Victory in the Match

In the second month of the school year, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was sent to Azkaban.

A slight intervention in the plot had caused such a serious deviation. Gemini gained a profound understanding of the butterfly effect.

The consequences went beyond that, including for Hagrid.

He had been in a poor mood these past few days. On one hand, because Fluffy—his Three-Headed Dog—had been killed by Gemini. On the other, because the Three-Headed Dog he had raised had nearly harmed Gemini. Hagrid had been both grief-stricken and self-reproachful lately. After sincerely apologizing to Gemini, he had shut himself in his little hut for the past few days to reflect on his actions.

Then there was the fact that Snape had begun substituting for Defense Against the Dark Arts, while some of his Potions Class periods had been handed over to Professor Sprout. Though Professor Sprout primarily taught Herbology, she was also quite accomplished in potions.

Gemini had originally thought Snape was already busy enough teaching all seven years by himself and could not possibly have time to substitute for Defense Against the Dark Arts. The facts proved that he had underestimated Snape's enthusiasm for the subject.

After Quirrell was sent to Azkaban, the first-years' Defense Against the Dark Arts classes became combined classes attended by all four houses, while the upper-years' Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were covered by Professor Flitwick. Divided up this way, it was manageable.

In his previous life, Gemini had seen Hogwarts timetables on forums and message boards that were packed full, but that was not actually the case.

At Hogwarts, first-years did not have many classes. They had no more than three lessons a day, each lasting two hours, and Defense Against the Dark Arts was only held once a week.

Upper-years had quite a few electives, such as Divination and Muggle Studies. One teacher could still manage seven year groups, but covering another teacher's classes was somewhat difficult. Without help from Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall, Snape and Professor Flitwick would not have been able to spare time to substitute for Defense Against the Dark Arts either.

Besides, while there were not many classes each day, the homework was enough to drive one to despair. At Hogwarts, assignments were turned in once a week—and measured by length...

After November arrived, the weather became bitterly cold. The mountains surrounding the school looked gray and bleak beneath their cover of ice and snow.

The heavy workload and cold weather made the students increasingly irritable, but the mood did not last long. A piece of news soon stirred them up again.

The Quidditch season had begun!

The first match would be Gryffindor versus Slytherin, followed by Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw.

Which meant Gemini would soon step onto the Quidditch pitch as a Seeker.

"Good luck, Lord Fox."

"We firmly believe you will claim the final victory."

"Gemini, you're definitely better than Harry Potter!"

The little Slytherin snakes all spoke so pleasantly. Whether Gemini felt awkward or not, they just kept praising him relentlessly.

"There are over seven hundred kinds of fouls in Quidditch, and every single one appeared during a World Cup match in 1473—damn it, what exactly happened in that match?"

Early Wednesday morning, Gemini ate grilled fish slices while flipping through Quidditch Through the Ages.

"I heard the first referee death happened after that match," Draco said. "But it did not happen much after that. The Ministry of Magic is very strict about this sort of thing."

"Being a referee really is difficult," Gemini said with a smile.

Flap, flap—

A rush of wings sounded overhead. A large flock of owls flew in through the Great Hall's skylights, dropping packages to their respective young owners.

Several long-eared owls caught Gemini's attention. They were carrying the same package together—a long box.

There was no need to think about it. It was most likely a Flying Broomstick.

Which lucky person had received that?

Resting his chin on his hand, Gemini looked around curiously.

Then six long-eared owls dove down and dropped the package in front of Gemini, knocking over his plate of grilled fish slices.

"For me?" Gemini was immediately surprised.

Judging by the address and name marked on the package, there was no doubt that it had been mailed to Gemini.

Gemini opened the box, and sure enough, there was a Flying Broomstick inside.

It was a brand-new Nimbus 2000, with gleaming red paint and smooth twigs. It also came with a broom maintenance kit and a note.

'If you fail to win the championship, you can pay me back slowly.

—Severus Snape'

"Uh..."

Swallowing awkwardly, Gemini's feelings were extremely complicated.

On one hand, he was grateful for Snape's gift. On the other, he could not help feeling exasperated by Snape's awkward personality...

How was he supposed to tactfully tell him that he already had a faster, better Flying Broomstick?

After thinking it over, Gemini decided to forget it.

As long as they won the match, Snape probably would not care about such details.

At last, Saturday arrived.

Today was the day Gryffindor and Slytherin would play.

By around ten-thirty in the morning, the stands around the entire Quidditch pitch were already packed.

Yet only a quarter of the stands were green. The other three quarters were a sea of red...

"It feels like an away game..."

In the locker room, Gemini changed into Slytherin's green uniform.

"That's normal." Drian laughed. "When we play Gryffindor, the stands are red. When we play Ravenclaw, they're blue. When we play Hufflepuff, they're yellow. To us, their support does not matter at all. Victory is our ultimate goal."

Gemini smiled. "Sounds like you're confident?"

"Not at all."

Drian shrugged. "Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw would be fine, but Gryffindor... I hate those restless fools, but honestly, there's quite a gap between our teams."

Gemini nodded, sweeping his gaze over the faces of the other bulky, dim-witted-looking players on the team. "I can tell."

Drian sighed. "Their lineup is too perfect, especially the coordination among their three female Chasers. You should see it—it's practically an art form. Why are the girls in our house all so delicate?"

"Either way, do your best." Gemini stretched lazily. "Within the rules, play a little rough. Use something like the Transylvanian Tackle. If the gap in strength is truly too great, everyone fall back on defense. I'll end the match as quickly as possible."

There was something commanding in Gemini's words, yet no one objected. Whether in Quidditch skill or personal combat ability, Gemini had every qualification to completely dominate this team.

With a wave of his hand, he took out the Nimbus 2000 and handed it to Drian. "Ride this during the match."

Drian was instantly startled. "How can I? You're the Seeker. You're the core of our strategy in this match."

"I'll ride this." Gemini took the Firebolt from his storage space.

Drian opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but ultimately closed it again.

Though he did not know what kind of broom Gemini had taken out, its top-tier craftsmanship made its extraordinary quality obvious.

Besides, Drian did not really dare to defy Gemini's wishes.

Finally, under countless watchful eyes, Gemini walked out of the locker room with the Firebolt slung over his shoulder. The three Chasers, two Beaters, and one Keeper formed two rows behind him.

Cheers thundered from the stands, though most of them were for the opposing team.

Gemini saw Harry standing nervously beside Wood among the Gryffindor players.

Madam Hooch stood at the center of the pitch, holding her Flying Broomstick as she waited for both teams to get into position.

"Listen, I expect everyone to play fairly and honestly!"

Madam Hooch swept an eagle-eyed gaze across them. "Now, mount your brooms."

Gemini was not riding his Nimbus 2000?

Harry mounted his broom, staring intently at the Firebolt beneath Gemini.

He did not know what kind of broom it was, but his instincts made him pay close attention to it.

Before he could think any further, a streak of golden light shot into the air. It was the Golden Snitch, already released. Then the two Bludgers rose into the sky, and Madam Hooch tossed the Quaffle high into the air as well.

The next second, Madam Hooch blew her whistle. In the blink of an eye, fifteen brooms soared high into the sky—the match had begun!

"Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor immediately takes possession of the Quaffle—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and she's rather attractive too—"

In the teachers' stands, Lee Jordan, the twins' close friend, was commentating on the match. He was a Black boy with a sharp tongue and an endless stream of chatter, Hogwarts' Quidditch commentator.

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall called sternly.

"Sorry, Professor." Jordan wisely stopped himself. Then his eyes widened. "Good heavens, what is that?"

"Slytherin's Seeker, Gemini Fox, is flying at an utterly unreasonable speed. What broom is that? It is leaving Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 far behind. He's spotted the Golden Snitch!"

"He's locked onto the Golden Snitch from the very start! Good heavens, what kind of eyes does he have?!"

"Gryffindor's Beaters, Fred and George, have launched a double strike. That's a vicious Bludger, and it's flying straight at Gemini's head. He hasn't reacted at all. Is he too focused? I'm guessing he might use the Sloth Grip Roll to dodge this—"

Bang!

"Oh—Merlin's rusty triangular underwear! He punched the Bludger apart with his bare hand! How did he do that? Is this guy even human? I'd guess one of his ancestors mated with a dragon!"

"Jordan—" Professor McGonagall's stern voice rang out again.

"Does that count as a foul—well, Madam Hooch says play continues! The spare Bludger is airborne!"

"At this very moment, Harry is tightly on Gemini's tail. No one expected the two Seekers to begin chasing from the very start of the match. The distance between Harry and Gemini is steadily widening. During this time, Angelina slips past Adrian Pucey's interception and scores the first goal of the match! Gemini is closer to the Golden Snitch! The Golden Snitch is making a sharp turn, can he—he caught the Golden Snitch!!"

"One minute after the match began, Gemini caught the Golden Snitch! Slytherin wins this match, 150 to 10!"

The next instant, Slytherin's cheers echoed throughout the entire stadium!

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