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Chapter 35: The Unfortunate Quirrell
Chapter 35: The Unfortunate Quirrell
With this plan in place, the Weasley Brothers stirred up the tension, parading around the Slytherin house table every day and boasting that the Gryffindor team had a new strategy that would easily crush their old rivals, the Slytherins.
They also quietly spread the word that Ivan, the Gryffindor hero, had set up a betting pool. If Gryffindor won, the payout would be ten to one. If Slytherin won, you would get back exactly what you bet.
When the young Wizards of Slytherin heard this, they were furious. It seemed like they were being told that Slytherin was destined to lose.
As the richest house in Hogwarts, they certainly weren't short of money. Ivan quickly received several Galleons, but mostly Sickle and Knut bets.
After all, this betting pool was just for fun, and the participants were mostly young Wizards, so the usual bets were just a few Knuts or a Sickle.
Even so, the amount of money Ivan had received over the past few days was already quite substantial. With occasional bets from other houses, the initial capital was no longer enough to cover the potential payouts.
If they lost, it would be disastrous.
Given this, George and Fred also became anxious and felt they needed to do something to turn the tide.
For example, giving Harry extra training!
Harry's weekly training load had increased yet again, even though he had done nothing to deserve it.
Fortunately, these miserable days didn't last long, as the Quidditch Match was about to begin.
"Harry, do your best and catch the Golden Snitch!" In the backstage area, George solemnly looked at Harry, his voice filled with a sense of tragic heroism, as if this Quidditch Match would determine the fate of the world.
"Yeah, or we'll be eating dirt from now on", Fred nodded in agreement.
Fred's words left Harry utterly confused. Over the past few days, he had heard similar statements from more than one person.
At first, Harry felt a heavy sense of responsibility, thinking it was a form of encouragement from his seniors. But soon, he noticed that students from Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and even Hufflepuff were occasionally saying strange things to him.
This made Harry quite depressed, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.
Captain Wood, after delivering an inspiring speech, noticed Harry's distracted state and reminded him, "Don't get distracted, Harry. The match is about to start."
"Okay", Harry took a deep breath to calm his nerves and nodded.
At that moment, the stadium gates opened, and the Gryffindor team flew out on their Brooms, with Harry following behind.
As they passed through the dim backstage area, a spacious, circular stadium appeared before Harry. The usually empty stands were now packed, and the Gryffindor section erupted in cheers as they emerged.
Ron and Neville were holding a large banner made from an old bedsheet, which Hermione had enchanted to flash continuously with the words "Potter Will Win."
Harry felt a warm sense of gratitude, but strangely, he didn't see Ivan anywhere. After a quick look around, Harry spotted Ivan sitting on the Slytherin side of the stands, right next to Professor Quirrell.
Harry was puzzled about why Ivan was sitting there, but then he saw Ivan smile at him and point his Wand at the sky.
A beam of light shot up and exploded several meters high, forming the words "Gryffindor Will Win, Harry Potter, Go!" in the sky.
Harry felt a warm glow in his heart and, without further thought, focused his attention on the upcoming match.
On Ivan's side, after using magic to cheer Harry on, he began his task of keeping an eye on Quirrell.
In fact, if the outcome of this Quidditch Match didn't directly affect whether he became rich overnight or went bankrupt instantly, Ivan would have had no intention of getting involved with Quirrell this semester.
After all, at this point in time, besides the enigmatic Dumbledore, Ivan was the only one who knew that Quirrell's back of the head was the host of Voldemort.
Indirectly dealing with this ultimate boss in his first year made Ivan quite uneasy.
Fortunately, Ivan didn't need to do anything drastic; he just needed to sit nearby and occasionally pay attention to Quirrell. Ivan didn't believe that Quirrell would dare cast a spell while being watched.
"What are you staring at me for?" Quirrell, who was already huddled in a corner, felt very uncomfortable under Ivan's occasional gaze, as if all his secrets were being exposed.
Ivan realized that staring so openly at Quirrell could easily arouse suspicion, so he decided to act curious and engage in awkward small talk.
"Professor Quirrell, I heard you once encountered a Vampire in the Romanian Forest. Is that true?"
"Ah, yes, that did happen. I barely managed to escape", Quirrell replied meekly.
"Really? And how did you defeat a Reanimated Zombie in Africa, Professor?"
"I also heard that you fainted during the Halloween feast when you announced the Troll's presence."
"Also—"
This was the first time Ivan indirectly spoke to the Dark Lord, and he was quite nervous, unsure of what to talk about. Discussing academic matters in such a light-hearted atmosphere might seem too deliberate.
Ivan could only start with some light topics, such as recent amusing events.
"Enough!" Quirrell couldn't take it anymore and interrupted. Normally, with his good temper, he wouldn't get angry so easily, but Ivan was just terrible at conversation, always asking about things he wanted to forget.
Especially the Halloween incident. Just thinking about it made Quirrell angry. He had pretended to faint at the Halloween feast to clear his name of suspicion for releasing the Troll, a display of high-level acting that should have earned the Dark Lord's praise.
But who would have thought that a first-year student like Ivan could easily kill such a large Troll, and Professor Mcgonagall had used his fainting as a backdrop to highlight the Troll's strength, spreading the news of his fainting throughout the school.
As a result, Quirrell became the laughingstock of the entire school, and he could hear whispers during classes about how his position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was a result of a deal with Dumbledore.
Worst of all, he couldn't explain himself and had to keep it all bottled up inside.
(End of Chapter)
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