Catching the Golden Snitch

Suddenly, the Broomstick performed a dozen backflips. Harry Potter's wrist went numb, and he was thrown off.

Luckily, his other hand clung tightly to the broom. Otherwise, a fall from that height would have left him dead or crippled!

Luo Bin glanced at the stands. Hermione was gone. She must have realized that dark magic was behind the broom's strange behavior.

"Wood, help! I can't hold on much longer!"

Unfortunately, the Free Shot was over, and the match had reached a deadlock. None of the players could spare him any attention.

The Golden Ball darted past Luo Bin's eyes again. A flicker of conflict crossed his dark eyes, but in the end, he flew toward the protagonist!

"Give me your hand!"

"Okay!"

With Luo Bin's help, Harry climbed back onto his broom. But after only a few seconds of calm, it started bucking again. "Luo Bin, there's something wrong with my broom. It... it's trying to kill me!"

"I noticed!"

Luo Bin flew sideways around to Harry's front and stared straight at Quirrell. Once the man was sweating and swallowing nervously, Luo Bin pointed his fingers in an "I've got my eyes on you" gesture, frightening him into a fit of hiccups.

With the incantation interrupted, the dark magic naturally failed!

"Luo Bin, my broom's back to normal! What did you do?"

Harry looked toward the Slytherin House stands in confusion.

"Nothing. Look, it's the Golden Snitch! Harry Potter, how about a fair contest between us?"

"Sure!"

Harry's competitive spirit flared. He felt his blood boiling as he dived at full speed, jockeying with Luo Bin for the best position to catch the Golden Snitch!

The Golden Ball hurtled toward the ground. Ignoring his wind-skewed glasses, Harry plunged after it. He hit the ground with his hands clasped together and rolled three or four times before coming to a stop. Amid deafening cries, he retched several times and finally coughed up... a clod of dirt!

"Look, up there! It's the Golden Snitch! Luo Bin caught the Golden Ball! Slytherin won!"

Draco pointed at the figure high above and shouted excitedly!

"Oh! We won! Slytherin won! Luo Bin's amazing!"

The Slytherin students cheered and jumped for joy, celebrating their victory. The Gryffindor students hung their heads and complained that the match had been unfair, though deep down, they knew Luo Bin hadn't used any dirty tricks to catch the ball!

"Luo Bin Sear has caught the Golden Snitch, earning Slytherin 150 points! With a score of 210 to 20, I declare Slytherin the winner!" Madam Hooch blew the Silver Whistle and shouted!

"Great work!"

Flint shot Wood a contemptuous look and led his team on three laps around the pitch. He thoroughly enjoyed being showered with adulation!

"Luo Bin, thank you. If you hadn't helped, I would've fallen!"

In the changing room, Harry approached the opposing team to express his gratitude.

"Even if I hadn't stepped in, you would've climbed back onto your broom and steadied it. It was only a matter of time!"

Luo Bin took off his green team robes and changed into his Black Wizard Robe!

Harry fiddled with his fingers, looking torn, as though he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to speak!

"Is there something you want to tell me? Make it quick. I have to study in the library in a bit!"

"Hermione told me a secret. I wanted to check it with you!"

After saying that, he let out a breath and pulled Luo Bin along to meet Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid!

"It was Snape! Hermione and I both saw him. He was staring at Harry and muttering something. He was casting a spell! Hagrid, why won't you believe us?" Ron said with a defiant pout.

"Nonsense! Snape has no quarrel with him. Why would he do that?"

Hagrid treated the children's words as nothing more than a joke!

"Because he hates me! On the night of the Sorting, he stared at me like a venomous snake lurking in a dark cellar, watching its prey. The moment I met his eyes, a wrenching pain shot through my lightning scar. It was a warning, warning me that danger was near!"

A trace of unease flashed through Hagrid's eyes, but he stubbornly insisted, "Maybe it was a coincidence. Snape wouldn't hurt you. Anyone else might, but never him!"

"Why? Hagrid, why are you so sure he wouldn't hurt me? Luo Bin can back me up. It was Snape's dark magic that made my Broomstick go mad!" Harry said angrily.

"No, I can't back you up!"

Luo Bin stepped forward, eating a small cake as he delivered that blow. Crabbe had given him the cream-filled cake, holding his arm out as far as he could even as his lips trembled with fear.

Once Luo Bin took the cake, Crabbe bolted as though his life depended on it. He fell with a thud, then scrambled back to Draco on his hands and knees!

Tsk, the only person who knew I skipped breakfast was my roommate Draco. "Harry, you really are deeply prejudiced against Professor Snape. I sensed that the person casting the spell on you was sitting in the Slytherin stands, but it definitely wasn't the professor!"

"Favoritism! Snape takes your side, and you take his! You're exactly like him!"

"Ron, how could you say that about Luo Bin? He's different from the other Slytherins. He's brave and loyal, and he doesn't look down his nose at people. If it hadn't been for him, Harry would've fallen!"

"Ron, you should apologize to Luo Bin!"

With neither of his friends taking his side, Ron grew so angry that his nose turned red. Pouting, he ran off!

"Hermione, were we too harsh?"

"Harry, leave him alone. He gets angry over every little thing and keeps bad-mouthing Luo Bin. All because he didn't get any points for fighting the troll. Hmph, how petty!"

"Hagrid, I've read about casting curses. Keeping your eyes fixed on the target is crucial. I wasn't mistaken. Professor Snape was staring at Harry's Broomstick without even blinking!"

"No, Miss Hermione Granger, you must have been mistaken. I agree with Luo Bin. Snape wouldn't hurt a student! Now, forget all about this. Don't go back to the Third Floor Corridor, and don't go poking around what's under the trapdoor. That's Nicolas Flamel's... blast, I nearly... All right, off you go. Fang's waiting for me to feed him!"

"Hey, Hagrid, who's Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked excitedly, having uncovered a corner of the secret!

"I don't know! Don't ask me! I don't know anything, and don't follow me!" Hagrid snapped as he headed toward the Forbidden Forest.

"I'd stake my exam results on it. Nicolas Flamel must be someone important!" Hermione said with certainty.

"Important or not, it's nothing to do with me. I'm going to the library. I'd suggest you two go talk some sense into Ron!"

Luo Bin had no interest in joining their discussion about Nicolas Flamel's identity. He waved his little cake and slowly headed toward the castle!

The Hogwarts Library was enormous, with hundreds of narrow aisles and thousands of bookshelves. As for the books... even several days and nights wouldn't have been enough to count them all!

How was he supposed to find an Ancient Elvish translation book in all that?

Yes, the Flower Fairy Care Manual Dumbledore had given him was written in Ancient Elvish—and in a local dialect from some mountain hollow in the Bedegleret Mountains, one that wasn't used anywhere else!

Luo Bin had gone to the Headmaster's Office to ask about it. Dumbledore wore a kindly smile, but his words cut deep. "My boy, if I could read it, would you have been given the Flower Fairy to look after? I believe you'll find a way to care for the little one!"

Well, he had lined up perfume, honey, sweets, and flower petals on the table, tilted his head, and held his ear close to each in turn. The result... not a peep from the Flower Fairy. Instead, Draco had begun to question his sanity.

Luring the fairy out with food: a bust!