"If Harry, Ron, and I hadn't covered for you, the professors would have found out you weren't at the castle yesterday!" Hermione added.
"Is that so? Thank you so much, Hermione!" Yvonne said gratefully. No wonder Professor McGonagall didn't know she hadn't been in the Great Hall last night. Hermione and the others had covered for her.
"So where the hell have you been?" Hermione asked, looking at Ivan with displeasure. She had not seen him for so long yesterday that she had wondered if he had run into Sirius and met with a mishap…
She would have told the professors about Ivan's disappearance if she hadn't seen how easily he dealt with the Dementors and Dark Wizards.
"Wait…you didn't go to Sirius, did you?" Hermione asked, suddenly thinking of something.
Ivan's pupils contracted at Hermione's guess, but he had been through a lot, and his acting skills had been honed in front of Dumbledore, so even though he was surprised, his expression did not change.
"What makes you think that?" Yvonne asked, feigning confusion.
"I remember you telling George and Fred the other day that you were going to try and get back all the house points we lost, so I thought you must have gone to Sirius to catch him on your own, didn't you?" Hermione's eyes were fixed on Ivan as she analyzed the situation.
Ivan did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had not expected Hermione to doubt him over those words.
After a moment's thought, Ivan shook his head in disagreement. "I was just looking for a place to practise my magic yesterday. Don't read too much into it…"
"Is that so?" Hermione asked, trying to read Ivan's expression, but he was so good at pretending that she didn't know anything.
Ivan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Hermione about Sirius and Peter, but he was worried that if she found out that Ron's pet rat Scabbers was actually a vicious thug, she wouldn't be able to hide her emotions and Peter would see through her.
With this in mind, Ivan turned to look at Ron again.
Because Crookshanks was concerned about Scabbers's health, Ron deliberately sat far away from them with his precious mouse, so that it was unlikely that anyone would overhear their conversation.
When Ivan looked back again, the Quidditch match had already begun.
The players of the two teams flew out of the tunnel on brooms, and the stands erupted in applause. Numerous colored flags flew in the wind and rain, and wizards shouted encouragement to their House teams.
"Go Gryffindor!"
"Harry Potter will win!"
"Diggory, you're the best!"
…
Shouts rose up from the crowd, drowning out the thunder, and Ivan was struck dumb every time he saw it. As a transmigrator, he could not understand why wizards were so passionate about Quidditch.
This is going to be a Muggle football game…
However, when one thought about it, it made sense, as there was only one large magical sport in the wizarding world, and wizards had no other choice…
"Eh, why are there people cheering me on? I'm not even in the competition…"
Ivan glanced around and saw that one of the wooden boards held aloft had the words "Ivan Hals Go" on it, along with some strange pictures…
Ivan squinted in the direction of the wooden sign and spotted a familiar figure.
"Luna?" Yvonne said, surprised.
Luna, whom he had not seen for a long time, was sitting on a high platform without a partition, nor was she wearing a raincoat or a bamboo hat.
The never-ending rain streamed down her hair, her delicate face, and her clothes. The little witch was wet, but she didn't seem to care. She leisurely held up the large wooden tablet and let the wind blow and rain ravage her. She looked like a fairy in the rain.
Ivan didn't know what to make of that. Luna's behaviour was always so unexpected…
However, Ivan soon discovered that Luna was not completely unprepared. Her clothes looked thick and warm, and were most likely waterproof, but who would voluntarily sit in the rain on a stormy day?
Perhaps sensing Ivan's absence from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Luna quickly put down the sign she was holding and hugged it to her chest, her bright eyes scanning the stands curiously. A moment later, her eyes met Ivan's…
Due to the distance, Ivan had to try to get Luna out of the rain by mouthing, "Don't catch a cold!"
Immediately afterwards, Ivan thought that Luna would not be able to see what he was trying to say from such a distance, so he got up and went to warn her.
However, before Ivan could do anything, Luna left with the sign in her hand, waving at Ivan as she left.
"Ivan, what is it?" Hermione asked, noticing Ivan's movement and following his gaze curiously, but seeing nothing.
"I just happened to see an acquaintance and said hello!" Ivan said casually.
An acquaintance? The rather eccentric Ravenclaw girl?
Noticing that Ivan was looking in the direction of the Ravenclaw students, Hermione immediately guessed who Ivan was referring to.
The second year girl, Luna, really impressed her at the beginning of the school year…
At this moment, Ron suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Look… look! Harry found the Golden Snitch!"
Ron's voice drew Hermione's attention, and Ivan looked up at the sky.
A flash of golden light danced through the air and across the grounds, followed by Harry, as they sped through the storm.
Due to the strong winds and torrential rain that obscured the Golden Snitch from view, the group was able to see it from time to time… They had to concentrate very hard to see where the Golden Snitch was.
Ron noticed one of the Gryffindor team members nearly hitting his head against the wall as he wiped the rainwater out of his eyes.
"Bloody Slytherin! No wonder they switched matches with Hufflepuff at the last minute. They must have expected the weather!"
"Harry will catch the Golden Snitch anyway!" Hermione said confidently.
Ivan, on the other hand, was feeling vaguely uneasy, as Harry was rising higher and higher in the distance as he chased the Golden Snitch.