The Pacifist Necromancer of Hogwarts

Chapter 325 Quidditch

The stands were already packed with people, and there was a lot of noise everywhere. Hufflepuff students were handing out yellow flags, and most Gryffindor students were wearing red ornaments. Even Percy had a rose pinned to his chest. Anthony followed Professor McGonagall across the field and came to the commentary stand.

"I must monitor the explanation," Professor McGonagall whispered to Anthony.

The young man named Lee Jordan was already sitting behind the commentary desk. He greeted them with a smile.

"It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

Anthony smiled and nodded at him. He remembered that Jordan was a good friend of the Weasley twins.

Professor McGonagall sat down next to the commentary desk, took off her hat and put it aside, then motioned for Anthony to sit next to her.

"Thank you, Minerva," said Anthony, looking around with some curiosity.

On the slightly old table was a magic microphone and a small telescope, the knobs on the telescope looked a little worn. Lee Jordan picked up the microphone, tossed it back and forth between his left and right hands carelessly, and looked down in the direction of the Gryffindor locker room.

Anthony looked down too. There was nothing in front of them but the oval Quidditch pitch and the packed stands. At eye level the goalposts gleamed golden in the sun as Madam Hooch flew around them, making a final check. Across the stands sat Umbridge, sitting with Snape between the Slytherins, clutching her annoying clipboard.

Professor McGonagall noticed his gaze: "Yes, this is a highly anticipated match."

"Of course they care," said Lee Jordan. "If we lose -" he saw Professor McGonagall's face. "That's not going to happen - I mean, if we win, Slytherin won't necessarily get the Quidditch Cup. They've been trying to get it out of Professor Flitwick's office."

Before Professor McGonagall could say anything, the audience erupted in deafening cheers. Anthony looked over and saw the red Gryffindor team and the yellow Hufflepuff team coming out of their respective locker rooms, brooms in hand. Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the field, opened the box in front of everyone, and released the balls one by one. Anthony saw from a distance that Wood had one hand on Fred or George's shoulder, his head close to the twins, as if emphasizing something with them.

Lee Jordan immediately grabbed the microphone: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fourth Hogwarts Quidditch match of this school year, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff!"

There was a flash of golden light, and the golden snitch was released. The audience cheered. The snitch flashed in the sunlight, and then disappeared.

The two teams walked towards Madam Hooch. Surrounded by all the players, Harry really looked very small. Anthony looked in the direction he turned his head and found Hagrid in the crowd - quite conspicuous - and Ron, Hermione and Neville sitting next to Hagrid. They were all applauding and cheering for the Gryffindor team.

"The game is about to begin. I am Lee Jordan, the commentator for this game." Jordan said, "Captains of both teams shake hands - Madam Hooch reiterates the basic rules -" A whistle sounded, "The game begins!"

Everyone got on their brooms and flew into the air, Harry flying higher than everyone else, while Cedric hovered slightly below him, searching for the Snitch.

"Hufflepuff Chaser gets the Quaffle right at the start - Gryffindor is hot on the trail - nice pass, the Quaffle is still in Hufflepuff's hands - well done, Wood! Gryffindor holds the goal! Fly, Johnson, fly - Gryffindor has the Quaffle! Look out, Bludgers!"

Angelina's broom turned sharply in the air and dodged a whirring Bludger.

"I'm fine!" she yelled, sprinting past the commentary desk with the Quaffle towards the Hufflepuff goal.

Lee Jordan said: "Come on, boys! What are you doing with your bats, Weasley?—Angelina Johnson's fine pass—Oh no, Hufflepuff has caught the Quaffle, a very good team effort—Nothing in the way, he's running with the ball—Go after him, Spinnet—"

Before Anthony could register what was happening, the Hufflepuff Chaser lurched and his broomstick stumbled, and Alicia Spinnet was immediately ahead of him, snatching the Quaffle away from him.

"That's a great bludger!" Lee Jordan shouted. "It's right in the middle!"

One of the Weasley twins flew down from above and stopped in front of the commentary desk. "Here's the bat, mate." He raised the bat towards Jordan, squinted at a Bludger flying towards him, and then slammed it into the Hufflepuff player who was trying to stop Arya.

"Another Bludger - blocked - passed by Alicia Spinnet, who became a regular last year and is now able to play on her own - to Johnson - in! The keeper missed! Gryffindor scores!"

The whole audience cheered. Professor McGonagall smiled slightly on her tense face and clapped her hands modestly.

Wood shouted from a distance to one of the twins at the commentary desk, "What are you doing there, Fred? Fly! Watch Harry!"

"I'm George." The red-haired young man in front of Anthony complained. He pulled the broom and flew towards Wood. "No more crazy Bludgers, Oliver, and no more crazy brooms!"

Wood exclaimed: "This is just the beginning!"

Angelina followed the Hufflepuff Chaser closely, flying around the field, and now chimed in: "What if there's a crazy Snitch?"

"What?" Fred flew down from above and knocked away the Bludger that was heading towards Angelina. "Is this the Snitch that specifically hits people?"

"I'd love to see that," Cedric said, cutting in. He deftly circled around and dodged a Bludger that was flying towards him. "Go away!" Fred said to him, hitting another Bludger in his direction.

Cedric grinned and flew off briskly.

……

For more than an hour, the Snitch or the crazy Snitch didn't appear. A few times, Harry and Cedric flew down from the sky and everyone thought they saw the Snitch, but in fact they just wanted to say something to their teammates.

Anthony was already feeling a little bored, but Jordan beside him was still explaining passionately.

"The score between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff has become 60 to 70, which is very close. Now the focus is still on the Seekers of both teams. Gryffindor got the Quaffle, and it was the Chaser Katie Bell. She was sandwiched between two Hufflepuff Chasers. Oops, another Chaser flew towards her head, a standard Parkinson's clamp tactic. She tried to pass the ball. Oh, it was a fake move! But she failed to deceive the opponent and her situation is still very dangerous. Weasley hit the Bludger and missed. Bell tried to pass the ball to Johnson. Oops, the ball was blocked and Hufflepuff got the Quaffle!"

There was a small cheer from the Hufflepuff stands, with small yellow flags waved, but it soon fell silent again, as everyone watched the game with bated breath.

"Pass - perfect move, all the way to the Gryffindor goalpost - Wood hovers - Bludger, no use, the Hufflepuff Beaters are defending very tightly - oh, Potter comes down again - Diggory comes in almost at the same time, God, they must have been on to something - Hufflepuff scores, but who cares about that - sorry, Professor McGonagall - Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are sixty to eighty - Potter gallops, tumbles brilliantly, evades the Quaffle - Diggory follows - they're like two arrows - Potter catches the Snitch!"

The whole audience cheered. Madam Hooch blew her whistle vigorously, looking very satisfied with the game.

Lee Jordan shouted, "Gryffindor has caught the Golden Snitch. The game is over. Gryffindor is ahead of Hufflepuff, two hundred and ten to eighty. Gryffindor wins! Let us congratulate Gryffindor! Harry Potter, who caught the Golden Snitch, is Gryffindor's Seeker. He made an exception and joined the Gryffindor team as a first-year student last school year. He has helped Gryffindor win five games!"

Harry, still holding the Snitch aloft, spiraled down to the ground, where his teammates landed beside him and immediately embraced him.

Wood happily pulled the Weasley twins off their brooms, one on each side, and patted them on the back, not caring that they almost tripped over the broom handles. It was not until someone reminded him that he noticed that Madam Hooch was calling him, and he ran over with a smile to shake hands with the captain of Hufflepuff.

Hagrid stood in the cheering crowd, clapping excitedly, while Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean were also discussing excitedly. Hermione stuffed a book into her bag before turning around and clapping and cheering loudly, joining her friends in their joy.

The Ravenclaw and Slytherin audience began to slowly leave the auditorium. The Hufflepuff students also stood up and slowly left the venue, not forgetting to say a few words of encouragement to the sweaty Hufflepuff players as they passed by.

Professor Sprout pushed through the crowd and came to them. "Congratulations, Minerva! Great game!"

Professor McGonagall said, "Hufflepuffs put up a good fight, too."

"I know, we tried our best." Professor Sprout said with a smile, "I'm also glad that Dolores didn't interrupt the game. I will definitely thank Severus."

Anthony looked across and saw that Snape had left the table. He found him on the path outside the court.

Snape was walking towards Hogwarts Castle. Even from such a distance, one could see that his face was extremely bad. It was hard to tell whether it was because of Gryffindor's victory or because of Umbridge beside him. There were a few Slytherins with them. Anthony vaguely remembered that they seemed to be Slytherin's prefects - of course, they were also members of the Investigative Task Force - and those students were gesticulating and talking about something.

Professor McGonagall said with a hint of surprise, "He promised you?"

Professor Sprout was even more surprised and asked, "He didn't agree to it?"

Professor McGonagall said proudly, "I think Gryffindor's strength is not afraid of those dark tricks. No, I am not interested in asking Severus for help."

Professor Sprout smiled. "Well, I asked him to help. I told him that if he could get Dolores to stay in the stands and not interfere with the game, I would give him the best mature Mandrakes. Of course, if he refused, he would never get any more Sapweed, Bubble Pods, or Cookies."

“I would call that a threat,” Anthony said.

"Stern threats," agreed Professor McGonagall. "Sounds like you made cookies again, Pomona?"

"Right. So, the greenhouse?" Professor Sprout said, "We can call Filius. He should be putting some finishing touches on the construction of the zoo."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Sounds good."

As they were talking, they were walking towards the bottom of the stands. At this moment, a discordant shout suddenly broke out from the noisy crowd. Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall stopped together.

Anthony looked in the direction of the noise and saw a familiar sight.

Red and green mixed together, and Gryffindor and Slytherin started fighting.

(End of this chapter)