The Quidditch match today is the real deal compared to last night's video; after all, victories in videos don't earn any points.
On the stands, to Snape's left is Professor McGonagall, and to his right is Flitwick. Looking at this lineup, Snape can only helplessly say,
“Don't look at me like I'm a criminal! This is Hogwarts, not Azkaban!”
Flitwick, feeling a bit embarrassed, replied, “Severus, we believe in you. The reason we're doing this is to clear your name. If someone really tries to attack Harry amidst the chaos and we find you didn't cast a spell, wouldn't that eliminate your suspicion?”
Listening to Flitwick, Snape shot him an annoyed glance and said, “Do you think that person is an idiot? Knowing we would be on guard against him attacking Harry, would he still dare to make a move? Does he not have a brain?”
Just as Snape was at a loss for how to defend himself, in a corner, Quirrell looked up at Harry in the sky and muttered to himself,
“Don't worry, Master. Snape has been controlled by McGonagall and Flitwick. Without his interference, as soon as I make my move, I will definitely be able to kill that little brat Harry Potter!”
“Are you an idiot?” Voldemort's voice echoed in Quirrell's mind. Although wrapped in layers of scarves, he couldn't help but curse out loud.
“How did I end up with such a servant! Use your brain and think carefully: McGonagall and Flitwick are both watching Harry. Can you kill him? Besides, all eyes are on Snape right now; if you make a move, won't that clear his suspicion? Just sit in the stands and don't act recklessly, got it?”
Voldemort was crazy, not foolish; he knew exactly what they needed to do.
First, find the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect himself. As for Harry Potter? Once he is resurrected, killing him would be as easy as casting Avada Kedavra.
Hearing Voldemort's words, Quirrell shrank his head and walked toward the stands.
Fine, he could only follow Voldemort's orders; after all, he was the servant.
Madam Hooch walked to the center of the field, looking at the fourteen brooms overhead, and then said,
“I hope you all play with style, skill... and creativity.”
Although yesterday's video match was exciting, she certainly didn't want to watch a repeat today.
With that said, Madam Hooch opened the box containing various balls!
Then…
“Surround Harry Potter!” With a single command from Marcus, two Slytherins immediately moved in from either side, surrounding Harry.
Harry was dumbfounded. Seriously? I'm just a first-year rookie, and you send two people to keep an eye on me right off the bat? Don't you have any shame?
On the stands, the Gryffindor students couldn't help but boo.
This is just too shameless.
Marcus, however, didn't care about that; as long as they could win, what did face matter?
But watching this scene, Wood couldn't help but smile. Trading two players for Harry? They were definitely not losing out!
“Harry! Go high! Draw them away!”
Harry nodded in understanding and immediately controlled his broom to shoot up into the sky.
This was a clever strategy. If you two don't follow me, then your encirclement becomes useless, and I can look down from above to find the Golden Snitch.
If you do follow me, then it becomes five against six down there.
The two Slytherins had no choice; they exchanged glances and then followed the plan from last night, trying to entangle Harry!
“Terence, the Golden Snitch is up to you! Hurry!!!”
Marcus reminded their seeker, Terence. Their plan was simple: stall!
Let the two chasers hold Harry while Terence went for the Golden Snitch, and the four of them would simply give up offense to focus on defense.
As long as Terence could catch the Golden Snitch before the score reached 150 points, victory would be theirs!
Below, watching the situation in the sky, Hermione anxiously turned to Zhang Dong and asked,
“What should we do, Zhang Dong? Slytherin is playing dirty!”
“Dirty? No, no, no, this is just digging their own grave,” Zhang Dong shook his head and smiled, “Do you know how long the longest Quidditch match in Hogwarts history lasted?”
“How long?” Hermione really didn't know; she wasn't that interested in Quidditch.
Zhang Dong silently held up three fingers.
Hermione was a bit incredulous: “Three days?”
“No, three months.”
“Huh???” Hermione blinked her big eyes, as if she couldn't believe what she heard.
“That's right, three months. According to records, there was a Quidditch match that lasted three months because neither side could catch the Golden Snitch. During that time, seven players plus substitutes took turns, and they were almost exhausted before a winner was finally determined. Of course, because of this, a rule was later added: when one side leads by fifteen goals, or 150 points, the match automatically ends.”
Upon hearing Zhang Dong's words, Hermione was at a loss for words, seemingly still pondering how a match could last three months.
How did they eat? How did they go to the bathroom? How did they sleep?
This match was just too brutal.
Looking at the shocked Hermione, Zhang Dong smiled and then said, “That's not all. According to 'The Magical Game of Quidditch,' the longest Quidditch match in history lasted a full six months! Now that was truly ruthless.”
Listening to Zhang Dong, although Hermione and the others were still quite shocked, they understood his point.
That is, if they wanted to play a lightning-fast game of Quidditch? Unless one side's lineup was James + Harry + Krum + Charlie + Wood + Malfoy + Cedric.
Otherwise, how could they possibly win against Hogwarts in a flash?
With Terence?