Harry let out a soft breath, tightened his grip on his broomstick, and lowered his body again.
Higgs was diagonally ahead.
This time, he did not rush to search for the Snitch. Instead, he moved slowly through the gap between two goalposts, his gaze falling on Harry from time to time.
A flash of gold suddenly streaked past below.
Harry immediately accelerated!
But Higgs cut inward a step ahead.
The hem of a green robe blocked his view, with a thick goalpost right beside it. Harry had to slow slightly and circle around the outside.
By the time he could see ahead clearly again, the golden light had vanished.
Higgs leveled his broomstick and smiled at him.
"Potter, your flying skills really are good. But flying fast alone won't win you a Quidditch match."
"I know."
"Good. I'll teach you a few more things today."
Harry smiled too. "Then I really must thank you for the lesson."
Higgs turned and flew away, but Harry did not follow immediately.
Just now, Higgs had clearly been farther from the Snitch, yet he had secured the position Harry had to pass through ahead of him.
He had even factored in the goalpost beside them.
This older student really was not all fine words.
Below, Slytherin's Chasers passed the ball in quick succession, charging toward the hoops again.
Wood lunged left, but the opposing player tossed the ball to a teammate before shooting, and the Quaffle slipped through the goal from another direction.
Gryffindor was scoring too, but every time they narrowed the gap, the green figures pressed back.
"Sixty to one hundred and thirty!"
Lee Jordan's voice had grown more anxious.
"Gryffindor trails by seventy points!"
Wood wiped his forehead hard and shouted upward:
"Harry! We need the Golden Snitch!"
"I know, Captain!"
Harry nodded at him and guided his broomstick higher.
This time, he watched more than just the corners where a golden glint might be hiding.
He also watched Higgs's gaze, and the direction his body leaned before each move to seize a position.
In the professors' seats, Quirrell kept his hands tucked inside his sleeves.
He had not found a suitable opportunity since the match began.
McGonagall kept her eyes on the pitch, and Flitwick sat somewhere with an unobstructed view. Snape appeared to be watching the match with a cold expression, but his gaze had swept past the players toward the stands several times.
More troubling still, Dumbledore had actually come too, for some unknown reason!
The old man sat not far away, looking mild, and even said something to the professor beside him.
Yet Quirrell could not relax in the slightest.
Originally, all he needed to do was cause a little trouble for Harry's broomstick while the boy was flying at high speed.
High altitude, loss of control, a fall.
How simple.
But today, these professors seemed particularly attentive to magic on the pitch.
A ball of red light suddenly rose from one corner of the stands.
Flitwick turned almost immediately, and McGonagall followed his gaze.
Quirrell's fingers tightened slightly inside his sleeves.
A little lion made of red points of light was running above the Gryffindor students' heads.
Flitwick murmured something, only lowering his wand a moment later.
"Just a little cheering charm. Its range is confined to the stands, too."
McGonagall nodded and looked back up into the air.
Their exchange was brief, but Quirrell saw it all clearly.
They really were checking for unusual magic.
Had someone warned Dumbledore beforehand?
Who could it be?
He had no answer. He only knew that once he acted, the sustained jinx on the broomstick would very likely draw everyone's attention.
He had not obtained the Philosopher's Stone yet.
To take a risk now, all for one Potter...
It wasn't worth it.
Up in the air, Harry suddenly leaned aside to dodge a Bludger.
Quirrell clapped twice along with the others, a reserved smile appearing on his face.
"M-Mr. Potter really does fly very well."
"Yes," Flitwick replied with a smile. "That boy's talent truly is astonishing."
Quirrell nodded and glanced at Dumbledore again. With talent that outstanding, the boy would probably be even more troublesome in a few years.
But today really was not the time. He slowly released the wand inside his sleeve.
The concerns Harry had raised with Flitwick earlier had become the vigilance several professors now maintained.
The jinx that might have landed on the broomstick was never spoken in the end.
Harry began deliberately changing his patrol route.
After several attempts, he gradually realized that Higgs did not follow him all the time.
Higgs preferred to stay diagonally ahead, then cut into the nearest passage first when Harry changed direction.
In that case...
Harry suddenly turned his head, fixing his gaze ahead to the left.
The next instant, he bent low and accelerated sharply!
Higgs immediately adjusted his broomstick, racing toward the goalpost ahead.
Had he spotted it again?
He was just about to secure the inside position when the sound of wind behind him suddenly softened.
Harry slowed, drew his legs in, and leaned his body the other way.
The front of his broomstick rose with the movement, tracing a clean arc.
Feint Turn!
Higgs whipped his head around.
The red figure had already flown out the other side, leaving him far behind beside the goalpost.
There was no Snitch there at all!
"Oh! Beautiful!" Lee Jordan was the first to react. "Potter fooled Higgs! Look at that turn! Who could believe he's a first-year?!"
Cheers immediately erupted from the Gryffindor stands.
Even Wood could not help clenching his fist.
"That's it, Harry! Don't just keep following him!"
A hint of a smile finally appeared at the corners of McGonagall's mouth.
Harry leveled his broomstick and breathed out.
It really worked.
As long as he made Higgs commit to a judgment first, he could change direction before Higgs finished claiming his position.
Of course, the same method might not fool him a second time.
Higgs had already caught up.
This time, he said nothing, merely widening the distance between them a little again.
But Harry had already used that opening to fly to the other side.
Looking down from here, he could take in half the pitch, and the area Higgs had blocked finally came back into view.
What he had just gained through that feint was not merely a little distance, but also the chance to spot the Snitch first.
Higgs watched Harry's flight path, his brow furrowing slightly.
This little brat had actually started competing with him for position.
He had no choice but to climb again and find another suitable viewing angle.
Harry drew his gaze back and slowed before a Bludger could close in.
He shifted his grip on the handle. In the brief instant his palm loosened, the broomstick continued gliding a short distance along its original course.
Harry gripped it firmly again and turned away with its remaining momentum.
Compared with simply pulling hard, he could now judge more accurately where he would stop and where he would turn.
At the edge of his vision, his proficiency continued rising little by little.
"What's wrong with Higgs?!"
"He actually got played by a first-year!"
In the Slytherin stands, someone could not help complaining.
Goyle was somewhat surprised too.
"Miss, when did Potter get this good?"
Malfoy did not answer immediately.
She had seen it very clearly.
Before Potter turned, he had already centered his weight. Once Higgs occupied the inside of the goalpost, he could circle straight around the other way without even needing another adjustment.
From slowing down to the Feint Turn, there had not been a single wasted movement.
Was this really the boy who could barely keep his broomstick straight in their first Flying Class?
In just one match...
The girl's brows knitted tighter and tighter, yet her eyes shone a little brighter than before.
While she was thinking, Harry swept past the goalpost.
He passed so close that Goyle drew in a sharp breath.
Malfoy's fingers instantly tightened around the railing.
Only when the red figure turned clear without incident did she loosen them slightly.
His turns really were more precise than before.
But he was faster than before, too!
She had warned him before that when flying at high speed, he could not focus solely on his target. He also had to leave himself enough distance to change direction beforehand.
Potter had clearly taken her words to heart.
Except this fellow had actually used that little bit of distance he saved to accelerate again!
If his judgment was even slightly off, he wouldn't have time to dodge before he crashed!
The girl stared fixedly at Harry, the hint of excitement at the corners of her mouth gradually fading.
That idiot Potter!
Was he really not afraid of dying?!
The score reached seventy to one hundred and forty.
The two sides were still seventy points apart.
Wood's breathing had grown somewhat rapid, and the Chasers no longer flew across midfield as lightly as they had at the start.
Even the twins wielding their bats were flexing their wrists while changing positions.
Harry wiped away the moisture the wind had blown into the corners of his eyes.
[Flying: proficient (992/1000).]
Just a little more.
But at that moment, he could no longer spare any attention for those numbers.
A golden light suddenly flashed at the edge of the pitch.
Then it plunged downward!
Harry's gaze locked onto it instantly.
Almost simultaneously, Higgs lowered his body too.
Both broomsticks accelerated sharply!
"Wait!"
Lee Jordan abruptly stood straight.
"Potter and Higgs moved at the same time! They've spotted the Golden Snitch!"
"Merlin above, who'll catch it first this time?!"
Wind rushed straight into Harry's face.
Harry stared fixedly at the golden light and was just about to adjust his direction when Higgs cut downward ahead of him.
Rather than turning after the Snitch, Higgs moved first into the gap it was about to sweep through.
By the time the little golden ball veered downward again, the green figure had already claimed the inside position.
Harry could only pursue from diagonally behind.
The gap was closing, but the gap between Higgs and the Golden Snitch was even smaller!
This time, he did not look back, nor was he affected by the commotion behind him.
From the moment he seized the inside line, his eyes had been fixed on that little golden ball alone.
Harry had no chance to use his earlier feint again.
"Higgs!"
In the Slytherin stands, someone had already risen to their feet.
"Catch it!"
"We're going to win!"
The two Seekers lowered their broomsticks almost simultaneously and plunged toward the ground!
The lawn rapidly swelled in their vision, and the wind in their ears grew shrill.
Higgs reached out.
Golden wings fluttered just beyond his fingertips.
Harry could already make out the other boy's glove, and could even see the tiny glimmers flashing across the little ball's surface.
Yet he could never make up that half-body-length lead.
Accelerate again?
Higgs blocked the inside line; he would have to go around him first.
Take another route?
The ground was getting closer and closer. Even the slightest extra detour would put the Golden Snitch into Higgs's hands.
Wood stared fixedly at the two figures.
Ron clenched his fists, his mouth open, but made no sound.
Malfoy stood up too.
This position...
She knew it all too well.
If he kept flying along this route, Potter would be too late.
Unless he could make Higgs guess completely wrong, just once.
As Harry dived, he suddenly recalled that short distance his broomstick had continued to glide forward when he switched hands earlier.
It would not stop immediately just because he briefly let go.
An idea surfaced without warning.
Harry glanced down at his broomstick, then raised his eyes to look ahead.
Higgs reached farther, a hint of a smile already showing at the corners of his mouth.
There was only this one chance.
Harry took a deep breath.
The oncoming wind pressed so hard against him that his chest felt tight, yet his grip on the broomstick steadied instead.
He slowly drew his feet up, adjusting his position.
His body no longer hugged the broomstick tightly either, but rose little by little as his center of gravity shifted.
Everyone in the stands was watching the little ball ahead, just about to be caught.
No one noticed that his riding posture was changing.
Since normal flying couldn't catch him...
Then he'd try something abnormal!
Before you continue