Ye Ting's Opening Match and Fast Break

A week after Gryffindor defeated Slytherin, the second Quidditch match began.

Ordinarily, in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup, the match that drew the largest crowd was usually Gryffindor versus Slytherin, because matches between these two bitter rival Houses were the fiercest and most exciting.

However, this time, that tradition was overturned.

This match was Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff, yet the number of spectators far exceeded that of the previous match. Many girls who normally had no interest in Quidditch eagerly joined in as well, and this flock of chattering beauties made the Quidditch stands far noisier than usual.

That was because this was the first Quidditch match involving Hogwarts' universally acknowledged heartthrob—Ye Ting.

Looking around, nearly every stand had become a sea of blue and bronze. The girls held banners bearing Ye Ting's name high overhead. Because of Ye Ting, the Ravenclaw team received unprecedented popularity—apart from some Hufflepuff and Slytherin students. The former supported their own House, while the latter looked down on Muggles out of pure-blood prejudice.

In any case, the Ravenclaw players benefited from it. They proudly followed Ye Ting onto the pitch, continuously waving to the stands and receiving wave after wave of cheers.

"This makes me feel like I'm competing in the Quidditch World Cup," Cho Chang muttered in Ye Ting's ear, looking somewhat indignant—she was probably thinking: Ye Ting is mine alone. You shameless hussies, stop screaming and shouting.

Hufflepuff's captain was its Seeker, Cedric Diggory. This tall, handsome boy also served as a Hufflepuff prefect.

Before Ye Ting came to Hogwarts, Cedric had been one of the most popular boys in the school. He excelled in looks, academics, and sports.

Of course, in the original story, Diggory also became Cho Chang's boyfriend during Harry's fourth year—coincidentally, Cho was now facing him as Ravenclaw's Seeker—but that plot was surely no longer possible.

When Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, both sides took to the air, and the match officially began.

With his lightning-fast reflexes, Ye Ting seized the Quaffle thrown high into the air at the very first moment and nimbly dodged the players fighting for it.

The next instant, he shot forward like lightning, pushing his speed to the limit in an instant. Before the Hufflepuff players could react, Ye Ting had already charged into the scoring area.

Only the Keeper instinctively flew forward to intercept him, but it was already too late.

Driven by momentum and the strength of his arm, the Quaffle whizzed straight into the middle hoop.

Ye Ting turned away stylishly, leaving behind a completely bewildered Keeper.

Lee Jordan's rhythmic commentary rang out from the stands. "A beautiful fast break—Ravenclaw scores—the scorer is Ravenclaw's new Chaser, our beloved Ye Ting—his speed is unmatched—I really wonder why he isn't a Seeker—Hufflepuff's Keeper still hasn't reacted—he must be thinking, 'What just happened? Am I still asleep?' Oh! Even better, less than ten seconds have passed since the match began. That's the fastest goal I've ever seen."

A score within ten seconds of the opening immediately ignited the crowd. Screams and cheers mixed with cries of "Ye Ting," as though they might overturn the entire spectator stand.

Ye Ting could see Hermione and Penelope cheering loudly in the Ravenclaw stands. In the Gryffindor section, Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hagrid were cheering for him as well—ever since Ye Ting had saved Harry during the match, the two of them had thought very highly of him.

"He's too fast. We need someone to mark him closely." Diggory's expression was rather grim. Ye Ting had given them a harsh blow the moment he appeared, catching him completely off guard and forcing him to change tactics on the spot.

However, they soon learned that one-on-one marking was simply no match for a true expert.

After Hufflepuff restarted play, the Quaffle was passed back and forth between the Chasers. The Hufflepuff players planned to use passing to draw their opponents' attention and pull apart their defensive line.

Such passing tactics were certainly effective, but they demanded a high degree of coordination from the players, because such frequent passing could easily lead to mistakes.

The Hufflepuff players had decent chemistry, but they were not professional players after all. Ye Ting soon spotted an opening.

When one of the Chasers prepared to pass the Quaffle to another player, a slight mistake in coordination left too much distance between them, giving Ye Ting an opportunity to exploit.

Jordan was still chattering away in his commentary. "The Hufflepuff team is passing smoothly among themselves, looking for an attacking opportunity. Oh! They've hurled a Bludger hard at Ravenclaw's Ye Ting—beautiful—he easily dodges the Bludger with just a tilt of his head, how dashing. Oh! My goodness, what did I just see? An interception—Hufflepuff has been intercepted—who did it? Ye Ting again! With just one burst of speed, he neatly stole Hufflepuff's Quaffle. I've never seen such a clean, decisive interception—"

At a time like this, Lee Jordan's hoarse commentary was no longer needed. A wave of gasps rose from the young wizards in the stands as everyone stared fixedly at that black-and-blue bolt of lightning.