwing the ball in his face.

Now his personality has suddenly changed.

Harry muttered to himself, then quietly followed at a distance, intending to see what he was doing.

With the final match approaching, we must ensure there are no unexpected incidents.

Then I followed Ron’s back to the court. As I walked to the court, I watched him walk into the locker room next to the locker room and heard several familiar voices coming from inside.

"?"

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Harry tried to discern the difference.

Most of them are reserve players in the team. They can only be added to the starting lineup after they graduate. Some of them are even second reserve players, and they may not even be able to play in the future.

"Individual practice always lacks competition, and the team members are too familiar with each other, so we're having you do competitive training with the Ravenclaw team."

"Don't think this is a chore. You know, Cedric from Hufflepuff got a girlfriend, Cho Chang, during training. Let me tell you quietly, but don't tell anyone, especially not Ginny. Cho Chang was Harry's crush back then. Harry's eyes turned red when he heard they were dating, and he thought we hadn't noticed..."

"Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. How's your practice going? You haven't been bullied, have you?"

"With such a terrible expression, you must have lost horribly, haha..."

"Don't look so gloomy, especially you, Shakel, the prospective finder. The team will be handed over to you after we graduate, so take this opportunity to get used to their style. Next, I'll tell you about the characteristics of the other three teams..."

"Ravenclaws are agile and nimble. Although their offense and defense are not particularly outstanding, their switching speed is very fast. If you are not careful, you will fall into their rhythm and be led by the nose..."

"Slytherin was pure offense, an all-out attack. Marcus even advocated breaking the rules to attack. As long as you could score, you could use any trick. Quidditch almost turned into a duel..."

"Hedgehog hasn't fully gelled yet. When Cedric was captain, all their players had very solid fundamentals, and their tactics were steady and practical. Don't think they don't have any special characteristics; in fact, this style brings the most pressure..."

Harry, standing outside the door, listened quietly to Captain Weasley's detailed explanation inside. Although there were some slanderous and defamatory remarks, he wasn't angry. Instead, he found it somewhat amusing and felt a little sentimental. Ron, who had become captain because of a prank, had now grown into a true captain.

"We've been doing sparring for half a day now."

Ron's voice, tinged with a certain composure, came from inside the room: "How was it? Any takeaways?"

The gossip from before livened up the atmosphere, and the reserve players shook off their disappointment and started chattering away.

"Tell me your countermeasures!"

"How should we deal with them, Captain?"

"Captain Weasley, give me some tips in advance."

"..."

Ron chuckled a few times. Two years ago, when he took over the team, he said the same thing: "We do have tactics to counter them. We will explain them to you in training before you graduate. You can use them as needed. Don't completely trust my tactics. I'm just summarizing and generalizing based on what I've observed so far. But situations can change, so you should be flexible."

"When facing a team like Hufflepuff, you should work together; when facing a Slytherin team, you should fight them head-on, even if it means getting injured, you should still tear off a piece of flesh; and if it's Ravenclaw, you need to be even more agile than them."

"After we graduate, when you take over the team, it's okay if you lose the first few games; that's because you haven't found your style yet. Gryffindor isn't a lion; every player needs to become a lion, and lions are social animals..."

"What if we can't do it?" one player asked.

"If you can't do it, you can't do it."

"what?"

"This is a Quidditch match held within the school. Some people value honor, while others value fun. I am the latter. I disagree with Captain Wood and Captain Jason's training plan. They train in thunderstorms and snowstorms, which makes the players tired of Quidditch. Clearly, having fun is the most important thing."

Ron spoke with a gentle smile, considering himself to have some of Cedric's charm.

Then a player asked timidly, "But... Captain Weasley, you also make us train in thunderstorms."

"Ahem, that's to help you get used to extreme weather. Also, my training intensity is much lighter than the captain's the other day. When Captain Wood was here, he would train us until we caught colds, and we needed Mrs. Pomfrey's approval to take leave."

With his extensive storytelling experience, Ron quickly changed the subject, diverting the prep players' attention elsewhere.

"The final match of this year?"

"We won't lose..."

Harry stood there listening for a few minutes, then tiptoed away and slowly walked outside.

Draco Malfoy has indeed performed exceptionally well this year. Perhaps due to the family upheaval he experienced, his mentality has undergone a significant change. He has shed his original impatience and inherited the wisdom of the Malfoy family. In the recent match against Hufflepuff, he almost fooled the inexperienced Seeker who had just joined the team.

But Harry was very confident.

……

"look!"

Loren pushed open the door to the prize display room, approached the trophies in the glass case against the wall, and pointed them out to Hermione who came in behind him: "This is my Special Contribution Trophy. My name is engraved on the base. If any student is punished by cleaning this place in the future, they will see my name..."

"I remember Voldemort also won this trophy."

Hermione walked a few steps down the corridor and quickly found the old trophy, pointing it out to him: "Here, Tom Riddle."

"Slytherin, 1938-1945 school year..."

Loren clicked his tongue in admiration: "Dumbledore and Headmaster McGonagall are truly principled; they didn't withdraw the trophy even after this."

"Many recipients of the Special Merit Award are in Azkaban, and the school hasn't revoked their trophies." Hermione glanced at his expression, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "You called me here just to see this?"

"Emmm..."

Loren felt slightly ashamed, hesitated for a moment, and then his eyes darted around: "What are your plans for the Easter holidays?"

"Professor Lupin's child was born, and he invited us to his home."

"Um!?"

(End of this chapter)