"What match? Ugly? What do you mean, ugly?"
Harry pressed down on the strange thing on his ear. He had barely asked the question when a heavy blow struck him, drawing a cry of pain.
He sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his stomach, watching the player pull back his elbow and fly away.
Anger welled up inside him. He could swear that even Slytherin at its dirtiest had been as innocent as angels compared with the team he had just encountered!
"Dodge first! Get out of the way, don't come into contact with those players." Malfoy's voice was thick with fear.
Malfoy's warning jogged Cedric's memory too. Even the usually composed Cedric's voice changed pitch:
"Is this the Korea team?"
What team?
Harry dodged an opposing player who had raised his foot and charged straight at his head. Although Harry liked Quidditch, his knowledge of it honestly fell short of even Ron's.
As a devoted fan of the Chudley Cannons, Ron knew Quidditch history and all sorts of news about the sport inside out.
"At the Quidditch World Cup twenty years ago, the Korea team knocked out two of that year's top teams, the Italian National Team and the Spanish National Team, and made it into the semifinals for the first time in their history."
Malfoy spoke rapidly, his voice trembling:
"The match where they knocked out Italy was called the darkest match in Quidditch history. It was also known as the murder match.
"At the time, Italy had the world's best Quidditch Keeper, Von Bue, its best Chaser, Gizain, and the world's best Quaffle defenders, Maldini and Tasne...
"They were considered the favorites to win that year's Quidditch World Cup, and they lived up to that reputation. Before they encountered the Korea team, they swept through everyone.