Many thanks to Stahl for becoming a patron!♥
______
Saturday.
John was invited to watch the Quidditch match, where Malfoy confidently vowed to make Harry Potter eat dust from his broomstick.
Malfoy even kindly gave Harry a nickname, Scarhead.
In response, John stared at Malfoy's slicked-back hair, hesitant to speak. If Harry was Scarhead, wouldn't that make Malfoy Greasehead?
Goyle and Crabbe were temporarily borrowed by John to act as his vanguard.
Upon arriving at the Quidditch pitch, John realized he had overthought it. Wherever he went, Slytherin students made way for him.
It looked as if subjects were welcoming their emperor's coronation. This scene was also noticed by Hermione and the others.
Sitting in the Slytherin stands, Daphne sat down next to John.
"John, you really look like a king."
Having borrowed John's influence to come over unimpeded, she smiled beautifully and blinked admiringly, "Strength above all, isn't it?"
"Your badge is really nice. I knew you wouldn't be content with mediocrity."
Daphne eyed John's badge, which resembled a family crest. She guessed John needed to form a group.
Boldly hinting, she asked, "When can I get one?"
John chuckled, "There will be a chance, for eternal glory."
Daphne also smiled and nodded vigorously, "For eternal glory."
Their attention returned to the Quidditch pitch.
As Madam Hooch's whistle blew, fourteen players shot up into the gray sky.
Harry flew higher than everyone else; as the Seeker, he needed to keep his eyes peeled and ears alert.
"Are you okay, Scarhead?"
Draco, riding his Nimbus 2001, flaunted its speed like a child with a new toy, showing off in front of Harry.
Harry had no time to respond to this behavior.
Just then, a black Bludger came hurtling toward Harry.
Harry narrowly dodged it by a hair's breadth, feeling the ball brush past his hair.
A wave of relief and fear surged in his heart.
George, seeing this, grabbed his bat and came up to drive away the rogue Bludger.
The struck Bludger's trajectory changed, flying toward a Slytherin player, but then it altered direction again, heading straight for Harry.
"What's going on?"
Harry, terrified, quickly evaded. George, not believing it, struck the Bludger away again, yet it seemed to have locked onto Harry, aiming straight for his head.
This scene gave Harry a sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of the previous school year when his broomstick went out of control. This time, it was the Bludger behaving erratically.
He lowered the head of his broom and accelerated quickly towards the other end of the pitch.
Even without looking back, he could still hear the whistling sound of the Bludger chasing after him.
"Harry!"
Fred shouted, and Harry instinctively ducked.
Fred mustered all his strength and swung his bat at the Bludger.
The Bludger was knocked to the side, and Fred thought that would be the end of it.
However, the Bludger seemed to be magnetically attracted, once again heading straight for Harry.
Rain began to fall from the gloomy sky, large drops splattering on Harry's face.
His glasses were blurred by the rain, obscuring his view of the pitch.
The only thing he could hear was the voice of the commentator, Lee Jordan: "Slytherin leads, 60 to 0."
Slytherin's team had a significant advantage with the Nimbus 2001, elevating their overall performance.
Meanwhile, Harry was being relentlessly pursued by the crazed Bludger, leaving him no time to search for the Golden Snitch.
This Bludger was clearly tampered with, prompting Fred to signal Wood for a timeout.
This move elicited jeers from the Slytherins.
Anyone could see that the Bludger had been tampered with. Wood was agitated, knowing that Slytherin had better equipment and their only hope was being thwarted by the rogue Bludger.
The timeout was limited, and in the end, Harry decided to deal with the rogue Bludger himself while the others focused on scoring points.
As Madam Hooch's whistle blew again, the game resumed.
The rain intensified, and as soon as Harry flew up, he heard the Bludger chasing after him.
He had to do his best to keep the Bludger at bay while thinking, "Could this be Malfoy's plot?"
He suspected Malfoy of casting a spell on it, but then realized it might not be possible.
Circling in the air, Harry's actions drew jeers from Malfoy.
The Bludger seemed determined to crash into him.
Seeing his team about to lose, Harry grew increasingly frustrated.
In the stands, Hermione and Ron were equally anxious.
"Let me knock it down," Ron suggested, wanting to help, but Hermione stopped him. Even if he could hit the Bludger, the distance was too great to be effective.
At that moment, Harry dodged the Bludger with a dive and sped towards the Slytherin stands.
Slytherin students screamed and scattered in fear.
"Harry, over here."
Harry heard the call and looked up to see John in the Slytherin stands.
He initially wanted to dodge, but John signaled for him to come over.
Gritting his teeth, Harry rushed towards John.
"Run!"
Goyle shouted, running to the side, while Daphne noticed that John didn't move.
John stared at the Bludger, realizing it was cursed.
"Could it be the Heir? Why target Harry and not me?"
John was puzzled but decided to take action.
As Harry passed by and turned, John's eyes became slitted.
When the Bludger was about to pass him, John decisively reached out and grabbed it.
Boom!
Due to the Bludger's force, John was pushed back a step.
Holding the Bludger tightly, John drew out his wand with his left hand.
"Finite Incantatem."
The relentless Bludger stopped struggling, and John released it, allowing it to fly away normally.
"Oh Merlin!"
"This is..."
"You... You caught the Bludger with your bare hands?"
Daphne was amazed, as it was the first time she had seen anyone do that. John shrugged and said, "Heh~ This is the second time."
Compared to last time, John's body was stronger, and he wasn't injured after catching the Bludger.
However, this impressive act left the Slytherin students wide-eyed in astonishment.
In the Gryffindor stands, Hermione clapped excitedly, saying, "I knew John would help!"
Ron swallowed hard and said, "Is he even human? How come he's totally fine?"
"Hey Scarhead, are you practicing ballet?"
Malfoy, seeing Harry spinning around, immediately mocked him.
Harry had been irritated by the relentless pursuit of the Bludger and had just managed to shake it off when he caught sight of a golden glint behind Malfoy.
In his moment of distraction, Malfoy hadn't noticed this.
Harry's spirits lifted as he tried to approach stealthily, not wanting to alert Malfoy.
However, Harry's unusual behavior eventually drew Malfoy's attention. Looking up, he saw the Golden Snitch.
"The Golden Snitch!"
Malfoy shouted in delight, and Harry, not wasting any more time, dashed towards it.
The two collided in midair, and Harry felt like his hand was about to break.
Malfoy cursed loudly but didn't give an inch.
Chasing the Golden Snitch, the two continuously clashed in the sky.
In the end, the Golden Snitch dived down, and the two chased after it.
Seeing they were about to crash into the ground, Malfoy chickened out.
But Harry, determined, caught the Golden Snitch, only to crash and pass out again.
Lee Jordan excitedly announced Gryffindor's victory, and Harry woke up to see Lockhart rushing over to treat him, which scared him into refusing in a jumbled manner.
However, he was too late, and Lockhart's spell landed Harry in the hospital wing.
John watched this unfold, exasperated. '*Sigh* Didn't I tell him not to use magic if he can avoid it? Yet he rushed to use it anyway?'
What could have been resolved in a day now meant a week's stay in the hospital because of Lockhart's spell.
John shook his head, thinking that perhaps Harry couldn't have won without his intervention with the Bludger, but that would have broken his promise to his friend.
As Harry was taken to the hospital wing, John noticed Marcus Flint expressing his displeasure to Malfoy for not catching the Golden Snitch.
This made Malfoy furious, and he thought that Just as John said, only power truly belongs to oneself.
Watching the others flaunt their expensive Nimbus 2001 broomsticks arrogantly, Malfoy felt a deep sense of agreement with John's perspective.
________
Read 12 Chapters ahead—Patreon.com/Dragonel