A Minor Quidditch Incident

"Eli!"

Harry and the other two ran to Eli's bedside.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not bad." Eli handed them the last box of Every Flavor Beans and took out a box of Chocolate Frogs for himself.

"It just feels like I got whacked by a troll's club."

Eli shifted his body. He was mainly just weak. Right now, he missed the Centaur tribe's restorative potion terribly. Otherwise, he would already be able to get out of bed and move around freely.

"No, Eli. I think if a troll had hit you with a club, you probably wouldn't be feeling anything anymore."

"Oh, what a terrible joke."

Ron Weasley instinctively snapped back at Hermione Granger again, though it really was not very funny.

But Hermione Granger only rolled her eyes at him. The two of them were no longer as confrontational as before.

Eli looked at the trio, who had grown much friendlier, with great satisfaction. It seemed that after their life-or-death encounter with the troll, they had built up enough friendship.

Hermione Granger walked solemnly to Eli's bedside and pressed her lips together. "Eli, I want to formally apologize to all of you. I shouldn't have been so willful yesterday. I shouldn't have... blah blah blah."

Seeing the young witch about to launch into a formal apology speech, Eli's head began to ache.

"Alright, alright. Saying that makes us sound like strangers, doesn't it? Here, give my shoulders a massage."

Eli said smugly.

Hermione Granger's face immediately flushed red, and the speech she had drafted in her head all night vanished completely.

"You don't need to do that, Hermione Granger. We're all friends. We were at fault yesterday too, but everyone is fine now. We should talk about something happier."

Kind-hearted Harry came to the rescue just in time, while Ron Weasley, that hopelessly blunt guy, chimed in from the side.

"That's right. As long as you don't give a speech, we'll be happy."

Eli gave him a strange look. He really was a hopelessly blunt guy!

Hermione Granger shot him a vicious glare and could not be bothered to respond.

"Eli, do you know? You're a hero who bravely fought a troll!"

Ron Weasley was so excited that his spit nearly sprayed Eli in the face.

"Yes, Ron Weasley tells everyone he meets. He's practically becoming the hero who fought the troll himself."

Harry mercilessly exposed Ron Weasley, making his face turn bright red.

Eli wiped his face. Ron Weasley really had a big mouth. There was no need to think about it—he was definitely famous by now.

If it had not been to save them, he would never have wanted to draw this much attention.

But since things had come to this, he might as well let nature take its course!

Eli unwrapped a Chocolate Frog, and the Wizard card inside was Dumbledore.

"Oh, look. I got Dumbledore."

He handed the card to them.

"I've actually got several already."

Ron Weasley was something of a card collector, and he had shown them his collection before.

"I didn't even know Dumbledore was this impressive. He defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald, discovered the twelve uses of dragon blood, and was Nicolas Flamel's friend."

Harry read aloud the achievements recorded on Dumbledore's card.

"So what are the twelve uses of dragon blood?"

"Frying, deep-frying, boiling..."

Eli answered without hesitation, earning a round of eye rolls.

Ron Weasley was drawn to the pile of snacks and began picking through them like Dumbledore himself.

"Hey, Draco Malfoy sent you a gift too."

Ron Weasley held up an exquisitely wrapped box that clearly was not cheap.

Eli took it. A note was stuck to the top, but there were no well wishes on it—only one name: Draco Malfoy.

That really was the style of that tsundere brat. He had already sent the gift, yet he still had to act aloof by deliberately attaching his name.

Eli could not help smiling. That guy still had some conscience.

He opened the box and found chocolate inside. It did not look cheap at all.

He tasted one. Hmm, it really was delicious.

"Is Madam Pomfrey not here? Don't you think you're disturbing a patient's rest?"

The moment they heard that magnetic voice, Harry and Ron Weasley both jolted.

"Hello, Professor."

Eli propped himself up.

"If it's inconvenient, there's no need to be so formal."

Snape took out a bottle and handed it to Eli. "This is a restorative potion. Drink it."

Eli took the potion awkwardly and drank it.

That Snape—even when he was doing a good deed, he still had to be sharp-tongued about it.

Snape looked at the three trembling thickheads, impatience written all over his face. "Does Mr. Potter think Gryffindor has already secured victory over the Slytherin team? Oh, you have always been so arrogant."

Harry stood there, uncomfortable all over. He wanted to argue, but did not dare.

For a moment, the entire hospital wing grew much gloomier because of Snape's arrival.

"Is Quidditch about to begin?"

Eli could not make sense of the situation. He had only been unconscious for one night, yet it felt as though he had missed an entire century.

"It starts today,"

Hermione Granger answered.

"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Know-It-All. Well then, good luck."

Snape did not want to waste another word. He turned and left.

He came in a rush and left in a rush, leaving the four of them staring at one another.

"So, Harry, you're competing today?"

Eli was the first to break the oppressive atmosphere Snape had left behind.

"Ah, yes."

Eli threw back the blanket and got out of bed. "Then I can't miss today's match, though I don't know who I should cheer for."

Harry and the others were startled by Eli and hurriedly pushed him back onto the bed.

Eli immediately found it both funny and exasperating. "Come on, you have to trust Snape's skill. I can move around normally now!"

As a Potions master, the potion Snape had just given him had definitely been brewed by Snape himself. Otherwise, it could not possibly have worked so well.

Unable to persuade Eli otherwise, they prepared to leave the hospital wing with him.

"Oh, heavens! Who allowed a patient to get out of bed?!"

They all froze awkwardly on the spot.

"Madam Pomfrey, I'm better now."

"Do you think I don't know how badly you overexerted yourself? Please return to your bed immediately!"

Eli's head began to hurt. This school was full of people who were not easy to deal with, and Madam Pomfrey was one of them.

She was famous for her superb medical skills, but even more famous for her almost obsessive attitude toward caring for patients.

Eli had no choice but to take out the potion bottle Snape had given him. "Professor Snape actually came by and gave me some medicine just now. It worked very well."

Madam Pomfrey took the bottle with a suspicious expression. "Snape? His potions are certainly excellent."

She held it to her nose and sniffed it. A flash of shock crossed her face, then she used her wand to examine Eli.

"Indeed, you've basically recovered. But you still need to rest!"

"Alright, Madam Pomfrey. I'll go rest right after I watch the Quidditch match!"

Only after they all assured her repeatedly did Madam Pomfrey reluctantly let them go.

Harry went to prepare for the match, while Eli, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley headed to the stands.

"Oh! Look who it is, our great hero who bravely fought a troll!"

In the stands, the Weasley twins pointed dramatically at Eli and shouted.

They instantly drew the attention of a large group of Gryffindors.

"It's Eli! That's Eli!"

"Didn't they say a troll injured his leg?"

"That's not right. Didn't they say he got beaten to death...?"

Listening to the discussion around him, Eli's face darkened.

What was all this nonsense? When did I get my leg broken?

And who was saying I was dead?

Don't run after school!

"Ron Weasley, what exactly did you tell people?!"

Eli gritted his teeth as he spoke to Ron Weasley beside him.

Ron Weasley was so embarrassed that he could barely lift his head.

"George Weasley, put away that megaphone!"

Eli quickly stopped George Weasley, who was about to shout through a megaphone.

"No, I'm Fred Weasley. He's George Weasley."

Eli walked straight up to the twins. "George Weasley, that trick doesn't work very well anymore."

The twins exchanged astonished looks.

"Eli, how did you do it?!"

"Even Mum can't!"

"Don't tell anyone!"

The two of them went back and forth like a comedy routine, working together with perfect coordination.

Eli even suspected they had practiced in private.

The twins slung their arms around his shoulders and began whispering.

"Tell us quickly. How did you figure it out?"

They spoke in unison.

Eli glanced at them smugly. "Want to know?"

"Yeah!"

"Magic power, of course!"

The twins looked at each other. "Magic power? What magic power?"

Eli even suspected they were fake Wizards. "Your magic power feels different, so I can tell the two of you apart."

The twins looked even more confused. They exchanged looks for a while. "You can feel it?"

"Maybe I'm the same as you."

"I can't feel anything!"

Eli was full of question marks. "You can't feel other people's magic power?"

The two nodded.

They did not look like they were lying. Could they really not feel it?

He had heard that their mother, Molly Weasley, often mixed them up too. Could she not sense it either?

Forget it. If he could not figure it out, he would stop thinking about it. At worst, he could ask Snape.

"Alright, alright. I've told you the method anyway. I'm off."

Eli broke free of the twins, said goodbye, and headed for the Slytherin stands.

The little snakes had noticed the commotion on the Gryffindor side long ago.

Although they did not love adventure as much as the little lions, a first-year Wizard capable of fighting a troll was absolutely worth their attention.

"Hello, Eli. Welcome back."

"Hello, I'm..."

The little snakes were far more restrained. They all acted like little adults as they shook Eli's hand.

Eli politely returned their greetings.

By the time he made his way through them, his face was almost stiff from smiling.

He reached Draco Malfoy's side.

Draco Malfoy had clearly already seen him, yet he insisted on pretending otherwise.

"Hey, Draco Malfoy."

Eli patted his shoulder, and Draco Malfoy visibly flinched.

Am I really that scary?

"Oh, Eli. Congratulations on getting out of the hospital."

"Thanks. The chocolate you sent tasted great."

Pride appeared on Draco Malfoy's face again. "I had my father get it!"

Then the atmosphere became awkward again.

After a moment of silence, Draco Malfoy asked, "So did you really kill the troll?"

Eli shrugged and smiled. "If it didn't fall to its death by itself, then I guess I killed it."

A trace of envy flashed through Draco Malfoy's eyes, but when he saw Eli standing there with one hand in his pocket, gazing up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle like he was showing off, the corner of Draco Malfoy's mouth twitched.

After many days, the two of them finally began to grow familiar with each other again, and their conversation was quite pleasant.

Draco Malfoy kept asking question after question about the troll.

The teams quickly took the field. This match was Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

Two traditionally strong teams, and two houses with a longstanding rivalry.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating this clash.

Harry Potter entered as Gryffindor's Seeker on the latest Nimbus 2000, drawing a wave of cheers.

Only the Slytherin side was comparatively quiet.

Harry had the best equipment. The Nimbus 2000 was like a top-of-the-line sports car, holding an absolute advantage over these older broom models.

The match began quickly, and it was as though the two teams' pent-up anger exploded all at once.

The players raced wildly across the field on their brooms.

Gryffindor appeared to have the stronger skills. They seized the advantage from the very start and scored again and again.

The Slytherins were furious, while Draco Malfoy sighed repeatedly from the sidelines.

Before long, the Slytherin team seemed unable to restrain themselves any longer and began using their traditional tactics.

After having a shot blocked, the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint flew into a rage and knocked Gryffindor's captain and Keeper, Oliver Wood, off his broom with a ball.

Gasps rose from the stands.

Only then did the Slytherins reveal their true tactics—by any means necessary!

Two of them ganged up on a Gryffindor girl and rammed her into a wall.

Others could knock people straight off their brooms.

Slytherin scored repeatedly.

Abuse rang out from the stands, with practically all three other houses joining in the cursing.

But the little snakes were smug about it, and only Eli covered his face as he watched.

How embarrassing!

If you couldn't win, you started cheating? Were you playing Quidditch or rugby?

Although Harry was anxious, his duty was to find the Golden Snitch. Once he found it, the game would end, and they would win!

But suddenly, Harry's broom began shaking wildly like a crazed wild horse.

Harry was in grave danger high in the air. If he fell, he could very well die on impact.

Eli looked toward the professors' stand. Snape stared blankly at Harry, muttering under his breath.

Was Snape doing it?

Not necessarily!

Quirrell, seated behind Snape, was also muttering nonstop!

Eli immediately ran off.

Leaving Draco Malfoy utterly confused.

He quietly made his way beneath the professors' stand.

"Hermione Granger?" "Eli?"

The two exchanged smiles, each seeing the other's intentions.

Hermione Granger directly aimed her wand at the hem of Snape's robes.

"Hey, wait—"

Before Eli could stop her, Hermione Granger had already set Snape's clothes on fire.

Ah, poor Head of House. Don't blame me for not helping you; Hermione was simply too fast.

The two of them took off running.

"Snape, you're on fire!"

Chaos broke out among the professors. Snape abruptly stood up and knocked Quirrell over behind him.

Harry's broom finally calmed down.

The Golden Snitch finally appeared as well, and Harry turned to chase it.

Slytherin's Seeker spotted the Snitch too and gave chase.

The two began fighting for it in midair, with the Slytherin Seeker constantly trying to ram Harry directly off his broom.

But Harry was no pushover either, and the two fought fiercely.

The Snitch suddenly turned and dropped straight down, and they both dove after it.

The ground drew closer and closer, while their speed increased.

The Slytherin Seeker nervously glanced at Harry, only to see how determined he was.

They were about to hit the ground!

He finally lost his nerve and pulled up.

Relying on his superb skills and his broom's performance, Harry successfully turned just before hitting the ground, drawing another wave of gasps from the stands.

Harry stood directly on his broom and reached out with one hand.

"Thud."

Having lost his balance, Harry fell, and the stands erupted in gasps again.

"Does he look like he's about to throw up?"

Harry clutched his chest.

"Bleurgh..."

He threw up the Snitch, along with the soup.