"What is that?" A startled cry suddenly came from high above. It was Cho Chang, who was flying highest at that moment.
As Seekers, Cho and Cedric were both flying at the highest altitude. She was pointing toward the Forbidden Forest, crying out loudly.
Yet few people heard her cry. Almost everyone in the stands was cheering and shouting, urging on the two teams' Chasers.
Harry was one of the few who heard Cho's cry, because his gaze had kept drifting toward her. His ears had therefore picked out her voice from the clamor.
What was what?
Harry was a little confused, unsure what Cho was talking about.
Cedric, opposite Cho, noticed her gesture and turned his head, only to freeze.
"A monster! There's a monster!"
As a boy, Cedric ultimately reacted a little faster than Cho, who had already been scared witless, and shouted loudly. Yet aside from the two Beaters from the opposing teams who were a little closer, still not many people noticed.
Of course, although few were watching the Seekers, Harry was not the only one.
A small number of others also noticed the two Seekers' unusual behavior.
But before they could react further, a thunderous crash rang out.
On the side of the Quidditch Pitch nearest the Forbidden Forest, a tremendous, unnatural force smashed through the wall, over ten meters high, from outside. Dust billowed, and broken bricks and rubble scattered across the ground.
The Ravenclaw stands stood right beside the wall. A corner of their base had been smashed away, and although they did not collapse immediately, they tilted noticeably.
Most of the young wizards watching the match above had been caught unprepared, and startled cries and screams immediately broke out.
"What happened?" Professor Sprout, Hufflepuff's Head of House, abruptly rose to her feet.