Just One Against Seven, Right?

Aaron and Terence sat on their Flying Broomsticks, hovering on opposite sides of the object above the pitch.

Snape released the Golden Snitch. Its wings beat rapidly as it darted up, down, left, and right across the pitch at high speed. Finding it in the twilight was no easy task.

A dozen seconds later, a buzzing sound rang by Aaron's ear. He instinctively reached out with his right hand, but caught nothing.

The Golden Snitch was fast—only slightly slower than a Flying Broomstick. The moment Aaron reached for it, it had already evaded him.

His movement caught Terence's attention as well. Once he spotted the Golden Snitch, he immediately steered his broom toward it.

Aaron spread his hands and gave him an innocent smile before decisively turning around to chase the Golden Snitch. Being closer was an advantage, though in Quidditch, such an advantage was hardly worth mentioning and could vanish in an instant.

Unless the Golden Snitch flew in a straight line, his opponent would catch up within seconds. And catching a Golden Snitch with no predictable flight pattern in those few seconds was almost impossible.

The Golden Snitch began circling the pitch, with Aaron close behind. No matter how tricky its flight angles were, he kept up and steadily closed the distance.

Though they were reluctant to admit it, everyone could see that Terence's flying skills were indeed somewhat inferior to Aaron's.

Terence noticed it too, so he quickly changed tactics. Instead of chasing from behind, he predicted its direction and moved ahead to block its path.

But his sudden appearance made the Golden Snitch visibly pause. It might have been a ball, but it was a ball that did not want to be caught. It was not stupid enough to fly right into someone's hand.

Yet that tiny hesitation was enough for a large hand from behind to close around it.

Terence stared blankly at the scene. After braking, he furiously swung his arms twice, venting his frustration.

"Sorry, Senior," Aaron said modestly. "Looks like I got lucky this time."

Terence gave a snort and said nothing, turning back toward his original position.

Aaron tossed the Golden Snitch to Snape as well. "Professor, we can probably start the second round now."

"Don't you need a rest?" Snape asked. Quidditch was physically demanding. Though this was not an official match, three consecutive rounds were still more than most people could handle.

"I don't," Aaron said, then looked at Terence across from him. "I just don't know whether Senior Terence..."

"If you don't need one, neither do I."

Seeing how resolute they both were, Snape gave a slight nod. He then walked to the center of the pitch and opened the box containing the Bludgers.

Two black iron Bludgers shot out. They were ten inches across, and during matches, they constantly tried to knock players off their brooms.

The Golden Snitch became active on the pitch once more. Snape raised his Wand, and a burst of fireworks flared in the air.

When the signal to begin appeared, Aaron and Terence both grew solemn.

If it had only been the Golden Snitch, they would not have been so tense. But with two aggressive Bludgers added to the mix, they had no choice but to stay alert.

This was no proper match. There were no Beaters to intercept the balls for them. While trying to catch the Golden Snitch, they also had to avoid the Bludgers. Getting hit by one of those iron balls would mean at least a broken bone.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of air being torn apart rang continuously over the pitch. The Bludgers flew about wildly without any pattern, while Aaron and Terence began searching for the Golden Snitch.

Aaron spotted it before Terence did, but his luck was not so good this time. The Golden Snitch was closer to Terence.

The chase quickly began. The Golden Snitch's flight path was as tricky as ever. Sometimes it skimmed along the walls of the pitch, sometimes it accelerated into steep dives, and sometimes it darted among the support pillars, bouncing up and down while using the wooden stakes holding up the stands to obstruct the two Seekers behind it.

In short, it did everything it could to shake off the Seekers.

This was a test of the Seekers' skill. If they did not accurately understand their own flying abilities and became too eager for success, accidents could easily happen.

Terence was skilled enough to be a Seeker. He could even be called outstanding—but not outstanding enough.

Compared to Aaron, he was far too cautious. Or rather, he was somewhat afraid of getting hurt.

At the beginning of the match, he could still focus most of his attention on the Golden Snitch. But after chasing it for a while, the pressure on him gradually increased. The sound of the Bludgers slamming into the structures especially made his heart race.

When Aaron caught up to him, he visibly devoted more attention to the Bludgers. The two Bludgers had begun targeting them together, multiplying the danger. Having iron balls graze past his scalp was not a pleasant feeling.

Finally, a few minutes later, Aaron won. He caught the Golden Snitch.

Snape immediately drew his Wand and stopped the two Bludgers, preventing them from flying around after the match had ended.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Snape applauded expressionlessly. "A very exciting match. So... do we need to proceed with the third round?"

The moment he finished speaking, the House team players impatiently flew onto the pitch. Marcus even shot Aaron a provocative look.

After the first two rounds, they had acknowledged Aaron's abilities. But no matter what, they could not let him win the final round. Otherwise, they would lose all face.

Just imagine it: the mighty Slytherin House team, seven players, brought down by a first-year. How could they ever show their faces if word got out?

"Wait, Professor. I request a ten-minute break," Aaron said, raising his hand.

"Hm?" The corner of Snape's mouth lifted slightly as he sneered. "Not going to force yourself this time?"

Aaron smiled awkwardly. "I know my limits. In the first two rounds, it was just Senior Terence competing against me. I was tired, and so was he, so it was relatively fair.

"But next, I'll be facing an entire House team. If I don't properly adjust my condition, I'll probably lose terribly!"

"Hmph! You have already proven your ability. It is not too late to regret this now. It does not really matter whether the third round takes place.

"Slytherin students still have some sense of shame. Seven against one—they will definitely win, but that sounds even worse than bullying someone with numbers."

"That's why only the people here are on the pitch.

"As long as I don't say anything, you don't say anything, Professor, and they don't say anything, no one will know, right?" Aaron said with a smile.

Snape pondered for several seconds, and there was a little more appreciation in his gaze as he looked at Aaron. "You have ten minutes. The next round begins in ten minutes."

"Thank you, Professor!" Aaron said with a smile. He then flew down, pulled a lollipop from the pocket of Abei's clothes, unwrapped it, and put it straight into his mouth.

"Ahem!" Snape stared at Aaron with an odd expression. "Mr. Gaius, do you not know that the Undetectable Extension Charm cannot be used casually?"

"Undetectable Extension Charm?" Aaron looked at the candy in his hand, then at the somewhat aggrieved Abei. Careless. But outwardly, he put on a bewildered expression.

"Professor, I think you misunderstand. There is no Undetectable Extension Charm on its clothes. They are purely for carrying snacks.

"Still, what you just said does make sense. I've decided—tomorrow, I'll send a letter home and have them prepare clothes for Abei with an Undetectable Extension Charm."

Snape's face darkened slightly, and he simply turned away.

Ten minutes later, Aaron flew above the pitch and faced off against the House team, who looked somewhat embarrassed but were exceptionally determined.

As Snape released the starting signal, the Golden Snitch and the two Bludgers appeared on the pitch at the same time.

Aaron did not immediately search for the Golden Snitch. Instead, he focused on the six House team members besides Terence.

After all, the third round was the hardest and most dangerous one for him.

Terence could take his time looking for the Golden Snitch, but Aaron did not have that luxury. Besides snatching the Golden Snitch, he also had to guard against the combined assault of those six upperclassmen.

And in this difficult match, the only things he could use were the two Bludgers that recognized no one once they took flight.

After the match began, Aaron's strategy was clear: stall.

While doing everything he could to evade the House team's "encirclement," he disrupted Terence's attempts to catch the Golden Snitch as much as possible. Throughout the process, he treated the two Bludgers as teammates, frequently luring them toward the others. The situation was fraught with danger.

Yet with this rigid, shameless, dangerous, and even somewhat foolish strategy, Aaron stubbornly held on for over an hour. He even used the Bludgers to knock Marcus off his Flying Broomstick.

The captain was truly pitiful. He had meant to block Aaron, but instead took the Bludgers aimed at him—both of them.

For a moment, Aaron felt that he might have misjudged him. The captain was actually quite considerate. He might curse nonstop, but his actions were remarkably honest.

He had taken two Bludgers for him, a new player who had not even officially joined the team yet! This was the first time in his life Aaron had ever met such a wonderful upperclassman.