Chapter 751: A Silly Idea
Chapter 751: A Silly Idea
As the time approached eleven o'clock, the entire school began to make their way towards the Quidditch stadium.
The Great Hall gradually quieted down as Albert closed his book, tucked it back into his Chamo-leather bag, and stood up. He turned to Isabelle, who was sitting at the nearby Ravenclaw table and had also been passing the time by reading, and said, "It's almost time. Let's go."
Isabelle marked her place in her book with a bookmark, shrunk it with magic, and placed it into her robe pocket before following Albert out of the castle towards the Quidditch stadium on its outskirts.
The weather outside was chilly, and the snow that surrounded the castle showed no signs of melting. Albert instinctively pulled his scarf tighter, making sure to cover as much exposed skin as possible.
"This scarf is starting to look a bit ugly," Isabelle remarked as she adjusted Albert's scarf, speaking more to herself than to him. "I'll have to make you a new one when I have the time."
"I think this scarf holds a lot of sentimental value," Albert replied.
Isabelle, clearly not wanting to continue that line of conversation, changed the subject. "By the way, what were you and Percy talking about earlier?"
"Oh, you mean that?" Albert proceeded to tell Isabelle about the bet between Percy and Penelope.
Isabelle remained silent after hearing the story, not showing much of a reaction. She was well aware that most couples acted this way—usually, they would start dating because they were interested in each other, and it rarely escalated to the level of lovers. Dating, arguing, and breaking up were all normal occurrences, just like eating meals.
The two made their way along the path that Hagrid had cleared earlier, heading towards the Quidditch stadium.
The game had already started, and Lee Jordan, acting as commentator, was imparting his knowledge about Firebolts to the audience, his "unprofessional" approach eliciting disapproval from Professor McGonagall, who was supervising his commentary.
The pair looked around and found a spot where they wouldn't be disturbed. They took out their binoculars and observed the action on the Quidditch pitch.
The situation was not looking good for Ravenclaw. Right from the start of the game, Gryffindor had taken the lead by scoring a goal.
However, Ravenclaw's Cho Chang was an excellent Seeker. She was clearly aware of the difference in the quality of their brooms and had been sticking close to Harry since the beginning of the game, forcing him to change directions repeatedly by crossing his path.
This was likely a tactic devised by Ravenclaw—to have Cho Chang hold up Potter and give their Chasers a chance to score.
However, Ravenclaw's Chasers were not performing well, as they had fallen behind 20-0 in a short amount of time.
"Ravenclaw's tactics are flawed... Is something the matter?" Albert noticed that Isabelle wasn't paying particular attention to the changes on the pitch, her gaze seemingly unfocused.
Following her line of sight, he noticed Katrina sitting alone a short distance away, looking somewhat forlorn.
No, Katrina wasn't alone—Hermione was sitting at a distance, also observing the game through her binoculars.
"Why are you sitting here by yourself?" Isabelle asked as she sat down next to Katrina.
"I just came from the library," Katrina replied, glancing up at Albert. "How come you seem so relaxed even though we have to take the same twelve exams?"
"Maybe my foundation is more solid," Albert said as he sat down next to Isabelle, looking at the slightly weary girl. "I have the past O.W.Ls exam papers. Do you want to take a look?"
"Exam papers? Where did you get those?" Katrina wasn't too surprised; she had asked Isabelle for the previous O.W.Ls exam papers as well.
"It's not difficult to get them if you have the money," Albert stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I almost forgot. You're quite wealthy," Katrina said, her eyes drifting to the scarf around Albert's neck. Her lips twitched almost imperceptibly. She recognized it as the scarf Isabelle had spent a long time knitting, and which she had later lengthened because the first version had been too short.
"That's enough!" Katrina muttered under her breath, though it was unclear what she was referring to.
She was feeling a bit frustrated with herself for ever trying to compete with someone like Albert. Ever since he had won the Magical Schools Potions Championship, Katrina had been regretting her initial petty thoughts.
"When do you have time?" Katrina asked, as she was now devoting most of her energy to studying for the O.W.Ls. Failing those exams was not an option for her.
"I'll give them to you next class," Albert replied, raising his binoculars to look at the pitch as Lee Jordan shouted something.
High above the pitch, Harry was accelerating in pursuit of the Golden Snitch.
However, just as Albert turned his binoculars, Harry had just dodged a Bludger and was no longer accelerating, obviously having lost track of the Golden Snitch.
"Oh oh..."
The Gryffindor supporters were disappointed, clearly hoping that Harry, with his Firebolt, would be able to end the game quickly.
Katrina also clapped for their Beaters, and then she suddenly noticed that the two beside her had hardly reacted at all. She glanced over at Hermione, who was sitting at a distance and looking slightly disappointed that Harry hadn't caught the Snitch. Katrina felt a strange sense of dissonance.
Were they really here to watch the game?
Why weren't they reacting at all?
The game was almost one-sided, with Gryffindor now leading Ravenclaw by a large margin of 70-0.
"How did the gap get so big?"
Isabelle was puzzled. During the match against Slytherin, their tactics had caused Ravenclaw to not gain many points, which Isabelle could understand. But at this point, the score difference was clearly abnormal.
At least, she didn't think the Ravenclaw team was that bad.
"I can probably guess the reason." Albert didn't beat around the bush. "Wood wants to join a professional Quidditch club after graduation, so every training session is crucial for him. Winning the Quidditch Cup before graduating would boost his chances of joining a club, so the Gryffindor team's training regime is actually quite intense."
"The difference in training intensity, coupled with the psychological pressure of facing the Firebolts, caused Ravenclaw to adopt a very aggressive strategy at the start, hoping to suppress Gryffindor with their score. However, they failed to perform at their usual level and their mindset took a hit, resulting in them conceding a lot of points." Albert's tone changed, "But I think once the Ravenclaw players adjust their mindset, they'll be able to get back to their usual performance."
The McGonagall sisters remained silent. Not long after Albert finished speaking, Ravenclaw finally scored their first goal, reducing their disadvantage. Applause and cheers reverberated throughout the stadium, with even Slytherin House cheering for them.
Ravenclaw adjusted their tactics, Cho Chang still stuck to her plan of obstructing Harry in various ways to prevent him from catching the Snitch, and their Chasers' coordination improved, taking back 10 points from Wood.
With Ravenclaw performing at their normal level, the match became more exciting.
However, Albert wasn't concerned with the outcome of the game. At the edge of the pitch, he spotted Malfoy and his group, those guys seemed to be planning to disguise themselves as Dementors.
How stupid! It was probably Malfoy's idiotic idea again.
"Look over there!" Albert nudged Isabelle's arm, gesturing towards the edge of the pitch.
"What are they trying to do?"
The one who asked was Katrina. Both of them had noticed Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, along with Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team captain, sneaking towards the edge of the pitch with something in their hands.
"They're probably trying to... scare Harry Potter, aren't they?" Albert said uncertainly.
Isabelle remained silent, watching with interest as the group donned black cloaks.
"Scare Harry Potter by pretending to be Dementors?" Katrina asked incredulously. "But Dementors aren't..."
Just then, a scream rang out from somewhere.
Then, Albert saw a silver stag charging towards the Dementor-disguised Malfoy, sending them tumbling to the ground.
"They're so stupid," Katrina muttered.
"That's... Harry Potter's Patronus," Isabelle said, a rare look of surprise on her face as she stared at the now-vanished stag.
"There's no need to be surprised," Albert said calmly. "For someone who could kill a Basilisk, nothing he does is surprising."
"You seem to care about the 'Chosen One' quite a bit?"
"That term holds a special meaning." Albert didn't intend to explain.
"But it's an astonishing talent indeed."
Katrina also understood the difficulty of summoning a corporeal Patronus, and she had been secretly practicing the Patronus Charm as well, but she still couldn't successfully summon a corporeal Patronus.
"When did you master the Patronus Charm?" Isabelle asked suddenly.
"Second year, second semester." Albert thought for a moment. "It took me about half a year."
Just then, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling the end of the game.
Gryffindor had won! (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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