Harley followed Fred and George out of the changing room and toward the roaring stadium.
The stands were packed to the brim. Gryffindor and Slytherin students had gathered into separate clusters, forming seas of red and green.
Students from both Houses had also made plenty of homemade cheering props, such as red lions and green snakes.
Hermione went to the highest row of the stands and, together with several older students, made a huge banner that read:
"Gryffindor's Lion Queen, Harley Potter, will win!"
Beneath the words was an enormous Gryffindor lion.
With the help of the older students' magic, the lion kept moving across the banner, occasionally opening its mouth to roar. The gold and red lettering shimmered constantly as well.
For once, Slytherin had not resorted to off-field tactics to create psychological pressure and interfere with Harley.
In the past, Slytherin had loved booing new players from other Houses during their first match, putting them under mental pressure.
But this time, Gryffindor's newcomer was Harley Potter, Professor Snape's most beloved student, so Snape had explicitly forbidden such behavior.
Not only that, he had ordered the Slytherin Quidditch team not to use illegal moves on Harley, such as elbowing, violent collisions, or grabbing opponents from their brooms.
There were no such restrictions when it came to the other Gryffindor players.
Under pressure from their own Head of House, especially his intimidating glare, the Slytherin Quidditch team could only grit their teeth and agree.
Harley felt no pressure at all, nor did she suffer from stage fright. She smiled and waved at the stands, then struck a confident pose, drawing another wave of cheers.
Madam Hooch, who taught flying lessons, was serving as the referee.
Before the match began, she repeatedly emphasized discipline and shot pointed looks at the Slytherin team several times.
After the captains shook hands, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and fifteen Flying Broomsticks shot into the air.
Commentary immediately rang out across the field. A boy with terrifying dreadlocks was holding a microphone enchanted with an Amplifying Charm, broadcasting the progress of the match.
He was Lee Jordan, in the same year as the Weasley Twins and also their best friend.
That was why Professor McGonagall was standing beside the commentary booth, in case Lee suddenly started causing trouble like the twins.
As a Seeker, Harley was not originally supposed to participate in the team's overall strategy or coordination, according to Wood's initial plan.
Seekers generally had two styles. One was to remain completely separate from the team and focus solely on finding the Golden Snitch.
The other was to work within the team's system, helping tear apart the enemy formation, disrupting their offense while searching for the Golden Snitch.
Wood's original plan had been for Harley to focus on finding the Golden Snitch. After all, she was a complete rookie Seeker, and Wood feared that too many demands would put enormous mental pressure on her and affect her performance.
But after Harley repeatedly caught the Golden Snitch with astonishing speed, Wood changed his mind.
"You're a natural Quidditch player!" Wood said excitedly. "I think you might even be better than Lynch from the Ireland National Quidditch Team!"
So in this match, Harley also needed to interfere with Slytherin's offense.
Relying on the speed advantage of her Nimbus 2000, Harley repeatedly slipped into Slytherin's formation, then swiftly pulled away, disrupting their flight patterns.
This kind of hit-and-run harassment was perfectly suited to a light player like Harley against Slytherin's heavy tanks.
Even if the Slytherin players wanted to knock Harley straight off her broom, they simply could not catch her.
Not to mention that Professor Snape's warning before the match was still fresh in their minds, so they did not dare use illegal tactics like "violent collisions" against Harley.
Under those circumstances, Gryffindor's Angelina quickly scored, then broke through Slytherin goalkeeper Bletchley's defense again and again.
Cheers continuously erupted from the Gryffindor stands, while even Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students joined in the celebration.
After all, Slytherin's dirty tactics had earned them plenty of resentment, and Harley was on very good terms with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students.
Harley casually dodged another Bludger, then slipped through the pincer attack of Slytherin captain Marcus Flint and player Adrian Pucey, successfully causing both of them to miss the Quaffle right in front of them.
"Nicely done, Harley!" Fred shouted as he flew past her. Another cheer rose from the Gryffindor stands.
Harley instinctively scanned her surroundings again, searching for the Golden Snitch and preparing to join the next round of offense.
Then her gaze suddenly sharpened. She spotted the Golden Snitch in the very center of the field.
But Slytherin's Seeker was closer to the Golden Snitch, far closer than Harley was.
Fortunately, he was circling with his back to the Golden Snitch, apparently guarding against Harley, so he had not noticed it.
After a brief moment of thought, Harley did not immediately accelerate. Instead, she flew toward Slytherin's half at an unhurried pace, as if she were merely cooperating with her team's attack as usual.
The Slytherin players seemed to think exactly that, and their Seeker, Terence Higgs, immediately flew toward Harley.
But that was exactly what Harley wanted, because he was now even farther from the Golden Snitch.
Harley effortlessly dodged the Slytherin Seeker's interception, then lay back on her broom to avoid a Bludger.
Then, with a slight flex of her bonelessly supple waist, Harley easily straightened up again.
"Wow!" Lee exclaimed loudly. "Harley's got amazing moves! What a great girl! I want to chase her too!"
The stands immediately erupted in boos, especially since Lee had said he wanted to chase Angelina only twenty minutes earlier.
Professor McGonagall loudly stopped him again and threatened to deduct points. Professor Snape also turned his deathly gaze toward the commentary booth.
Harley continued forward, while the Golden Snitch drifted from its original position and happened to fly in Harley's direction.
Closer... Harley thought, gently reaching out and catching the Golden Snitch.
Just as she was about to raise her hand and announce her success, she suddenly felt an inexplicable force appear on her broom.
The Nimbus 2000 beneath Harley seemed to turn into an unbridled wild horse, suddenly bucking wildly as it tried to throw its owner off.
It's not the broom malfunctioning. Someone is attacking it—an outside attack! Harley immediately reached her conclusion.
She had no time to search for the direction of the attack. She only gripped the broom tightly while examining the magic attached to it.
Within thirty seconds, Harley realized that the broom had been afflicted with a kind of magic she had never seen before.
That magic was exceedingly dark, filled with all kinds of negative emotions that constantly tempted people toward corruption and loss of control.
This is curse-type Dark Magic! Harley immediately identified the type of magic.
Though she had never studied the wizarding world's Dark Magic, magic filled with resentment and negative emotions could not possibly be anything good.
Combined with what she had read in The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic and her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, it was not difficult for Harley to determine the truth.
"Using Dark Magic in front of a witch? I'll kill you!" Harley's lips instantly curled into a smile, though it was filled with killing intent.
She stopped trying to control the broom and simply let go, choosing to leap off.
At the same time, Harley's black hair rapidly grew, wrapping around her like a cocoon and allowing her to land steadily.
Within the lightless cocoon, a vicious glint flashed through Harley's eyes.
Did they really think the Demoness was easy to bully?
After landing, Harley did not retract her hair. Instead, she swiftly took out a homemade wand and bit the tip of her tongue.
Harley spat a mouthful of blood onto the wand, causing the dark green wand to emit an eerie red glow.
At the same time, Harley silently chanted in Jotun.
For some reason, this language, which possessed mysterious power and could communicate with the world, was still usable. Its power had merely weakened greatly, becoming roughly equivalent to the power Ancient Hermes had once possessed.
As for Hermes and Ancient Hermes, they could now barely stir the power of nature when used to perform rituals.
As the incantation was spoken, the red glow on the wand rapidly rose, then suddenly vanished.
At the same time, a figure tightly wrapped in the stands suddenly let out a muffled groan, swaying repeatedly before finally regaining balance.
Streams of blood ran down from beneath the scarf...
Before you continue