Third-Year Quidditch Final
Thank you Feifeifei Nuonuo, for the gift! I added it here because there wasn't enough space in the title. Thank you! Next up is the third part of the original story. Since nothing major actually happened in the original third part, I added this part of the story to the third grade. I will also change the fourth grade part into a big battle between eight schools.
Su Yu patted Kurama's head. He needed to comfort both the heartbroken Hermione and the irritable Kurama Fox at the same time, even though his crystal ball was also just a cloud of white mist, and nothing had happened.
But Harry's — Su Yu glanced at it—in that instant, something seemed to surge within the shadows of the crystal ball, like a condensing outline, but when he looked closely, the white mist obscured everything.
"I saw— Dementor." Harry's tone was uncertain.
"You said you saw Dementor?" Professor Trelawney's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet classroom. "Mr. Potter, darkness lurks in your destiny... a shadow lurking beside you, someone who once betrayed their closest loved ones."
Hermione could no longer contain herself. She pushed aside the crystal ball and stood up. "Professor Trelawney, these Prophecy are completely unreliable."
The classroom fell silent instantly, and all eyes turned to Hermione.
"What I see is the truth." Professor Trelawney adjusted her glasses. "Your questioning precisely exposes your spiritual deficiency. Some people never reach that door in their entire lives—you are clearly one of them."
Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it. She remained silent for a few seconds, then placed the crystal ball on the table. Her voice was soft, but firm. "I'm giving up on this course."
"What did you say?" Professor Trelawney was unusually taken aback.
"I said I'm dropping this class." Hermione picked up her bag from the table without turning around. "I'm going to take Arithmancy instead. At least that class has logic, data, and conclusions, instead of wasting an afternoon on some people's mystical stuff."
She pushed open the classroom door, her curly ponytail disappearing into the dimly lit corridor. Professor Trelawney stood there, her mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time. No one else in the classroom uttered a sound. Harry stared at the doorway with a complicated expression. Daphne lowered her head and pushed the crystal ball away.
Su Yu leaned back in his chair, Kurama peeked out from his arms, looking in the direction Hermione had gone.
"She's gone," said the Kurama.
"I know."
"Aren't you going to chase after them?"
"No need," Su Yu said. "If she doesn't like to learn something, she doesn't have to. She can just learn what she likes. I've been wanting to say this for a while now: she doesn't need to work so hard."
Kurama snorted. Why did she have to learn things she didn't want to learn? Just because she had to help him, the lazybones, write his thesis? She was about to slam the table!
The wind blew through the windows of the North Tower, billowing the curtains and revealing the gray Sky Void outside... The fire in the fireplace crackled, and the crystal balls gleamed dimly in the candlelight.
Professor Trelawney returned to the front of the class, picked up her sherry, and took a sip. "Well then, let's continue the lesson..." Her voice trembled slightly, but she quickly regained her rambling tone. Ron leaned closer to the crystal ball, winking and making faces, while Harry stared blankly at the doorway for a long while.
"Oh!" Lavender exclaimed suddenly, startling everyone. "Oh! Professor Trelawney, I remember now! You foresaw her departure, didn't you, Professor? 'Around Easter, one of us will leave us forever!' You said it all along, Professor!"
Professor Trelawney gave her a tearful smile.
"Yes, darling, I did know long ago that Miss Granger was going to leave us. But one always hopes that one has misread the signs... Sometimes, Third Eye is a burden, you know..."
Lavender and Parvati looked utterly impressed; they shifted their seats to make room for Professor Trelawney at their table.
The Quidditch final began on the second Saturday after Easter, with Ravenclaw facing Slytherin.
The ownership of this year's Quidditch Cup rests on this one match. If Slytherin wins, the cup stays with Slytherin; Ravenclaw Ravenclaw, they will lift the championship trophy they haven't touched in seventeen years.
In May, Hogwarts was covered in a layer of new green. Tender leaves sprouted from the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, and ripples occasionally spread across the lake. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, casting patches of golden light on the lawn. The Quidditch Pitch were divided into two camps by blue and green flags: the Slytherin flags were embroidered with snakes, Ravenclaw flags with eagles.
Su Yu carried Kurama up to the Slytherin stands, where they found an empty seat in the top row.
"Why are you sitting so high up?" Daphne asked, puzzled.
"I can see it clearly."
"I'll be thankful as long as he doesn't start grilling the meat again..." Fa-jie joked from the side.
Kurama jumped down from his arms, ran to Ka-jie's side, and squatted on the railing, her tail wagging back and forth. Her amber eyes were fixed on the court. The wind blew from the Forbidden Forest, making her fur flutter backward, and she squinted.
More and more people gathered in the stands. Pansy sat in the first row, her scarf pulled down to her chin, clutching a Slytherin flag. Crabbe and Goyle sat next to her, each holding a bag of Fizzing Whizzbees and stuffing it into their mouths. Astoria sat next to Pansy, wearing a light blue robe, her hair loose, holding no flag, but shouting loudly with Pansy for Malfoy.
In the Gryffindor stands, Harry sat next to Hermione, craning his neck to look towards Ravenclaw. Ron sat on Harry's other side, chewing on Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. After a couple of chews, his expression changed, and he spat out a gray bean. "Earwax flavor." He stuffed the rest of the beans back into his pocket.
Hermione ignored him; her gaze swept across the field and landed on the girl with the ponytail in the Ravenclaw team — Cho Chang, a fifth-grader and Ravenclaw's Seeker.
Referee Madam Hooch stood in the center of the field, whistle in her mouth. The two captains—Roger Davis of Ravenclaw and Marcus Flint of Slytherin —stood face to face, glared at each other, and shook hands.
The moment the whistle blew, fourteen brooms were simultaneously launched into the Sky Void.
Slytherin team got the first move. Montague slithered past Ravenclaw's Chaser like a snake, holding the Quaffle Chambers under his arm. Pucey rushed in from the other side, and with a glance between the two, the ball flew from Montague's hand to Pucey's.
Before the Ravenclaw goalkeeper could react, Pucey flicked his wrist, and the Quaffle arced through the goal ring with pinpoint accuracy.
"Oh my God, ten to zero! Slytherin are in the lead!" Commentator Lee Jordan's voice boomed across the stadium.
Pansy screamed while waving a green flag. Crabbe and Goyle stood up and waved their fists. Goyle was still holding half a bag of Fizzing Whizzbees, which he didn't even notice was scattered all over the ground. Malfoy flew out of the line and raised his chin toward the stands.
Ravenclaw didn't panic. Their captain Davis, shouted from above, and the blue-clad team quickly adjusted their formation. Cho Chang Qiu hovered high in the air, holding a broom handle, her hair fluttering in the wind.
She didn't look at the Quaffle; her gaze was fixed on the airspace behind the Slytherin goalposts— the Golden Snitch hadn't appeared yet, but she was already flying, and from high above, her trajectory resembled an eagle catching its net.
Slytherin's offensive became increasingly fierce. Montague and Pucey's passing speed was so fast that Ravenclaw's Chaser had no time to react. Although Flint's ball-finding skills were average, his physique gave him a huge advantage when vying for the Quaffle, and he could knock Ravenclaw players away with every collision.
Less than ten minutes later, Montague scored again, and Pucey followed up with one of his own, bringing the score to 30-0. Some people in the Ravenclaw stands began to feel uneasy.