Quidditch

"God, Kano, are you trying to freeze yourself to death in the lake?"

Under Kano's influence, Harry had not stopped his physical training. However, taking Harry's ability to handle it into account, Kano scheduled their morning exercises at different times.

After all, making Harry watch burly men emerge from the mist every day, spraying blood as they hacked at each other, would have been far too much for his nerves.

After November began, Kano added swimming to his training. While Harry shivered through his runs every morning, Kano moved through the water as freely as a salmon.

"It's not even below zero yet. The lake hasn't frozen over!"

Kano treaded water leisurely, poking his head above the surface to chat with Harry.

"Come to think of it, how's your Quidditch training going?"

Harry becoming Gryffindor's Seeker had originally been a secret, but whenever the team trained, Harry would sneak out carrying a broom-shaped package. Anyone could tell something was off.

Besides, the Nimbus 2000 McGonagall had given Harry was far too conspicuous.

Fortunately, Gryffindor wanted the Quidditch Cup badly enough that everyone banded together to keep the secret.

The entire team, from top to bottom, radiated a do-or-die determination to win.

The team captain, Wood, was about to graduate and desperately wanted to win just once.

Their faculty advisor, McGonagall, had been maliciously fouled by Slytherin back in the day, leaving her unable to play ever again. Then, for several years in a row, Slytherin's Head of House, Snape, had waved the Quidditch Cup around right in front of her. She was practically ready to explode.

If one had to describe the players' current spirit, it was like hungry lions opening their jaws, just waiting to see who was unlucky enough to walk in.

"Kano, I'm playing against Slytherin tomorrow."

"Want me to give you some encouragement?" Kano thought for a moment. "Your physical fitness is better than most students', and you don't need to hold back against Slytherin."

Harry did not understand, so Kano had to explain, "You've been reading Fantastic Quidditch for days. You should have learned all those foul moves by now."

"We're not bad people, but if Slytherin refuses to take a hint, give them a few dirty tricks."

Harry returned to the common room in a daze and opened Fantastic Quidditch again, as though a whole new world had opened before him.

The next day, the Quidditch pitch was thunderous with noise—gongs and drums, banners waving, crowds packed shoulder to shoulder.

The boys and girls who normally did nothing but eat and sleep finally had a chance to unleash their passion.

Some transformed into armchair experts, babbling endlessly about the game, while others painted their faces in their House colors and became proper fans.

As Kano watched the Gryffindor stands turn into a sea of gold and red, he could not help hearing an impassioned cry in his ears: "Damn it, give us our money back!"

He quickly shook his head, dispelling the auditory hallucination. Then Kano heard an armchair expert beside him saying something like, "A draw would count as a victory."

Fortunately, that overexcited armchair expert was swiftly suppressed by the united efforts of the Gryffindor students.

The rules of Quidditch were as follows. Three Chasers competed with the opposing team for the Quaffle, scoring ten points each time they threw it through the other side's goal hoops. Two Beaters hit the Bludgers flying all over the field at opposing players while protecting their own side from Bludger attacks.

As for Harry, the Seeker, his job was to find the Golden Snitch. Catching it earned one hundred and fifty points and ended the match.

At the sound of the whistle, the match quickly began. Gryffindor, dressed in bright red uniforms, and Slytherin, dressed in green, entered the field, shook hands, and took to the air.

Ron, Dean, and Seamus held up a banner reading "POTTER WILL WIN," while Hermione used magic to make it shine even more brightly.

After thinking for a moment, Kano pointed his wand at his throat and cast an Amplifying Charm, magnifying his voice.

Lee Jordan, a friend of the twins, was in the commentator's box giving live commentary under McGonagall's supervision.

"The Quaffle has been caught by Gryffindor's Angelina—what a charming young lady!"

"Jordan!"

McGonagall's warning drifted faintly over, and Jordan had no choice but to skip over his praise for Angelina.

The match was fierce. The Quaffle was passed and intercepted again and again, until Angelina dodged a Bludger hit by Slytherin and threw the Quaffle in her hand through Slytherin's guarded goal.

"Wonderful! Good girl, Gryffindor scores!"

Jordan showered her with praise from the commentator's box, and Gryffindor erupted in cheers.

A wave of boos rose from Slytherin's side. Then, a lion's roar suddenly rang out from the Gryffindor stands. Slytherin's boos died in their throats, and Gryffindor cheered once more.

Ron, who had been wondering why Kano was so quiet, threw an arm around Kano's shoulders. "Mate, do that again! That was awesome!"

Every time Gryffindor scored, Kano let out a thunderous roar. Gryffindor's advantage steadily grew, both in score and in momentum.

As Seeker, Harry continued circling the field. Flint, Slytherin's hulking idiot of a captain, kept his eyes fixed on him, but he simply could not match Harry's speed and could only eat dust behind him.

Harry was distracted several times by flashes from stray objects, until at last, he saw the Golden Snitch.

Harry immediately prepared to dive, but his broom suddenly stopped obeying him and began shaking violently in midair.

Kano turned his gaze toward Snape and Quirrell. One in front of the other, both of them were staring at Harry and muttering under their breaths.

By now, every spectator knew something was wrong with Harry's broom. They watched anxiously as Harry battled his own broom in the air.

If anyone from the Nimbus company had been present, they probably would have collapsed onto the ground and started twitching just like that broom.

Hermione looked toward Snape through her binoculars. She believed Snape was chanting a spell at Harry and prepared to squeeze through the crowd to stop him.

Kano had no intention of letting Snape remain under suspicion. Though he truly disliked the man, Snape was at least trying to stop Quirrell from hurting Harry right now.

Kano tapped his throat with his wand again, reducing the range of his voice to the smallest possible area. He took a deep breath and let out a full-force ROAR! Quirrell, within the range of the attack, immediately doubled over and clutched his ears.

Harry's broom instantly returned to normal. He dove at high speed, leveled out just above the ground, then finally fell off his broom and rolled several times across the dirt.

The entire stadium waited in silence for him to raise his hand. Instead, he gagged twice and spat the Golden Snitch out of his mouth.

The Gryffindor kids erupted in cheers. Hats, scarves, and textbooks tossed out amid the chaos all flew into the air.

From the commentary box, Jordan said in a sarcastic tone, "Time is running out for Slytherin." For the first time, Kano was delighted to hear those words.

Hermione covered her ears and shouted into Ron and Kano's ears.

"Later, we need to talk!"

"I don't think Harry will have any time before tonight!"

Ron shouted back at the top of his lungs. Gryffindor's enthusiastic fans had already rushed onto the field and were tossing their team members into the air with a dozen hands.

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