Roger's Dismissal
Time: 11:30 AM, at the Quidditch Pitch.
"Wow, the Quaffle was caught by Ravenclaw's Roger Davies right away, but what's he going to do? The Quaffle disappeared, and Ravenclaw's Henry caught it from behind!" Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley Twins, was the commentator for the game. "But I find it strange, no one was intercepting him, so why did he use this trick?"
"Lee Jordan!" Professor McGonagall, who was watching him from the side, reminded him.
"I'm sorry, Professor."
"Ravenclaw's blond hunk Henry was really sprinting up there, and he made a beautiful pass to Phoenix, the young Seeker, a sophomore."
"Wait, what is Roger Davies planning to do? He's close to Hufflepuff's goalkeeper, Stuart, but he doesn't have the ball!"
"Phoenix, he threw the ball down—beautiful! Roger caught it, and then—oh no, Hufflepuff's goalkeeper Peter did a brilliant tackling!" Lee Jordan continued.
Meanwhile, Harry on the field was on the verge of a breakdown.
Perhaps because of the Weasley Twins, Lee Jordan was worried that Harry would be under too much pressure as a newcomer and didn't mention it to him, but at that moment Harry knew that he wasn't under any pressure at all; his breakdown was entirely due to something else.
As soon as he stepped onto the field, he saw a golden flash pass behind one of Hufflepuff's Beater. He was about to grab him when Roger Davies appeared and blocked his way. "Hey, Harry, remember the zigzag pattern, watch out for the 'Bludger'."
What's even more unpleasant is that, in addition to Roger, Ravenclaw's two unknown Beater also have absolutely outrageous playing styles.
As Beater, one should always keep an eye on the Bludger and one's partner to prevent them from being attacked.
But the two of them were more like Seeker with bats; they only focused on the two Bludger, occasionally chasing after them and hitting them.
Several times, the two of them blocked Harry's path to find the Golden Snitch. Now, although the threat of the Bludger was gone and the Hufflepuff players wouldn't deliberately collide with Harry, his teammates became the biggest stumbling block.
Harry noticed Roger, and when the other Hufflepuff players were still far away from him, he passed the ball to Henry was closer to the opposing team.
When Henry finally escaped the enemy's encirclement and passed the ball to Phoenix, he made a gesture for Phoenix to go up while he went down to receive the ball.
But in Harry's opinion, this was completely unnecessary. Roger had already drawn the goalkeeper's attention, and Phoenix would have been in the best position to score at that moment, but he unnecessarily passed the ball to Roger, who was already in the spotlight.
Ultimately, they failed to score.
When Harry had no reason to dodge, he came over and hissed at Harry, then flew in a zigzag pattern, blocking Harry once more.
"What is Roger Davies doing? Harry Potter almost caught the Golden Snitch, but—" Lee Jordan was completely baffled by Roger's actions.
The Hufflepuff on stage were chanting Roger's name so loudly that he couldn't hear Lee Jordan's question.
He thought they were Ravenclaw, so he waved his hand and flashed a greasy smile, revealing eight teeth.
"Hufflepuff scored!" Lee Jordan exclaimed.
"Harry Potter, it's all your fault! You didn't follow the agreed-upon tactics, and I wasn't paying attention!"
"I really regret it—" Roger kept rambling on! But then a Bludger suddenly Accio, and bang! Roger fell down.
Professor McGonagall on the stage drew her wand, and the grass on the ground suddenly grew wildly, forming a natural air cushion.
"Hey! Dennis, are you crazy? Come at me!" Roger shouted, his voice booming, as he noticed the ball came from his teammate.
"Go to hell, Roger, I'm not playing anymore," Beater Dennis replied. Harry was extremely grateful to this teammate whose name he had just learned; now he could go chase the Golden Snitch.
"Were you blind just now?" Dennis continued to yell.
Just as Roger was about to say something more, the stage erupted in cheers, and Lee Jordan's voice was drowned out again.
Roger turned his head and looked behind him. There was Harry Potter. He had already descended to a foot above the ground. He jumped off the broom, raised his right hand, and silver wings peeked out from between his fingers, ready to take flight.
Rewind to three minutes earlier, Ravenclaw's Beater Dennis and his teammate Woody were executing their tactics, while the Hufflepuff players were more disciplined, only needing to keep an eye on the Bludger.
This way, their teammates can focus on other things.
However, they had never worked with Seeker as skilled as Harry before, and they were surprised that someone had located the Golden Snitch right from the start.
This allowed them to thwart Harry's attacks on the Golden Snitch several times.
But Dennis heard Lee Jordan's commentary; he was closer to Lee Jordan.
Just as Harry was about to catch the Golden Snitch again, Roger blocked his way, and the Bludger happened to be right next to him.
So he swung a powerful blow at Roger, clearing a path for Harry then caught the Golden Snitch.
The Ravenclaw students flooded the arena, surrounding Harry. Roger Davies, looking bewildered, approached and said, "Harry, you have to understand, this was just good luck for you. We're Ravenclaw, we need tactics! We need to use our Wisdom!"
"You need to learn from me. When I first started, I used two tactics and almost scored. If it weren't for your mistake (not using the zigzag flight), I wouldn't have been drawn in and let Hufflepuff score first."
However, Roger did not notice the way the other students were looking at him.
"What did you say, Davies?"
"Why did we use the back pass tactic in the first place? Henry was the closest to the opponent. This is a game, not a stage!"
"And what did you do when I thought you'd improved and were trying to create scoring opportunities for Phoenix? Did you use the Porskoff Feint to get Phoenix to pass you the ball?"
"Finally, with Harry as an excellent Seeker, and Woody and Dennis keeping the Bludger out of bounds, you still expect Harry to fly slowly like a child? What if the Seeker catches the Golden Snitch?" Jonny, tall and thin, chimed in, questioning.
"That's because Henry and Phoenix weren't cooperating. They were too slow. Wasn't my tactic brilliant?" Roger said, blushing.
"Have you noticed that even though Henry and Phoenix don't like you, they're not deliberately being uncooperative, but you're treating this game like a show?"
"Even as acting captain, you blocked the Seeker's path and failed to control the overall situation. That's enough! It seems that Dennis's shot hasn't woken you up yet? I think you don't deserve to stay on this school team anymore." Jonny said angrily, and before he knew it, the other teammates had also gathered around.
"Roger, tactics aren't necessary, victory is! This is my final advice," Jonny sighed, and Roger stood frozen in place.