The Quaffle moved rapidly between Johnson and Spinnet.
Flint seized the opportunity, successfully intercepting it and charging straight toward the goal with the ball.
He and Derry Ampsey formed a two-on-one against Wood in front of the goal.
He wanted to pass the Quaffle to Ampsey.
But Wood was experienced and intercepted it precisely.
After taking the ball, he quickly passed it to Katie, who had fallen back to defend.
The Gryffindor Chasers swiftly adjusted their formation, charging toward the Slytherin goal in the Trident Formation.
Bell, Spinnet, and Johnson worked together seamlessly, passing the Quaffle back and forth between them.
Ampsey swooped in along a beautiful arc and snatched the Quaffle.
However, he was hit by a Bludger struck by Fred, or perhaps George, and lost his grip on the ball.
Johnson seized the opportunity and regained possession of the Quaffle.
She launched an attack on the Slytherin goal.
With a beautiful dodge, she evaded the Bludger and closed in on the goal.
Johnson fired hard.
Slytherin's Keeper, Bletchley, dove quickly to make the save.
However, the ball still slipped past his hand.
Goal.
The Gryffindor team scored!
A thunderous cheer erupted from the Gryffindor section of the stands.
Hermione's face flushed red with excitement as she threw her arms around Brook.
"Wonderful, they scored!"
"They really did great," Brook replied with a smile.
For the first time, Hermione's eyes were so close to Brook's.
She suddenly realized that Brook's skin was so nice.
It was smooth and flawless, without the slightest blemish.
I really want to see how it feels.
Thinking that, her pretty face reddened slightly, and she hurriedly pulled back her hand.
She curled up like an ostrich.
"Coming through, make way."
Just then, Hagrid's huge body squeezed through the crowd with difficulty.
To make room for him, Hermione was practically pressed against Brook.
Hermione: ⁄(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄
"Hagrid, why did you come so late?" Brook asked.
"I was watching from the hut, but the atmosphere's better over here, isn't it?"
"True, but it'd be even better with some grilled skewers."
Hermione: ( ๑‾̀⚇‾́)σ» Poke poke.
Nice and springy!
"You really never forget about food, no matter when it is."
"Food is the first necessity of the people."
Brook had no idea what Hermione was thinking. Otherwise, he definitely would have poked her back.
"Have you seen the Snitch?" Hagrid raised his binoculars and searched the sky with difficulty.
Brook also looked up, sweeping his gaze across the sky twice.
He didn't see it.
His eyesight was far better than an ordinary person's to begin with.
If even he couldn't find it, one could imagine how difficult it was to spot the Snitch.
The match continued, with both sides trading attacks and defenses.
The Gryffindor players emphasized teamwork and possessed highly refined technique.
Slytherin also had a certain level of skill, but they leaned more toward physical confrontation.
"How can he do that?"
Seeing Flint nearly knock Harry off his broom, Hermione muttered in displeasure.
"Madam Hooch should call that a foul."
Although Brook said that, he didn't really agree.
In contact sports, physical contact was unavoidable.
Just like football—if you couldn't take a hit, what were you playing for?
But he wasn't going to argue with Hermione over something like that.
When a girl was complaining, it was best to go along with what she said.
Don't ask him how he knew.
His waist hurt.
"What's wrong with Harry?"
Brook noticed that Harry's Flying Broomstick was twisting wildly.
Hermione and the others looked over as well.
Then more and more people noticed that something was wrong with Harry.
A wave of gasps immediately rose from the stands.
"His broom isn't going out of control, is it?" A hint of panic appeared on Hermione's face.
"Could Flint have damaged it when he rammed Harry?" Ron guessed.
"Impossible," Hagrid denied.
"The Nimbus 2000 is the finest craftsmanship available right now. A bump like that couldn't possibly damage it. Unless it was some extremely powerful Dark Arts, but how could that be?"
Hearing that, Hermione snatched Hagrid's binoculars and anxiously began searching through the crowd.
"Brook, it's Snape."
Brook didn't take the binoculars. He simply looked in the direction Hermione pointed.
Snape's lips were moving slightly, as though he were constantly chanting something.
"Brook, be ready to open a Space Gate at any time."
After saying that, Hermione squeezed toward Snape.
Brook helplessly rubbed his forehead. "What is this little girl trying to do? Take Snape head-on?"
His eyes remained fixed on Harry, ready to open a Space Gate and save him the instant he fell.
Yet the corner of his eye continued following Hermione.
He saw her struggle through the packed crowd, seemingly bumping into Professor Quirrell.
Then she secretly crouched down beside Snape.
A cluster of blue flames ignited the hem of Snape's robes.
"Whoa. She actually set him on fire. Just as expected of you!" Brook couldn't help exclaiming.
Fortunately, everyone's attention was focused on Harry.
Otherwise, if she had been discovered, the points deduction alone would have made her cry.
Following Hermione's little "brilliant move,"
Harry's Flying Broomstick miraculously returned to normal.
Harry climbed back onto the broom, then swiftly dove toward the ground.
Just as everyone thought he was going to request a replacement broom, he began to retch.
Suddenly, a golden object flew from his mouth and landed in his hand.
Harry raised his hand high. "I caught the Snitch!"
Brook was a little stunned.
This...
When had Harry swallowed it?
But the match was declared over because of it.
Final score: one hundred seventy to sixty.
Gryffindor won.
After the match, Brook and the other three went to Hagrid's Hut together.
The previously somewhat shabby hut had now undergone a complete transformation.
A brand-new kitchen had been added outside the hut, fully equipped with every kind of cooking utensil.
Beside it, an unfinished washroom had also begun to take shape.
The interior style was even more drastically different from before.
The formerly dark, old walls had been completely repainted a bright white.
The fireplace had also been moved to the right and painted brown.
The clutter that had once filled the hut had been neatly arranged on a storage rack that rose all the way to the ceiling.
The old wooden table that had originally stood in the middle of the hut had been replaced with a substantial marble table.
Paired with several solid wood chairs, it looked especially grand.
The bed had also been replaced with a massive three-by-five-meter bed with a steel frame.
Even the bedding was high-end custom-made stuff.
The soft fabric and exquisite patterns all spoke of quality.
A large solid-wood wardrobe had also been added in the corner of the room.
The space, which had originally felt somewhat cramped for the huge Hagrid,
now looked far more spacious after all these adjustments and renovations.
Of course, Brook had arranged all of this.
He provided the suggestions, Hagrid supplied the materials, and An An handled the construction.
Hagrid simply hadn't wanted too much trouble. Otherwise, Brook's original plan had been to tear the whole place down and rebuild it.
Not only that, but Brook had contacted Mr. Weasley through the twins and asked him to help sell the rare materials in Hagrid's hut, especially that unicorn-hair carpet.
The batch of items Hagrid had on hand, excluding those on the storage rack, was estimated to be worth more than a million Gold Galleons.
However, considering that selling such a large quantity at once would impact the market, the final price would likely be around seven hundred thousand Gold Galleons.
Naturally, Brook wasn't going to make Mr. Weasley work for nothing.
He gave Mr. Weasley a three percent commission.
The percentage might not seem high, but considering the enormous value of the transaction,
it was absolutely a huge sum for the Weasley family.
The twins now directly acknowledged Brook as their boss.
Percy had also received news from home. To show his gratitude, he gave all of his class notes to Brook.
Only Ron knew nothing and was still being kept in the dark.
He would probably be completely bewildered when he went home for the holidays this year.
If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.
Before you continue