Slytherin vs. Gryffindor

Eleven o'clock, Quidditch pitch.

Quidditch was the most popular form of entertainment in the Magic World, without question.

Nearly the entire school had surrounded the pitch. The headmaster, Heads of House, professors, and various staff members sat at the tops of several stands, while most of the younger students were seated below them.

Perhaps the giant Hagrid preferred the lively atmosphere, so he remained in the lower stands as well. He had even brought a pair of binoculars.

In Slytherin's changing room, Aaron reluctantly changed into the green uniform. "Don't we have uniforms in any other color?"

"No!" Terence said. "Red, green, yellow, and blue represent the four Houses. Green uniforms are exclusive to Slytherin. It's a tradition that hasn't changed in a thousand years."

"That's really a pity. To be honest, I don't like this color."

"You have to wear it whether you like it or not." Captain Marcus walked over, then looked at the other players. "I won't say much else. Compared to previous matches, we might be at a slight disadvantage this time.

"But we've gone through some extremely rigorous training lately. And with the best Seeker in our House's history, Aaron Gaius, I really can't think of any reason we should lose.

"Slytherin will win. This year's trophy will belong to Slytherin as well."

Several members of the team exchanged smiles, as if they could already see Slytherin crushing Gryffindor.

"Ahem! Not to be a killjoy, but if we want to win beautifully, we should still take our opponents seriously." Aaron's ill-timed comment earned him irritated looks from the others. They had never considered their opponents worth worrying about.

"Fine! Pretend I said nothing." Aaron gave an awkward laugh. His teammates might have been arrogant, but their flying skills were not bad.

More importantly, he had confidence in his own abilities. Catching the Golden Snitch would earn one hundred and fifty points and end the match.

That meant the Seeker controlled the rhythm of the game. Even if the score gap really widened, as long as it stayed within one hundred and fifty points, the Seeker could still turn the tide.

In other words, as long as his teammates were not completely hopeless, Aaron could still carry them.

A few minutes later, the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams flew above the pitch on their Flying Broomsticks. As they appeared, the cheers from the stands grew even louder, like oil poured onto a blazing fire.

"Hi! This is Hogwarts' first Quidditch match of the season. Today's game is Slytherin versus Gryffindor!" commentator Jordan announced excitedly.

The two teams circled in the air for a while before taking up opposing positions, each occupying half the pitch. The two Beaters, three Chasers, and one Keeper from each team faced one another in the sky.

Above them were the two Seekers, Aaron Gaius and Harry Potter.

Harry Potter looked somewhat restrained. Though his skills had improved significantly after more than a month of training, this was his first official match. In front of such a large crowd, he could not help feeling nervous.

"Harry, you seem a little nervous," Aaron said.

"A little. Aren't you nervous?

"Ron told me you've never attended training."

"Uh... I'm not nervous at all. This is nothing.

"As for not attending training, that's purely because the House team has faith in me. Actually, I have quite a bit of faith in myself too." Aaron smiled. Then he spotted the "Nimbus 2000" label on Harry's broom and raised an eyebrow. "Nice broom."

Harry smiled awkwardly. After all, Aaron's broom was an old Nimbus model from the school, and it was slightly slower than his.

"Both teams are in position. Professor Hooch is now entering the pitch. The match is about to begin," Jordan said.

The two looked down together and saw Madam Hooch walk over to a wooden crate. She looked up at them. "I hope both sides will show skill and sportsmanship."

As she spoke, she kicked the crate.

The Bludgers flew out of the box, followed by the Golden Snitch.

The Golden Snitch circled provocatively around Aaron and Harry, the two Seekers.

Professor Hooch picked up the Quaffle from the crate and tossed it into the air. The match officially began.

Every player on both teams except the Seekers rushed toward the Quaffle at once. After all, getting the Quaffle through the opposing goal earned ten points.

Before long, Gryffindor Chaser Angelina seized the Quaffle and charged toward Slytherin's goals.

She encountered several rounds of interception along the way, but evaded them all with nimble movements.

At last, she neared the goals and threw the Quaffle from several meters away.

Just as everyone thought Gryffindor was about to score, Keeper Bludger blocked the Quaffle.

The Quaffle fell into Slytherin's hands, and offense and defense switched instantly.

Angelina accelerated toward Bludger, but he merely smiled at the Gryffindor girl and passed the Quaffle to Captain Marcus behind him.

As captain, Marcus's flying skills were quite good. Starting from his own goals, he evaded Gryffindor's pursuit and interception, as well as sudden attacks from two Bludgers, crossing more than half the pitch to reach Gryffindor's goals.

He hurled the Quaffle with all his strength. It shot toward the goal, but Keeper Wood appeared in time and knocked it away with his broom. The Quaffle returned to Gryffindor's possession.

Wood looked at Marcus, who was gritting his teeth in anger, and smiled as he shook his head.

Gryffindor Chasers Katie and Alicia worked together, passing the Quaffle as they flew around the pillars of the stands. After crossing half the pitch, they passed it to Angelina for the final shot.

This time, Slytherin's Keeper was a step too late. The Quaffle went through the left goal.

"Beautiful! Angelina scores, and Gryffindor gains ten points!" Jordan announced excitedly. He then pressed the scoreboard, changing the score from zero-zero to ten-zero.

Professor McGonagall, beside Jordan, clapped excitedly. The Gryffindors in the stadium erupted into earth-shaking cheers, while Slytherin's momentum instantly faltered.

The Quaffle landed in Chaser Terence's hands. He quickly adjusted himself and flew toward Gryffindor's goals. Behind him, Montague held a bat and guarded him, blocking attacks from the Bludgers.

Terence flew around Spinnet, around Katie, around the Weasley twins, and dodged a Bludger before finally reaching Gryffindor's goals.

There was no surprise. Wood still blocked the Quaffle and passed it to the approaching Angelina.

At that moment, Marcus flew over to Montague, snatched the bat from his hand, and tried to hit a Bludger toward Wood.

But just as he raised the bat, Terence grabbed his arm. "Don't forget what we promised. Our Head of House is sitting right there! You don't want him calling us in for a talk afterward, do you?"

Marcus froze for a moment. He shot a furious glare at the baffled Wood, tossed the bat back to Montague, and turned away.

The match continued. The Bludgers darted wildly around the pitch, while the Beaters each struck them toward the opposing players.

The Quaffle changed hands repeatedly. After several minutes of warm-up, the atmosphere grew even more heated. Offense and defense kept switching, and the Keepers ended up having the hardest job.

Wood and Bludger each held their positions, doing their utmost to prevent the other side from scoring. The score remained ten-zero.

At this point, the two Seekers, who had been hovering overhead the entire time, became the focus of the spectators' attention.

From the very beginning of the match, Aaron had constantly searched for the Golden Snitch with both eyes. He had barely paid attention to the game itself, only making simple evasive movements whenever a Bludger flew toward him.

Harry, however, devoted most of his attention to watching the match and cheering with raised fists for his House's excellent performance. It was not that he had forgotten his role as Seeker; he was simply too excited from playing for the first time.

Jordan also introduced the two Seekers to the audience. "Both Seekers are first-year students. One is the famous Harry Potter. Professor McGonagall recognized his talent and specially recruited him into the House team during his very first flying lesson, where he became Gryffindor's Seeker."

"Potter!" the Gryffindors cheered loudly.

"The other is Aaron Gaius. He has displayed talent at Hogwarts far beyond that of his peers. He was discovered by Professor Snape. He—"

Jordan's voice abruptly cut off. He had wanted to mention Aaron's "glorious achievement" of "washing" the Sorting Hat when he first arrived at school, but Aaron suddenly shot after a streak of golden light.

"Is that the Snitch? Whoa! Aaron has spotted the Golden Snitch!" Jordan shouted excitedly.

Harry reacted as well and immediately chased after him on his broom. The Nimbus 2000 finally displayed its proper speed, gradually closing the distance between Harry and Aaron.