At that moment, on the pitch, Emily's Viking-style braids were streaming almost parallel to her broom as she hurtled along at top speed. To buy Draco Malfoy enough time to make up seventy points, she kept harrying Cho Chang like this. Though Cho had already spotted traces of the Golden Snitch several times, Emily ruined each chance, letting it slip away and forcing her to search all over again.
Although Cho Chang knew that, judging by Ravenclaw's current score, there was no need to worry about Slytherin overtaking them for the House Cup, Emily's endless pestering still left her somewhat flustered and irritated. But the Slytherin players were in much the same state of mind as Cho right now—anxious and on edge.
To hold their own territory as well as possible, the Slytherin players had not joined Draco and Pansy in that high-intensity assault. But not only were the Ravenclaws stronger in the corresponding positions, their tactical cooperation and chemistry also surpassed Slytherin's. Though Slytherin had already done everything they could to stop Ravenclaw, every time Draco scored, Ravenclaw quickly scored again. The match therefore remained deadlocked. Slytherin's score had stayed ahead, but they could never widen the gap. Worse still, if this continued, it was clearly going to become increasingly unfavorable for Slytherin, who relied on individual attacks, while Ravenclaw, relying on coordination, was obviously expending far less stamina.
Pansy's gaze swept over Emily, who was tangling with Cho Chang high in the air, and Draco, whose hair was a mess and who looked so wretched he had no time even to tidy himself. Her white teeth bit down on her lower lip. She waved her arm hard, then slowly drew the edge of her hand across her throat—she had made the signal unique to Slytherin's Quidditch team. Every