Quidditch

November at Hogwarts was so cold it made one want to lie in bed forever. Perhaps Sean had spent too long in Slytherin, or perhaps he had kept Kulkan for too long, but he felt as though he were about to hibernate. He had been sleepy lately, especially every morning, when his bed seemed to seal him in place. Getting up was truly an immense struggle.

It was not until Blaise came knocking that Sean got dressed in casual clothes and finished washing up.

Seeing Sean's reluctant expression, Blaise smiled. "I thought you were a very disciplined person. Turns out you have an undisciplined side too."

"Getting out of bed in winter is just too hard."

As he spoke, Sean left Kulkan in the room and let it lie on his bed. There was still some of his body heat left there, which would keep Kulkan warm for a while. As for outside, the temperature was too low, so Sean did not let Kulkan follow him out to suffer.

Neither Sean nor Blaise wore robes. Instead, they wore exercise clothes. Blaise wore something similar to Quidditch players' athletic gear, while Sean wore tracksuit clothes from the ordinary world. The two left Hogwarts Castle and went to the open ground used for Flying Class, where they began their run.

Ever since the Troll incident, Sean and Blaise had agreed to wake up an hour early every morning for physical training.

After his battle with the Troll, Sean had unlocked the talent section of the panel and gained two talents derived from the Troll's abilities: Troll Strength and Troll Hide.

According to the panel's original design, Sean would have directly gained abilities equal to those of the Troll. However, he and the Troll were fundamentally different species. Forcibly granting him those abilities would cause his body to mutate toward that of a Troll, turning him into half-human, half-Troll. That was an outcome Sean would never accept.

Thus, the panel had changed the abilities into talents. Although this greatly weakened their original effects, they could improve Sean's physical condition as his body developed. That was precisely why Sean had chosen to begin daily training, to bring out the talents' effects to the fullest extent.

Of course, Sean's strength had already improved considerably at this stage, far surpassing that of an ordinary person. If he dueled Malfoy again now, one punch would probably be enough to settle it.

At eleven or twelve, they were at the age when their bodies were developing. Both Sean and Blaise were developing quite well, with decent height and physical condition. After an hour of training, neither showed the slightest sign of fatigue. Instead, they both looked full of energy.

After returning to the Common Room to wash up and change, Sean and Blaise went to the Great Hall for breakfast, then headed to their respective classrooms with everyone else.

The end of Halloween did not calm the students of the four Houses. On the contrary, they became even noisier, because Hogwarts' Quidditch matches began after Halloween. Though Sean personally was not particularly interested in this sport beloved throughout the European Magical World, the vast majority of Young Wizards were obsessed with it, and skilled Quidditch players often held extraordinary status at school.

"Sean, the matchups are out."

Looking at Blaise beside him, Sean stuffed the last bite of lunch into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then asked, "What are the results?"

"It's us against Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw. The winners of the two matches will decide the championship."

"That's not a very good draw." Sean took a sip of milk from his cup. Ever since deciding to train his body, he had tried to choose milk whenever he drank something.

Hearing Sean's words, Blaise nodded. "It really is a terrible draw. Gryffindor's Quidditch team is about as strong as ours, and our previous matches have gone both ways. Now they have the Savior as well. I heard he's quite skilled, otherwise he wouldn't have been admitted as an exception. We're in danger this time."

Sean raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Blaise. It seemed Blaise did not know that Malfoy had joined the Quidditch team, or that the Malfoy family had donated a batch of Nimbus 2000s to the team because of it. Compared with Gryffindor's sieve-like secrecy, Slytherin's team had clearly done an excellent job keeping things under wraps.

As the Quidditch season began, all of Hogwarts fell into an even greater frenzy than it had for Halloween. Whenever there was a match, the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch was packed to the brim. It was no longer as empty as usual, with only players training and young couples whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Sean sat in the Slytherin section, holding a book and flipping through it. The surrounding Slytherin students stared at him in bewilderment, thinking some Ravenclaw had wandered into the wrong place and taken a seat in the Slytherin section.

The match began soon enough. As usual, the players from both teams entered the field. When Harry stepped onto the pitch first with the Gryffindor team, carrying his Nimbus 2000, he immediately drew everyone's attention and sparked a great deal of discussion. Harry's exceptional admission to the Gryffindor team was no longer much of a secret in Slytherin, but many others had not heard the news. Naturally, they showed the appropriate surprise when they saw him.

Wood, the captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch team, wore a satisfied smile as he listened to the astonished murmurs from the stands. This was exactly the effect he wanted: catch them off guard, then establish the foundation for victory in one stroke. No one knew better than he did just how astonishing Harry's talent for Quidditch was. It was talent enough to become a professional player!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, the Slytherin Quidditch players watched the Gryffindor team enter first. Every one of them gripped a Nimbus 2000. Then Marcus Flint, Slytherin's Quidditch captain, turned to look at the nervous Malfoy standing at the back of the team and shouted, "Teach those stupid Gryffindor lions a lesson! Let them know that placing their hopes on the great Savior is a mistake!"

"Oh!"

Amid the team's shouts, the Slytherin players took the field one after another, revealing both Malfoy, who had also been admitted to the team as an exception, and the Nimbus 2000s in every one of their hands!

Watching Slytherin cause an even greater uproar, Sean nodded slightly.

This is all I can do for them. If they still lose like this, then Harry deserves to steal the spotlight.

The match began quickly. Just as Sean had imagined, the tension between the two sides was fierce from the start, making the match feel more like a battle. Harry and Malfoy kept competing for the Golden Snitch as it darted through the air.

It had to be said that, in terms of talent alone, Harry surpassed Malfoy by at least two levels. Just as Harry was about to catch the Golden Snitch, his Flying Broomstick suddenly began to shake. It then started bucking wildly in midair, nearly throwing Harry off. Harry's Nimbus 2000 had lost control at this critical moment!

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