Percy formally announced the news, and the gathered crowd slowly dispersed.
Gemma was the last Slytherin student to leave.
Even though few people remained, she still didn't exchange words with Sherlock alone as before.
However, before leaving, she playfully winked at Sherlock.
Her goal had been achieved. In a sense, she should thank Percy Weasley for interfering—otherwise, how could she have confirmed the understanding between her and Sherlock?
In any case, this wasn't a loss.
Percy was also pulled away by Penelope, his retreating figure looking somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing this scene, Harry, Hermione, and Ron suppressed their laughter as they walked over to Sherlock.
"Well done, Sherlock!" Harry was first to praise.
Ron gloated. "Now Percy's in for it!"
"You hit exactly what he was most worried about," Hermione said with a smile. "What he fears most is being criticized by the professors, being told he doesn't have the capability to be Head Boy."
Hearing his three friends' words, Sherlock shook his head.
"Percy Weasley only saw the stumbling block in front of him but didn't see the edge of the cliff.
If things are going smoothly, that's fine, but if he's in adversity, he'll go astray because he can't see the path ahead clearly."
The three young companions, who had been maintaining their smiles, couldn't help but exchange glances upon hearing Sherlock's words.
The wind had stilled, the rain hadn't yet fallen, but the battle horn for a more intense conflict had already sounded under clear skies.
It's just that the battlefield had finally returned to where it belonged.
Since this tripartite meeting, although the tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin hadn't disappeared, both sides firmly restrained themselves and didn't quarrel again.
Even if there were verbal disputes between the two sides, others would quickly pull them apart.
Everyone understood one thing.
There was only one thing to do now.
Endure!
The Quidditch team captains of both houses made the same decision without consultation. put all their energy into training.
It was only these last few days anyway.
On the third evening before the match, Harry had just finished training and was preparing to return to Gryffindor Tower when he was intercepted by Cho Chang.
Cho Chang's arrival left Harry both surprised and delighted.
When Slytherin had been targeting Penelope and Cho Chang earlier, he'd been wanting to talk to Cho.
But being targeted himself, he could barely manage his own situation, and with Ravenclaw's protection of Cho Chang, he'd been unable to do so.
Finally waiting for both sides to cease hostilities, Wood had increased training intensity yet again, making it difficult for him to find time.
He hadn't expected Cho Chang to take the initiative to find him.
Overjoyed, Harry immediately shared with Cho Chang his thoughts and experiences from this period.
Unexpectedly, after listening to Harry, Cho Chang said to him seriously.
"Harry, you must crush them utterly in the Quidditch finals!"
This surprised Harry somewhat. Even before the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw match, although Cho Chang had told him to give his all in the competition, her attitude had been very gentle, rarely as serious and solemn as now.
"Although I defeated Malfoy, I lost to Slytherin."
Cho Chang looked at Harry, saying earnestly. "If you do the same, I won't be able to stand it!"
This time, Harry finally understood what Cho Chang meant.
Cho Chang had caught the Golden Snitch in the last match and defeated Malfoy, but Ravenclaw had barely lost to Slytherin.
Now Gryffindor faced a similar situation, precisely what Wood had been emphasizing—they must catch the Golden Snitch only when Gryffindor was ahead by more than fifty points.
Otherwise, even if they won the match, they'd lose the Cup.
In Cho Chang's view, this would be repeating the same mistake.
No wonder she couldn't accept it.
"Go for it!"
Before leaving, Cho Chang gave Harry a hug.
It was this hug that made Harry sleep exceptionally well all night.
On the third evening before the match, Harry had just finished training and was preparing to return to Gryffindor Tower when he was intercepted by Ginny.
"I've decided to join the Quidditch house team next year. Harry, will you support me?"
Ginny's opening gave Harry a pleasant surprise. She looked at Harry, her bright eyes full of anticipation.
"Of course!" Harry nodded emphatically. "I'll definitely support you!"
Ginny saw that Harry said this from the heart, and encouraged, she beamed with joy.
This was exactly the advice Luna had given her.
They say feelings grow over time.
Ginny was a year below Harry, which meant she couldn't appear with Harry on many occasions.
Taking classes together was impossible unless Harry repeated a year.
Just talking about Hogsmeade, the best dating spot—Ginny would have to wait until next year to go.
Looking at Cho Chang, though she couldn't attend classes with Harry either, the two had been to Hogsmeade together more than once.
The recent time had even involved meeting Sirius, in a sense Harry's parent.
Plus, both were Seekers for their respective teams. Though they competed during matches, this was also a way to deepen their relationship.
If Ginny didn't want to fall too far behind, joining Gryffindor's Quidditch team was a good choice.
Ginny herself loved Quidditch and had considerable talent.
Once she joined the Quidditch team, they could train together, increasing their time together.
Fighting side by side on the field was ultimately more intimate than being opponents.
"But the team doesn't have any openings now, so I'll have to start as a reserve player."
"Don't worry, everyone starts as a reserve play— uh..."
Harry got halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized that saying this in front of Ginny seemed a bit like bragging, and he awkwardly pushed up his glasses.
Ginny giggled at this. "Harry, don't always compare yourself to others—you're an exception."
"Well... Wood will graduate next year, and you'll be a third-year then. You could try for the Keeper position."
"Keeper isn't right for me," Ginny shook her head. "I want to be your backup. Is that okay?"
Harry couldn't help but freeze. He looked at Ginny and found her looking at him seriously, clearly not joking.
"Ginny, you..."
"That way I can be closer to you. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
Harry suddenly found he didn't know what to say.
He'd known Ginny for nearly three years.
Because she was his good mate's little sister, Harry naturally treated her like his own little sister.
But at some point, Ginny was no longer the little girl who would blush whenever she talked to him.
She seemed to have grown up.
Seeing Harry suddenly go quiet, Ginny feared she'd rushed things and scared him, so she quickly changed the subject.
"Harry, did you know? Charlie said your talent in Quidditch is even stronger than his!"
"Charlie? He really said that?"
An image of a stocky, solid figure immediately appeared in Harry's mind—he also had the Weasley family's distinctive red hair and a good-natured broad face, with muscular arms.
That was the image of Charlie he'd seen in the family photo Ron had sent him.
Charlie Weasley was a legendary figure in Gryffindor Quidditch. In his era, he led Gryffindor through difficult circumstances to win the Quidditch Cup.
Oliver Wood had said that if he hadn't gone to study dragons, he would definitely have represented the England team.
Although Harry had never seen Charlie's prowess on the Quidditch field, he trusted Wood's judgment in Quidditch matters totally.
So, hearing that he could receive such high praise from Charlie naturally made him a bit excited.
"Yes! Charlie heard us talk about your performance in matches and thinks very highly of you!
He also said if you're willing to work hard, you'll definitely have a chance to become a world-class Quidditch player in the future."
"World-class Quidditch player..."
This was already on par with Wood's "representing the England team," or even higher. Harry was naturally even more excited.
"I remember someone once told me that the most important thing for a person is to find their own world. Only by finding your own world does life have meaning."
Ginny raised her head to look at Harry, her gaze was filled with undisguised admiration and joy.
"Harry, I think Quidditch is the world that truly belongs to you."
"Who told you that?" Harry asked curiously.
Ginny looked a bit embarrassed. "Actually... my mum told me this."
"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry was somewhat surprised. "I thought it would be Sherlock or Hermione."
"Hehe~ Why would they say something like that to me?
When my mum said this to me, I asked her if she'd found her own world. Guess what she said?"
Ginny laughed happily.
"What did she say?" Harry was indeed interested in this question.
"She said her world was protecting her husband and children well, and living happily with them forever.
If anyone dared to destroy her family, she would never forgive them!"
Ginny laughed, holding her stomach.
"You don't know—Mum looked so fierce when she said that!
She's obviously a housewife but insisted on looking so menacing.
People who didn't know would think she could defeat the most vicious Death Eaters!"
Harry laughed too.
Yes, Mrs. Weasley was so gentle, so kind.
Although when angry, she could indeed make even the most mischievous Weasley twins fall silent, it was impossible to imagine her doing such things!
But...
Whether Quidditch was truly his own world, Harry couldn't say for certain.
Because he always felt there was a sword of Damocles hanging over his head.
The enemy who killed his parents, Voldemort who made the entire British wizarding world tremble was still alive.
Not only alive, he had created more than one Horcrux.
No one knew if he might return one day with a large force.
Once that day truly came, he probably wouldn't have time or opportunity to play Quidditch.
Harry only hoped that with Sherlock's intelligence and wisdom, they could find clues from that Slughorn professor as soon as possible.
Then destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes one by one, so he could never be reborn.
Thinking this, Harry quickly suppressed the thought.
Even Sherlock had told him that the most important thing now was playing the upcoming match well and winning the Quidditch Cup.
He couldn't help with Professor Slughorn's matter for now, so worrying was pointless.
When leaving, Ginny gathered her courage and hugged Harry, on the grounds of thanking him for supporting her pursuit of her dreams.
It was this hug that made Harry sleep exceptionally well all night.
Strange, why did this scene feel so familiar?
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