Chapter 58: The Quidditch Season Begins
Harry’s Legilimency practice continued.
But thanks to the Sweet Dreams Charm, his attitude afterward was much more positive.
It was just that his dorm mates were not very satisfied—every night at midnight, when they were sleeping soundly, they would be startled awake by Harry’s sudden, inexplicable laughter, completely losing their sleepiness.
Ron voiced his doubts about this, asking, “What kind of good dream were you having that made you jump and laugh like that?”
Harry stammered, claiming he was too tired and had forgotten everything from his dream.
He was indeed very tired. He attended classes during the day and studied Legilimency at night. As the Quidditch season approached, Wood had gone mad again, increasing the weekly training to four nights, with two of those nights concentrated on the weekend.
The only thing Harry was grateful for was that ever since they had experienced danger together last time, Hermione had started allowing him and Ron to copy her homework. Although she still urged them to do it themselves, whenever the two of them pretended to be clueless, her impatient temper would inevitably lead her to reveal the answers.
It was only when the two of them prepared to copy her thesis as well that she would get angry.
“Are you trolls? What will the professors think if they see three identical theses?”
Harry and Ron had to scurry off to the library, looking dejected at the four-foot-long theses they were tasked with.
They often encountered Vaughn at the library.
He was the object of admiration and envy for all the first-year young wizards. The admiration was naturally because he had killed a troll, and the envy was because he didn’t have to do homework; even if he read other books during class, the professors never bothered him.
At least Harry envied that aspect.
He also noticed that Vaughn was participating less and less in Slytherin’s Quidditch training. When he told Wood this discovery, Wood’s gloomy brow finally relaxed a little.
He clapped Harry heartily on the shoulder:
“Go for it, Harry! The match is on Saturday. Strive to defeat Slytherin!”
That’s right, the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was this Saturday.
Time was a strange thing. If it was described as “mid-month” or a specific date, it usually felt far away, but once it was said to be “this week,” a sense of urgency seemed to descend all at once.
The day before the match, Harry’s anxiety grew the longer he stayed in the dormitory, so he called his friends to the courtyard to relax.
The weather was very cold. After Hermione conjured flames in a jar to keep them warm, she went to find Vaughn to study.
They held the jars, braved the cold wind, and stared blankly in the courtyard.
Ron explained his understanding of Quidditch to Harry: “… I think you have an advantage over Vaughn. You see, all famous Quidditch Seekers are thin and small, because that way they can fly fast and agilely. Vaughn is taller than you and also bulkier.”
As he spoke, he added, “It’s a pity that because they are thin and small, Seekers are often bumped flying by Chasers and Beaters. Last year, the England team’s Seeker broke his arm. I heard the bone…”
Harry sniffed and suddenly regretted listening to Ron.
He had seen the Slytherin team members; they were all burly.
All day, images of himself being beaten repeatedly by them and falling from the sky kept flashing through his mind.
Therefore, that night, he specifically asked Vaughn to cast the Sweet Dreams Charm on him, preferably a strong one.
Vaughn reminded him, “Harry, the Sweet Dreams Charm can only make you have good dreams; it doesn’t have a sleeping effect.”
Harry, who just wanted psychological comfort, didn’t listen.
Even though they would be opponents tomorrow, facing each other on the Quidditch Pitch, it didn’t affect their relationship. Harry trusted Vaughn a lot now. When they parted that evening, he even solemnly said to Vaughn, “Good luck tomorrow. Friendship first, competition second.”
“You too,” Vaughn smiled.
Being both rivals and friends, simultaneously competing and cooperating, this kind of relationship, which felt like one between adults, gave Harry the illusion that he had matured and his thoughts had been elevated.
Then, that night, he had insomnia.
It turned out he actually really wanted to win!
He wanted to win against Vaughn, this friend who was superior to him in every aspect.
It also proved that the Sweet Dreams Charm indeed had no sleeping effect; he kept his eyes open until dawn.
The next day, Hogwarts was sunny and cold, good weather for a Quidditch match.
Harry’s mood, however, was not good at all.
“Eat something, Harry. You look terrible.”
“I don’t want to eat.”
Hermione persuaded him, “Eat at least one bite. You’ll have to fly in the sky later!”
Her saying that made Harry even more nervous, his face turning green. He looked at the breakfast on the table and felt a churning in his stomach.
The young wizards around were excitedly discussing today’s match. The attention was indeed on too many points: the love-hate entanglement between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the fact that the Seekers for both teams were renowned figures.
Everyone who passed by cheered Harry on.
The twins quietly slipped Harry a chocolate biscuit. Harry didn’t want to eat it and gave it to Ron when he arrived.
Ron also advised, “Harry, you need to conserve your energy. Seekers are key players that every team focuses on defending against. You need stamina to compete with them.”
As he spoke, he took a bite of the biscuit: “Mmm, tastes good. Where did you get it?”
“Fred and George gave it to me.”
Then, Harry saw Ron’s expression instantly freeze.
Two seconds later, with a “bang.”
Ron transformed into a giant canary, startling everyone. The twins jumped and cheered joyfully from a distance.
“A perfect creation, Fred.”
“Indeed, George. Canary Creams, proudly presented by Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes!”
The giant canary’s small eyes stared at them in disbelief. Soon, it began to molt. When all the feathers had fallen, Ron transformed back. He yelled at the twins, “You two traitors! You gave prank biscuits to Harry…”
“No, no, no, little Ronnie. We knew Harry couldn’t eat, so he would definitely give it to you.”
“Yes, Fred. A perfect plan.”
“Yeah!” The twins high-fived each other in celebration.
Although it might not be appropriate to say, seeing Ron being pranked by his brothers again, Harry’s mood suddenly improved a lot.
Before going onto the field, he finally managed to drink a bowl of pumpkin juice and eat a piece of pie.
Changing into his red team uniform in the team’s changing room, Harry looked back and saw Ron huddled at the doorway, looking at him with envious eyes. Harry felt strange.
“Uh, Ron, where’s Hermione?”
“She went to find Vaughn. Hmph, she’s a traitor too!”
Slytherin team changing room.
The Slytherin team uniform was a dark green cloak with silver trim and embroidered silver snake patterns.
Apart from the color, which Vaughn disliked, the style was still quite cool.
Hermione, holding her book, excitedly clenched her fist at Vaughn: “Vaughn, go for it!”
“Thanks, Hermione.”
Vaughn ruffled her hair, and the girl ran off, blushing.
When he turned back, the other players quickly averted their gazes, pretending not to have seen anything.
“What are you all standing around for? Prepare to take the field!”
“Yes!”
