Chapter 1026: Brawl
Chapter 1026: Brawl
"I'm beginning to understand why everyone loves watching Quidditch matches."
Isabel and Albert strolled hand in hand along the path leading to the Hogwarts Quidditch stadium. Due to Umbridge's influence, the Hogwarts Quidditch matches were no longer open to the public, but that didn't stop Albert from bringing his girlfriend to a game.
"There aren't many entertainment options in the wizarding world, and mundane life can get pretty dull," Albert said gently. "Bland lives need some spice."
"Yes, it's so boring," Isabel agreed. She had been staying in the safe house in Hogsmeade recently and could relate to the monotony, even though she had plenty to occupy herself with, and the space was larger than expected. But the monotonous routine made her feel listless.
Especially for the youth, who craved excitement.
"Muggles are better at enjoying life," Albert said softly. "With the small wizarding population, it's difficult to develop a full entertainment industry." He added, "It's a shame the timing isn't right, or we could travel the world and experience the sights and cuisine of different places."
"You'd get tired of that kind of life after a while," Isabel remarked.
As a student of Ravenclaw, Isabel appreciated the allure of a stimulating life, but she leaned more towards a tranquil existence.
The peaceful atmosphere of Hogsmeade was pleasant, but being alone made her feel lonely, for humans were inherently social creatures.
"You're right," Albert agreed amiably. "We can always come back when we get tired of it and go out again whenever we feel like it."
The couple walked side by side into the Quidditch stadium, where the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams were already engaged in a heated match. Lee Jordan, atop the commentary podium, was shouting enthusiastically, providing lively commentary for the audience.
"Listen to that noise! Someone's singing!"
As soon as they entered the stadium, Albert and Isabel could hear loud, synchronized singing coming from the Slytherin stands:
...Weasley cannot save a thing,
He always lets the Quaffle in...
Isabel's eyebrows arched as she heard the tune, and she turned toward the increasingly raucous Slytherin stands, then glanced at Albert, who seemed unaffected by the singing and maintained a calm demeanor.
"Very much in the Slytherin style," Albert remarked, his tone neutral as if commenting on a trivial matter. "With Umbridge backing them, they're even more arrogant and overbearing than before."
"It seems you don't like them very much," Isabel noted.
"I can't say I'm a fan." Albert surveyed their surroundings and led Isabel toward an empty stand.
"Because of Umbridge, the relationship between Slytherin and the other Hogwarts houses has deteriorated further," Albert explained as he patted his knee, inviting Isabel to sit on his lap, but she chose to sit beside him instead. "There have been several unpleasant conflicts almost daily recently."
"Being the student body president must be challenging," Isabel said.
"I mostly leave things be," Albert replied. "It's Umbridge who's making Hogwarts a real joy." He pulled out two pairs of binoculars from his Undetectable Extension Charm bag and handed one to Isabel.
"How's Katrina doing lately?" Isabel asked.
"The same as always," Albert replied, adjusting the focus on the binoculars before setting them down. "She doesn't involve herself much either. I've been tutoring her in Dark Magic Defense, and her skills are improving. She'll have no problem with the upcoming exams."
"It's good that she's learning more. Things haven't been peaceful lately, and while I don't want her running around causing trouble,..."
"...if I were her, I'd probably prefer to live on my own and avoid the heartache," Albert finished, understanding Katrina's reluctance to stay with them during the summer break.
"Your goalkeeper isn't doing so well," Isabel remarked, lifting the binoculars to her eyes and changing the subject.
Isabel was well aware of the reason for Katrina's resistance.
"Ron's mental fortitude is rather average," Albert said diplomatically.
Not long after, Slytherin scored another goal due to Ron's hesitation, allowing their opponent to enter the hoop unopposed.
The Slytherin stands erupted with even louder chants of "Weasley is our King."
The Quidditch match unfolded much as Albert had anticipated, with Slytherin taking an early lead. However, he was puzzled by one thing—he recalled that Fred and George had planned to secretly provide Harry with a Felix Felicis potion, which would have enhanced his performance significantly, making it easy for him to crush the Slytherin team.
The match should have ended by now, or at least be close to its conclusion.
Yet, Gryffindor was struggling.
The Slytherin students sang with even more fervor, their songs affecting the Gryffindor goalkeeper, and Slytherin scored yet again.
Ron's face paled further, and he looked unsteady.
His already fragile confidence was shattered by the successive blows, and his performance became abysmal, resembling that of a novice Quidditch player.
Harry knew he had to do something quickly. He soared into the sky, searching desperately for the Golden Snitch. To save Ron from further embarrassment, he needed to end the match swiftly by catching the Snitch and securing victory for Gryffindor. A win would make people forget Ron's poor showing, but if the match continued in this vein, Ron would undoubtedly become a target of disdain among Gryffindor students, and Angelina would likely remove him from the team, opting for a more dependable goalkeeper.
When the score reached 50-10, Harry finally spotted the Golden Snitch hovering a few feet above the Slytherin goalposts.
He swerved and dove, accelerating toward his target.
The match ended sooner than expected. After Slytherin took a four-goal lead, Harry acted before anyone could react, accelerating and catching the Golden Snitch to conclude the game.
"It's over!"
Isabel lowered her binoculars, finding the match dull, as Gryffindor had kept conceding points and eventually resorted to a defensive stance to prevent further goals, pinning all their hopes on Harry.
"Let's walk around the school instead. What are you looking at?"
"Something interesting seems to be happening over there," Albert said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he watched the two groups facing off on the pitch.
Potter was talking to Malfoy, perhaps exchanging pleasantries about each other's families.
"They're about to fight. Aren't you going to stop them?" Isabel asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. She sensed that Albert was relishing the prospect of the impending brawl.
"No, let them have at it," Albert replied, showing no intention of intervening. "They've been bottling up their anger and resentment for so long; it's time to let them blow off some steam." He didn't feel it was his place to stop them, and even if he wanted to, it would be up to the professors to intervene, not him as the lowly student body president.
"You're such a troublemaker," Isabel teased.
However, the situation didn't unfold as expected.
Harry and Malfoy didn't come to blows but stood facing each other, like two Huskies barking at each other through an iron gate, exchanging insults about their families while taking jabs at each other.
However, the crowd that gathered seemed more and more eager for a brawl, and the Gryffindor students, never ones to back down from a fight, were eager to take on the Slytherins.
Students from the other houses also gathered to watch the spectacle.
"You seem to be looking forward to them fighting," Isabel observed with interest. Well, she wanted to see a fight too.
It wasn't just him; Umbridge was also eager for the two groups to clash, hoping it would give her a good excuse to discipline Harry.
To that end, Umbridge was walking at an excruciatingly slow pace, deliberately prolonging the tension.
Unfortunately, they didn't start fighting, which was truly frustrating.
There was no helping it; too many people were eager for a show.
"Let's go and take a look," Albert suggested.
The two of them walked down the stairs and approached the pitch, where two distinct groups had already formed.
Slytherin and Gryffindor were facing off, and it seemed that even their headmasters hadn't anticipated the situation escalating to this extent! However, Harry and Malfoy didn't come to blows. Instead, they stood there insulting each other, seemingly competing to see who could be more venomous.
Having spent a lot of time with Albert, Fred and George were adept at trading insults, and as for Harry, he had already demonstrated his skill in this area last year, leaving the Slytherin players red-faced.
"Do you think they'll really fight?" Isabel asked, captivated by the exchange of insults. Her gaze shifted to Umbridge, who was slowly making her way over, her turtle-like speed seemingly intentional.
"No, at least Harry won't make the first move. I think they're enjoying themselves, and even if they do fight, they're all trained and skilled, so it probably won't be too bad," Albert replied, his eyes flicking to Professors Snape and McGonagall. He knew that this verbal sparring match wouldn't last long.
However, someone seemed unwilling to let the chaos end without incident, and surprisingly, it was a Slytherin student who made the first move.
"I'll have to get that memory from Fred later," Albert commented.
Albert wasn't surprised by the commotion on the pitch.
The Slytherins were clearly at a disadvantage. Both Harry and the Weasley twins had received formal training, and they quickly cast Shield Charms to deflect the curses back at the Slytherin students. By the way, after Harry successfully disarmed Malfoy's wand, he didn't forget to continue his verbal assault.
Now, they were the victors, and they had every right to mock the Slytherins, who had resorted to a cowardly sneak attack.
Regardless, Harry, Fred, and George displayed far superior Dark Magic defense skills compared to the Slytherins, especially when they successfully used Shield Charms to counter their enemies' ambush. This boosted the confidence of the Gryffindor students.
After repelling the Slytherins' underhanded attack, some Gryffindor students hid in the crowd and threw spells back at them.
"It looks like they're really going to fight now," Isabel said, seeing Professors Snape and McGonagall trying to separate the groups. However, with so many people involved, not even the intervention of their headmasters could stop the chaos. Umbridge, who had been slowly making her way over, was practically trembling with excitement, eager to discipline Harry.
However, Umbridge didn't get her wish. Someone, it was unclear who, cast a Stunning Spell that hit her, knocking her out and sending her crumpling to the ground.
No troublemaking allowed.
Coincidence? Accident? No, it was clearly neither. Someone had deliberately taken Umbridge out of the equation.
"I have a feeling you had something to do with this," Isabel said, certain that whoever had stunned Umbridge was an acquaintance of Albert's. They had likely done it to prevent her from causing further trouble, and there weren't many students in the school bold enough to do such a thing.
"You're accusing me of something I didn't do," Albert protested.
This was obviously Fred, George, and Lee Jordan's doing, and it had little to do with him.
Regardless, Harry, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were all growing and maturing rapidly. The final term was an excellent opportunity for them to grow stronger, which was why Albert had let them go after Umbridge in the first place.
"How is this going to end?" Isabel turned to ask.
"Professor Dumbledore will put a stop to it," Albert replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, Dumbledore's voice filled the entire stadium, but it didn't have the desired effect. So, the headmaster had no choice but to use magic, freezing the brawling students in their tracks and putting an end to the chaos in the simplest and most direct way.
"That was incredible," Isabel exclaimed, impressed.
"That wand is no ordinary wand," Albert said, not too surprised. He could do something similar himself.
However, the others were stunned by Dumbledore's display of power.
"You don't seem too surprised," Dumbledore said as he walked over, his eyes moving between Isabel and Albert.
"They're just a bit too energetic, perhaps a few laps around the Quidditch pitch to tire them out would be good," Albert suggested.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and began walking down towards the pitch.
"You have disappointed me..."
After a brief speech, Dumbledore quickly regained control of the situation and put an end to the brawl. Then, he had the students who had been fighting run laps around the pitch as punishment.
He ultimately took Albert's suggestion and chose to handle the situation this way, ending the matter without letting it escalate further.
As for Umbridge, no one really paid her much attention. The High Inquisitor lay unconscious on the ground. Even the usually kind-hearted Dumbledore didn't bother to wake her up but instead had her taken away on a stretcher to the school hospital.
Amidst the students' complaints, the unlucky participants began their laps around the school. To prevent any further conflict between the two houses, Professors McGonagall and Snape agreed to have the students from each house run separately.
The Gryffindors went first, followed by the Slytherins.
Seemingly to spite the Gryffindors, the Slytherins began singing "Weasley is Our King" again.
This time, there were no other sounds to drown them out, and their singing echoed across the pitch. Professor McGonagall glared at the Slytherin students who tried to cause trouble, and then she watched as the Gryffindors came to a stop and made an obscene gesture towards the Slytherin stands: "The last struggle of a dying snake, the pathetic howl of the loser."
"Keep running, don't stop," Professor McGonagall urged, her eyes flicking to the volatile situation on the pitch with a sigh. Things were not looking good.
"Indeed, they have far too much energy."
(End of Chapter)
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