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Chapter 183: Rewarding Cedric
Chapter 183: Rewarding Cedric
Voldemort suddenly realized his oversight.
Since a similar scene had occurred in the original plot, he hadn't thought there was anything amiss at the time. But now, upon recollection, he sensed something peculiar.
In the original storyline, Dobby, the house-elf, had attacked Harry during the game, breaking his arm as he chased after him with a Bludger.
As for the subsequent fall, it had occurred because Harry, despite his injury, had risked grabbing the Golden Snitch, which led to his fall.
But in yesterday's match, with Dumbledore watching from the stands, would that house-elf have dared to make a move against Harry? After all, even Quirinus Quirrell, who had been possessed by Voldemort, hadn't dared to harm Harry Potter under Dumbledore's watchful eye.
Hearing Voldemort's question, Harry paused, thought for a moment, and replied, "It seemed like it was Adrian."
The Slytherin team members were strangers to Voldemort, and he struggled to recall their names. After a moment of reflection, he inquired, "The Chaser? I remember he was quite tall. You're saying... it was him, right?"
"He was a little behind me on my right," Harry explained. "I saw his wand move, and then my head went dizzy, as if I'd been hit with a baseball bat. I lost consciousness for a few seconds and fell off my broom..."
He paused and added, "But I'm not entirely sure if the spell came from Adrian's wand."
Voldemort nodded slightly.
Some spells manifested as vividly colored beams, but most were actually invisible to the naked eye. If cast quietly and discreetly, only the caster would be aware of the spell they had cast.
While a Priori Incantatem could be performed, inspecting another wizard's wand was often considered offensive, akin to a Muggle being frisked by the police.
The "student conflict" on the pitch hadn't escalated to the point where the professors needed to conduct a detailed inspection of everyone's wands.
After the game, as two Gryffindor players had been injured, Slytherin House had lost quite a few points, and the students involved in the physical altercation had been punished with detention.
In any case, the Slytherin team was inherently stronger than Gryffindor, and their combination of skill, underhanded tactics, and state-of-the-art Nimbus 2001 brooms had allowed them to pull ahead early in the game.
However, once Harry caught the Golden Snitch, Gryffindor instantly gained 150 points, shattering Slytherin's hopes of victory.
It was understandable if the Slytherin team members held a grudge against Harry Potter and sought to secretly get back at him.
Voldemort thought: Could I be overthinking this? But... if it was retaliation, why didn't they make their move from the start? Did they need time for their anger to fester and build up before they acted?
Seeing that Voldemort had fallen silent again, seemingly deep in thought, Harry didn't dare disturb him and instead went to invite Michael and the others.
He had high expectations for this Christmas holiday gathering and wanted to invite all his friends. He wished time would fly faster so that the holidays would arrive sooner.
...
As the spectators cleared the stands, Theo spotted Voldemort sitting alone and approached him.
"Voldemort, why are you sitting here by yourself?"
"Ah... Theo, I was just looking for you—"
Voldemort glanced at the pitch and noticed that the Ravenclaw players had left, but Cedric Diggory remained, surrounded by a group of adoring girls. He smiled wryly and spoke to them with his head lowered slightly.
Voldemort pulled out a scroll from his bag.
"I've finished the timeline comparing Magical History with Muggle History, and I've marked all the key points. You guys can make copies if you want... Please give this one to Cedric Diggory."
"You're done already?" Theo asked, first surprised and then pleased.
Upon receiving the scroll, Theo unfurled it and was immediately drawn in by the meticulous notes, clear mind maps, tables, and neat layout.
He knew that Voldemort had been working on this for a long time. After finishing the compilation of Magical History, he had created a Muggle history timeline at Hermione's suggestion.
For the second edition, Voldemort had added past years' O.W.L.s exam questions through his friends, mainly McLaggen, correlating them with the relevant knowledge points to aid memorization.
The same textbook was used for Hogwarts' History of Magic classes from first to fifth year. Other history books were for reference, often consulted by students when writing essays.
Within the scroll, Voldemort had also included content from other books, even citing their sources.
Just a glance was enough to appreciate the time and effort invested in this scroll, and it was a pleasure to behold.
Despite the scroll being made of ordinary parchment, the knowledge inscribed upon it was invaluable.
Theo thought that with this scroll, he could easily ace the O.W.L.s in History of Magic with an 'Outstanding' and continuing advanced studies in the subject for his sixth and seventh years wouldn't be too challenging.
"This... this is too precious," Theo exclaimed, feeling a sense of reluctance on Voldemort's behalf as he saw such a meticulously crafted educational resource for the first time. "Are you sure you want to give it away just like that?"
Voldemort replied seriously, "Back in our first year, we often relied on Cedric to buy things for us, causing him quite some trouble. So, I've been thinking of a way to repay him."
"Simply buying him a gift with money didn't seem fitting for the time and energy he has spent helping us. Once I finished compiling these notes, I thought they would make a suitable token of my gratitude."
"He'll be taking his O.W.L.s next year, right? I know he's an excellent student, but these notes should be of great help during his revision."
Initially, when Voldemort started organizing his notes, he had considered collaborating with the Weasley twins to sell them and make a profit.
For students, good supplementary textbooks were always in demand. And due to Professor Binns' unique teaching style, the pass rate for History of Magic in the O.W.L.s was notoriously low.
Fortunately, aside from a handful of careers, most jobs didn't require students to have good grades in History of Magic.
Later, with Professor Mori's assistance, Voldemort quickly achieved financial freedom in the wizarding world. No longer motivated by money, he decided to use his notes to help his friends instead.
Just as Professor Mori had selflessly helped him.
After a moment of silence, Theo smiled and said, "How could it be just a little help? It will definitely be a huge benefit. I'll give the notes to Cedric once we're back in the common room."
"Alright," Voldemort replied as he stood up, also preparing to head back to the castle. Suddenly, an owl with brown feathers landed beside him, carrying a rolled-up piece of paper in its beak.
Owls were rarely used for sending simple messages like this ever since the popularity of the friend's list.
Voldemort unfurled the piece of paper and saw a line of elegant, elongated writing.
"Dear Voldemort:
If it is convenient for you, please come to my office at 8 p.m. after dinner tonight. I hope it will not disrupt your gathering with your friends.
P.S. I have taken a liking to cream puffs lately, even though Madam Pomfrey believes they are not good for my teeth.
Your faithful,
Albus Dumbledore."
The next chapter will be out before 12 a.m. tonight.
(End of Chapter)
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