Chapter 423: Ravenclaw's Plan Fails
Chapter 423: Ravenclaw's Plan Fails
Mikkel never found the right person until the end of class, and he remained preoccupied in the days that followed.
Kyle suspected that the "disheveled-haired person" Professor Trelawney mentioned might be Harry.
She probably misremembered the order of the matches, thinking Hufflepuff's next opponent was Gryffindor, which led to her prediction.
And Harry's hair was always in a messy state, which he was too lazy to bother styling.
This suspicion was confirmed a few days later.
Fred told Kyle that he, too, had been singled out by Professor Trelawney.
"She got my name wrong, thinking I was George," Fred laughed uncontrollably at the dinner table. "And she warned me about a handsome dark-haired man; I bet that person is either you or Cedric..."
"Oh, Fred," George exclaimed dramatically. "I think we should stay away from Kyle. Professor Trelawney has warned us about him."
"Yeah," Fred laughed. "He might turn into a fire-breathing dragon and swallow us whole..."
"Or knock us off our brooms during a Quidditch match..."
"Too bad our match is already over..."
"He'll have to wait until next year if he wants to knock us off our brooms..."
"So, Kyle, can you turn into a dragon?"
The two played off each other, finding the situation hilarious.
Kyle became even more convinced that Professor Trelawney had mixed up the match schedule.
However, this wasn't surprising. Ever since the Dementors appeared on the field, Professor Trelawney seemed to have stopped watching the matches altogether... At least, Kyle hadn't spotted her in the teachers' box.
...
The final weekend before Easter arrived, and with it, the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match commenced.
Ravenclaw seemed intent on replicating Hufflepuff's strategy from their previous game, shifting their focus from the Seeker to the Chasers in an attempt to narrow the score gap through relentless scoring.
However, Oliver Wood had anticipated this move and had the team practice specific drills to counter it in the days leading up to the match.
More importantly, Ravenclaw lacked an exceptional Chaser capable of consistently breaking through Wood's defenses.
As a result, Ravenclaw was left dazed and confused.
From the outset of the game, their offensive rhythm was disrupted.
Angelina Johnson caught the Quaffle that Wood threw to her and darted forward like an arrow, effortlessly tossing the Quaffle into Ravenclaw's hoop.
Twenty minutes into the game, the score was already 20-80.
Silence befell the Ravenclaw stands as the students experienced a sense of deja vu, reminiscent of the gloomy era two years prior.
Back then, their team's strategy primarily revolved around participation, with little to no hope of victory.
Twenty minutes later, Gryffindor had pulled ahead by a staggering 150 points, and unless Ravenclaw's Seeker caught the Golden Snitch immediately, they had no chance of winning.
However, reality dictated otherwise, as Harry once again caught the Golden Snitch and secured the victory.
"You should've waited a bit longer, Harry," Wood frowned in the changing room after the match. "Now we're only 200 points ahead of Hufflepuff. It's too risky; they might overtake us in the final match."
"Hmm..." Harry scratched his hair. "But Cho already spotted the Snitch and nearly caught it..."
"Then distract her or drive the Snitch away!" Wood blurted out. "This is about winning the Quidditch Cup; there's no time to be a gentleman..."
Harry remained silent, not wanting to tarnish his image in Cho's eyes. He didn't want to resort to such tactics... Besides, it was already quite unsportsmanlike to prolong the match until the forty-minute mark.
"But we're only two hundred and fifty points ahead of Slytherin," Wood said.
"Then let's pray they catch the Snitch within five minutes." Fred said, "The Slytherin Seeker isn't the brightest; he'll surely rush forward without a second thought when he spots the Snitch."
"Exactly." George said, "Once Malfoy makes a move, Cedric will have no choice but to follow, just like Harry did earlier."
"Let's hope so." Wood sighed and led everyone out of the changing room.
Coincidentally, the Ravenclaw team also emerged from their changing room.
Wood attempted to greet them, but they acted as if they hadn't seen him and left the pitch without a word.
Harry watched as Cho walked away without looking back, hesitating about whether to seize the opportunity to apologize and ease the tension between them.
But he soon forgot about this thought.
Because the Easter holidays had arrived.
Compared to the previous Christmas break, the two-week Easter holiday didn't feel as exciting.
The overwhelming amount of homework was enough to drive anyone crazy.
"We might as well not have had a break."
One afternoon, Mikkel, who was writing an essay in the common room, suddenly threw down his quill and exclaimed, "During regular school days, we still have time in the evenings to do the things we enjoy, but now we're stuck here facing endless homework every day!"
His words instantly resonated with those around him.
Susan Bones, sitting in a corner, couldn't help but chime in with her own complaints, "The exams are still so far away, what are they thinking assigning us all this work!"
Soon, the common room was filled with a chorus of grievances, with everyone voicing their discontent towards the professors for assigning such a massive amount of homework.
"Kyle, have you finished your essay on the Transfiguration Spell?" Connor asked in a low voice, "How many essays did Professor McGonagall assign in total?"
"There are twelve essays on Transfiguration, and I think three of them are about the Transformation Spell." Kyle replied.
"What are the specific topics...?"
"I've been writing so many essays these days that I can't quite remember." Kyle pointed to the stack of parchment beside him, "But the first one I wrote was for Transfiguration, and it's done. You can look for it yourself."
"Okay..."
Connor flipped through the stack of parchment and soon found the Transfiguration essay at the very bottom.
"Summarize the mistakes that can cause a failed Transfiguration Spell?" She said in surprise, "I always thought it was a theoretical analysis."
Just as Kyle had mentioned, they had so many essays to write that it was easy to mix up the content.
In the following days, it was common to hear someone in the common room wailing about writing the wrong essay.
However, they were later told not to worry and to simply leave the mistakes as they were. As long as the number of essays was correct, the professors wouldn't bother reading every single one.
This piece of advice helped those on the brink of a breakdown return to a state of relative calm.
(End of Chapter)
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