Quidditch

"Hey, Anduin, stop dawdling! The Quidditch match is about to start. I've never seen one in person before. Do you think I could become a Quidditch player?" Vivian tugged Anduin along, cheerfully heading towards the stadium, as if afraid of missing out on a good spot.

Anduin wasn't particularly interested in this barbaric game, but he was in a good mood today. With Hagrid's help, the batch of potions he made had sold well. The income of 240 Galleons eased Anduin's financial strain.

On his way back from Hagrid's, he ran into Vivian, who was preparing to watch the Quidditch match. Feeling unusually cheerful, he decided to join Vivian for some excitement.

Anduin's flying class grades weren't outstanding; they were just average. His strength was probably his decent sense of balance and stable, error-free flying, but he hadn't put much effort into it.

When he rode his broom, his mind would reflexively start envisioning aerial combat scenarios. However, the speed wasn't fast, and the target was too prominent. This made him feel that fighting on a broom was unreliable, making him an easy target, so he didn't prioritize broom practice.

On the other hand, Vivian had quite good flying talent. She picked it up quickly, and by the second flying lesson, she could perform some simple aerial maneuvers. Discovering she finally had a subject where she surpassed Anduin, Vivian became even more fascinated with broomsticks. It turned out that sometimes, interest was born out of necessity.

"Which two teams are playing today? I heard Quidditch matches can sometimes last for hours. How can anyone find this game interesting?" Anduin, being pulled by Vivian, had his clothes rumpled. He couldn't help but stop Vivian and complain.

"Good heavens, are you even a Slytherin student? You don't even know it's our house versus Gryffindor? You really don't care about anything other than staying in your room all day!" Vivian looked at Anduin with a speechless expression.

Anduin suddenly realized, "No wonder you're so excited. I think you want to watch the spectacle more than the game itself."

Vivian retorted defiantly, "I want to see the spectacle and the game. I'm not like you, who has no sense of fun. You're only interested in books."

"Then you don't know where the real fun in this world lies," Anduin rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with Vivian.

Before long, the two approached the Quidditch stadium. Along the way, Vivian continuously explained the rules of Quidditch to Anduin. Anduin already knew most of this; Charles had excitedly explained Quidditch to them on the train before. But Vivian was someone whose mouth couldn't stay idle, and Anduin sometimes felt like casting a 'Tongue-Tying Curse' on her.

"They say that in old Quidditch matches, people would even pull out large cleavers and try to chop off the goalkeeper's head. Hey, isn't that Charles? Why is he standing there alone?" Vivian, who had been sharing Quidditch trivia, suddenly changed the subject.

Following Vivian's gaze, Anduin also saw Charles standing alone by the entrance to the Quidditch stadium.

Vivian rushed forward and greeted him, "Charles! Long time no see. You're here to watch the match too? Why aren't you going in? Why are you standing here alone?"

Seeing that it was Anduin and Vivian, Charles smiled slightly and said, "Vivian, I'm waiting for a classmate. We saved seats upstairs, and I need to guide them."

Then, Charles looked at Anduin and said, "It's been a while since I've seen you. You're always elusive except for class. I can occasionally talk to Vivian, but I can never find you. I haven't had a chance to thank you properly for what happened last time."

"There's no need to mention that. Our two houses have tense relations right now," Anduin said, subtly reminding him, not wanting to bring it up again.

Charles, being clever, didn't press the matter. However, the conversation reignited Vivian's gossipy spirit, and she couldn't help but dart her clever eyes back and forth between them.

But as the three were talking, a discordant voice interrupted them.

"Vivian, Anduin, what are you two doing talking to a Gryffindor idiot? Hanging out with these fools will only turn you into fools too." Sampur Travers, who had approached, saw the three talking and couldn't help but step forward and sneer.

"Travers, you filthy git, get lost. I don't want to see you," Charles said with disgust.

"Who I talk to is my business, and it's none of your concern, Travers," Vivian also gave Travers a cold shoulder.

Anduin simply stood by, calmly watching Travers, too lazy to say anything more.

Seeing that they dared to speak disrespectfully, Sampur's expression became even more ferocious. He sneered, "Ha, a Gryffindor idiot and a filthy mudblood are friends. Truly birds of a feather. Anduin, you're a disgrace to Slytherin. Vivian, I advise you not to associate with people like him. Do you want to tarnish the honor of the Bulstrode family?"

This was pushing it too far. Anduin saw the brain-dead Travers being aggressive and decided to retort, "Yes, we can't compare to the great pure-blood Travers family. Besides being dogs for the Dark Lord, you also like to slap labels on others. I advise you not to bark so loudly. You know, dogs that bite don't bark. Dogs that only bark might get kicked away by their owner one day. You speak so eloquently, your little mouth is like it's been smeared with a laxative, always spewing things out. You must have just finished using the toilet and are full of energy, right?"

"You, how dare you!" Travers usually just retorted directly in arguments. He had never encountered such sarcastic words. His blood surged, and he drew his wand, ready to fight Anduin.

This suited Anduin's wishes perfectly. If Travers dared to make the first move, he'd make sure he knew why the flowers were so red.

"What are you doing? Why are you blocking the stadium entrance and not going in?" Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall arrived at that moment, looking sternly at the arguing group.

Seeing the professor, the group dared not continue their antics. Travers, red-faced with anger but not daring to act in front of the professor, could only glare hatefully at the group before turning to leave. He particularly glared at Anduin, his eyes almost bulging with blood.

After Travers left, Professor McGonagall turned to the three and said, "Alright, you three, stop gathering at the entrance. Hurry along now. Don't cause any more trouble for me."

With that, Professor McGonagall turned and entered the stadium.