Quidditch Trouble

The Slytherin common room that evening.

The fire in the fireplace blazed brightly, bathing the entire hall in warmth. A few people were scattered across the dark green sofas—some reading, some playing chess, others chatting quietly. Outside the windows, the waters of the Black Lake flowed slowly through the night.

Malfoy had stood by the common room entrance for quite a while before finally gathering the courage to walk over.

He awkwardly approached Astoria, moving slowly, stopping every couple of steps as if unsure whether to continue. His eyes were fixed on her ears, which were still red, with a faint mark left behind.

"What's wrong, Draco?" Astoria was still as cheerful as ever. She sat on the sofa, swinging her legs back and forth, holding an open textbook that she clearly was not reading.

Malfoy stood before her, opened his mouth, then closed it again. Several seconds passed before he finally forced out a sentence. "Are you okay today? Oh, I mean... how have your studies been lately? I... I can lend you my notes too..." His voice grew quieter and quieter.

Astoria blinked her wide eyes at Malfoy. "Draco, Theodore already lent me his! What's wrong with you?"

Malfoy's face turned even redder. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but not a single word came out. He pulled his hand from his pocket, stuffed it back in, then pulled it out again. He stood there in utter embarrassment.

Astoria suddenly looked up curiously, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed Malfoy on the cheek. Then she ran away. After a few steps, she turned back with a giggle. "Hehehe, Draco is so strange today!"

Malfoy stood frozen in place as though someone had cast a Full Body-Bind Curse on him. He raised a hand to touch the cheek she had kissed, lowered it again, then raised it once more.

Behind the wall, Su Yu smacked his own forehead. Malfoy was done for. In front of Astoria, he really was like a raw recruit, getting played like a dog. Su Yu nearly burst out laughing and hurriedly covered his mouth, but his shoulders still shook.

Blaise was sprawled against the wall, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He buried his face in his arms, shoulders trembling violently, occasionally letting out a muffled snicker. He lifted his head to glance at Malfoy, then dropped back down and kept laughing.

Daphne could only sigh helplessly. She sat on a nearby sofa with a cup of tea in hand, watching her younger sister run away with the expression of someone who had known this would happen. The little rascal had been mischievous since childhood and had never settled down at home. All Daphne could do was silently pray for Malfoy, hoping he would survive what lay ahead.

Theodore had gone to meet his little girlfriend, so he was not around. Blaise really wished he could drag him here to witness their young master Malfoy, hahaha.

Before long, Fa-jie and Ka-jie returned from leading the team's training. After changing clothes and entering the common room, they heard Su Yu's account. Fa-jie laughed so hard she collapsed onto Su Yu's shoulder, while Ka-jie clutched her stomach and leaned against the sofa.

Only Pansy's world had been hurt. She had gone out to train for a while, and her home had been robbed...

She sat beside the fireplace with a teacup in hand. Her gaze crossed the common room and landed on Malfoy. He sat on the sofa, still touching that side of his face. Pansy watched him for three seconds, then lowered her head, took a sip of tea, and spat it out.

Time passed bit by bit. During this period, the Slytherin first-years had improved greatly as well. Every evening, they could be seen in the common room practicing spells. Though they were not yet proficient, they were far better than when school had first started. Su Yu had also issued them Slytherin-exclusive badges infused with Kurama's and his own power. Whenever a first-year received one, their eyes shone like twin stars.

During this time, Su Yu had borrowed Ginny's diary and returned Luna's radish earrings to her.

That afternoon, Su Yu found Ginny in the corridor. She stood alone by a window, absorbed in the old diary in her hands. Sunlight streamed through the glass and fell over her red hair, making it seem as though it had been gilded in gold.

"Ginny," Su Yu called.

Ginny looked up, and when she saw Su Yu, her face immediately turned red. She hastily snapped the diary shut and hid it behind her back, moving as though she had been caught doing something shameful.

"Su... Su Yu, why are you here?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Su Yu walked over and plainly told her why he had come.

Ginny was reluctant to part with the diary, but since Su Yu wanted to borrow it, she still handed it over with a red face. After taking the notebook, Su Yu told Ginny the truth as well.

Ginny was terrified. She clung to Su Yu and nearly cried, but then she realized something was wrong. Her diary could not talk, and her father had bought this notebook for her. Sniffling, Ginny asked whether Su Yu had made a mistake.

Su Yu was completely confused. That could not be right. He quickly opened the diary and discovered that it was packed with Ginny's love confessions to herself. Ginny stopped crying beside him, but her face grew redder and redder. Oh no, my secret has been discovered... Should I get rid of him...? Ginny thought wildly.

Su Yu also realized something was wrong. This was not Voldemort's diary! Where had that diary gone?

He then asked Ginny about what had happened in Diagon Alley during the summer. He learned that the incident had indeed occurred, but Ginny had not ended up with the diary.

At this point, Su Yu had no idea where the diary had gone. He could only hug Ginny again, planning to take her diary back and inspect it carefully.

Su Yu placed his hand on top of her head and gently rubbed it. Only then did Ginny's muddled mind slowly recover. She raised her head, her eyes red, the tip of her nose red too, her face covered in tear tracks.

"It's okay now," Su Yu said. "I'll take the notebook. I'm really glad you're fine. What happened today was my fault. I apologize for making you worry for so long. Another day, I'll take you to the Slytherin common room to see the giant squid!"

Ginny nodded, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and stood up. She kept her head lowered in silence for a long while before taking a small bag from her pocket and stuffing it into Su Yu's hand.

"These are the gummies I made," she said, her voice still a little hoarse. "You... take them back and eat them."

Su Yu accepted the bag and opened it for a look.

"You're amazing! Thanks, Ginny," Su Yu said.

Ginny shook her head and ran off. After several steps, she stopped and looked back at Su Yu. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely waved at him before disappearing around the corridor corner.

Things were much the same with Luna.

Su Yu stopped Luna after one Charms class. She was carrying a stack of books, humming a tune Su Yu had never heard before, her dreamy gaze fixed on the corridor windows as though she were watching something nobody else could see.

"Luna," Su Yu called.

Luna stopped and turned around. Her gray-blue eyes looked calmly at Su Yu as she tilted her head like a curious little bird.

"Su Yu," she said softly, "you smell like gummies today."

Su Yu froze for a moment, then took the pair of radish earrings from his pocket and handed them to her. "These are yours, right? I found them in Switzerland. I'm returning them now."

The instant Luna saw the earrings, she froze completely.

Something changed in those eyes that were always so distant and empty.

She accepted the earrings and held them in her palms, lowering her head to look at them for a long, long time. Her fingers gently brushed over the tiny radishes.

"I thought... I thought I'd lost them..." Luna's voice was very soft. "I looked for them for a very long time..."

"These were... left to me by my mother."

Her eyes reddened, and then she could no longer hold back. She hugged Su Yu tightly. Her body was so light that hugging her felt like holding a ball of cotton. Her face was buried in Su Yu's shoulder, and her shoulders trembled faintly. She made no sound, but Su Yu could feel her tears soaking his robes.

It was not that she did not care. She simply endured things in her own way.

"Thank you," Luna said, her voice muffled against his shoulder, small and soft.

Su Yu patted her back. "You're welcome."

Luna let him go and took a step back, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. She put the earrings back on, touched the pendants, and smiled. The smile was faint, but beautiful.

"I'll keep them safe from now on," Luna said.

Su Yu nodded and turned to leave. After a few steps, Luna's voice called from behind him. "Su Yu."

He turned around.

"You're a good person." Luna's expression was very serious when she said it, her gray-blue eyes looking straight at him.

Su Yu smiled. "I know."

Luna smiled again, waved at him, and turned toward the Ravenclaw common room.

Su Yu stood in the corridor, touching the diary in his pocket, then the bag of gummies.

During Friday's Charms class, Professor Flitwick stood atop a pile of books and explained the Lumos spell.

"Everyone, watch my wand movement carefully," Professor Flitwick said. His voice was squeaky but patient. "Your wrist needs to be flexible, not stiff. When you say the incantation, press the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth..."

Everyone raised their wands and began practicing. Soon, small clusters of light appeared all around the classroom.

Ron's wand suddenly exploded as he cast the spell. It flew past Hermione's hair—Hermione shrank back in fright as the gust sent her hair fluttering—then struck Professor Flitwick squarely on the forehead.

Professor Flitwick had been standing on tiptoe, watching every movement the children made. The blow sent him staggering backward, nearly toppling him from the pile of books. He steadied himself against the blackboard and looked up, a large swollen purple-black lump rising from his forehead.

The classroom fell silent for one second. Then the little Slytherin snakes erupted with laughter. Malfoy laughed so hard he sprawled over his desk, Crabbe laughed until he dropped his wand, and Goyle laughed so hard that he knocked over the ink bottle on his desk, spilling ink everywhere.

Professor Flitwick lost his temper for the rare occasion. His face turned bright red, his lips trembled, and he pointed at Ron. His voice was sharp and piercing. "Mr. Weasley! You—you—Gryffindor loses twenty points!"

Ron's face was as red as his hair. He lowered his head, wanting to explain, but not a single word came out. Harry patted his shoulder from beside him, while Hermione sighed and tucked her windblown hair behind her ear.

Saturday arrived.

Since Ka-jie was taking the Slytherin Quidditch team out to train, she dragged Su Yu out of bed early to accompany her.

Su Yu poked his head out from the blankets and rubbed his eyes. Kurama was still curled up under the covers, with only the tip of his nose exposed.

"Can't you go by yourself?" Su Yu's voice came from beneath the blankets.

"No." Ka-jie's tone brooked no argument. "Hurry up. You're my boyfriend, aren't you?"

Su Yu sighed and climbed out of bed. Kurama mumbled something beneath the covers, turned over, and continued sleeping.

After washing up, Su Yu stumbled drowsily out of the common room and found a whole group of people already waiting outside.

Daphne leaned against the wall, holding a cup of hot tea. She looked as though she had been up for quite some time. When she saw Su Yu emerge, she held the cup out to him.

"Have something warm. It's cold outside," Daphne said.

Su Yu accepted the teacup and took a sip. It was steaming black tea with a little honey in it. He gave Daphne a grateful look. Daphne smiled and reached out to straighten his collar.

Pansy stood beside Daphne, hugging a copy of Quidditch Tactics Weekly. She glanced at Su Yu's half-asleep appearance and snorted. "Chief, are you really in any state to do this?"

"I'm not even playing Quidditch," Su Yu muttered again.

Astoria had arrived at some point as well. Dressed in a Slytherin scarf and gloves, she was excitedly pacing around the common room, her face full of anticipation.

Blaise leaned beside the fireplace with a cup of coffee, his expression plainly saying, I'm here to watch the show. Theodore stood beside him, adjusting his glasses with a blank expression, though Su Yu noticed that he was wearing new clothes today—probably because he had a date with his little girlfriend in the afternoon.

Goyle and Crabbe stood at the very back, each holding an enormous sandwich and eating breakfast. Their expressions were simple: food made them happy. Still, they had brought some for everyone, and Su Yu took one and started eating too.

The large group poured out of the castle. Together with Malfoy and the others from the Quidditch team, there were more than a dozen of them, marching grandly toward the Quidditch pitch.

The moment Su Yu reached the stands, he heard Wood's voice from far away.

Wood was saying that Colin Creevey, the little boy with the twisted camera taking photographs, was a spy sent by Slytherin. The vile little spy wanted to secretly photograph Gryffindor's tactics!

"But he's a Gryffindor," Harry hurriedly said, walking over to Wood and tugging at his sleeve.

"Slytherin doesn't need to send spies, Wood," George said, leaning against his broom.

"Why not?" Wood did not understand.

"Because they came themselves." George pointed to one side.

Ka-jie led several people in green jerseys, brooms slung over their shoulders, into the pitch.

"I don't believe it!" Wood said angrily in a low voice. "I booked the pitch today. Let's go see what's going on."

Wood shot down like an arrow and landed heavily on the ground, stumbling slightly as he dismounted his broom. Harry, Fred, and George followed close behind.

"Slytherin!" Wood shouted at the Slytherins. "This is our training time! We're having special practice, and you're not allowed to watch!"

Marcus Flint was even taller than Wood. "There's plenty of room here, Wood," he said in an intentionally provocative tone.

Pansy and Astoria also walked over and stood behind Malfoy, looking sideways at Wood.

"But I booked this pitch!" Wood was clearly furious. "I booked it first thing this morning."

"Oh?" Marcus said. "But I have a special authorization slip from Professor Snape." As he spoke, he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and shook it in front of Wood. It read: "I, Professor Snape, in light of the need to train a new player—the Seeker—hereby permit the Slytherin team to practice on the Quidditch pitch today."

"You found a new Seeker?" Wood's attention was diverted. "Where is he?"

A seventh person stepped out from behind the six tall figures. He was shorter, a smile spread across his pale face. His light blond hair was neatly combed, and his gray eyes gleamed in the morning light. His chin was slightly raised, while an almost-smile rested on his lips.

It was Draco Malfoy.

"You're Lucius Malfoy's son?" Wood said, glaring at Malfoy with disgust.

Malfoy's smile did not change, but he raised the Nimbus 2001 in his hand and smashed Wood to the ground with it. The movement was swift and vicious. Wood had no time to react before he was knocked backward and crashed heavily onto the ground. The back of his head struck the grass with a dull thud.

"Watch your mouth, trash," Malfoy said coldly.

Harry was dumbfounded. How had they suddenly started fighting? And was that how flying brooms were supposed to be used?

Fred and George hurriedly stood in front of Malfoy, blocking Wood from being hurt any further. Their expressions changed as well, losing their lazy smiles and hardening into something serious and angry. "What are you Slytherins trying to do?"

Malfoy spat. "No skill, yet you still act all high and mighty?"

Hermione and Ron rushed over at this point and helped Wood up. Grass and mud clung to Wood's face, and a lump had risen on the back of his head, but he gritted his teeth without crying out. Hermione brushed the dirt from him while Ron supported his arm.

"What happened?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you practicing? Why is Wood on the ground?"

"I'm Slytherin's new Seeker, Weasley," Malfoy said smugly, raising his chin even higher. "Wood is lying on the ground admiring the new brooms my father bought for our team!"

The Slytherin team burst into laughter.

Ron understood what had happened as well. Marcus and the others blocked Fred and George, and Ron drew his wand, pointing it at Malfoy. These Slytherins had gone too far—they had actually attacked someone?

Hermione had barely shouted, "Can't everyone just talk properly?" when a huge BANG echoed across the pitch. A burst of green light shot from the other end of Ron's wand and struck Ron directly in the stomach. Ron immediately fell straight backward and landed on the grass, his mouth hanging wide open and his eyes round with shock.

Before Malfoy could even use a Shield Charm, Ron had blasted himself. The Slytherin side immediately laughed even louder.

"Ron, Ron! Are you all right?" Hermione shrieked, crouching down and grabbing Ron's shoulders.

Ron opened his mouth wide, trying to speak, but no words came out. He coughed forcefully—and several slugs fell out of his mouth, dropping onto his lap.

The Slytherins were laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Marcus leaned against his brand-new broom, his body nearly bent into a bow. One hand clutched his stomach while the other braced against the broom to keep him upright. Malfoy was laughing so hard he had collapsed onto the grass, pounding the ground with both hands until tears streamed from his eyes.

The Gryffindors formed a circle around Ron. Fat, glistening slugs kept pouring from his mouth, one after another, landing on the ground, on his robes, and on the grass. Nobody dared to step forward to help him.

"We'd better take him to Hagrid's. It's closest," Harry told Hermione, then helped Ron up and led him away.

"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he sick? You can cure him, right?" Colin ran down from the stands, hopping around them with his camera held high, clicking the shutter nonstop.

At that moment, Ron opened his mouth wide, and a huge pile of slugs spilled down his chest, plopping onto the ground in a heap.

"Huh? Huh?" Colin hurriedly raised his camera. "Harry, can you hold him steady? I want to take a—"

"Go away, Colin!" Harry snapped. His voice was anxious and furious. Colin stumbled back in fright, nearly dropping his camera. Harry and Hermione supported Ron out of the pitch and headed toward the edge of the forest.

Su Yu and the others sat in the stands, watching the farce below without paying any attention to it. He leaned against Daphne, his eyes half-open as he watched the chaotic scene beneath them.

Wasn't children fighting perfectly normal?

Su Yu continued lying on Daphne's lap, lazily basking in the sun.