Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 123 Hufflepuff wins! Slytherin? No way!

The two Slytherin batsmen quickly reached an understanding, deliberately abandoning their usual interference with the Hufflepuff offensive players and focusing all their running balls on the goalkeeper. High in the air, two running balls whistled towards the goal, each one grazing the goalkeeper's shoulder and arm, just a hair's breadth away from hitting his body, extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, Hufflepuff's batters kept a close eye on the game and immediately noticed the opponent's malicious targeting. The two adjusted their positions and took the initiative to intercept the incoming wandering ball, making several precise swings and defusing several deadly goal threats, thus protecting the safety of the back line.

The persistent targeted attacks failed to work, causing the Slytherin batsman to lose patience. Seeing that he could not force the goalkeeper to make a mistake and leave the field of play with the running ball, he immediately changed the direction of his broom, forcibly changed direction in the air, and slammed the high-speed running ball in his hand into a Hufflepuff chaser who was cutting into the frontcourt and preparing to shoot.

A heavy, jarring impact suddenly echoed through the stadium, its force incredibly powerful.

The Hufflepuff Chaser reacted with lightning speed. The instant the Walker closed in, he yanked his wrist and pulled hard on the broom handle, maneuvering the broom to dodge at an incredible speed. The high-speed, hard Walker grazed the edge of his robe, creating a powerful gust of air that swept through the fabric, narrowly avoiding the malicious attack.

The spectators in the stands saw the entire deliberate foul and immediately erupted in gasps of surprise, followed by a chorus of boos and complaints, instantly creating a tense atmosphere in the arena.

Hufflepuff's captain was a sixth-grade girl with her long hair tied in a neat high ponytail. She calmly coordinated the team's offense and defense throughout the entire process. Upon witnessing the opponent's obvious malicious act of injury, she immediately accelerated into the air and loudly appealed to Madam Hooch, who was enforcing the law.

"Mrs. Hodge! This is a deliberate violation targeting a player! The opponent is completely disregarding the rules of the game!"

The sharp, urgent referee's whistle immediately pierced the sky. Mrs. Hooch sped to the scene and, with a serious expression, gave the Slytherin batsman a stern verbal warning, clearly informing him that his behavior had crossed the red line of the rules of the game, and that if the same foul occurred again, he would be immediately ejected from the game.

Despite the referee's stern reprimand, the batter showed no remorse.

He simply shrugged casually, a perfunctory smile on his face, his attitude nonchalant, completely disregarding the warning.

This was Slytherin's core tactic in this match.

They constantly tested the limits of the competition rules, using various subtle physical contact, sneak attacks, and positioning interference to continuously wear down their opponents' physical and mental strength.

They exploit loopholes in the rules of the game. As long as there is no direct physical impact injury, the referee cannot determine a valid foul. However, once they successfully steal a foul, they can directly injure one of the opponent's key players and quickly seize control of the game.

This tactic of probing and applying extreme pressure proved highly effective on the field, repeatedly disrupting the opponent's rhythm, but it also caused Slytherin to completely incur the collective resentment of the audiences of the other three houses.

Everyone knows that this kind of unsportsmanlike play is far more objectionable than a direct, aggressive attack.

Despite being at a disadvantage, the Hufflepuff team fully demonstrated the resilience unique to their school.

The team members did not get angry or argue because of the opponent's malicious tactics, nor were they disrupted by the frequent sneak attacks. Instead, they quickly adjusted their formation, with everyone moving inward to close the distance between each other.

A tight formation allows players to cover for each other and provide cover, greatly reducing the risk of being targeted by roaming balls. It also simplifies the defensive range and strengthens the overall defensive strength.

After regaining their footing, Hufflepuff even launched a counterattack, with the whole team pressing forward in an orderly fashion and breaking directly into Slytherin's penalty area, turning the tide of the game.

The three Hufflepuff Chasers displayed exceptional teamwork, with the Quaffle being passed between them rapidly and seamlessly.

They abandoned the high-risk long-pass attacking style, relying entirely on precise and stable short passes to gradually stretch and tear apart Slytherin's defensive line, patiently looking for defensive weaknesses and waiting for the best shooting opportunity.

The situation on the field has completely devolved into a stalemate.

Slytherin managed to score two goals through several controversial attacks caused by their traveling ball interference, thus widening the score gap.

But Hufflepuff withstood the pressure with their rock-solid overall defense and quickly caught up with points through their excellent teamwork, successfully tying the score.

The biting wind continued to sweep across the entire stadium, but it could not break the patience and rhythm of the Hufflepuff team.

The numbers on the scoreboard climbed alternately, with both sides trading blows and refusing to give an inch. The score remained deadlocked, tied at 20 and 30, with neither side able to widen the gap.

As the game progressed, the sky overhead grew increasingly dark, with thick, dark clouds piling up and gathering in large patches, completely obscuring the remaining glimmer of light, and the air temperature continued to drop.

The prolonged tug-of-war gradually caused the already restless Slytherin players to break down.

The players' movements became increasingly exaggerated, and the number of fouls, including illegal positioning, deliberate collisions, and malicious sneak attacks, continued to rise.

In contrast, the Hufflepuff team played steadily from start to finish, maintaining a consistent rhythm in both offense and defense, and displaying no fluctuations in mentality. No matter how much the opponent provoked and pressured them, they were able to firmly hold their formation and advance their attacks in an orderly manner.

Slytherin consistently attempted to disrupt the opponent's rhythm and force opposing players to leave the field injured through malicious fouls, but his repeated sneak attacks only resulted in minor abrasions and failed to effectively reduce the number of players involved.

Every time a foul is caught by the referee, Hedgehog is given a penalty kick opportunity.

The series of unfavorable rulings pushed the Slytherin team's anxiety to its peak.

Just as the team was losing their composure and becoming increasingly impatient, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred to the Slytherin batsman.

The player is raising his hand, preparing to swing his bat with all his might, slamming the wandering ball hard against the Hufflepuff chaser in the frontcourt, trying to disrupt the opponent's attack with maximum force.

The next second, a crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out in the air, extremely jarring.

The batter froze, looking down at his hands.

The once-intact Quidditch bat was now broken. He was only holding a short wooden handle in his hand. The upper part of the bat had completely slipped from his grasp and was propelled away at high speed by inertia, disappearing from sight.

A gasp of surprise erupted from the stands, as everyone's attention was drawn to this unexpected incident.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Slytherin captain suddenly cover his face, lose his balance, and fall straight down from the high broomstick.

The broken piece of baseball bat was slowly falling from the sky along its rotating trajectory.

Mrs. Hooch immediately accelerated her dive and landed as quickly as possible to check on the wounded.

Captain Slytherin crashed heavily onto the frosty lawn, his right hand pressed tightly against his mouth, bright red blood seeping out from the gaps in his glove and staining the fabric of his palm.

"Don't move, let me check your injuries."

Madam Huoqi quickly and gently comforted him, carefully pulling away his hands that were covering his face.

At the clearly visible wound, several white teeth had fallen out, and the gums were severely damaged and bleeding profusely.

This accident was entirely due to a malfunction of the equipment, resulting in self-injury. There was no violation of the rules by the opponent, and Mrs. Hooch could not make any ruling.

She could only immediately cast a hemostatic spell to suppress the bleeding and use basic healing magic to repair the surface wound. She repeatedly instructed the captain that he must go to the infirmary for in-depth treatment as soon as possible after the match to avoid aggravating the injury.

After a brief period of chaos on the field, a spectator in the stands suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention back to the core of the game.

All eyes were focused on Hufflepuff's Seeker.

Cedric Diggory was selected for the college team as early as his sophomore year, thanks to his talent that far surpassed that of his peers. He played a crucial role as the Seeker. This resume is enough to prove his extraordinary potential. Almost most of the students present had heard of him.

Puni raised his hand, lifted the binoculars, adjusted the focus, and the lens steadily locked onto the boy high in the sky.

Cedric smoothly maneuvered his broom through the air, his posture calm and composed, his vision broad and sharp, methodically scanning every corner of the arena.

Despite the Slytherin Seeker's relentless close-quarters harassment and malicious interference, he remained completely unaffected, maintaining a calm demeanor and high level of concentration.

In the early stages of the game, Slytherin Seekers can take advantage of gaps in the Hufflepuff formation to infiltrate and disrupt the team from all angles.

At this moment, the Hufflepuff formation was completely solidified and contracted, and the opponent's harassment space was completely compressed. They could only hold Cedric tightly and had no other means of interference.

To disrupt Cedric's rhythm, the Slytherin Seeker deliberately lost his balance with his broom, using the momentum of the sway to charge towards him, attempting to create interference through physical contact and force Cedric to make a mistake.

With his exceptional flying skills, Cedric subtly twisted his wrist, causing the broom to instantly spin sideways, deftly avoiding the deliberate collision.

He didn't even linger his gaze, immediately withdrawing his attention to continue searching for the golden thief's trail from all angles.

With his tall and upright physique, he is not afraid of physical confrontations with players of the same level and can withstand malicious collisions from them.

But he knew the core responsibility of a seeker and was unwilling to waste any energy on pointless entanglements.

Cedric's restrained demeanor—avoiding close combat and focusing solely on searching for the thief—was perceived as weakness and insecurity by the Slytherin Seekers, who were eager to make a name for themselves.

The opponent, convinced that Cedric was afraid of a direct confrontation, became increasingly reckless, going all out and constantly harassing him with close-quarters combat, lateral blocking, and sudden speed changes, using various borderline illegal maneuvers to disrupt Cedric's flight rhythm and force him into making mistakes.

Just as the opponent's interference became increasingly intense, Cedric's actions suddenly changed.

Instead of passively avoiding the situation, he suddenly pressed down on the front of the broom, propelling himself straight down the field at maximum speed.

The Slytherin Seeker, who had been keeping a close eye on Cedric and the entire field, also spotted the Golden Snitch hiding in the low-flying area at the same time.

His reaction wasn't slow; he immediately urged the broom to speed up and catch up, but his starting pace was ultimately a bit slow.

Seeing Cedric widening the gap and realizing he was about to miss his chance to make a decisive move, he completely disregarded the rules of the game and sportsmanship. He took a risk, leaning out and reaching for the end of Cedric's broom, trying to drag him away and interrupt his dive attack.

The entire stadium witnessed this egregious foul, and Hufflepuff's supporters erupted in fury, their shouts echoing throughout the stadium: "Outrageous! That was a deliberate foul!"

Cedric, who was in a high-speed dive, sensed the unusual movement and strong wind coming from behind him.

Just as the other party was about to touch the end of the broom, he flipped his wrist at lightning speed, skillfully maneuvering the broom to complete an extreme lateral drift, and then pulled the machine up with all his might.

This series of actions was smooth and clean, not only perfectly avoiding the opponent's malicious pulling, but also using the momentum of the turn and rise to accelerate again, speeding towards the blind spot below the pillar of the stands at the edge of the field.

The entire audience's attention was instantly drawn to that bright yellow and black figure, with countless eyes following it closely, and no one dared to blink and miss this moment.

As he approached the pillar's blind spot, Cedric leaned forward slightly, locked his gaze on the target, and suddenly stretched out his arm, precisely grasping and pulling it into the empty air.

As he smoothly ascended with his broom and returned to the high-altitude arena, the clamor of the entire arena momentarily ceased.

All eyes, those of the spectators, the players on the field, and the referees, were focused on his raised right hand.

Between his fingers, tiny golden specks of light flickered and danced, their dazzling luster standing out starkly against the gloomy sky.

The decisive referee's whistle suddenly tore through the clouds, echoing throughout the Quidditch stadium, officially announcing the end of the match.

The Hufflepuff stands erupted in deafening cheers and shouts, the pent-up emotions from the entire match bursting forth.

Countless yellow and black school flags were raised high and waved wildly, the fabric fluttering and rustling, turning the entire stands into a vibrant wave of color.

This victory was hard-won and decisive.

Hufflepuff did not rely on any opportunistic means, nor did they take advantage of any illegal operations or loopholes in the game. Instead, they relied on extremely solid team defense and seamless teamwork to withstand Slytherin's malicious harassment and fierce attacks throughout the game, defeating their usually arrogant and domineering opponents with absolute strength.

On the field, the entire Hufflepuff team immediately surrounded Cedric, keeping him firmly in the center.

After a fierce and arduous battle, everyone's faces were covered in sweat from exhaustion, yet they radiated pure and enthusiastic smiles.

Cedric stood in the center of the crowd, his eyes gentle and his lips curved into a humble and composed smile. Even after winning the game, he showed no arrogance or pride.

His composure contrasted sharply with the somber, resentful, and angry expressions of the entire Slytherin team opposite him.

The next second, the team members worked together to lift Cedric high into the air, and with light cheers, they carried him around slowly on the field in celebration.

Despite the intense combat and continuous flight that had drained their energy, the group was now bursting with energy and showing no signs of fatigue.

Watching the lively scene from the stands, Puni couldn't help but think to himself that the Hufflepuff team's abundant energy was probably inseparable from the constant nourishment of the castle kitchen. Their location next to the kitchen allowed them to always have enough energy to replenish.

In stark contrast to the warm and harmonious celebration at Hufflepuff, the Slytherin rest area was oppressive and chaotic.

The captain, who had just been injured by a broken baseball bat, lost a tooth, and whose wound had not yet healed, had long forgotten Mrs. Hoch's instructions for treatment and the rules of the game.

He endured the pain in his face, his emotions completely out of control. He angrily grabbed the batter whose bat had broken, waving his arm wildly, venting his anger and resentment at the defeat, blaming all his frustration for the loss on this accident.

The excitement of the Quidditch match lingered long after the final battle, and the Hufflepuff students, who had successfully won the match, flocked into the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

The students of the entire academy were in high spirits, celebrating this hard-won victory with open arms. Everyone spontaneously gathered on both sides of the Hufflepuff table, with laughter and cheers rising and falling.

They deliberately used the dinner as an opportunity to organize a special celebration. The noisy laughter and lighthearted conversation filled the hall, creating a highly infectious atmosphere.

Many students turned their gaze to the Slytherin table not far away, openly expressing their joy at victory and fully enjoying the sense of accomplishment from winning this hard-fought battle.

In the faculty and staff section, Snape sat upright in his designated spot, his aura cold and rigid, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

His eyes were shrouded in an unyielding shadow, his face was expressionless, and he was in a state of extreme silence.

His fingers gripped the knife and fork firmly on the table, cutting the food on the plate neatly, one stroke at a time.

His anger had been building up with the Hufflepuffs' continued cheers, and he had several times considered drawing his wand to punish the noisy students on the spot and forcibly end this deliberate celebration.

But he ultimately suppressed his anger and maintained a facade of composure and calmness.

Professor Strawny, sitting next to Snape, was initially swayed by the enthusiastic atmosphere, her brows relaxed and a smile playing on her lips.

Hufflepuff's comeback victory, achieved through sheer skill and unwavering commitment to the rules, while resisting malicious interference from their opponents, is something to be proud of.

But when she glanced at Snape beside her, who had a gloomy expression and was silently struggling with the steak on his plate, she immediately sensed a dangerous atmosphere.

She quickly suppressed all the smiles on her face, her expression returning to calm and composed, no longer daring to reveal even a trace of joy.

She knew very well that Hufflepuff had always kept a low profile in various school competitions and rarely received such outstanding competition points, making this victory all the more precious.

If the atmosphere is allowed to continue to fester, it will anger Snape, who holds grudges and has a penchant for suppressing rival houses. Snape might then use his teaching authority to deliberately find mistakes and deduct points in subsequent studies, thus erasing the hard-earned achievements of Hufflepuff.

Inside the auditorium, the atmosphere of the two opposing academies created an extremely stark contrast.

The Hufflepuff table was bustling and warm, while the Slytherin table next to it was deathly silent and oppressive.

All the Slytherin students around the long table sat in silence, no one talking, no one making a sound, and they even deliberately controlled their movements. Even the slightest sound of knives and forks touching plates was completely gone, and the entire area was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

This defeat was a devastating blow that was hard for them to accept.

Throughout the Quidditch match, the score remained tied for a long time. Slytherin tried every trick in the book, frequently using the edges of the rules to interfere with their opponents, and even resorting to illegal tricks to try to disrupt their rhythm, but ultimately they still couldn't turn the tide of the game.

For the Slytherin students, who are always proud and believe that their bloodline and strength are superior to others, being defeated head-on by Hufflepuff, whom they have always looked down upon, is an extreme humiliation.

The Quidditch players, in particular, gave their all but failed to achieve anything, and even caused a blunder due to equipment malfunction, resulting in a loss of the game. Their sense of frustration and humiliation reached its peak.

They ate in silence with their eyes downcast, occasionally glancing at the Hufflepuff students celebrating across from them. Their feelings for the Hufflepuff students had long since transcended simple defeat and resentment.

Their long-held sense of superiority was shattered, and the regrettable defeat in this arduous tug-of-war caused clear resentment and hostility to grow deep in their eyes.

The other professors, seated in the main seats, had already taken in all of this.

Everyone understood that competition and antagonism between schools was the norm at Hogwarts, and moderate feelings of winning or losing, or opposing camps, would not lead to serious consequences.

As long as the students' conflicts and hostility are kept within a reasonable range, do not violate school rules, and do not cause malicious harm, the teachers will not actively intervene in this healthy competition among the young students.