Chapter 294 The Tears Of Sirius
The situation on the field began to shift, and gradually the Slytherin team started to gain the upper hand.
"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading towards the goal... Montague scores!" moaned Lee Jordan. "Oh no! Seventy-twenty, Gryffindor is currently leading, but the situation is dire. If we don't take countermeasures, I fear that..."
"Cursed Slytherin, despicable Malfoy!" exclaimed Ron, waving his arm and shouting in anger. "If Gryffindor loses the game, I won't let Malfoy get away unscathed. I SWEAR THAT..."
It was highly unusual to see Hermione not rushing to stop Ron from scolding Malfoy.
At that moment, she nervously gazed at the sky, tightly holding Evan's arm.
Evan refrained from reminding her not to be so anxious because he was nervous too, his full attention fixed on Harry in the air.
High above the crowd, Harry and Malfoy were entwined, refusing to back down. Their brooms and knees collided repeatedly.
Harry seemed determined that no matter what Malfoy did, he would thwart him.
"Get out of here, Potter!" Malfoy shouted in frustration, attempting to turn only to find Harry blocking him.
Silent, Harry was infuriated by Malfoy yanking the tail of his Firebolt.
Now he was resolute to win the battle against Malfoy and confront him head-on in this physical clash.
This move far exceeded Malfoy's expectations, leaving him powerless to react.
In Quidditch matches, seekers rarely have physical contact with other players, let alone high-intensity confrontations like the current one.
The seeker's only demand is to have the fastest speed and broom-handling skills. To maintain speed, the seeker must deliberately lose weight.
Harry's reckless collision and obstruction were unprecedented in formal competitions, hence Malfoy's inability to adapt was expected.
Though Harry himself was very lean, he managed to withstand and persevere. In this regard, he was far superior to the weak-willed Malfoy.
Not surprisingly, after several high-intensity collisions, Malfoy quickly gave in, looking bewildered, swiftly seeking aid from other players.
But no one could assist him.
Just a minute before Malfoy's swift downfall, Angelina caught the ball once more.
Every Slytherin player apart from Malfoy sped towards Angelina on the field, including Slytherin's keeper. They aimed to block her, but it appeared more like they were seizing this opportunity to finish her off completely.
Malfoy fell swiftly, and Harry pursued him, both at maximum speed.
They resembled two falling meteorites, closing in on the Slytherins one after the other.
To dodge Malfoy and Harry, the Slytherin team scattered. Malfoy collided with the elusive Derrick, and they tumbled to the ground together.
Everything unfolded so rapidly that no one knew what had transpired.
The Slytherins were dumbfounded, unable to believe what was happening. They only saw Malfoy attacking his teammates.
In the nick of time, Harry raised his Firebolt and ascended swiftly.
Thanks to him and Malfoy, Slytherin's encirclement formation fell apart and Angelina had a clear path.
"She scores! She scores! Gryffindor leads eighty to twenty!" exclaimed an ecstatic Lee Jordan.
Simultaneously, Harry, having just returned to the center of the field, spotted the Golden Snitch, hovering just a few meters above the grass, shimmering faintly.
Malfoy, who had just fallen from the sky, was close by, yet hadn't noticed it. He and Derrick were busy blaming each other.
Harry lowered his Firebolt, everyone noticing his movements, then they saw the Golden Snitch floating above the grass.
The Slytherins quickly alerted Malfoy, who was astounded. Greed and ecstasy then reflected on his face. He was now much closer to the Golden Snitch than Harry.
He also began to accelerate. Malfoy had never felt so close to victory as now.
If he could catch the Golden Snitch before Harry, he would be the hero of Slytherin, and he would be the best...
The bustling Quidditch stadium fell completely silent, and all eyes were on Harry and Malfoy.
Evan noticed Harry's feet forced backwards, constantly urging him towards the fire arrow, gradually catching up to Malfoy.
Bole sent a Chaser to Harry, and he lay flat on the broom handle.
His speed was so swift that only a shadow could be seen. He was now at Malfoy's ankles, and in the blink of an eye, he was level on the other side.
At the final moment, Harry leaned forward and both hands left the broom. Like in the animated sequence on the poster created by Sirius, Harry lunged forward like a lion, releasing both hands from his broom. He pushed aside Malfoy's arm and...
Pulled out of his dive, hand in the air, and the stadium erupted.
Harry soared above the crowd, a strange buzzing in his ears.
The tiny golden ball was secure in his fist, fluttering its wings futilely against his fingers.
"Yes!"
Gryffindor won the match!
Evan followed everyone to the center of the field, and the entire Gryffindor team descended hugging each other.
Everyone was crying with excitement.
"We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" Cheers and shouts around them echoed, and everyone's voice was hoarse.
Malfoy glared at Harry for a long time before leaving with the Slytherins, and the Quidditch field turned into a scarlet sea.
Today was destined to be Gryffindor's festival. Wave after wave, the scarlet supporters spilled over the barriers onto the field, and countless hands clapped the players on the back.
Evan did not embrace them like everyone else. He stopped at the edge of the field. Sirius was also there alone, his face beaming with joy.
"This match is more thrilling than any I remember. Harry played so well. He's an excellent seeker, better than his father!" Sirius whispered to Evan, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and his voice slightly hoarse. "Yes, yes, Harry has grown up, and James should be at peace..."
Though he tried to hold back, his tears still could not help but flow.
Indeed, this was the first time Evan had seen Sirius cry like that. Even when he caught Peter Pettigrew and explained the truth of the incident to Harry, he did not cry like this. In Evan's impression, he thought a brave wizard like Sirius would never cry.
For he was fearless, betrayed by a trusted friend, and his only best friend died because of him, nothing could touch his heart again...
Even though tears streamed down his face on the way to Azkaban thirteen years ago, they should have dried up by now.
But today, Sirius wept, just like other wizards who were happy about winning the Quidditch Cup.
For a moment, Evan felt both the despair and solace of Sirius. He had a sense that as Harry grew, this hero was slowly aging in return.
Evan had not known how to persuade Sirius before. Perhaps Harry's performance today could untie his knot and help him free himself from his endless self-blame...