Chapter 468: Is It Too Late to Regret?
Chapter 468: Is It Too Late to Regret?
With Ivan’s addition, Wood was in high spirits!
A couple of days ago, when he encountered the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, the latter had proudly declared that the Quidditch Cup was destined to belong to Slytherin this time!
In the previous matches, Slytherin had already pulled ahead of Gryffindor by more than a hundred points. After all, even if the Snitch were caught, it would only add a hundred and fifty points.
However, after witnessing Ivan’s flying and scoring skills, Wood was extremely confident that they could catch up!
They were now the complete and invincible Gryffindor team!
It was time to show those Slytherin bastards who the true kings of the pitch were!
To this end, Wood prepared a new strategy with great effort.
However, the training process was not as smooth as Wood had hoped.
As the Seeker, Harry seemed distracted, often zoning out during practice, to the point where the Snitch flew right in front of him without him noticing.
"Stop, everyone, stop!" Wood quickly called a halt to the training and looked at Harry, clearly furious.
"Harry! What are you doing?! The Snitch was right in front of you, and you didn’t even see it! If this were a real match, we would have lost for sure!"
Wood was incredibly angry, as Harry’s performance was far worse than before.
"Sorry, Captain, I was just thinking about something", Harry said sheepishly, still preoccupied with where he had dropped his Invisibility Cloak, which had caused him to be so distracted.
"I don’t care what you’re thinking about normally, but on the pitch, your only job is to catch the Snitch and win the match! Do you understand?" Wood interrupted Harry’s explanation, speaking very seriously.
Harry nodded reluctantly.
The training resumed, and as one of the two core players in the new strategy, Ivan felt a lot of pressure.
Wood had set him a target of scoring fifteen goals within an hour!
This meant he had to score a goal every four minutes on average.
What Ivan hadn’t expected was that Wood had organized the others into a defensive squad, aiming to prevent him from scoring.
According to Wood, if Ivan could break through their defense, the Slytherins would definitely not be able to stop him in the match!
However, for Ivan, who didn’t have any special abilities, it was extremely challenging to score quickly while also evading the pursuit.
But when he suggested reducing the difficulty, Wood shook his head and looked at him with a trusting gaze.
"I believe you can do it! Come on, Hals!" Wood clenched his fist and patted Ivan’s chest firmly.
With that, he led everyone onto their brooms, dividing them into three teams and chasing Ivan all over the pitch.
Ivan was slightly distracted and saw Wood behind him, who swung his bat and sent a Bludger flying toward him, the whistling wind cutting through the air.
Damn it! Ivan cursed in his mind, quickly dodging to the side, then twisting his body to avoid the pincer attack from George and Fred, and finally deftly throwing the Quaffle into the hoop.
Although he successfully scored another goal, Ivan’s face showed no sign of happiness.
In just this short half-hour, Wood had figured out his tactics and, under his command, the entire defensive system was airtight, making it increasingly difficult to score.
“Faster! Go a bit faster!”
“There he is! George, go intercept him!”
“Not to the left, he’s faking it, he’s going to score!”
Amidst the relentless pursuit, Ivan found himself struggling to keep up, feeling as if he were on a battlefield, the excitement and intensity palpable.
He began to regret agreeing so quickly, wondering if it was too late to back out now.
For the entire afternoon, Ivan spent his time on the Quidditch pitch. Thanks to the speed of his Firebolt, he managed to achieve his goal just as the sun was setting.
“Alright, that’s enough for today’s training!” Wood dismounted his broom and landed on the ground, waving at everyone.
After a grueling afternoon of practice, George and the others heaved a sigh of relief. However, as they landed on the ground, Wood’s face turned stern, and he began to scold them.
“What was that all about?! You were five against one, and you couldn’t even stop Hals! What if Hals were our opponent? Would you just sit there and let him score? And you, George, when I told you to intercept on the left, your reaction was too slow! Angie, the same goes for you!”
Wood’s mouth was like a cannon, firing off corrections for the mistakes they made during the practice.
Ivan finally realized that the training wasn’t just about him.
Wood had played his cards well. If Ivan hadn’t managed to score fifteen goals in an hour, he would have been the one getting scolded.
George pouted under Wood’s reprimand. When he was chasing Ivan, Wood was right there too, and he couldn’t stop Ivan from scoring either.
Fred, Angelina, and the others also chimed in with their defenses.
“Ivan’s Firebolt is just too fast, like a bolt of lightning! How could we possibly catch up?”
“That’s right! Hals’ flying skills are top-notch. It’s normal that we couldn’t stop him. The Slytherins probably wouldn’t be able to either!”
However, no matter how much they tried to explain, Wood still gave them a good scolding and announced that they would need to practice even more in the future!
The pitch was filled with the groans of protest from George and the others.
Wood ignored their complaints and turned to Ivan with a smile.
“Hals, you did a great job. If you can maintain this level in the match the day after tomorrow, we’re definitely going to win!”
In truth, Wood hadn’t expected Ivan to score fifteen goals in an hour. That was almost impossible.
He had set a high goal to motivate Ivan, but he never thought Ivan would actually achieve it!
Wood praised Ivan’s flying skills with a sense of awe and then added that he hoped Ivan would do even better next time, aiming for twenty goals in an hour!
Ivan rolled his eyes. He had already pushed himself to the limit this time, and making any further progress in such a short period was simply impossible.
As he spoke, Wood didn’t forget to remind Ivan to keep the secret, to surprise their opponents!
“The Slytherins don’t even know you’re playing. You’re our secret weapon!” Wood said proudly.
Ivan nodded. He certainly wouldn’t go around bragging about it. At most, he would only tell one person.
(End of Chapter)
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