A Middleman's Tough Job

"Why?" Wood said in a deep voice, "Give me a reason."

"First, Slytherin will train the Seeker."

"Draco's my friend, I have no reason not to support him. Besides..." Aaron pointed to the approval slip in Marcus's hand, "The special order has already been issued. If we give up the stadium, where will Professor Snape put his face?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the previously demoralized Slytherin House Team regained their fighting spirit and confronted the Gryffindor House Team.

What's at stake now isn't just the sports field, but the reputation of both colleges.

Hermione at Aaron's sleeve and gave him a reproachful look: I asked you to come and break up the fight, but you're afraid they won't start fighting, aren't you?

Aaron shrugged. That was why he didn't want to come; being a middleman was usually very difficult.

"I was so naive to think Slytherin would be reasonable." Wood shook his head speechlessly, then looked at Ron after calming down, "Go find Professor McGonagall."

"Draco," Marcus retorted, "We'll talk about training later. Let's go find Professor Snape."

"We're in the right this time," Wood said. "Did you bring Professor Snape here to embarrass him?"

"Gryffindor place?" Marcus feigned ignorance. "Sorry, I've been under a lot of academic pressure lately, I probably forgot."

"You're shameless!" George said dismissively.

Fred nodded approvingly. "That's how Slytherin always is."

Draco and Ron looked at each other, standing still without making a move.

They weren't fools; they knew perfectly well that bringing the professor over would escalate the situation.

The two people who had a terrible relationship unexpectedly reached a tacit understanding: if the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either; as long as you stay put, I won't bother the dean of the academy.

"Gentlemen, instead of putting up a fight here, why don't we sit down and talk calmly?" Aaron suggested. "We can resolve this issue peacefully."

"Sure!" Wood smiled knowingly. "You guys leave here and train your Seeker at another time."

"I have given special orders that Slytherin will not tolerate any disrespect towards Professor Snape."

"We Gryffindor won't give in either," Harry said, and the other Gryffindor House Team also looked indignant.

They were woken up by Wood before dawn and then listened to him talk about tactics for several hours while they were still half asleep.

If we hadn't won the game today, a similar tragedy might have happened again, and no one could have handled that!

Compared to Gryffindor, Slytherin members are slightly less patient, and several have already taken out their Wand at Marcus's prompting.

Suddenly, a sharp white light flashed between the two teams, leaving a shallow scratch on the lawn.

"Can I have a word with you first?" Aaron waved his black Wand. "I was tricked into coming here to mediate. If you continue like this, she will be unhappy, so please give me some face."

Marcus and Wood exchanged a glance, then each pressed their hands down to calm the team members down.

Aaron looked at the Slytherin House Team and said, "Some of you should probably stop your dirty tricks. If a fight breaks out, things will get complicated."

Adrian and Miles hesitated for a moment before releasing their hands from the Wand.

"You..." Hermione and Ron stared at them in astonishment, "That's too much."

"Don't rush into anything," Aaron stopped the two, giving George and Fred a meaningful look. "And please calm down as well."

The Weasley twins exchanged glances and then took their hands out of their pockets.

Hermione and Ron were speechless for a moment. They could have criticized Slytherin for their lack of sportsmanship and their attempt to launch a sneak attack from an outsider's perspective, but now they really didn't have the nerve to do so.

"As expected of the Weasley!" Draco said dismissively.

Aaron rolled his eyes at him and walked between the two groups. "I think we should still respect Professor Snape's teachings, but what happened today was indeed a bit unfair to Slytherin."

Therefore, I suggest that the two teams exchange stadium usage rights once.

Today the training field is for Slytherin; next time Gryffindor can take over Slytherin's training time.

Upon hearing this, Wood pondered for a moment and nodded. "If this is your sincerity, I can accept it, but I'm afraid my teammates behind me cannot."

I woke them up really early this morning. They hadn't slept well, and they hadn't even had time for breakfast.

"Don't push your luck," Marcus said sternly. "Just because you're not satisfied doesn't mean we are."

Professor Snape's special order only allowed for a one-way exchange of stadium rights.

"Captain Marcus, could you please refrain from speaking for a moment?"

Aaron could guess what the Slytherin captain was thinking; he simply wanted to show off his new gear.

Choosing the day when Gryffindor House Team has booked the stadium, and then using Snape's special ability, can greatly demoralize the opponent.

The methods used were hardly honorable, but they were effective.

When the Gryffindor House Team saw the seven Nimbus 2001, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. After all, their best equipment was only Seeker Harry's Nimbus 2000, let alone the others.

In terms of equipment, it's like a game-changer; trying to compensate with sheer strength would require a tremendous amount of effort.

Aaron turned to look at Wood, "I know the Gryffindor House Team isn't having an easy time either, but their current condition isn't great either, so you can imagine how ineffective their training has been."

I suggest you go back and review your training plan. After all, Slytherin got new equipment, didn't they?"

Upon hearing this, Wood glanced at the Nimbus 2001 in Flint's hand with a complicated expression, and hesitated for a moment.

Aaron was right, but he was still somewhat unwilling to accept it.

"Alright then! On behalf of Slytherin House Team, I will offer Gryffindor House Team a settlement, and let's call it even."

The Gryffindor House Team looked at each other, their eyes meeting briefly before the decision was handed over to their captain.

Wood was silent for a moment. "Tell me first, what kind of compensation can you give us?"

Aaron smiled meaningfully, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a dark red sphere. "I think this should be enough?"

"Quaffle?" Harry said in surprise. "But something looks a little different."

"Of course it's different." Wood's eyes lit up, and he was so excited that he could hardly speak. "I read about it in a book. This was the first limited edition that Quidditch manufacturer made in 1975."

George swallowed hard, his brain starting to work at lightning speed.

"If this thing were put up for auction, it might be able to get one of our Seeker a Nimbus 2001."

"Then we can sell Harry's Nimbus 2000 along with our old brooms; maybe we can get a new set of equipment."

"Sell it?" Wood glared at George. "Say that again?"

"Sorry, Wood," George chuckled awkwardly, "This thing is definitely in the exhibition hall."

"We are quite satisfied with this compensation." Wood quickly took the Quaffle, afraid that Aaron might change his mind, and then led the Gryffindor House Team team off the field.

"Aaron, is that Quaffle very valuable?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Rare?" Draco said unhappily. "Granger, you should know what it means to have something that's priceless and unavailable!"

"You can't even buy it if you want to?" Ron said.

"Not too stupid," Draco scoffed. "If the Weasley ever run out of money, maybe they could talk to the Gryffindor House Team about selling that Quaffle. It would definitely solve their immediate problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Literally, that's the absolute truth."

"Alright," Aaron rolled his eyes. "Go train if you need to!"

Marcus hesitated slightly. "Actually, you shouldn't meddle. I have my own plans."

"Your plan is to expose Slytherin's trump card to the enemy in advance?" Aaron sneered. "Captain Marcus, I have to admit that as captain, your vision is somewhat short-sighted."

"If I were you, I would have brought out these Nimbus 2001 a few days before the Quidditch season started; the effect would have been several times better than it is now."

Marcus's expression darkened slightly. "I..."

"I won't explain anymore. No matter what reason you give, it won't change the fact."

Wood will intensify Gryffindor training based on the difference in equipment.

"But we have an absolute advantage," Marcus said confidently. "There's no need to hide it."

"That's right, but your vanity might make a future crushing defeat a bit more difficult."

"That won't change the final outcome."

Aaron ignored him and looked at the other Slytherin House Team players. "Captain Flint makes a lot of sense. You probably think so too."

But as a former Seeker, I could only say a few words before I was exhausted.

The Slytherin House Team can have a sense of superiority, which allows them to reduce training time and lower the quality of training.

However, consider this from another perspective: if Slytherin lost even with Nimbus 2001, the Slytherin House Team would become a laughingstock, and the reputational damage would be far more severe.

Marcus suddenly paused for a moment, and the other Slytherin House Team also showed slight changes in expression.

They suddenly felt that the Nimbus 2001 in their hands was a bit too hot. Although they knew that the chances of losing were slim, what if they did?