Chapter 573: A Less Than Ideal Experience
Chapter 573: A Less Than Ideal Experience
Regardless of whether Harry Potter would be "saved" by a house-elf, the match continued. After Lee Jordan loudly announced Slytherin's temporary lead, raindrops began to fall from the sky.
"As expected, it started to rain," Albert said as he quickly drew his wand from his pocket. He cast a spell to conjure an umbrella, holding it over Isabelle's head to shield her from the cold rain.
A brief commotion rippled through the audience, but most students chose to remain in the stands, braving the rain to continue watching the Quidditch match.
"I really don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with Quidditch," Albert muttered softly.
"You don't like it?" Isabelle turned to look at her boyfriend's profile and then at the umbrella over their heads. She drew her wand from her cloak and transfigured her handkerchief into an umbrella. Using the Engorgio spell, she enlarged the umbrella and affixed it to the steps behind them, so Albert wouldn't have to hold it up all the time.
"That's some impressive Transfiguration magic," Albert praised. "You know, I remember back in my first year, I spent a lot of time trying to learn Summoning Charms to conjure an umbrella. Looking back, there were actually a lot of alternative solutions."
For instance, the Shrinking and Engorgio spells.
As for Transfiguration, despite Isabelle's effortless transformation of her handkerchief into an umbrella, such magic was actually quite challenging, especially since the volume of a handkerchief and an umbrella differed greatly. The difficulty level was exponentially higher, and even among Hogwarts graduates, very few could achieve such a feat.
Of course, Albert could now easily perform such magic as well, but he lacked Isabelle's finesse. Summoning an umbrella was undoubtedly the easier option.
If one didn't know either of these spells, they'd have to carry a shrunk umbrella and restore it to its original size when needed, which was a bit of a hassle.
Isabelle gave Albert a quirky look, as if asking why he had wanted to use a Summoning Charm for an umbrella in the first place.
Anyone would probably be curious about such peculiar reasoning.
"I guess it's because it's practical!" Albert pocketed his wand. "After all, it rains a lot in Britain, and if you can summon an umbrella, you don't have to worry about suddenly getting caught in the rain without one. To be honest, I really dislike getting drenched."
As he spoke, Albert pointed downwards at the crowd of students who were getting soaked. "No fun at all," he added gently.
Isabelle suddenly felt that Albert made a lot of sense. It was a fact that many students, unprepared for the sudden rain, had no choice but to endure the downpour while watching the game.
Getting rained on in winter was truly unpleasant.
"I've noticed that witches and wizards are indeed much hardier than Muggles," Albert remarked as he observed the enthusiastic crowd below. "If regular Muggles were to stand out here in this weather for half an hour, they'd probably end up in the hospital."
Although a small portion of the students would eventually need to visit the hospital wing to see Madam Pomfrey, most of them would be fine.
The rain intensified, and a few students in the audience also put up their umbrellas. However, the majority were already soaked to the bone, shivering from the cold rain.
Yet, amidst the rain, cheers erupted as Gryffindor finally scored a goal.
"I suppose it's because there aren't many entertainment options in the wizarding world, right?" Albert mused softly.
"Are there a lot of fun things for Muggles?" Isabelle asked curiously. Her knowledge of the Muggle world was quite limited, and Muggle Studies didn't seem all that useful.
"Oh yes, Muggles are great at enjoying themselves," Albert replied. "They've invented all sorts of interesting things. When we have some free time, I'll take you on a tour of the Muggle world."
"Okay!" Isabelle smiled sweetly. She understood that Albert wanted her to learn more about the Muggle world, not just the wizarding world. Sometimes, it was good to broaden one's horizons.
Just then, the game was paused as the Gryffindor players huddled together, whispering strategies to deal with the erratic Bludger. However, they didn't seem to come up with a good solution, as Harry Potter remained the sole player dealing with the rogue Bludger when the game resumed.
The rain continued to pour down, a chill settling over the Quidditch pitch. Despite the large umbrella, they couldn't completely shield themselves from the downpour. The two snuggled closer together, doing their best to keep each other dry.
Albert surveyed the audience, once again marveling at their dedication.
If this Quidditch match continued into the night, would these people also stubbornly stay until evening, braving the rain? As Albert indulged in these malicious thoughts, a chorus of gasps and gleeful whistles erupted from the crowd. Harry Potter had been struck by the rogue Bludger and tumbled off his broomstick, rolling awkwardly in the muddy water.
The whistle blew immediately, and Madam Hooch descended to inspect Harry Potter's injuries. Upon spotting the Golden Snitch, she blew her whistle again, declaring Gryffindor the winner.
The match was finally over, and the spectators were spared from spending hours sitting in the cold rain.
"Looks like Gryffindor won!" Isabelle said, watching as Harry was surrounded by his teammates. "Did you guess this would happen?"
"Yeah, after all, it's the savior, Harry Potter. He usually doesn't lose to Slytherin," Albert replied mysteriously. "Well, you head back to the castle first. I need to go over there and check on the situation."
"I almost forgot, you're still a reserve player for Gryffindor. See you later," Isabelle said. She returned the umbrella to its original size and left with the crowd.
Albert watched Isabelle depart before walking towards the pitch, where he spotted Fred and George struggling to force the unruly Bludger back into its box.
"I bet someone jinxed it. We should get Madam Hooch to check it out," Fred grumbled upon seeing Albert approach.
"Is Harry Potter alright? I saw him get hit by the Bludger," Albert said calmly, glancing towards the crowd surrounding the Gryffindor seeker.
"It's all Wood's fault! Telling him to either catch the Snitch or die on the pitch," George fumed.
"Wood is the captain; it's normal for him to say such things," Albert said, noticing Lockhart approaching. He tried to soothe the angry twins, "He's under more pressure than you realize. Being a captain comes with a lot of responsibility, and no captain wants their team to lose."
As Albert spoke, Lockhart pushed through the crowd and reached Harry, wand at the ready.
"What's he up to?" Lee Jordan asked, joining them. He looked rather disheveled, his morning efforts at styling ruined by the rain.
"Probably trying to heal Harry's arm," Albert shook his head, "I think he'll only make things worse."
True enough, Lockhart failed to heal Harry's arm, and the Gryffindor hero ended up being carried into the hospital wing horizontally.
"What did Lockhart do?" Fred asked, noticing the strange angle of Harry's arm.
"Lockhart probably... removed Harry Potter's broken bone," Albert replied, turning his head away. He spotted Marcus, the Slytherin captain, arguing with Malfoy, insisting that the Golden Snitch had been right above his head and that he just couldn't see it.
"I bet Marcus is regretting his words now!" George said with a hint of schadenfreude. "Being a Seeker takes more than just a rich father. They obviously didn't realize that."
Malfoy glared at the quartet, his eyes flashing with anger.
"Let's go, we have a feast to attend," Angelina called out to the group. "We should think about getting some food to celebrate properly."
"Leave it to us," Fred said, patting his chest. "We can get some treats from the kitchen. Oh, and do you still have any Butterbeer left?"
"None left from last time," Albert said after a moment's thought. "But I can provide some candies."
Fred and George headed to the kitchen and returned with cakes, candies, and several bottles of pumpkin juice. They then joined the other players in visiting Harry at the hospital wing.
"Aren't you coming in?" Lee Jordan asked, stopping briefly and looking at Albert, who had opted to remain outside.
"No need, they'll be out soon," Albert replied.
Lee Jordan gave him a suspicious look before entering the hospital wing, from which Madam Pomfrey's scolding could be heard. The victory had gone to their heads, and they had momentarily forgotten whose domain they were in.
(End of Chapter)
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