Chapter 97: Bloody Quidditch (1)
As we enter November, snowflakes begin to fall in the grey sky and the weather becomes unusually cold.
When Albert awoke, he found that the woods around the castle were covered with snow, and the black lake was frozen with a layer of hard ice.
Everyone said that winter came very early this year, but Albert himself didn't care much about the weather, anyway, before the temperature dropped, he had already wrapped himself tightly in a woolen coat and scarf, and went to Professor Flitwick to learn how to use the drying charm, so he was ready to start the winter.
One thing deserves everyone's attention more than the cold weather: the Quidditch season at Hogwarts has begun.
Every morning, Albert could see Hagrid with a broomstick, braving the snow and wind to clear the road to the Quidditch pitch to prevent the snow from covering the road completely.
Charlie, who is the captain of Gryffindor Quidditch, is also in a period of excitement at this time, and he will seize the time to explain tactical coordination to everyone every time he trains.
George and Fred escaped by accident because they weren't full-fledged players, and they told Albert that Charlie, who entered the situation, was as strict as the devil.
Thankfully, in the last few training sessions, the unofficial players did not need to be involved.
In the first match, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, Charlie announced the draw at the table, and the game was scheduled for this weekend.
All Gryffindors want to beat Slytherin and win this Quidditch match. Professor McGonagall also exempted everyone from their pre-match homework, which is not hard to see the Dean's desire to win and his love for Quidditch.
In fact, there is another important reason why everyone is hungry for a victory, Gryffindor's House Cup points are currently at the bottom, and they urgently need to earn points through a Quidditch victory to save the embarrassing situation at the bottom.
If Gryffindor wins, they will be able to move up to third place in the academy over Hufflepuff and close in on second-placed Ravenclaw.
However, the most bizarre thing is that the Hufflepuff students actually hope that Gryffindor can defeat Slytherin, and the Ravenclaw students also support Gryffindor, which shows how unpopular Slytherin is at Hogwarts.
Over the weekend, it was unusually cold with sleet in the sky.
Albert Ray slept under his bed, refusing to get up. In the end, Fred and George, who were still full of excitement, lifted the sheet together and pulled it out of the warm bed.
"It's so cold, I don't want to go outside to watch the game in this weather!" Albert wrapped himself in thick clothes as fast as he could, and hurriedly used a drying charm on himself, making the cold clothes immediately dry and warm, as if they had just been baked in front of a roaring fire.
"Don't be stupid, this is a rare opportunity to cheer on the Gryffindor team!" Fred staggered twice in place, trying to warm himself up.
"Don't jump, it's dazzling me. Albert raised his wand and poked Fred in the body, casting a drying charm on him.
"Hey, what did you just do, it won't be cold all of a sudden. Fred looked at Albert in amazement.
"Magic, boy, magic is power, and it never hurts to learn more spells. Albert patted Fred on the shoulder and said earnestly.
Fred was stunned for a moment, and did not adapt to Albert's style of painting for a while.
"Give me a treat, too. ”
Li Jordan, who had just dressed and put on a winter cloak, also hurriedly came over and asked Albert to dispel the chill on his body.
"And me. ”
It's really cold today, and the temperature in the room drops to eight degrees, which is still the reason for the fireplace.
If you take the thermometer on the cabinet outside, it will drop to below freezing.
In other words, Fred and the others saw the thermometer for the first time, and they were shocked, which was particularly interesting.
Albert thought about the three of them for Christmas this year, so he gave each a room thermometer.
Bringing a folding umbrella, putting his glasses in his pocket, wrapping Daisy's hand-woven towel around his neck, and pouring hot water into a flat, small silver-plated water bottle and placing it in the pocket of his robe as an insulated bag, Albert and his roommates went to the hall of the auditorium.
As soon as you enter the restaurant, you can smell the enticing smell of grilled sausages in the air.
The people at the table were chatting excitedly about the game, and everyone was looking forward to seeing a good Quidditch match.
However, there was a smell of gunpowder between Slytherin and Gryffindor.
The tables of the two sides are next door, and the clash of words is inevitable, and the fact that there is no real fight shows that everyone is restraining and intends to leave the real duel on the Quidditch pitch.
"Charlie, come on. Albert and his friends also came to Charlie's side to send their blessings to this group of familiar friends.
"By the way, Charlie, have you found a replacement?" asked Mark suddenly.
"Substitutes?" Albert asked, confused, "is this going to be a long game?"
"There are always exceptions. We have an old grudge against Slytherin, and even though some of the players graduated last year, the relationship between the two sides is still very bad and some conflicts on the pitch are inevitable. Jack glanced at the Slytherin table and explained to Albert, "So, we need some substitutes. Of course, the other side needs the same thing. ”
Albert felt that something was wrong with this, and he remembered that no substitutions were allowed during Quidditch matches.
"Looked. Charlie patted Mark on the shoulder and comforted everyone, "Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey will also go to the game, and if she is injured, she will definitely be cured quickly." ”
When Albert heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, how did this sound like an illusion of going to war?
Could it be that the two teams will fight it out on the pitch?
At eleven o'clock, all the teachers and students of the school went to the stands of the Quidditch pitch with umbrellas and the weakening sleet.
The audience was not only Hogwarts teachers and students, but also some wizards who liked Quidditch, who braved the bad weather and came to Hogwarts to watch this Quidditch match.
That's right, Hogwarts sells tickets to Quidditch matches.
When Albert arrived at the Quidditch pitch, he saw a number of wizards from outside the school, all wearing thick cloaks, holding umbrellas in one hand and binoculars in the other, sitting in their seats at their respective colleges and waiting for the game to begin.
It can only be said that there are not many entertainment activities in the wizarding world, but there are many people who like Quidditch matches. It is said that tickets for each game are selling well.
Of course, the scope of these out-of-the-box activities is limited to the Quidditch pitch, and the distance from the Quidditch pitch to Hogsmeade is not too far.
Fred and George chose their seats not far from the Gryffindor locker room, and Albert was a little puzzled, and if he wanted to see the game clearly, the top level would undoubtedly have the best view.
However, the Weasley brothers simply replied, "Maybe, we can do that too." ”
Albert directly understood this sentence to mean that when the game is played, it may be necessary to change the batter?
However, he doesn't think it's very likely.
Although the weather is a bit pitiful, watching the game with everyone still feels quite atmospheric, just like watching a movie or a game in front of the computer, which is completely different from going to the cinema to watch a movie or going to the stadium to watch a game.
Amid the cheers of the crowd, the Gryffindor team wearing red Quidditch uniforms entered the arena, and the field immediately set off a burst of enthusiastic cheers and applause. The Slytherin team in their green Quidditch uniforms entered the stadium and were greeted with boos and applause.
"Looks like our Slytherin team isn't popular with everyone!" the Ravenclaw commentator teased loudly with a microphone.
The next moment, he was greeted by boos from the Slytherin audience.
Albert never doubted that if the school hadn't separated the seats of the four colleges, the competition might have caused a chaotic brawl.
Mrs. Hodge, who will be the referee in the flying lesson, is standing in the middle of the pitch, her broomstick in hand, waiting for the players from both sides to enter.
"Listen, I want everyone to be fair and honest in the competition. Mrs. Hodge said loudly as the players from both teams gathered around her.
These words were magically expanded enough for everyone in the venue to hear.
Actually, Mrs. Hodge's words were specifically addressed to certain people on both teams.
"I felt like both captains were trying to break each other's hands. Albert shifted his monoculars and looked at Charlie, who was shaking hands with the other party, feeling a little like laughing.
When shaking hands, there are people who like to play this kind of trick.
"Charlie also asked me how to use force when shaking hands. A familiar voice sounded beside him, and Hagrid, with a large umbrella and binoculars, sat down next to several people.
Before the start of the game, Albert could feel the gunpowder, and I am afraid that the game will not be as simple as he imagined.
Fifteen broomsticks rose into the sky after the whistle sounded.
The competition has officially begun.
A few minutes later, Albert, stunned, dared to pat his chest and assure that this was definitely the dirtiest ball game he had ever seen, and there was no one.
The ghost ball was first grabbed by Jack, and the acrobatic pursuer, covered by his teammates, cleverly used the inverted pass tactic to give Gryffindor 10 points.
However, in order to prevent the Gryffindor chasers from scoring, the Slytherin batsman chose to charge Jack, and the broomsticks of the two were directly deflected several meters.
"Foul, foul!" erupted in anger from the audience, engulfing the sleet overhead.
"Slytherin deliberately fouled!" the narrator shouted, "Unfortunately, their plot didn't succeed, and Gryffindor took the lead with ten points." Now, Ghost Ball has been awarded to Gryffindor by Lady Hooch. ”
The game continues......
"Is this normal?" Albert asked Hagrid beside him, ignoring the yelling roommates around him.
"It's not normal. Hagrid turned to Albert and said, "However, in recent years, Gryffindor's match against Slytherin has been full of gunpowder. ”
After the commentator shouted out the Gryffindor score, Hagrid applauded vigorously.
"The smell of gunpowder?" Albert refocused his gaze on the court, feeling that it was not the smell of gunpowder, but that it was full of explosives, which could explode at any moment.
Gryffindor scored another goal to take a twenty-point lead. "The narrator is obviously not very qualified, but Albert likes that this guy is biased towards Gryffindor.
Gryffindor's short lead of 20 points left Slytherin furious, and they began to do whatever it took to grab the ball.
When Mario was about to pass the ball, the broom was kicked by someone else, and suddenly it shook violently, and he had to grab the broom with both hands to prevent himself from falling, and the ghost ball was snatched by the Slytherin chaser.
However, as revenge for Slytherin. As Mark passed by Slytherin Seeker Marcus Flint, he suddenly made a feint mistake and punched him directly in the nose, causing the hapless Seeker to tilt his head back and start a nosebleed.
Gryffindor and Slytherin were each given a free throw by Mrs. Hodge.
The game continued in this chaos, and almost every few minutes, Mrs. Hooch blew her whistle to announce who had committed another foul.
It almost drove the referee crazy.
Albert took out a water bottle and poured it into himself, and began to denounce the Slytherin students with everyone.
No way, Locke of Slytherin actually hit Erin in the back of the head with a stick, and quibbled that he thought her head was a Bludger.
Mrs. Hodge blew the whistle again, and the ball fell back into Jack's hand, and the chaser deftly dodged the interception and swerved towards Locke. The ghost ball slammed into the face of the stunned batsman at great speed, bounced back and was picked up by a teammate flying underneath.
"Ah, I'm sorry, the view is not very good, I saw the wrong person, I'm sorry. Jack fakely apologized to Locke, and then flew away on a broomstick without waiting for the other party to react.
Despite the Slytherin student shouting for a foul below, Mrs. Hooch did not blow the whistle and treated it as a normal pass.
It's just that the target of the pass is the Slytherin batsman. It can only be said that the Gryffindor chaser voluntarily gave up his advantage, which does not seem to be a foul.
As for smashing the ghost ball in the opponent's face, it was Locke's own useless dodge.
By now in the game, even Professor McGonagall had no time to stop the commentator's radical rhetoric, and the Gryffindor Dean was waving his fist angrily at the sky.
Because just now, just as Charlie was about to catch the Golden Snitch, Slytherin's chaser Monty slammed into him, causing Charlie to almost fall off the broomstick, and thus losing the opportunity to catch the Golden Snitch.
Although Gryffindor received another 10 points, this did not quell the anger of Gryffindor's supporters, and some people began to protest by throwing objects at the venue.
Gryffindor's side also returned the favor, taking the ghost ball into the scoring zone at Gryffindor in Monta, and was slapped in the face by Wood, making him dizzy and almost falling off the broomstick.
"Free throws!" Mrs. Hodge shouted at Wood, "I don't remember any rules that allow attacking chasers. ”
"Sorry, I was so excited that I accidentally made a mistake. Wood looked apologetic, as if what had just happened had been an accident.
In the audience, Albert felt that the game was very problematic, and it was definitely the rudeest ball game he had ever seen.
Could it be that this is the legendary Bloody Quidditch?