Chapter 43: The Scheming Boy, George

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"Professor Snape, we booked the entire Quidditch pitch in advance, and it was because Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood that Ron attacked him!"

Facing the intimidating Snape, Wood and the others were too angry to speak but didn't dare to argue. Harry, however, refused to let it go.

Snape's expression darkened further. "How dare you lie?"

"Malfoy, did you call Hermione a Mudblood?" George suddenly interjected, addressing Malfoy.

With Snape present, Malfoy felt emboldened. Raising his chin smugly, he replied, "She is a Mudblood. Mudbloods shouldn't even be allowed at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts doesn't admit students based on your opinion!"

Hearing Malfoy's remark, Snape immediately turned and scolded him sternly. After all, Snape's greatest love, Harry's mother Lily Evans, had also been born to Muggle parents.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, George quietly stepped back.

Malfoy, clearly frightened by Snape's uncharacteristically stern reprimand, quickly shut his mouth.

Snape turned back to Harry.

"I'll rescind the earlier point deduction. But, Potter, for talking back to a teacher, Gryffindor will lose five points."

Harry wanted to protest, but Hermione tugged his arm to stop him. Losing five points instead of twenty was already a much better outcome.

At that moment, Ron opened his mouth and spewed another handful of slugs.

"Ugh!"

"Finite Incantatem!"

George stepped forward, waved his wand, and a blue beam of magic struck Ron. The slugs disappeared immediately.

Snape had mentioned during practice that, when encountering unknown Dark spells, one could first try a general counter-curse. George hadn't expected it to work, but it did.

"Thanks, George," Ron said gratefully once he returned to normal.

Harry and Hermione nodded at George as well, understanding that his intervention earlier had prevented Gryffindor from losing another fifteen points.

George subtly winked and then stepped back beside Snape.

"I just wanted to try the general counter-curse I learned."

Snape replied coolly, "For helping a fellow student, five points to Slytherin."

The Slytherin Quidditch players, who had looked dejected moments before, raised their heads again in triumph.

"That's enough. The matter is settled. Slytherin's team has two new players to train; the rest of you may leave."

Hearing Snape dismiss them, Wood immediately led his team out of the Quidditch pitch.

However, once outside, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaked back in and hid in the stands to watch.

They weren't spying on Slytherin tactics but were curious about whether George or Malfoy would become the new Seeker.

They had learned from Ginny yesterday that George was set to join the Slytherin team. Initially, they assumed George would become the Seeker, just like Harry the previous year. But today, they found out that Malfoy had already been made the Seeker after his father gifted the team a set of Nimbus 2001s.

Now they worried George might face challenges joining the team.

"George can perform high-difficulty moves on a school broomstick that even professional Quidditch players struggle with. So I've decided that he will be the team's new Seeker."

Once Wood's group left, Snape announced George's position on the team.

Malfoy's face darkened. "Professor, you promised my father I'd be the Seeker!"

"Darian Pucey and Terence Higgs have stepped down to focus on their studies. Malfoy, you'll take over as Chaser."

Snape had already made this decision the night before.

Malfoy had talent with broomsticks, and his father's generosity significantly strengthened the Slytherin team. Replacing Terence Higgs, who had been outperformed by a first-year Harry, with Malfoy made sense.

However, George's extraordinary talent made him the obvious choice for the crucial Seeker position. To balance the team, Snape decided to drop the less critical Chaser Darian Pucey.

"Professor, I disagree! I want to be the Seeker and face off against Potter!" Malfoy shouted.

"Professor, George is friends with Potter and gets along with Gryffindor students. If he becomes the Seeker, he'll definitely throw the match to Potter!"

"Malfoy, do you think Slytherins can't be friends with Gryffindors?" George stepped forward to face Malfoy.

"I think that not only can we be friends, but under the right circumstances, we can even marry witches from Gryffindor.

We're all Hogwarts students. Rivalry is natural, but it's absurd to claim we can't be friends or partners because of house differences. Who says only people from the same house can be friends or marry?"

The other Slytherin players were stunned by George's bold statement, expecting Snape to reprimand him severely.

"See, Professor? George will side with Gryffindor. He's even considering marrying one of those Mudbloods from Gryffindor! A Slytherin wanting to marry a Gryffindor—that's the funniest thing I've heard today!"

"Silencio! Levicorpus!"

Snape, his face darkened, silenced Malfoy and suspended him upside down with a spell.

"Either you accept the position of Chaser, or you're out of the team."

'Small fry, trying to challenge me.'

George smirked. He had deliberately provoked Malfoy into making those statements.

Malfoy didn't realize his words were a direct insult to Snape's deepest regret: losing Lily to James Potter due to house rivalry and harsh words.

"Headmaster, if Malfoy still isn't convinced, how about a match? Whoever catches the Golden Snitch first becomes the Seeker."

George wanted to make Malfoy admit defeat and solidify his position in Slytherin.

"Levicorpus cancel!"

Snape waved his wand, releasing Malfoy.

Snape's connection with Malfoy's family had made him lenient toward the boy. However, today Malfoy had crossed the line too many times.

"Very well. A match it is. The winner will be the Seeker, and the loser will play as Chaser."