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"Someone has tampered with that Bludger! It won't leave Harry alone; throughout the entire match, it's not chasing anyone else.
It must be Malfoy from Slytherin who's done something underhanded to try and catch the Golden Snitch!"
To protect Harry, all the Gryffindor players surrounded him on the ground, repeatedly knocking the Bludger away, while the twins angrily speculated.
Chaser Alicia Spinnet turned to team captain Wood and said, "Oliver, you can't let Harry handle that thing on his own! Shouldn't we pause the match and request an investigation?"
Wood hesitated upon hearing this.
Meanwhile, Harry shouted excitedly, "If we stop now, we'll be disqualified! We can't let a rogue Bludger make us lose to Slytherin; they're already ahead by a hundred points. I have to catch the Golden Snitch to win this match.
Hurry, Oliver! Get them away from me! I can't catch the Snitch with you all crowding around me!"
"Don't worry. If we both request an investigation, you won't be disqualified," a familiar voice called from above. It was George, coming over.
Seeing the commotion on the Gryffindor side, the Slytherin team began to take notice as well. George approached Flint to persuade him to agree to a joint investigation request.
The reason was simple: he told Flint that at the current rate, they were almost guaranteed to win. However, if they won the match because of a Bludger attacking Harry, people would think they had cheated, and that would ruin their victory.
"George, you're such a good person!"
Wood looked at George, filled with gratitude. George was indeed different from the typical Slytherin.
Meanwhile, Madam Hooch noticed what was happening and quickly walked over.
Because both teams had jointly requested an investigation into the Bludger, the match was paused. Snape and McGonagall, as the heads of their respective houses, inspected the Bludger. The results were clear: someone had indeed cast powerful magic on it.
However, this kind of magic wasn't something a student could cast, so it was evident that it wasn't a member of the Slytherin team.
Such incidents were rare in Hogwarts' history. To allow the match to continue, the two headmasters publicly stated that the Bludger had malfunctioned and replaced it with a new one.
They also asked Dumbledore to help oversee the entire match to prevent any further incidents.
With Dumbledore personally supervising, the hidden Dobby naturally wouldn't dare to intervene, and the match resumed in full swing.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, after three solid hours of play, Harry ultimately outperformed Malfoy, seizing the Golden Snitch and earning Gryffindor one hundred fifty points, bringing the match to an end.
However, when he looked at the scoreboard, he was utterly stunned.
The score between Slytherin and Gryffindor was now—400 to 200.
This meant that, aside from his one hundred fifty points, Gryffindor was behind by three hundred fifty points overall.
"Congratulations to Harry Potter for catching the Golden Snitch and scoring one hundred fifty points for Gryffindor! Unfortunately, the winner of this match is Slytherin, as their George scored thirty goals all by himself," announcer Lee Jordan lamented, as he announced the results. As a Gryffindor, he naturally hoped for a victory, but George from Slytherin was simply too unstoppable, and the Gryffindor team couldn't stop him from scoring.
After the match ended, George returned to Hogwarts Castle amidst cheers from all the Slytherin students.
Slytherin's victory was entirely due to George; had Harry caught the Golden Snitch under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have had a chance to win.
Once he had dealt with all the congratulations, George quietly made his way to the shores of the Black Lake with his spellbook.
Winning the Quidditch match was merely a means to boost his popularity and reputation, making it easier for him to navigate life at school and paving the way for his post-graduation life.
However, these were merely supplementary advantages and wouldn't truly make him powerful.
He didn't want to be like Lockhart, who resorted to various tricks to elevate his fame, only to be helpless when faced with real danger.
True strength was exemplified by figures like Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Grindelwald; that was what he aspired to.
Unfortunately, his time of enjoying the beauty of studying magic was soon interrupted.
A tall, middle-aged wizard with short yellow hair and round, bulging eyes approached him.
"Hello, George!"
"Hello, Mr. Peg! May I ask who you are?"
George instinctively began to answer but then realized he had spoken too casually.
"I am Ludo Bagman, the current Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," the middle-aged wizard replied with a smile.
Upon hearing this name, George quickly searched his memory and soon found the answer.
This was the same man who had a gambling addiction, ultimately losing everything and owing a fortune to goblins, which had landed the Weasley twins in a tough spot.
"Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Bagman?"
"Actually, yes. Madam Hooch recommended you to me. I just watched your match and would like to invite you to join the England Quidditch team."
Ludo believed that a young wizard like George would be ecstatic upon receiving such an invitation, as this kind of honor was something no young wizard could refuse.
However, George's response left him utterly stunned:
"Sorry, but I'm not interested."
While joining the England Quidditch team would significantly boost his reputation, it would also waste a lot of his time. He estimated that he would have to train at the Ministry every weekend and participate in matches all around the world, which would not be worth it.
He had already stated that fame was just a secondary gain; studying magic was his true priority, so he naturally declined right away.
"But you played so well! I could see you held back at the end to spare Gryffindor's dignity; otherwise, you could have scored even more. Why refuse my offer? Are you worried your headmaster won't approve?"
"You don't need to worry about that; I will personally speak with Dumbledore. He will definitely agree and grant you special permission to have time for training and matches," Ludo explained, a hint of urgency in his voice.
George's performance on the field had completely won him over. With his professional expertise, he could tell that even among international teams, George's skills were among the very best.
Thus, he was determined to secure George's commitment today.
"Mr. Bagman, to be honest, while I have a natural talent for Quidditch, my true passion lies in magic. I don't want to squander my limited study time entirely on Quidditch.
Especially since I'm only in my first year; this is the most critical time for my magical education."
Seeing Ludo's increasingly anxious expression, George paused before continuing:
"Of course, I'm willing to contribute to our national Quidditch team, just as I do for Slytherin.
So I can agree to join the England Quidditch team for now, but I can only participate in training and matches starting in my fourth year."
(End of Chapter)