The Interrupted Match

On Saturday, the Quidditch Match will finally begin, with the first game being Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw.

As soon as the Slytherin players entered the Great Hall, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the rightmost table, as if they were celebrating their victory in advance.

Even the team members looked relaxed, showing no signs of pre-match tension.

In their view, Ravenclaw's shutout loss in the last match was just a waste of time for other teams to gain experience and points; it was only a matter of time before they won the game, and there was absolutely no chance of any surprises.

Marcus has even started rehearsing post-match celebration dances with other people.

He swayed stiffly in the middle of the Great Hall, looking like a baboon that had taken Cheering Potion.

"Ignore him, Qiu," Cedric comforted the girl beside him. "Believe me, you are not weak."

Qiu rolled her eyes at him but didn't say anything.

Although I knew Cedric meant well, it still felt a bit strange coming from him.

It's like a top student who got a perfect score telling those who got zero that it's not that they're not smart, it's just that the questions were really hard this time.

Even if it's well-intentioned, it still makes you want to punch him.

"To be honest, your Chaser are really not that great."

At that moment, Kyle suddenly said, "So the key to this match lies with you. You must catch the Golden Snitch before Ravenclaw falls behind by 150 points."

"I'll try my best," Qiu sighed.

Of course she knew that, but the Golden Snitch wasn't Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans; you couldn't just catch it whenever you wanted.

"Kyle is right," Cedric nodded, adding, "And your broom is a problem too. It's too old. Even if you spot the Golden Snitch first, it'll be hard to gain the upper hand. If you don't mind, I can..."

Before he could finish speaking, a large flock of owls flew in, their cacophony interrupting his words.

Kyle noticed that six long-eared owls carrying a long, thin package landed right in front of Qiu Fei.

"Could this be...?"

Qiu's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she reached out with trembling hands to touch the package.

"You guessed right, it's Broomstick. I remember those owls; they were the ones who delivered broomsticks to Cedric last time," Kyle said with a smile. "Aren't you going to open it and take a look?"

"But... I've never bought a broom before," Qiu said nervously. "I want to buy a Nimbus 1700, but I'm still short of some Galleon."

"What if it was meant for someone else, and the owl just delivered it to the wrong person?"

Kyle shook his head and said, "Impossible, owls don't make such a basic mistake."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another owl flew over and tossed a letter onto the package.

Qiu nervously tore the letter open.

"It contains your new Nimbus 2000 Broomstick. Have a good competition."

... Professor Flitwick

Upon seeing this, Qiu could no longer hide her joy. She handed the letter to Kyle beside her and eagerly opened the package.

Just as the letter said, inside was a brand new Nimbus 2000.

Qiu didn't even eat his meal; he grabbed a broom and rushed to the Quidditch Pitch. The other Ravenclaw players followed suit.

After Qiu left, Kyle also stood up and returned to the Hufflepuff table with Cedric.

He looked at the letter in his hand and shook his head with amusement.

It seems Professor Flitwick was quite traumatized by the last match; to avoid being shut out again, he gave Qiu a new broom.

Back in Hufflepuff, Kyle gave the letter to Cedric and asked, "By the way, what were you trying to say?"

"It's nothing." Cedric shook his head.

He had intended to lend his broom to Qiu, but now it was clearly unnecessary.

He glanced at the contents of the letter, then looked in the direction of Slytherin.

Everyone noticed that Qiu received a new broom, and they were no exception.

By this time, the cheers had stopped, Marcus had stopped dancing, and everyone looked grim.

The competition began shortly afterward.

The stands were still packed with people. Kyle and Cedric sat in the front row, holding up a banner to cheer on Qiu.

Slytherin seemed intent on pushing the score above 150, displaying a highly aggressive approach from the outset.

Marcus charged wildly on his Broomstick, and in his attempt to score, he knocked Ravenclaw's Chaser off the broomstick.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, indicating the point was invalid, and awarded a free throw.

Roger Davies remounted his Broomstick and unleashed a powerful long-range shot that sent the Quaffle into the goalpost.

Not only did he fail to gain the upper hand, but he also lost ten points, which made Marcus even more agitated.

In the following matches, although they scored repeatedly, they were unable to widen the gap significantly.

After the zero-point incident, Ravenclaw underwent a long period of grueling training, resulting in significant improvement in his skills.

In addition, Qiu's new broom gave them hope.

For a time Ravenclaw was on fire, and every time Slytherin scored, they could find an opportunity to equalize.

Although Slytherin still held the lead thanks to the advantage of their broomsticks, it was only by thirty points, far from one hundred and fifty.

Everyone was discussing the outcome of the match, but just then, Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared on the court, pressed her wand to her neck, and shouted:

"The match is suspended! Everyone return to the castle immediately!"

Then, the other professors arrived.

Many people were led away from the stands by the Prefect and professors before they even realized what was happening.

The Quidditch players were also suspended in mid-air, watching helplessly as everything unfolded below.

"Everyone, don't linger! Follow the professor and the Prefect out of the Quidditch Pitch immediately!" Professor McGonagall reminded them again.

"We're about to win!" Marcus complained, clearly dissatisfied.

He just managed to score several baskets, but the scoreboard hasn't changed at all.

"If you want to stay here forever, I have no objection..."

Snape appeared at some point, standing behind Professor McGonagall, and spoke coldly.

Marcus had no objections then.

He nimbly jumped off the Broomstick, lowered his head, and quickly left the field.

The passageway was enchanted, so no matter how many people passed through, it never felt crowded. Under the professor's guidance, the court was completely empty in just a few minutes.

On the way back to the castle, the group also saw Professor Flitwick, who was holding a wand and seriously surveying his surroundings.

The complaints from the crowd gradually subsided, and a sense of tension began to spread, causing many people to subconsciously quicken their pace.