Most third-year students at Hogwarts anticipated that today would be a perfect day. During the day, they would go to Hogsmeade to experience the customs and atmosphere of the magical village. The older students had often talked to them about the interesting aspects of Hogsmeade, as Honeydukes Sweetshop and Zonko's Joke Shop. The former attracted foodies, while the latter attracted people like the Weasley twins, who were enthusiastic about pranks. There were also many other types of shops, almost enough to meet the needs of all kinds of students.
After they had their fill of fun, the school prepared a Halloween feast for all the students. The Great Hall was hung with hundreds of jack-o'-lanterns, as well as a group of fluttering bats and many orange streamers spitting flames. They floated lazily beneath the ceiling, like brilliant water snakes. This was a feast where students could indulge themselves, even if their stomachs were already full of Honeydukes' sweets, the tempting food still tempted their appetites.
All of this was on the premise that they could fall asleep peacefully at night.
Shortly after the party ended, an accident happened. In brief, Black somehow infiltrated Hogwarts, but was stopped outside by the Fat Lady's password. Enraged, he tore up the portrait, and the Fat Lady ran away.
All the students were gathered together, and the teachers were responsible for searching the entire castle until it was safe, and only then could the students be allowed to return to their dormitories. In the Great Hall, rows of sleeping bags were neatly arranged, but the students in the sleeping bags were not quiet. They had not yet adjusted from the festive atmosphere of the holiday. They whispered to each other, discussing the escaped murderer.
"How did he get in?" Pansy asked softly. She was too drunk and missed the evening banquet. She slept in the dormitory until now, when she was awakened and rushed here.
"He's not targeting you, sleep peacefully," Malfoy said softly. He saw a few silver ghosts floating over, and several prefects responsible for maintaining order also walked over here.
"I warn you again, tonight we may be facing a vicious murderer, and a dark wizard who has been affected by Dementors for more than ten years. You can't expect him to be rational, so please shut your constantly wriggling mouths, maybe he uses sound to identify where people are," a senior prefect said, his tone full of seriousness, even with some threatening words.
This had a good effect, and all the students in the Great Hall immediately quieted down.
Tonight, all the students of Hogwarts fell asleep looking at the starry ceiling.
The next day, the Fat Lady's damaged portrait was taken down from the wall, and replaced by Sir Cadogan and his fat gray pony's portrait.
No one was happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels. The rest of the time was spent figuring out ridiculously complex passwords, and he had to change the password at least twice a day.
Someone objected to this, but there was no one more suitable than him, because the other portraits were also very scared.
After Black's intrusion, perhaps coincidentally, the weather became worse and worse, which was not good news for the first Quidditch match to be held next Saturday.
"They are the same as us, they will experience strong winds, heavy rain, and any unknown difficulties during the game. We are all playing on the same field. Tell me, will Gryffindor be afraid to compete under fair conditions?" Wood was giving a pre-match mobilization speech to his teammates on the field.
"No!" the Gryffindor team members shouted in unison. At the same time, Angelina, a girl serving as a Chaser, slammed a Quaffle hard, and the Quaffle went through the hoop.
Harry felt that his mood now was a combination of excitement, elation, and panic. Wood had hinted and explicitly stated his importance in the team countless times during normal training, which made him a little apprehensive, always afraid that something would go wrong, which eventually led him to not being able to perform at his normal level during previous training.
Looking at Wood's eyes that craved victory, and also in order to be able to personally hold up the Quidditch Cup, Harry tried his best to calm down and cherish the last few days of training before the final battle.
A golden flash streaked past him. Harry keenly felt it. He inherited his father's talent and was an excellent Seeker. He accelerated the speed of his Nimbus 2000 under him, lowered his body, shifted his center of gravity forward, and the Golden Snitch was getting closer and closer to him, until it was within reach.
"Well done, Harry, that's the feeling. If you maintain this feeling when you compete with those Slytherins, I guarantee it won't take three minutes, and the game will be over," Wood pushed away a Bludger beside him, flew to Harry's side on his broom, and encouraged him again.
Harry had just easily caught the Golden Snitch that brushed past him, which greatly increased his confidence.
"This is just training, everyone on the field is our own people," Harry said loudly, only in this way could his voice break through the strong wind and reach Wood's ears.
"It doesn't matter whether that Slytherin Seeker plays or not. Have you forgotten that the last time we played against Slytherin, you ended the battle in a few minutes?"
"What if Malfoy plays?" Harry couldn't bear to spoil Wood's interest, but he still brought up his guess, but he soon regretted it, because he found Wood's face was frighteningly dark.
"Guys, I think we need to discuss the strategy again," Wood's right hand was raised high, clenched into a fist, which was the signature gesture of their team to suspend training.
Subsequently, the Gryffindor team members returned to the ground from the sky one by one.
"Let's go, let's go to the lounge to talk," Wood's throat was a little dry, he waved his hand, and led his team members back to the lounge where they usually rested after training.
Compared to the cold brought by the cold wind that occasionally blows from the outside world, it was extremely warm here, and the carbon in the fireplace was burning red, emitting scorching heat.
After Wood finished speaking his views, the team members also seemed to have different opinions.
"I object," said a girl named Angelina, who was tall and slender, and was one of Gryffindor's current Chasers. "We have no reason to be afraid of a student who basically hasn't personally participated in training. There is not much training time left, we don't need to waste more time for a possibility." Angelina immediately raised her objection almost as soon as she heard it.
"I think so too," said George and Fred, both speaking in unison, with no sign of their usual jovial appearance, and no more joking around.
The answers from his companions also aroused Wood's fighting spirit. He waved his powerful fist fiercely: "Yes, could it be that we are afraid of that kid? No matter what the situation, we will eventually win in the end! We are fearless" (To be continued.)
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