Chapter 31: The Quidditch Match (Part 1)

"Hey, Harry, if you get the Philosopher's Stone, what would you do?" Shrugging his shoulders, Ron lowered his head and whispered. Ever since they learned about the wondrous Philosopher's Stone, they had discussed it almost every chance they got.

"Turn lead into gold? That way, we'd have money to spend forever, who knows?" For Harry, he didn't really have a clear concept of just how powerful the Philosopher's Stone was; he only knew that if it could turn lead into gold, it meant having a lot of money.

"You're right, if I had money, I'd definitely buy my own Quidditch team." As if he had already obtained the Philosopher's Stone, Ron seemed excited at the prospect.

Mentioning Quidditch made Harry suddenly remember the hurdle he had to overcome: Snape and the upcoming Quidditch match.

"I have to participate in the Quidditch match. If I withdraw, Malfoy and the others will definitely think I'm afraid and don't dare face Snape. But I have to participate and let them see that if I win, they won't be laughing!" Thinking this, Harry looked at Ron seriously.

"That's right, that's the way. You have to win and show them," Ron said, infected by Harry's tone and showing the same animosity.

As the match drew nearer, Fred and George, the Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, had temporarily put aside their research and production of the magic recorder. Although Harry said he would definitely participate and showed a nonchalant attitude, he was actually very nervous inside.

Since Gryffindor was facing Hufflepuff this time, and a victory would allow them to surpass Slytherin and win the House Cup, all the Gryffindor Quidditch team members were unusually excited. After all, Slytherin hadn't been defeated for seven years straight.

However, Harry felt rather gloomy about this. Because whenever he thought of Snape, the biased referee, Harry couldn't be sure they could really win.

Perhaps for this reason, Harry had recently felt that the once-a-week Potions class had become a painful ordeal. As usual, Snape's attitude towards Harry was still very poor, but for some reason, Harry always felt that Snape seemed to be able to see through people's thoughts, or perhaps already knew the truth about their discovery of the Philosopher's Stone.

The next afternoon, the Quidditch match was about to begin. Outside the changing room, Ron expressed his well-wishes to Harry. Harry knew that perhaps Ron was worried that he might not come back.

"Harry, good luck, I believe you can definitely win!" At this moment, Hermione appeared in front of them and offered her own encouragement.

Harry's mood wasn't good, so he only nodded without saying anything. However, Ron was puzzled because Hermione had rarely been with them recently, staying alone in the dormitory, and he didn't know what she was busy with.

When Harry put on his Quidditch robes and took his Nimbus Two Thousand, Eisen was already sitting in the stands. Yes, although Eisen didn't think he could participate, watching the students' matches was a pleasure.

On the other side, Ron and Neville had found seats in the Gryffindor stands, clearly prepared to wait for Harry's appearance.

"Professor Eisen!" A crisp voice rang in his ear, and Eisen turned to see the little girl Hermione walking towards him.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Eisen looked at Hermione, who sat beside him and put her wand in her sleeve, gripping it tightly with one hand, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Seeing Hermione like this, Eisen was momentarily dumbfounded. Could they encounter an enemy? But no matter how he recalled, he couldn't think of any attacks that would happen during this Quidditch match.

A Dementor attack? No, impossible, this was only the Savior's first year, it wasn't time for the Dementors to appear yet.

"If Snape tries to harm Harry, I plan to cast a spell on Snape. I just learned the Leg-Locker Curse, and I hope it can help Harry!" Seeing Eisen's puzzled look, Hermione explained solemnly.

Hearing Hermione's words, Eisen showed a look of sudden realization. "You think that during the last Quidditch match, Snape cursed Harry's broomstick, and now that he's the referee, he'll go after Harry again?"

"It must be so. Otherwise, why would Snape, who has never been a referee before, officiate the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff? It must be to deal with Harry!" Hermione's little face showed a worried expression.

"Perhaps Snape will just be a bit biased towards Hufflepuff, intending for Gryffindor to fail and lose their chance to defeat Slytherin and win the House Cup, but he won't go after Harry!" Eisen knew everything but still offered another possibility.

"But he went after Harry last time, so why wouldn't he do it again as the referee?" Although Eisen's point made sense, Hermione still felt that Snape's primary target was definitely Harry. After all, she knew how poor Snape's attitude towards Harry was from attending Potions class with him.

"Haha—don't worry, Hermione, look, Professor Dumbledore is watching in the stands too. No one can harm Harry in front of him." Eisen laughed, and a playing card appeared in his hand, transforming into a monocular telescope, which he handed to Hermione, then pointed with his other hand towards the opposite stands.

"That's really great—" Hermione took the telescope and finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Dumbledore sitting in the stands. Indeed, Hermione knew that with Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard in the wizarding world, watching over, no one could harm Harry.

On the other side, Harry was being briefed on tactics by Wood in the changing room.

"Potter, I'm not trying to put pressure on you, but we need to catch the Snitch as quickly as possible—we need a swift victory. Only then will Snape not have time to excessively favor Hufflepuff." Clearly, Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, also believed that Snape's intention as the referee was not good.

"Quick, look—good heavens—even Dumbledore has come to watch the match!" Fred, peering out the door, seemed to have discovered something and then exclaimed.

Hearing Fred's exclamation, Harry quickly looked outside and indeed saw that silvery-white beard. Instantly, Harry felt himself relax. That's right, he felt that since Dumbledore was there to watch the match, he would never allow Snape to harm him.

"Professor Eisen, look at Snape's expression!" After the players from both teams took the field, Hermione showed a fearful expression and suddenly tapped Eisen's arm.

At Hermione's prompting, Eisen noticed Snape's face had darkened, especially when he saw Harry enter; his face was so grim it seemed water could drip from it, and combined with his hollow gaze, he looked terrifying enough to make a child cry incessantly.

"Don't worry, if he goes after Harry, I'll stop him too." Eisen nodded, his right hand glowing with streaks of light as he gently rubbed Hermione's head.

Just as Hermione was about to show an embarrassed expression, she suddenly changed her expression, showing a comfortable and surprised look. Clearly, the light from Eisen's hand had a calming and soothing effect through magic, which was unexpected for Hermione.

In fact, this wasn't a powerful spell but a small trick discovered during the practice of Occlumency, which could dispel negative emotions to a certain extent.

With the sound of a whistle, the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff officially began.

(End of chapter)