Best Seat

Harry was very nervous. He felt like a sausage hanging from the rafters in winter.

The cold wind howled as he stood in the players' tunnel, thinking about Snape, who would soon appear before him as the referee.

When he gritted his teeth and stepped out, he was greeted by Gryffindor's enthusiastic cheers. He saw the old wizard standing conspicuously in the stands.

Dumbledore had come.

Harry began running excitedly. He knew he was safe now—Snape would never dare pull anything in front of Dumbledore.

"Snape's face looks awful. I really want to watch it a little longer." Ron laughed as he slung his arms around Kano and Neville's shoulders. Kano heard Hermione let out a long sigh of relief.

"Ow!" Ron was jabbed in the back of the head. He immediately turned around and found Malfoy and his two lackeys.

"My apologies, Weasley. I didn't see you."

Malfoy sat down behind them with Crabbe and Goyle. Kano gave the three of them a pitying look.

"Neville, do you know what kind of person is the most pathetic?"

Neville shook his head in confusion, and Kano jerked his chin backward.

"You'll understand in a moment."

When Snape gave Hufflepuff a penalty shot for no reason at all, Malfoy's voice sounded from behind them.

"How long do you think Potter can stay on that broom of his today? Want to make a bet, Weasley?"

No one responded to him. Malfoy laughed as though he had won, while his two lackeys joined in with wheezing, bellows-like laughter.

A few minutes later, Snape called a foul on Gryffindor, and Malfoy opened his mouth again.

"Do you know how Gryffindor picks its players? They pick whoever's most pathetic. Potter has no mum or dad, and Weasley has no money. Why didn't you join the team, Neville Longbottom? You clearly don't have a brain."

Neville clenched his fists and turned around. Ron kept his eyes on Harry while threatening Malfoy through gritted teeth.

"Malfoy, if you dare say one more word..."

Kano patted Neville, telling him to calm down.

"Neville, people who can't read the situation are the most pathetic."

Kano raised both hands and shouted, "Students, let's cheer for Gryffindor! Throw your scarves!"

The fired-up Gryffindors immediately responded, and a sea of red-and-gold scarves flew into the air.

Kano extended his wand and pointed it at the seats. The chairs beneath Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle suddenly began to grow.

The three were caught off guard and thrust into the air, crying out in terror. But their figures and screams were completely drowned out by the flying scarves and the deafening cheers.

Kano muttered several short spells. The scarves in midair were swept together by the wind and tightly wrapped around the three of them, forming a roaring lion-head sculpture.

Ron and Hermione could not help looking up. From their angle, they could see three people inside the lion's head, wrapped up like caterpillars and constantly wriggling.

"Kano, that was brilliant," Neville said happily. "Malfoy's mouth really is foul."

"It would've been one thing if they came looking for trouble, but didn't they notice that almost everyone around here is a Gryffindor student?"

Kano shook his head. He had used quite a bit of magic and sat down wearily. He had even deliberately left the three inside the sculpture a line of sight, so that they could clearly see what was happening on the pitch despite being restrained.

Free brain treatment. I really am such a good person.

As Kano was thinking that, Harry suddenly dived downward. Before Snape had the chance to favor Hufflepuff again, he saw Harry raise one arm high.

"We won! Harry caught the Snitch!"

Gryffindor erupted in celebration, and McGonagall happily set off fireworks with her wand.

Perhaps this year, she would finally no longer have to watch Snape parade around in front of her every day, clutching the Quidditch Cup like some sort of fetishist.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry, and Harry was sure it was a smile of gratification.

Wood dived down excitedly, rolled off his broom just above the ground, then rushed over and hoisted Harry into the air.

"We're ahead on total points! No one has ever ended a match this quickly, Harry! You've made history!"

Harry happily held up the Golden Snitch as the twins circled around him on their brooms, blowing shrill whistles.

"Let's congratulate Gryffindor! This year, Gryffindor is charging straight for the championship!" Jordan jumped onto the commentator's desk and waved his hands wildly. McGonagall no longer had the attention to spare for him.

Kano looked wistfully at the red-and-gold sea before him, while thinking of the football scene back home, which he had no idea when it would ever rise again.

Should I make some money later and go back home to start a team?

But running a team burns through money. Maybe I could start a dressed-chicken brand too and have them advertise each other. At least it'd help recoup some of the costs.

Shaking his head to stop his wandering thoughts, Kano waved his wand. The three tangled inside the lion's head dropped down with a thud. Malfoy was pinned firmly beneath his two lackeys and let out a heart-rending howl.

"Did I hear that wrong? Was someone shouting something about a nose?"

Hermione seemed to have heard something, but Neville firmly shook his head. "There was nothing. Let's go find Harry!"

An hour later, Harry left the locker room. He was planning to store his Nimbus 2000 in the broom shed before returning to the common room to enjoy everyone's cheers.

But at the entrance to the broom shed, he saw Snape, hooded and sneaking toward the Forbidden Forest.

That gait was far too distinctive. It always made people think of something like a jumping spider.

Harry mounted his broom again and silently followed him. When he stopped in the canopy of a beech tree, he heard Snape and Quirrell talking below.

"I... I don't know why you chose to meet here, Severus..."

"You know why, Quirrell. The matter of the Philosopher's Stone shouldn't be known to the students." Snape answered coldly. He stepped forward several paces, forcing Quirrell back against a large tree.

"Have you figured out how to get past that dog? Never mind. I don't care about your little secrets."

"I don't understand..."

"You understand perfectly well, Quirrell." Snape remained expressionless. "It won't be long. Once you've decided whom you serve, we'll have another talk."

With that, he pulled up his hood and headed toward the castle. Quirrell seemed scared stiff and did not move for a long while.

Harry flew lightly back to the castle. He pulled Ron and Hermione out of the celebrating crowd, found an empty classroom, and told them everything he had heard.

"Our analysis was right. That thing really is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape really does want it." Harry delivered his conclusion decisively.

"If Snape has already found a way to deal with the Three-Headed Dog, why would he still threaten Quirrell?" Ron asked.

"Maybe Quirrell, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts expert, also took part in protecting the Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione guessed. "Maybe Snape is trying to pry those spells out of Quirrell."

"Then the Philosopher's Stone might be lost any moment now."

At Ron's words, the three of them thought of Quirrell's timid, shrinking appearance and sighed as they shook their heads.

"By the way, where's Kano?" Harry remembered his very first friend.

At that moment, Kano was sitting in the headmaster's office with a teacup in hand, looking awkwardly at a dish piled with wriggling Cockroach Clusters in front of him.

If you come across advertisements asking things like "Are you a real person?", there is no need to pay attention to them. Just close them; never scan the code or send a text message!