Tom was walking halfway when he suddenly realized a complicated matter. He turned around and shouted as loudly as possible to his teammates, "Once the game starts, try not to fly too high. I suspect there might be Dementors lurking in the sky. Think about it, is there anywhere more fun in all of Hogwarts than the Quidditch pitch? And those guys are already hungry...".
Speaking under the mask made his voice sound a bit muffled, but his teammates could still hear him. When they heard the three words "Dementors," they all shivered involuntarily, as if recalling something terrible.
"I don't think that's possible. How would Professor Dumbledore allow them into Hogwarts?" Albert thought Tom was exaggerating a bit. For others, it might be understandable, but as a Seeker, how could you not fly higher? The view from up there was better, and besides, the Golden Snitch wouldn't stop flying high just because it was raining.
"The Quidditch pitch is outside Hogwarts castle, so it's definitely possible for there to be trouble," Richie said, looking seriously at the imposing Quidditch pitch in front of them. However, his expression was completely hidden by the mask, and no one could see it.
"Be careful," Richie said helplessly, leaving each one to look after themselves.
Tom couldn't do anything about his teammates' lack of concern and the strategy of staying low. He couldn't blame them either! They were powerless in this situation, as none of them could conjure a Patronus powerful enough to repel Dementors. Even if they stayed alert, they could only escape a bit faster. He could only hope that the previous incidents in Hogsmeade had left a deep enough lesson for the Dementors so they could restrain themselves.
The team entered the locker room for final adjustments. Some players sat in silence in the locker room, while others took care of their brooms, and a few made sure to eat something to have enough energy for the upcoming match. The Gryffindor players, in the opposite locker room, had a fairly uniform routine: they changed their clothes, took off their soaked robes, replaced them with dry clothes, and dried the water from their bodies.
Although they would get soaked again soon, it was better than standing in the locker room soaking wet.
Tom leaned against the door, wiping raindrops off his broom, when he heard two soft knocks on the door. He turned around and saw Hermione hiding behind the door, gesturing to get his attention.
"What's up?" Tom stepped out of the locker room and stood in front of Hermione.
Hermione reached out and straightened the flaps of Tom's team robe.
"The color of the robe suits you," she said for no apparent reason. Then, she placed both hands on Tom's cheeks and looked at him closely before whispering, "Be careful, I'll be down here, watching you."
She stared at him silently for a moment, then touched her forehead to Tom's. "Don't act brave, I'll be waiting for your return."
After saying that, she turned around and quickly ran off.
Tom stood by the locker room door, watching Hermione gradually disappear down the spiral staircase, while he heard the sound of her footsteps mixing with the hundreds of footsteps echoing above. At that moment, a whistle sounded in the distance, Madam Hooch was summoning the players from both teams.
Tom and his teammates entered the field. As they walked, the wind swayed them back and forth, and the cheers from the stands mixed with the sound of thunder and rain. It was a combination of wind and rain, nothing more.
The Gryffindor players wore red and gold robes and appeared from the other side of the field to shake hands with the Ravenclaw team.
Oliver immediately noticed something unusual about the Ravenclaw players, but he didn't have time to say anything—the match had begun.
Tom quickly ascended on his Cleansweep and realized that his broom seemed to be affected by significant interference. The strong wind made it less responsive to his instructions, as if experiencing a delay while playing a video game.
Tom struggled to control the broom, squinting as he searched for the Quaffle amidst the rain.
Hogwarts commentator Lee Jordan, a Gryffindor student, remained the narrator despite the storm, his enthusiasm for commentary undiminished. He shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to convey everything he saw to the present audience.
Not even five minutes had passed since they flew halfway up when Tom felt completely frozen. It would be worse if the robes weren't waterproof. Tom couldn't imagine how the Gryffindor players, who were fighting alongside them in these weather conditions, were a kind of monsters.
At this moment, Ravenclaw was leading the match. In just five minutes, they already had a thirty-point lead. It was easy to imagine that if the match continued like this, the point difference would widen even further.
After a while, lightning illuminated the sky, and Madam Hooch's whistle sounded in the midst of the rain. Richie had to make a great effort to gather his teammates and land on the muddy pitch.
"Wood called for a timeout," and they ran to a small protruding cabin, gathering there. Once everyone was together, Richie gave them some good news: now the gap between them and Gryffindor had widened to sixty points.
Somehow, someone had lit a fire, and everyone gathered around it to try to warm up a bit.
"They're impressive, playing bravely, but the advantage is on our side!" Richie praised Gryffindor's team by the fire. No one found any fault with that statement. Anyone could see that the seven Gryffindor players were soaked and looked like wet chickens. Facing such a big disadvantage, they still had the courage and spirit to fight against the Ravenclaw team, which was admirable.
The young wizards of Ravenclaw wondered if they would be able to do it.
Of course, as time passed, the gap between the two teams would widen even more. Physical suffering could not be compensated for by spirit and courage. The cold would make their joints stiffen, their movements slow and rigid, and that couldn't be changed by bravery and spirit. So Ravenclaw's advantage would only increase more and more until the gap exceeded one hundred and fifty points.
"The rain is too strong..." Harry desperately waved his glasses in his hand. "I can't see anything, wearing or not wearing these glasses is almost the same..."
At that moment, Fred approached Harry and cast a Waterproofing Charm on his glasses.
"I should have thought of that earlier," he said, tucking his wand back into his robe. "Waterproofing Charm! After this match, George and I will investigate how to add a Waterproofing Charm to our robes."
Wood was so thrilled he wanted to kiss Fred.
"Why not just go to a Muggle store and buy a raincoat?" Harry thought desperately. In this kind of weather, having a raincoat would be wonderful.
Anyone with a bit of common sense would know that a raincoat is much more practical than an umbrella when playing in the rain. Unfortunately, it hadn't occurred to anyone on the team to pack a few raincoats in their luggage.