One-Sided Support Rate

This continued until the second week.

Before the match started, everyone in Hufflepuff was on edge and had no interest in doing anything else. Even though it was the weekend, there wasn't a single person in the common room catching up on homework.

The outcome of this match will determine who gains match point and the initiative in the final, so they cannot afford to take it lightly.

Harris was too nervous. He was like a wind-up toy, wandering aimlessly around the lounge with a broom, constantly repeating the same precautions that had been said a dozen times before.

Beside him, two Beater were practicing their swings.

Everyone at Hogwarts knows that the Weasley brothers of Gryffindor are the best Beater.

In order not to drag the team down, they had no choice but to use this method to slightly make up for the gap in strength.

However, Kyle felt that if things continued like this, the two of them would probably have to be sent to the Hospital Wing before the game because of arm exhaustion.

Fortunately, Professor Sprout brought them a pot of sunflowers, which helped them save their arms.

Since Hufflepuff won the championship last year, Professor Sprout has also started to take Quidditch Match seriously.

The sunflower she brought this time is a very rare plant, somewhat resembling the Three-headed Dog from Fantastic Beasts; it's extremely rare.

Besides its ability to relieve stress, its flowers and leaves are also the main ingredients in making Felix Felicis.

Kyle was a little envious, but this was clearly not the time to be eyeing the sunflower.

They waited patiently until noon, and when they entered the Great Hall, everyone's eyes turned to them.

Surprisingly, almost everyone in the Great Hall, except for Gryffindor, supported Hufflepuff.

Needless to say, the Slytherin were far more unwilling to see Gryffindor win than to lose themselves.

Ravenclaw's thinking was more complicated. Although they were shut out in the last game, they could wash away their shame if Gryffindor also fell behind by a large margin this time.

See... it's not that we're weak, it's just that our opponents are too strong. It doesn't matter who comes.

It's like an exam; it doesn't matter if one person gets a perfect score, as long as everyone else fails.

In some ways, there's little difference between getting zero and failing.

This was the first time Gryffindor had ever experienced such overwhelming support, a treatment usually reserved for Slytherin.

During the meal, Oliver Wood was so angry that he almost chopped the plate into pieces.

"Don't care what others say, we are the best!"

Seeing the somber atmosphere around him, Oliver Wood pushed aside the plate of steak in front of him, which had been sliced into dumpling fillings, and encouraged the others, saying, "The approval rating doesn't mean anything. We need to win the game and show them who the strongest team at Hogwarts is."

"That's right!"

Angelina, the Chaser, pushed aside her plate, raised a glass of Pumpkin Juice high, and said firmly, "Then let's show them who's the strongest!"

As soon as she finished speaking, two more glasses of Pumpkin Juice were raised.

"Hey, don't forget we're Gryffindor."

"This is not the way to be served at our table."

It's Fred and George.

"Yes, that's right."

"We can definitely win!"

More and more people began to raise their glasses, and then everyone laughed, instantly dispelling the previous somber atmosphere.

Harry was among them, his arms raised high, his face flushed with excitement.

After lunch, the competition was about to begin.

As students gradually arrived at the Quidditch Pitch, the stands became increasingly lively.

In the team's locker room, Harris, as usual, gave his morale-boosting speech.

"Captain, you've said these words eight hundred times already. Let's have some peace and quiet."

Goalkeeper Fello peered towards the goal, took a deep breath, and said, "The stands are full of our supporters. I feel even more nervous than during last year's final. What if I don't perform well..."

Wait, who is that person...? My God, Dumbledore is here too!

"Dumbledore?"

The locker room fell silent instantly as everyone crowded to the door, wanting to confirm.

"Very good!"

Upon seeing the silver-white beard, Harris excitedly waved his arm and exclaimed, "If Dumbledore were here watching the game, Snape definitely wouldn't dare to make things too difficult for Kyle!"

His biggest problem was solved in an instant... which made Harris feel completely relieved.

Soon, the locker room door opened, and the players lined up and headed towards the field.

"Look, the Hufflepuff team is entering!"

Lee Jordan's voice rang out from the stands.

"They are the most popular team, and their strength is in no way inferior to Gryffindor. In the last match, they defeated Ravenclaw from Slytherin, who couldn't even score a single point against them."

By belittling two teams that support Hufflepuff, Lee Jordan's intention to sow discord is all too obvious.

But his words were quickly drowned out by a chorus of boos, and a barrage of snack wrappers and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans rained down on him, along with a few pairs of shoes.

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall waved her wand and gave him a disapproving look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, I'm just stating the facts."

The boos from the surrounding crowd grew louder.

Even Snape, the referee, glared at Lee Jordan, wondering if he should give him the same treatment as Kyle next time he had Potions Class.

Lee Jordan felt a chill run through his body for no apparent reason, as if he were being watched by something terrifying.

Seeing that he had angered the crowd, he dared not add any more personal opinions and began to give a proper explanation.

"This commentator is really good at playing mind games. If we lose, it will be a really embarrassing situation, and we'll become Gryffindor's stepping stone."

On the field, Cedric said quietly.

"It's okay, as long as we win."

Kyle laughed and said, "If we also score a zero on Gryffindor, he won't say things like that again."

"Then I'd better catch the Golden Snitch as soon as possible."

Cedric laughed too.

Soon, the two captains shook hands, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the match began.

Kyle, taking advantage of his broom, was the first to grab the Quaffle.

Harris followed closely behind him, and the two of them raced towards Gryffindor's goalposts at breakneck speed.

Angelina and Spinnet tried to intercept it, but their brooms couldn't keep up with Nimbus 2000 at all, and they could only follow far behind.

A Bludger from Fred was easily dodged by Kyle with a quick movement.

Kyle, having reached the scoring zone, feigned a pass to Harris on the left, then lobbed the ball back towards the right goalpost.

The cheers from the stands stopped, and everyone stared intently at the Quaffle.

Only Lee Jordan was still providing rapid commentary:

"Kyle threw the ball... another fake... Oliver Wood can do it... beautiful, Oliver Wood saw through his trick, the ball was blocked, now the initiative is in Gryffindor's hands!"