Chapter 59: The Match
The sky was clear and the white clouds drifted leisurely.
The Quidditch Pitch, usually quiet, was packed today, with fuzzy little heads filling the stands of all four houses.
As Vaughn and the team entered the pitch, Slytherin Academy erupted in cheers, and a few older students conjured a serpentine smoke trail that hissed and coiled overhead.
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also had many people holding banners, embroidered with gleaming golden letters:
“Vaughn wins!”
Vaughn spotted Cedric and some familiar young ladies from Ravenclaw from afar and waved, which immediately triggered another wave of cheers.
“Hello everyone, this is Lee Jordan, and I’m your commentator today. Our dear Professor McGonagall is in charge of supervision. Now, entering the pitch is the Slytherin team. Look at Vaughn Weasley, this handsome fellow is driving the young witches crazy…”
“Ahem!”
“Sorry Professor, next up is the Gryffindor team…”
After both teams had appeared, the referee, Madam Hooch, who stood in the center of the pitch, walked between the two teams with her flying broomstick.
“I hope you will all play fair, honestly, and with good sportsmanship…” Madam Hooch glanced at the Slytherin team. Flint bared his buck teeth in a foolish grin. Madam Hooch quickly looked away and began explaining the forbidden actions.
Vaughn looked at Harry opposite him and winked. Harry returned a look of fierce determination with a smile.
Poor child, you have no idea what you’re about to go through.
“…Alright, please mount your flying broomsticks.”
Madam Hooch took out her silver whistle. With a sharp blast, fifteen flying broomsticks shot into the air.
The match had begun!
The red Quaffle was thrown high, and the two teams immediately began to fight for it.
Lee Jordan’s commentary was amplified to the entire pitch by a spell-enchanted microphone.
“…Now we can see the game has started, the play is very intense. What do I see? Harry isn’t participating in the team’s offense; he’s flying higher. Oliver Wood seems to have a custom strategy for him, giving him a better view…”
“Conversely, Vaughn from the Weasley family is disrupting his brothers, Fred and George. He’s weaving back and forth in front of them like lightning… Oh dear! Fred tried to hit the Bludger towards Vaughn, but Vaughn diverted it into Angelina Johnson’s attacking path. She was closest to the Quaffle, and Slytherin got the Quaffle, how despicable…”
“Jordan!”
“Sorry Professor, I mean, what a brilliant tactic. Vaughn is fully utilizing his speed advantage… Oh, it’s a goal! Slytherin leads 10-0!”
The wind rushed towards him, his robes flapping loudly. Vaughn, wearing windproof goggles, looked back and held up one finger to the twins.
The twins were quite annoyed.
Harry looked down nervously from high up. The team was already behind at the start, making him anxious, but he hadn’t seen any golden glints.
He wanted to go down and help, to participate in the team’s offense or defense like Vaughn.
But Wood gestured for him to stick to the strategy – he was too thin and small to compete.
Vaughn was still darting through the crowd.
He stood with his feet on the stirrups of his broomstick, half-crouched, his cloak billowing wildly behind him. He zipped past Angelina, Gryffindor’s Chaser.
A black Bludger was drawn to him. As the Bludger accelerated to knock him down, he dodged it with agility.
Angelina, who was following him, had to pause her attack again to avoid the Bludger, lest it target her.
She turned and shouted at the twins, “What are you doing? Hit that damn Bludger away!”
“…How despic… I mean, how brilliant! Vaughn is using the Bludger to mess up Gryffindor’s formation. The Golden Snitch is still nowhere to be seen, and Harry is still watching. Gryffindor can’t compete at all! Is Wood’s strategy really working?”
No one knew the answer.
Vaughn pushed his Firebolt 2000 to its extreme speed. The Bludger was almost his plaything, being toyed with in vain, causing immense trouble for Gryffindor.
Soon, Slytherin had a commanding lead of 90-20. Harry grew increasingly anxious in the air. He had seen golden glints a few times, but they were fleeting and he couldn’t discern their trajectory.
Finally, after spotting a golden glint once more, Harry couldn’t resist. He pressed down on the handle and dove.
His movement was immediately noticed by Vaughn, who had been distracted by watching him. Vaughn signaled Flint and Adrian Pucey from afar.
Lee Jordan’s voice boomed:
“…What? Harry’s spotted the Golden Snitch? He’s diving—oh no, Flint and Pucey have broken formation, what are they doing? Good heavens, they’re accelerating to collide with Harry, those despicable, shameless, lowlifes…”
“Jordan!”
“Sorry Professor, fortunately, they didn’t actually collide with Harry, but Harry was still intercepted!”
“Foul! That’s a foul!” From the Gryffindor stands, Dean Thomas yelled excitedly, shouting at Madam Hooch, “Referee, give them a red card and send them off!”
“Dean, this isn’t football. In Quidditch, that’s a legal block.”
Seamus Finnigan said speechlessly.
But the young lions of Gryffindor were still worried about Harry, as Flint, as strong as a troll, and the tall Pucey blocked Harry’s path.
They brushed past him, interfering with his broomstick. Slytherin undoubtedly knew how to play dirty. They used excessive speed as a cover, hitting the tail of Harry’s broomstick, preventing him from accelerating.
“Oh—poor Harry, he’s like a puppet dangling in the air, batted around by two gorillas… Damn it, where’s the referee? Referee! Flint’s broom tail hit Harry’s face, didn’t you see that?”
This time, Professor McGonagall did not stop Lee Jordan.
It was clear that Flint’s increasingly excessive dirty play had angered her.
Unfortunately, the referee hadn’t seen the incident, as she was focused on the new round of Quaffle play.
Harry felt a sharp pain on his face, and his glasses were almost knocked off. This made him furious, but he couldn’t retaliate. The physical strength of the two sixth-years was clearly beyond his ability to contend with.
Fred and George tried to help him, but were once again blocked by Vaughn.
He always managed to cleverly draw the Bludger towards him, then skillfully evade its every attack, while the twins were flustered by the errant Bludger.
Ron watched the intense “battle” overhead, his hands clenched tightly.
But to his embarrassment, he didn’t know who to cheer for. Hermione, not far from him, was equally troubled.
Seeing Harry almost knocked over again, and Fred finally breaking free from Vaughn to go to his rescue, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Ron said angrily, “Vaughn is so hateful, is he trying to kill Harry?”
Before Hermione could retort, a loud voice from behind them said, “Vaughn isn’t the captain; he’s just following the strategy.”
“Hagrid? When did you get here?”
“Oh, I just arrived. Would you like to try some rock cakes I brought?”
Having nearly broken a tooth once before, the two politely declined.
