Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

No one expected that the Hogwarts Quidditch final would end like this.

Among them, the Slytherin wizards and professors were the most unable to accept such a result.

Administrator Filch's emotions were leaking out. He grabbed a handful of his already sparse hair in annoyance and said with a gloomy face:
"It's really a disgrace to Slytherin. Instead of losing to the opponent in the game, they didn't make it back in time for the game!"

Faced with such a final outcome, even Gryffindor players and supporters were a little overwhelmed.

It was not until boos continued to be heard from the Slytherin stands that the Gryffindor supporters came to their senses and, a little late, gave out overwhelming cheers like a roar!
"Gryffindor wins!"

"Gryffindor won the Quidditch championship, and they are also the winners of this year's House Cup!"

"Good job Gryffindor. They made their opponent forfeit the game after only playing the first half, before even the Golden Snitch came out!"

Compared to the jubilation of Gryffindor supporters, the Slytherin players were under tremendous pressure.

At this time, the only people still standing on the court were three Slytherin players with extremely ugly faces.

These players did not take [Wisdom Potion] before the game, so they did not face the side effects and painful reactions like other teammates.

In today's game, they tried very hard to save the ball.

But Quidditch is not a game for three people, but a team competition that requires teammates to work together.

Angry spectators kept pelting them with rubbish, most of it flashing green cheering sticks made especially for this event.

A small number of them bought flowers specifically to support them in this competition. Each flower of the snake flower cost three gold galleons!

Some of the little wizards were so angry that they found eggs from somewhere and caught a few chickens, and threw them all onto the court.

Such an out-of-control situation also affected the Gryffindor players nearby.

Slytherin captain Marcus was too ashamed to face the team's supporters and stood there in silence.

It seemed that if these things hit him, it could make up for his mistakes in this game and make him feel better.

The other two players wanted to run, but seeing their captain standing still, they didn't dare to leave.

The Gryffindor players nearby couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to put up armor to protect themselves and those around them.

The Gryffindor team and the Slytherin team are long-term rivals in Quidditch matches, and the two sides have already developed grudges of varying degrees in countless games.

But after leaving the competition, the four major colleges all maintained the slogan of "friendship first, competition second".

It was impossible for Wood to watch Slytherin players being attacked by fans with cheering objects.

Wood could only take the initiative to stand up and appeal to the Slytherin stands -

"Please stay rational and don't attack the contestants!"

"Please remain sensible and abide by the Quidditch Viewing Rules."

"If you continue to attack players, we will have to apply for off-field sanctions, and next time you will not be able to come to the Quidditch stadium or watch any Quidditch match!"

As Wood spoke to the audience, he turned to look at Marcus, who had his head down and remained silent.

Wood pulled his arm and said quickly, "Hurry up and think of something to calm their anger! Otherwise the situation will get out of control!"

Marcus twitched his lips in self-mockery.

"I don't have anything to say. I'm a Slytherin sinner. If they can vent their anger by beating me up, I'll be happy to let them do it."

Wood could not help but grab his collar fiercely, and Marcus' feet were pulled off the ground. He said angrily:

"You are crazy. I have played so many games with you. Can't you bear even one defeat?"

"I always lost to you before. If you say so, I don't even need to go to Hogwarts and should just drop out!"

"Marcus, don't tell me that you are such a person that you can't even stand a defeat!"

Marcus' cheeks flushed red, and a nameless fire rushed from his heart to his brain. He cried out in a state of collapse: "But I never thought that the game would end in this way!"

"I didn't lose to your skills, nor did I lose to your willpower, nor did I fail to catch the Golden Snitch. I lost to my teammates!

Look, they haven't come back yet! Is there any need for such a team to exist? Just disband it!"

The captains of the two teams had a big argument, which escalated from a verbal dispute to a physical fight.

This made the little wizards in the stands, whether angry or happy, a little at a loss for a moment.

Harry, who had been watching all this silently, turned to look at the Weasley twins.

The twins, who were always smiling, did not smile at this moment. Instead, their expressions looked heavy and serious.

The result of the game was within their expectations, but when it really happened, why were they not as happy as they imagined?
Ms. Huo Qi intervened between the two captains, and at her call, professors from their respective colleges quickly appeased the students.

The subsequent award ceremony was carried out in a hurry.

Originally, the championship team had half an hour to enjoy this moment of glory and interact with supporters in the stands.

But this time they just stood on the podium and received an award. The whole process took less than 5 minutes, and then they hurriedly left the podium and walked to the lounge.

Obviously they won, but there was no smile of victory on the faces of the Gryffindor players.

After the meeting was dismissed, Harry deliberately followed the Weasley twins and whispered behind them, "Is this what you wanted?"

The twins raised their heads at the same time and looked into the distance, with a look of confusion in their eyes.

They don't know if this is what they want.

Originally they just wanted to sell wisdom potions to help the little wizards do better in the exams, and they had no other ideas.

It's just that there were too many orders from Slytherin, even more than from Gryffindor, so they wondered if they could take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

The plan went smoothly and the Slytherin players took the bait one by one.

Logically speaking, this is because they lack self-control. If they could resist the temptation, something like this would not have happened today.

But for some reason, George and Fred didn't feel happy at all.

They whispered to themselves, “This is not the result I wanted.”

For the first time, the twins discovered that what they wanted in their hearts was far from the reality.
-
The Quidditch game was over, Lin Xia and others maintained order and allowed the little wizards to retreat safely.

The mobile toilets were originally going to be evacuated, but because there were still many wizards waiting to use them, Percy thought about it and decided to keep the two toilets. Percy held his head high and said happily, "You did a great job. I will ask for your credit in front of the professor."

He changed the subject, “However, the construction of these two washrooms does not comply with the procedures for building buildings on campus, so they will eventually have to be demolished.

I will leave a few wizards here to guard it, and dismantle the bathroom when it is no longer used."

Having said that, Lin Xia and Draco stepped back at the same time. Hermione quickly pulled Ron beside her and also took a step back.

The other wizards followed suit, except for a few who were still confused about the situation and stood there in a daze.

Percy smiled at the wizards with satisfaction: "Very good, you are really aware of this. You can stay here."

After the show, Lin Xia and Draco went back to the laboratory first as they had to get some things.

Ron and Hermione went to find Harry. They had agreed last night that after the Quidditch game was over today, they would go to Hogsmeade together to find out what happened.

Since it was related to Death Eaters, Harry felt that he needed to go and take a look, and Ron followed him unconditionally. Hermione thought it was too dangerous and didn't want them to go.

But even Lin Xia and Draco expressed their desire to go and take a look, so Hermione had no choice but to join this adventure.

"Harry! Harry!"

Ron and Hermione's voices came from not far away. Harry looked up and saw the two of them waving at him.

Ron asked, "Harry, what happened? You look a little upset."

Hermione speculated: "Maybe there was something wrong with the award ceremony just now. I have never seen Gryffindor hold such a brief ceremony.

Normally you have to brag for half an hour until Madam Hooch comes on stage to take you away, and then you are willing to leave, but this time you left in less than 5 minutes. Is there a conflict within the team? "

The conflict within the team was a matter for the team, and Harry didn't want to tell anyone about it, so he said half-truthfully:

"Well, the mood is a bit bad. Some of us feel that this victory is not glorious enough. We hope to defeat Slytherin in a fair match."

Ron said puzzledly: "Winning is winning, no matter what the method, but in the end, Gryffindor won. Why should we be unhappy about it?"

Hermione also said: "Several Slytherin players were unwell. They must have taken bad food by mistake before the game, so they did not play to Slytherin's strength in this game.

But it is also the players' responsibility to manage their bodies before the game. They neglected their bodies, which means they did not take the game seriously. In this case, they deserved to lose. "

Hermione said pointedly: "Gryffindor should laugh at the Slytherin players for not being able to manage their bodies properly!"

Ron looked at Hermione in horror: "You are too horrible, aren't you?"

Losing the game is already very hard on the other party, but the opponent is still mocking me. Isn't this a bit...

Hermione raised her eyebrows: "Only by making them remember this lesson, they won't dare to do such a thing next time and take it as a warning.

Besides, when has Gryffindor lost to Slytherin without facing Slytherin's ridicule? I am just giving them a taste of their own medicine."

"Okay." Harry didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he changed the subject and said, "Let's go back to the common room. George and Fred have to go back to pack their things. Don't we still have to borrow the invisibility cloak from them?"

"Let's go quickly. If they leave, it will be difficult to deal with."

They hurried to the common room and just happened to catch the Weasley twins coming out of the common room, and they met in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

Harry quickly stopped them and explained his purpose.

George and Fred seemed to have adjusted their moods. They raised their eyebrows and looked at Ron in particular.

George asked, "So, will you go home this Christmas?"

Fred: "Mum's going to be mad if she doesn't see you on Christmas Eve. You're not going to ask her to send another Howler to Hogwarts, are you?"

Ron put aside his previous mutterings, held his head high and said proudly:
"You don't have to worry about that. My parents already know that I won't be going home for Christmas. I won't be going home during this winter break. My professor has already invited me to stay on campus during the winter break to help with some tests."

Without waiting for the twins to ask, Ron said the next second: "Due to confidentiality regulations, I cannot tell you exactly what I did. I can only say that this is a very important experiment, and the professors all hope that I can stay!"

He emphasized the second half of the sentence with great emphasis.

The twins looked at each other and George pulled a worn piece of parchment from his pocket.

"Since Mom and Dad already know about it, we support you. You all know the rules, so remember to keep your tail hidden and don't let the annoying Professor Snape find out. It's hard to get back the things he confiscates."

Fred also took something out of his pocket, a pen.

He handed it to Ron and said, "You have achieved so much and have been noticed by the professor. As your brother, we are very proud of you. This is our Christmas gift to you."

Ron couldn't help but be stunned.

After the twins left, he still looked as if he was in a dream.

Ron couldn't help but pinch his face and murmured, "Am I seeing right? George and Fred are actually preparing a Christmas present for me!"

"You know, last year they just picked up a used book and a worn sweater as my Christmas gift, which was as perfunctory as it could be. This time they even gave me a pen."

Ron carefully opened the pen, but nothing dangerous happened. He even turned the pen around, but nothing dangerous happened.

Hermione urged, "Ron, hurry back to the dormitory with Harry. We will meet in the laboratory in 20 minutes. Don't make me wait for you."

She emphasized: "I really don't like people who are not punctual, Lin Xia and Draco are the same!"

Harry and Ron hurried back to their dormitory.

Both Harry and Ron have signed the "Willingness to Stay on Campus During Winter Vacation Form" and passed the school's review.

They could stay in school during the winter break, but this time when they went to Hogsmeade, they would most likely run into Death Eaters, so everyone was a little nervous and wanted to make as many preparations as possible.

In their opinion, the most convenient way to get to Hogsmeade village is to take the Hogwarts Express and get off at the Hogsmeade stop.

When Harry and Ron returned, the dormitory door was opened and his roommates were busy packing their things.

From time to time, the voices of little wizards carrying luggage talking to each other could be heard floating in from the corridor outside.

"Why is the departure so strictly controlled this time? I heard that we won't stop at Hogsmeade."

"I asked the professor, and he said that there were too many people going to Hogsmeade this year, and the village couldn't bear it, so they restricted the flow of people."

"A few days ago, I received a letter from my family saying that if you want to spend Christmas in Hogsmeade, you have to make an appointment in advance and register. The Ministry of Magic will review whether you can enter."

"Why is it so strict? I've never heard of such a thing before." (End of this chapter)