Chapter 131: Quitting the Team

With the arrival of October, the new season of the Quidditch Cup was also approaching.

In this semester, Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team, was already in his seventh year, marking his last semester at school.

However, in his seven years at Gryffindor, the house had never won the Quidditch Cup championship. 

Seeing himself about to leave school without a single victory weighed heavily on his heart.

Thus, before the first Quidditch practice of the semester at Gryffindor, he delivered an impassioned speech to his six teammates in the Quidditch changing room. 

All the players unanimously decided to give their all this semester to help Oliver Wood secure a championship, sparing him from regret.

Meanwhile, Roger, the captain of Ravenclaw, found himself facing a new challenge: Ravenclaw's star player, Alaric, unexpectedly requested to quit the Quidditch team.

"What? You're not playing Quidditch anymore? Why, Alaric? We've been on a winning streak for two years, and now you want to quit halfway through? 

I told you, after I leave, you'll be the next Quidditch captain!"

"You know, Roger, I couldn't care less about being captain," Alaric shook his head, resigned.

"In fact, Quidditch holds no challenge for me anymore. It's no fun to slaughter opponents who can't fight back. Plus, I'm busy; there's a lot of research waiting for me."

"But you're our core player. What will we do if you leave?" Roger's voice carried a plea. 

"If you think Quidditch is a waste of time, you don't have to come to practice. If it's you, nobody will mind."

"Ah, Roger, there's really no need," Alaric patiently persuaded.

"But you don't need to worry because the other Ravenclaw players are actually quite good. 

Look, last semester's match against Hufflepuff, even though I wasn't there, you still won, didn't you?"

After much persuasion, Roger finally agreed to Alaric' request to quit the team. 

However, he also suggested that Alaric take the time to mentor Cho Chang. 

As the most talented player on the team, and with Alaric' modified super broomstick, Cho Chang immediately became Roger's designated successor.

Truth be told, Cho Chang's flying skills were actually quite good, albeit a bit timid. 

She hesitated to make risky moves at crucial moments. But now, after training with the Patronus Charm, she had become much braver. 

After about a month of training, Alaric even believed she was capable of competing in the Quidditch World Cup. 

He had decided to give it a try—the Quidditch World Cup took place every four years, and the next one was scheduled for August next year.

The eve of Halloween was the day when Hogwarts students could leave Hogwarts for Hogsmeade, and all the young wizards looked forward to it eagerly.

But Alaric was an exception. Firstly, he had been living in Hogsmeade for a long time, and his bus was still parked there.

Secondly, he was currently too busy. Although he could now open a space time portal, it was still very unstable. 

He had to repeatedly try different methods to maintain its stability before proceeding to the next step.

On the morning of Halloween Eve, all the young wizards set off cheerfully for Hogsmeade. 

Even Penelope escaped from her heavy studying and went to Hogsmeade with her friends to relax. 

Alaric continued his experiments to stabilize the time portal alone, but he didn't forget to hand the keys to the bus to the three girls.

By the way, because the time portal would have a strong impact on the surrounding space, Alaric dared not conduct experiments in the Room of Requirement anymore.

As it contained intricate spatial magic. If the time portal were to disrupt it, Alaric would probably be in tears.

His new laboratory was actually the former Slytherin Chamber of Secrets. 

Since, Alaric had successfully killed the Basilisk outside the Chamber and destroyed the Horcrux.

The Chamber's location and method of entry remained undiscovered by others. 

So, Alaric made a series of modifications—mainly to the entry method—and it became his private space.

That evening, as usual, Hogwarts held a lavish Halloween feast. 

The food was plentiful, and the performances were spectacular. The feast concluded with entertainment provided by Hogwarts' ghosts. 

They suddenly appeared from the walls and tables to perform a synchronized glide; Nearly Headless Nick from Gryffindor successfully reenacted the scene of his beheading.

The sight of the swirling white blood did startle quite a few people.

However, shortly after Alaric returned to the common room, a ghost drifted in.

"Madam Grey?" someone exclaimed in surprise.

Madam Grey was the ghost of Ravenclaw, responsible for assisting Ravenclaw's students. Her real name was Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw.

Madam Grey was a proud and cultured lady. Under normal circumstances, she rarely appeared in Ravenclaw's common room.

"All Ravenclaw students, gather in the Great Hall immediately! This is Dumbledore's command!" 

A worried expression appeared on Madam Grey's beautiful face—a sight Alaric had never seen before on her usually indifferent face.

This command caught everyone by surprise. 

But soon, Professor Flitwick rushed into the common room. 

Under his lead, the Ravenclaws queued up and returned to the Great Hall, where they saw Gryffindor students, followed by Hufflepuff and Slytherin, arriving one after another.

In the Great Hall, Ravenclaw students finally learned from Gryffindor's account what had happened.

Sirius Black had invaded the castle and attempted to enter Gryffindor's common room. 

Despite the Fat Lady's obstruction, he had managed to destroy the painting at the entrance to Gryffindor.

"The professors and I will conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore informed the students.

At this, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all the doors of the Great Hall.

"For your own safety, you might have to stay here overnight. 

I ask the heads of houses to stand guard at the entrance of the Great Hall and the heads of the student councils to stay inside the Great Hall for management.

Report to me immediately if anything happens."

Professor Dumbledore paused for a moment, about to leave the Great Hall, then added, "Oh, yes, you might need..."

With a casual wave of his wand, the long tables flew to the side of the Great Hall and lined up against the wall. 

With another wave, the floor was covered with hundreds of purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," Professor Dumbledore said as he left, casually closing the door behind him. The Great Hall immediately buzzed with excited chatter.

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