Before the final exams, there was one last Quidditch match.
Damon finally took the field for the final Quidditch Cup of the semester, serving as the Beater—though, aside from Harry and Ron, no one else was particularly optimistic about him, and Wood even looked anxious.
Their opponent was once again the Slytherin team—Malfoy was incredibly motivated upon discovering Damon was on the field, while the other Slytherin students were somewhat dismissive—Damon had never played before, so even if his dueling skills were exceptional, what good would that do?
As a result, with every Hogwarts student in attendance, the stadium was packed, and they witnessed the most boring yet most exciting Quidditch match ever.
Swinging his bat, Damon began chasing the Quaffle that was distracting the Seeker at the very beginning of the match—and just as everyone was wondering what he was doing, he hit a resounding home run!
"Pang!"
With a resounding thud, the Slytherin Seeker's broom was smashed by the passing Quaffle. Unprecedented in Hogwarts Quidditch history, the referee, momentarily unsure what to do, chose not to intervene.
Snape, with a sullen expression, summoned a substitute—then a second, and finally a final one. No matter how much Snape instructed the Beaters to focus on their strikes, they were no match for Damon's strength, let alone his magical mastery.
Even without a wand, Damon's Quaffles were beyond their reach.
Ultimately, Gryffindor achieved an unprecedented victory—600 to 0, a score far exceeding the difference in the House Cup between Slytherin and Gryffindor. In fact, if Snape hadn't deducted so many points from Gryffindor, Damon and his team wouldn't have needed to continue the match.
He eliminated Slytherin's Beater and Seeker one after another, and then the Gryffindor players began to score frantically against the Keeper.
When the match ended, Professor McGonagall waited excitedly off the field—her face flushed with joy, and she even embraced Damon after he left the field, bursting into tears.
"Professor, it's just the Quidditch House Cup. You shouldn't be so excited, right?"
"You don't understand—Damon—you don't understand—I've always longed for this kind of victory—no tricks, a fair and square victory over the Slytherin students, a crushing defeat!
You did it!"
From Professor McGonagall's halting words, Damon finally understood why she was so passionate about Quidditch.
It turned out that Professor McGonagall had once played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
In her seventh year, in the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin final, a foul by the opposing team left her with a concussion and several broken ribs.
From then on, seeing the Slytherin team suffer a crushing defeat on the Quidditch field became her lifelong wish.
And that was why she was so passionate about Quidditch. It was because Damon had done just that.
If it weren't for these good kids stopping in time, they could have prevented Harry from rushing to find the Golden Snitch and continued to score!
In any case, Slytherin's performance this time will probably be nailed to the pillar of shame in the Quidditch House Cup, and no matter how many years later, it will be inevitable when people talk about the Quidditch games at Hogwarts.
"Okay - okay - is this why you insisted on letting me participate in the Quidditch game? You should have told me earlier, so that even if Snape's face was as stinky as a country ditch, I would definitely not show mercy."
"I don't want this - you should find fun for yourself and volunteer to play - it must be like this."
Even though she was so happy she was crying, her stern expression no longer manageable, Professor McGonagall seemed to still hold on.
Damon patted her shoulder, wondering how to comfort Professor McGonagall, who rarely showed such an expression, but she had already regained her composure the next moment. "Well, you've been a hero today. Celebrate with your team. How about we have a party in the Gryffindor common room later?"
Seeing Damon's expression, she instantly understood. "Oh—you'll definitely do it. There's no need for me to worry about it."
"Damon!"
Seeing the Gryffindor Quidditch team approaching, Professor McGonagall smiled and stepped aside, leaving the joyful atmosphere to the young people.
After all, she had another entertainment activity. Snape's face was so sour right now, and the Slytherins who had managed to leave the field were now listening to his lecture listlessly.
"Have I been too negligent with you? Huh? Damon scared you silly? It was just a Quaffle. Either dodge it or hit it back. It's such a simple thing, and you can't even do it?"
Malfoy stood among the team, dejected.
Joining the Slytherin Quidditch team as a second year was supposed to be a great honor, and they even made it to the finals—but facing Damon, that dueling monster, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't defeat him.
What could they do?
Only those who faced Damon's Quaffle knew how terrifying it felt—the target was often completely paralyzed. If Damon hadn't held back, they felt they could easily have been knocked unconscious by the Quaffle.
This made some Slytherins even feel lucky—luckily Damon was a rule-abiding person. If they had such power, they would have sent the entire Gryffindor team to the hospital—such a victory would have been truly magnificent!
But now, many Slytherins have begun to wonder—the Dueling Prince doesn't usually break the rules first. So, shouldn't they, who are always unscrupulous, be more careful about their actions?
After all, they're not used to being mean;
they just want to use it to achieve victory. If such tactics further away from victory, they'll naturally stop.
"I have a feeling the Dueling Prince will be the next Caliban Mortos,"
a seventh-year Slytherin said to his girlfriend after watching the entire game.
"Anyone can see that—but what should we do?"
"Let's tell our family. We're a little unsure on our own—honestly, if he weren't only in second year, and if I were still active at school, I think I'd be tempted to surrender to him."
"I imagine my uncles and the others would have us do the same—but Master White isn't a pushover, and it's not easy to get the hang of his temper."
"Let the adults take care of this—our goal remains this year's exams."
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