Chapter 35

**The match was approaching, and although Harry was indifferent to what his peers were saying, his mood was growing increasingly tense. The other team members were also on edge. Everyone was excited about the prospect of defeating Slytherin in the House Cup, and with Albert on their team, their confidence grew even more.

For nearly seven years, Gryffindor hadn't won against Slytherin in the Quidditch finals. No one had managed to overcome them, and to make matters worse, the referee for the game was Snape, known for his bias toward Slytherin.

On the second day of the match, Neville, Ron, and Hermione found a spot in the stands. Neville, sitting next to Ron, was a bit curious about why they were holding their wands as if facing an enemy.

Hermione had been muttering about possible spells they might use, and the tension continued to rise.

As the game was about to begin, Hermione decisively interrupted Neville, who had been thinking idly.

"Look at the staff table," Hermione pointed out where the teachers were seated.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is here to watch the match as well, so there shouldn't be any security issues today."

Hermione and Ron spotted Professor Dumbledore's famous silver beard and sighed in relief simultaneously.

The match began, and while they were resting and preparing to watch, someone suddenly hit Ron on the back of the head—it was Malfoy.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, I didn't see you there."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all smirked.

"I wonder how long Potter can stay on his broomstick this time. Anyone want to bet? How are you, Weasley?"

Everyone ignored Malfoy, as they were all concerned about Harry's condition.

But Malfoy's arrogance only grew, and eventually, Ron, unable to tolerate it any longer, lunged forward and knocked Malfoy to the ground.

Hermione also hit Goyle with a well-aimed, though immature, stunning spell.

Afterwards, a scuffle broke out, but fortunately, the immature stunning spell managed to temporarily incapacitate Goyle.

Later, Hermione, Ron, and Neville fought alongside each other against Malfoy and Crabbe.

Meanwhile, in the air, Snape had just used his broomstick when he saw a golden shape whiz past his ear, just inches away, and then Harry stopped diving.

He raised his arms triumphantly, the Golden Snitch clutched tightly in his hand.

Lee Jordan announced, "Hooray! Despite the match having started less than 15 minutes ago, the Gryffindor team, led by Albert and Harry, has won with Albert scoring four goals and Harry catching the Snitch! Gryffindor wins with 190 points to Slytherin's 90!!"

The stands erupted with excitement; this was a new record. No one could remember a game where the Snitch was caught so quickly.

"Neville, Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Albert and Harry won! We won! Gryffindor is on top now!" Hermione shouted, jumping from her seat and hugging Patil in the front row.

Albert and Harry hugged each other, celebrating their contribution to Gryffindor's victory in the final.

Harry exclaimed, "Hooray! We really won!! We beat Slytherin!!"

Both Albert and Harry were thrilled with their victory.

After nearly an hour of celebrating, everyone prepared to return to the castle when Harry and Albert slowly came in from a distance.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione asked sharply.

Ron, patting both Harry and Albert on the back, shouted, "We won! You won!"

"Everyone is waiting for you in the common room celebrating, and Fred and George have stolen some cakes from the kitchen. The room is empty, so listen to what I have to say."

After making sure there were no Peeves around, Harry turned and closed the door, then revealed what they had seen and heard about Snape's interactions with Quirrell.

"So, our guess about Snape's role must be accurate. This thing is the Philosopher's Stone. Snape wanted to force Quirrell to help him obtain the Stone, and he asked Quirrell if he knew how to subdue a house elf. Quirrell mentioned that, besides the house elf, there might be other protections guarding the Stone. There might be powerful magic involved. Quirrell might have cast counter-charms against dark magic, and Snape needs to neutralize them…"

"Are you sure? Are you saying that the Philosopher's Stone will only be safe if Quirrell can resist Snape?" Hermione asked in panic.

Albert performed a healing charm on his swollen eye from his encounter with Snape, who had tried to prevent Harry from catching the Snitch. Albert had intervened and collided with Snape, resulting in the injury.

Albert said, "No, you can't be this arbitrary. What Harry overheard wasn't explicitly clear, and it seemed like Professor Snape discovered it."

Ron added, "Forget it. You can't think Snape is a good person just because he recently gave you high marks on your homework. I believe he's a bad guy. The potion you made wasn't good enough, so Snape gave them extra points for free."

Harry stood up and said, "When you put it that way, I'm a bit confused, but I still believe that Snape wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone."

In the end, everyone unanimously agreed to propose a motion of no confidence against Snape, though Albert always had reservations.

Of course, they were just reservations. Harry was convinced that Snape wanted to steal the Stone and that Quirrell was the guardian. While they did something they thought would help thwart Snape's plot, Albert remained silent.

Starting with what he considered Quirrell's last line of defense, every time he encountered Quirrell in the street, he gave him an encouraging smile. Ron also began persuading people to stop mocking Quirrell's stammer. Albert was at a loss for words on the matter and felt that by the end of the term, Harry would find himself facing a situation where Voldemort and Quirrell would be inseparable, and they would definitely regret it.

For Albert, aside from the issues related to the Philosopher's Stone during this period, the most important thing was preparing for the final exams.

After all, as a student, exams were still extremely important, especially for Hogwarts, as they were directly tied to employment issues.

Hermione also began reviewing for the final exams, and when Albert reviewed with her, he found her notebook packed with various content marked in different colors. She even had a rigorous revision plan.

Despite Hermione's grumbling, Albert continued reviewing his revision plan. The schedule was stricter than it had been before the entrance exams in his previous life.

But when he thought that an 11-year-old girl could do it, Albert could only grit his teeth and continue to save face.

Harry and Ron, however, were indifferent. Once, when Hermione was grumbling, Harry responded angrily:

"Hermione, the exam is still a long way off."

Hermione replied, "Only ten weeks. It will pass in the blink of an eye, so review thoroughly."

Ron reminded her, "Anyway, why do you need to review? You already know everything."

"Why do I need to review? Are you crazy? Don't you know we need to pass these tests to move to the second year? I should have started reviewing a month ago, and I don't know what I was doing instead. What's the problem?"

Albert watched them argue, sitting in his chair and pretending to be transparent. As expected, the real academic teacher not only studied well but also tried to get the students to learn effectively, though students often didn't appreciate it.

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