The Competition Begins
The crushing defeat against Slytherin left the Gryffindor students feeling down for a long time, and for a considerable period they didn't discuss anything related to Quidditch.
But Harry's Firebolt undoubtedly restored their confidence and made them fanatical again.
Moreover, this fervor has only intensified over time.
Especially on Friday, in just one morning, Gryffindor's score hourglass dropped significantly, falling from second place back to last.
They were so excited that they couldn't help but discuss Quidditch during class, which resulted in the professors, who couldn't stand it anymore, deducting points from their scores.
Snape contributed the most; he was responsible for half of the points that were deducted.
When the Gryffindor came to their senses, they discovered that their house had been deducted nearly two hundred points... This result made them much more restrained.
The next morning, Kyle went to the Great Hall with Cedric and Kanna for breakfast.
Today is the day of the match, and from the moment he walked into the Great Hall, many eyes were on him and Cedric.
As the first team to face the Firebolt, they received just as much attention as Harry.
Especially the Ravenclaw; most of the people at the table were watching them.
Davis felt this was a great opportunity to see just how good the Firebolt really was.
Qiu crouched down and sat next to Kanna, whispering, "Besides, he can't think of any way to counter the Firebolt, so he wants to see what you guys are going to do."
"Are you guys really okay? If Gryffindor by too many points, we'll have absolutely no chance of winning anymore."
"Don't worry, leave it to us," Cedric said, patting his chest. "We've trained for a long time, and I'm going to make sure Oliver Wood knows he's getting ahead of himself."
At 10:45, Hufflepuff headed to the changing room.
The weather is great today—sunny, cool, and with a gentle breeze that feels wonderful.
To be honest, this isn't good news for Hufflepuff, as they have various gadgets provided by Kyle, which actually gives them an advantage in relatively bad weather.
Unfortunately, this is not something they can decide.
The sound of students from the entire school rushing onto the sports field could be heard outside; the noisy chatter told you without even looking that there must be a lot of people there.
"Don't be nervous," Cedric said as everyone prepared to leave the locker room. "We've practiced this many times, it'll definitely be fine!"
They went outside onto the field, where cheers were deafening.
But when the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, dressed in their red jerseys, came out, the cheers around them noticeably grew louder.
Both teams moved to the center of the court.
"Diggory, Oliver Wood, shake hands!" Madam Hooch said crisply, and Cedric stepped forward to shake hands with Oliver Wood.
"Get on your broomstick, listen to my whistle, three... two... one..."
Kyle only felt a whooshing sound coming from behind.
The Firebolt was faster than any other broom, shooting out in the blink of an eye. Cedric followed closely behind, and the two hovered over the field, squinting as they searched for the Golden Snitch.
Commentary could be heard coming from the stands.
"The match has begun, and the biggest highlight is Harry Potter riding the Firebolt. The 'Complete Guide to Broomstick ' says that the Firebolt is the national team's broomstick of choice for this year's Quidditch World Cup..."
"Jordan, can you tell us about the game?" Professor McGonagall's voice broke in.
"No problem, Professor. Could you give me some background information? By the way, the Firebolt has a built-in braking device that allows it to accelerate even faster..."
"Jordan!"
"Okay, okay, Hufflepuff has the ball now, that move looks familiar... Harris probably taught Kyle his rebounding skills... He's about to shoot... Can Oliver Wood...?"
"Oh... Oliver Wood missed the ball, Hufflepuff scores!"
Harry waved his arm in frustration in mid-air, searching even more carefully for the Golden Snitch, but when he turned around, he found Cedric right behind him.
Every time he tried to change direction, the other party would overtake him, forcing him to change direction.
Harry had a feeling that Cedric wasn't really interested in the Golden Snitch, but just wanted to distract him.
"Let him see your speed, Harry!" Fred shouted as he aimed a Bludger at Kyle and launched it.
Kyle just snatched the Quaffle from Angelina's hands with a nimble somersault, and it's now speeding towards the Gryffindor goalpost.
He made no attempt to dodge Fred's passing Bludger.
The next second, Mikel flew in from the side, swung his arm, and Bludger away.
"Just keep going!" Will flew in from the other side and blocked the second Bludger.
"... Leave the rest to us!"
With their help, Kyle made it to the goalpost and then raised his hand to throw the ball... not into the goal, but to Grace on his right.
"A diagonal pass... Kyle's most frequently used feint!"
Jordan exclaimed, "But it worked... Oliver Wood's attention was all on Kyle, Grace scored... She's the new Chaser Hufflepuff the Hufflepuff team this year... What a charming girl!"
Oliver Wood stared at Kyle, panting heavily, looking like an enraged buffalo.
Kyle shrugged, gave Grace a high five, and then returned to the center of the court.
Less than five minutes into the game, it was 20-0, Gryffindor was immediately at a disadvantage.
In the stands, Hufflepuff's cheers almost drowned out Lee Jordan's commentary.
"Fred, George, what are you doing!" Oliver Wood roared. "Get him off the broom!"
"We...have been doing this all along!" Fred yelled as he Bludger toward Kyle, "But it seems like their two Beater have made their home around Kyle ...damn, blocked again!"
At this moment on the court, Kyle wasn't the only one whose neighbor had made their home nearby; Harry was in the same boat.
Harry felt like Cedric was practically glued to him, and he couldn't shake him off no matter what he did, because he couldn't keep flying at high speed forever; he had to stop eventually to look for the Golden Snitch.
Whenever this happened, Cedric would always catch up from behind and continue to harass him.
He had seen it once; that golden light fluttered its tiny wings, Accio behind Angelina Johnson's ear... But just as he was about to rush over, Cedric blocked his view.
Although he decisively went around in another direction, the Golden Snitch disappeared in those crucial few seconds.
"Harry, this is not the time for friendliness."
Oliver Wood, who had also spotted the Golden Snitch, shouted, "If necessary, knock him off the broom!"