Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

After a month and a half of intensive training, the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup has finally begun.

Because it is already the second semester and time is tight, the entire competition schedule has been simplified and compressed to less than a month. Team members from each college must compete against other teams intensively during this month to compete for points and rankings.

Wood seems to have been possessed by his father lately, becoming ruthless and brutal. You can hear his hysterical shouts in the common room every day. He will take a broom and drag Harry out of bed to train every morning at 6 o'clock.

"Aside from classes, meals, and homework, he'd rather we poop on brooms!" the Weasley twins complained loudly, but it was no use. Professor McGonagall was a supporter of Wood's brutal actions, and no one could stop the ownership of the first Quidditch Cup!

Finally, when Gryffindor and Slytherin met in the final, the weekend became incredibly intense.

When the students from both sides met in the corridor, they would boo each other mockingly, belittling the opposing player and ridiculing his flying movements as a lump of moldy pasta. They would even fight over it until Filch arrived and stopped them, taking them back to their respective deans.

It's worth mentioning that Draco was also successfully selected as Slytherin's Seeker. His classmates originally didn't even want him to participate in the selection, but Slytherin had the fewest members among the four houses, and many children from pure-blood families were not good at this kind of reckless sport. With no other choice, they had to let him participate.

Hogwarts now has too few students, not even enough to fill the Quidditch stands. McGonagall specially approved the opening of the fireplace, allowing wizards from Malfoy Castle and other places to come to the school via the Floo Network to watch the House Cup final. It also serves as a way of telling these pure-blood nobles that the brooms they compensated them with were put to good use.

When Hermione reluctantly arrived at the stadium, she witnessed a rare scene.

The stands were packed with a large crowd, with more adults than students. Most of them were Hogwarts alumni who now work in different parts of the world, but today they had all returned to participate in the first Quidditch Cup since Hogwarts resumed operations. In this year when the Quidditch World Cup was suspended, Hogwarts had provided some rare new entertainment for everyone.

Dumbledore also arrived at the scene, surrounded by chattering adult wizards who were all saying something flattering, and he could only reply to them one by one.

Four different colored flags fluttered in the stands, with the largest and most conspicuous ones being those of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Ron spotted Hermione and pulled her up to the Gryffindor section.

"Why are you so late? The competition is about to start!"

Hermione was dragged through the cheering wizards and saw Harry's father and another handsome man holding up a huge Gryffindor banner and shouting with fervor.

With his son taking over as the Seeker, how could James possibly pass up the opportunity to watch the game live? Even before McGonagall made her decision, he pestered Lily, hoping his wife would let him sneak into the school.

"Ronnie, is this Miss Granger?" a voice called from behind. Turning around, he saw a short, plump woman.

"Yes, Mother, this is Hermione. I've told you about her before." Ron pulled Hermione aside and introduced her to his parents—Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Molly.

They were also there to cheer on their twin sons. For this reason, Mr. Arthur had to take two days off. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and also worked for the Devonshire Wizarding Reconstruction Committee, the Weasleys' hometown. Many wizarding families who did not want to move to Malfoy Castle would unite to form their own hometown reconstruction committee.

"James said he invited you to their house this summer? Then perhaps I can reserve your next summer vacation?" Mrs. Molly hugged Hermione, the warmth making her feel as if she were seeing her own mother.

"I would love to, ma'am!" Hermione said softly, blushing.

"Hey Hermione, come sit down, the match is about to start! Can you see Harry over there?" James waved excitedly. The adults knew each other well, and they skillfully opened some paper packages containing snacks such as French fries and rat jerky.

"Sirius, this is Hermione, the girl I told you about who almost split Lucius in two."

The handsome man looked at the girl in surprise, grinned, and praised, "Well done! That's how Gryffindor should be!"

He leaned forward with difficulty, extending one hand to Hermione: "Nice to meet you. I'm Harry's godfather. You can call me Sirius."

"It's a pity Lupin didn't come, otherwise it would have been so lively today," James said with a hint of regret.

"Dumbledore sent him and the Longbottoms to the North Pole, who knows what kind of miserable work they're doing." Mr. Arthur patted Neville's head beside him.

Hermione, holding Sirius's large hand, was somewhat overwhelmed by the adults' enthusiasm.

They are all members of the Order of the Phoenix, closely united around Dumbledore, and are the most hopeful representatives of the world.

"These damned Malfoyburg nobles deserve to be skinned alive! Couldn't they have donated some better brooms? If you ask me, you shouldn't have stopped me from giving Harry a 2000-ring of the core. Only that broom is worthy of him! Look at him, how steadily he flies, just like you back in the day!" Sirius shouted.

"Don't forget, the Black family is among those you're insulting. Be careful Regulus in the Slytherin stands over there hears you," Arthur chuckled from the back row.

"So what if I hear it? I'm his brother!" he said nonchalantly.

But the next second, a menacing voice rang out behind him: "What do I hear? Someone's talking about equipping my son with an Air Force-grade broom?"

Mrs. Potter appeared ominously behind Sirius, instantly freezing him in place. James gave her a look that said "good luck," and wisely remained silent.

"Hey Lily, I was just kidding, you know, I always like to do that."

But Mrs. Potter wasn't about to let him get away with it. She grabbed both men by the ears, one in each hand: "If I hear from any of the other professors that Harry has received some dangerous new gadget, you two better get your cauldrons ready and jump in yourselves."

"Oh Lily, this isn't my business! Look! The match has started, Harry's moved!" James yelled, urging Lily to let go, drawing everyone's attention to the game.

Hermione sat somewhat out of place in the crowd. She could understand the players' thrilling maneuvers, the timing of their support and sniping, their clever flanking maneuvers and sudden stop tricks, but that was her perspective as a combatant, not as a sportsman. The Shattered War had changed too much.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers around her, she began to compare Harry's and Draco's flying skills, but it was clear to the naked eye that Draco was still slightly inferior to Harry. Under the same broom conditions, this gap would become enormous.

The match was commentated by Lee Jordan, the Weasley twins' best friend. His passionate and biased commentary greatly displeased the Slytherin audience, and Professor McGonagall had to stand behind him to remind him to be careful.

"Oh! Draco and Harry spotted the Golden Snitch at the same time! They're speeding up!"

"Cunning Slytherins! After realizing Draco couldn't hold Harry back, they opted for a three-man encirclement tactic!"

"Well done, George! With his friendly help, the Walking Ball successfully reduced Slytherin's numbers by one!"

"Okay, professor, stop pulling me! I've tried my best to be objective!"

"Faster! Harry! Faster! You're about to touch the Golden Snitch!"

Everyone stood up nervously, witnessing the lightning-fast figure. The Golden Snitch, barely visible to the naked eye, nimbly weaved around the terrain, sometimes using the players' bodies as cover, but Harry nimbly dodged it all. The amazing maneuvering drew huge cheers from James and Sirius.

"Look! He caught it! Harry caught the Golden Snitch!"

"The score is now 30 to 200! Congratulations to Gryffindor! They've won the inaugural Quidditch House Cup! Victory belongs to Gryffindor!"

Dumbledore stood up and clapped, and the Slytherins around him, even if they were unhappy, also stood up and clapped.

James and Sirius howled and hugged each other, raising their wands as a huge golden-red firework burst in the sky, and a majestic lion tumbled up and down.

"That's great. Although I don't quite fit in, it's nice to keep going like this." Hermione looked at all this and a smile appeared on her lips.