Chapter 90 1st Quidditch Opponent

Though Evan professed his trust in him, Hermione's face remained as gloomy as the dark night sky. She couldn't believe that Professor Lupin was truly a Werewolf; the news was simply too shocking!

"Let me tell you something, are we missing something here?" Ron looked suspiciously at Evan and Hermione.

Harry and Colin nodded along, eager for answers.

Evan and Hermione exchanged glances. Hermione wasn't sure if she should tell them that Professor Lupin was a Werewolf. Since Dumbledore and Evan trusted him, she also had to keep it a secret. Moreover, Professor Lupin was particularly kind, nothing like the image of an evil Werewolf.

Hermione gently nudged Evan under the table and nodded for him to respond to Ron's question.

Evan had no idea how to articulate it to his friends. Fortunately, he saw Oliver Wood approaching with a look of anger, and the Gryffindor Quidditch team gathered.

"Bad news, we won't play against Slytherin tomorrow!" he said angrily. "Professor McGonagall just told me that our opponent tomorrow will be Hufflepuff."

"Why?" asked the other players in unison.

"Slytherin's excuse is that their injured player's arm has not yet healed," Wood frowned, panting furiously. "But the purpose of this is obvious. They simply don't want to play in this weather and think it would spoil their chances of winning."

Hogwarts had been tumultuous in the past days. As Wood finished his words, everyone heard the thunder outside the castle.

"The Seeker from Slytherin?" Angelina said, surprised.

"It's Draco Malfoy. His arm got injured in Magical Creatures Care class in the first week of school when he was attacked by Hagrid's Hippogriff!" whispered Ron. "But that's exactly what he deserved. If I were Buckbeak, I would have given him more trouble."

"Malfoy's arm is fine now!" said Harry furiously. "It's completely healed!"

"I understand, but we can't prove it," Wood said bitterly. "They used it as an excuse when discussing with Professor Snape..."

"I knew it was him!" Harry and Ron exclaimed in disgust.

"The problem now is that we've been practicing for Slytherin, and we'll be playing against the Hufflepuff team tomorrow. Their style is quite different. What's even more problematic is that this year, they have a new Captain and Seeker: Cedric Diggory."

Hardly had he finished speaking, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie started to laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" Wood asked curiously, disapproving of this carefree behavior.

"You mean that tall, handsome boy, right?" Angelina said.

"The strong, silent type," Katie added, "He's really charming."

They started laughing again, and Wood and Fred looked very displeased.

"He doesn't speak much because he's too dense to string two words together," Fred said impatiently. "Oliver, I don't understand why you should worry. The Hufflepuff team is an easy opponent. When we played against them last time, Harry caught the Golden Snitch in just five minutes. Don't you remember?"

"We were in a completely different situation!" Wood shouted, his eyes slightly bulging. "Diggory has put together a strong team. He's an excellent Seeker! Your thinking worries me. We must not underestimate the enemy! We must address the main issues. Slytherin wants to watch our every move, looking for our mistakes. We must win this year!"

Wood's voice was loud, enough to make most people in the auditorium turn their curious gaze towards him.

"Oliver, calm down and don't get angry."

Fred looked a bit concerned, "We will take Hufflepuff seriously; we are serious!"

"All the team, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, all players must gather at the Quidditch stadium. We must devise a set of coping strategies."

No one spoke. Everyone nodded, pale-faced.

In his eyes, Evan saw the storm of thoughts within their minds. He silently prayed for those boys.

Evan could comprehend Wood's mood. This year was his final one at Hogwarts. They had to win the Quidditch Cup. Since Harry joined the team, Gryffindor had been clearly the strongest team in the school, but in the last two years, they always encountered all sorts of mishaps, leading to losing the Quidditch Cup.

To be more precise, it was Harry who was truly unreliable. Besides being an excellent Seeker, he had to play the part of a hero part-time! If Gryffindor didn't win the Quidditch Cup this year because of him, Voldemort would be unnecessary, as Wood himself would kill Harry.

Yes, he had it in for him!

The training unexpectedly continued until seven in the evening. Evan had just persuaded Hermione not to tell anyone that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. Then he watched the team members drag themselves into the common room looking exhausted. After some chat, they headed to the dormitory and fell asleep.

The next day, around five in the morning, Evan woke up. He was stirred from slumber by the howls of the winds outside the castle. He could hear the thunderous roar in the air, the tumult of the wind battering the castle walls, and the sound of the trees in the Forbidden Forest.

He left the dormitory with sleepy eyes and saw Harry already dressed, silently holding his sleek Nimbus 2000 in front of the fireplace in the common room.

There was no light in the fireplace, and the entire common room was truly dark.

"Oh, Harry! When did you get up?"

"Good morning, Evan," said Harry with a worried tone. "Around three, Peeves woke me up. He kept blowing air on my neck."

"And have you been sitting here all this time?"

"Yes, Crookshanks was trying to sneak into our dormitory. I sat on the stairs to prevent it from entering. The kids needed rest."

"But you need rest too," said Evan, surprised. "In three hours, you'll have to spend a whole day flying outside in this eerie weather."

"I'm not sleepy, Evan, I have a foreboding feeling," said Harry weakly waving his hand. "The large black dog, the unknown... Last night, while training, I saw it heading towards the Forbidden Forest. It was watching us from the trees."

"It should just be a stray dog," Evan couldn't fathom what Sirius would be doing in such chaotic weather.

Any normal and sane person would seek shelter from the rain. However, judging by the current situation, Sirius Black was not normal.

"But this is the third time. I can't be seeing the same stray dog all the time," sighed Harry. "You know Black is hunting me. If that means death, I'm afraid..."

"You don't have to worry about a stray dog. I've seen it many times."

Harry's words reminded Evan of what happened in the original story during the game. He looked up at the sky and added, "Harry, you need to conserve your strength for now. If there's anything you should worry about, I worry about the Dementors..."

"Dementors?" Harry looked up, his face instantly paling.

"Yes, those fellows are stationed not far from the Quidditch pitch, and the festive atmosphere on the pitch would be a grand feast for them. If they come, then..." Evan paused, then said, "You must ready your wand and be prepared to cast the Patronus Charm."

"I'm not making progress with that spell!" Harry shook his head. "It seems I have no happy memory to recall."

Over the next few hours, Evan practiced the Patronus charm several times with Harry. Despite their efforts, Harry's wand could only conjure a misty blur of white.

Evan sighed. Although this might not be adequate to ward off the Dementors, it was better than nothing. It should suffice to endure for a while, giving him enough time to land safely.

Furthermore, with Dumbledore overseeing the situation, Evan truly doubted that over a hundred Dementors could accomplish anything.

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