Morning.
Brilliant sunlight spilled over Hogwarts, setting its ancient silhouette aglow. The bright weather seemed to be giving the long-awaiting young wizards some face as well.
The moment the castle gates opened, the young wizards whose classes had been temporarily suspended streamed out at once, gathering in groups to talk about their favorite school players.
Students from both the upper and lower years were fired up.
Every face overflowed with irrepressible excitement and joy.
"I barely slept at all last night. I kept thinking about today's score."
"Huh? Then you must've bet quite a lot, right? You wagered all your remaining allowance?"
"More than that. I borrowed quite a bit of campus loan money from Little Grindelwald too. The interest was a little high, but if I win, I won't be short on spending money for the next seven years."
"Damn, you dared borrow money from that little witch? Aren't you afraid your whole family will be dragged off to work off the debt if you can't repay it? I heard her elder has been popping up in interview columns in major newspapers around the world lately."
"I wanted to borrow an Ian Loan from that Ravenclaw young wizard, but he said he didn't lend money to gambling addicts. What else was I supposed to do? There's only one chance to get rich like this every year."
"Damn, it looks like our Little Professor has more of a conscience... though I've heard that Little Grindelwald wasn't this devious before she started hanging around the Little Professor."
The crowd's chatter never stopped.
This so-called grand event was really just the Quidditch House finals. That was why Ian had still found time to return to the Room of Requirement to water his tree, without feeling much excitement or sentimentality.
It couldn't