On the opening day of the Quidditch season, a storm fell.
Even inside the Hogwarts Great Hall, Link could still hear the dull thunder rumbling from the roof, the rustling sound of strong wind hitting the castle walls, and the creaking sound of branches in the Forbidden Forest in the distance breaking from the storm.
"Are we really going to watch a Quidditch match in this kind of weather?"
Beside Link, Emily elegantly wiped her mouth with a napkin after breakfast and said, her delicate little face full of unwillingness.
This wasn't hard to understand. Ever since she had grown her hair long, Emily had not liked storms much, it would mess up her hairstyle.
"No choice, Cedric's invitation is something I really can't refuse."
Link comfortingly tucked Emily's hair behind her ear and said, "But don't worry, I'll block the wind and rain for you."
Emily smiled charmingly upon hearing that. Then she looked down and nodded toward the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the fanatical fans around them who were lining up in a messy queue to head outside the castle.
"What kind of magic does Quidditch really have? It's actually worth them being this crazy? Playing in such a heavy storm, that's really too dangerous."
"Well, who knows." Link agreed as he spoke.
He also couldn't understand what was so good about a sport like Quidditch and could only attribute it to the fact that wizards had too few means of entertainment.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a Quidditch match being played in such a storm could still attract all the teachers and students of the school to watch.
Sighing, Link held Emily's hand and walked together toward the Quidditch pitch.
Outside the castle, the wild wind mixed with raindrops kept slapping against everyone.
Many people's umbrellas were blown away and could only protect their heads and dash toward the pitch like most others.
Compared to those people, Link and Emily were much more composed.
Just as they walked out of the entrance hall, Link took out his wand and raised a layer of the Protego Totalum spell that covered both him and Emily.
That wasn't enough, he later also cast a warming and waterproofing charm on both their clothes.
Under this double protection, their manner of walking toward the stands could almost be described as a leisurely stroll in a courtyard.
Many students who saw this scene showed expressions of envy, but they could only envy.
Because maintaining a large-scale Protego Totalum spell like this consumed a tremendous amount of magical power, even senior students couldn't sustain it for long, let alone junior ones.
Link estimated that, in the current Hogwarts, the only people who could do this besides professors were just a few seventh-years who had obtained provisional Auror status.
"Please sit, my dear."
After drying the water off the seat with a spell, Link reached out and invited Emily to sit down.
Their seats were at the very top of the entire stand, having the best view.
In the past, Link and Emily absolutely wouldn't have been able to get such good seats, but thanks to the storm, today others had gone to the lower stands where the wind and rain were a little less severe.
And once Link and Emily were seated, both teams also arrived on the field and began shaking hands.
One red and one yellow group stood out clearly even in the storm.
But compared to the Hufflepuff team, the Gryffindor players appeared much thinner.
This wasn't to say the Hufflepuff players were more muscular than the Gryffindor ones, but that after learning there would be a storm on the day of the match, Cedric and his team had made many preparations.
These included not just waterproof goggles, but also full cotton uniforms enchanted with waterproof charms, strong-grip gloves, leak-proof rain boots...
After looking at the well-armed, battle-ready Hufflepuffs, then turning to look at the shivering Gryffindors already cold in the storm beside them.
Gryffindor team captain Wood's face looked extremely bad.
If he could, Wood really wanted to report the Hufflepuffs to Madam Hooch for violating the rules.
Unfortunately, Quidditch's rules were just too bizarre. Anything not written on that several-feet-long parchment of rules was allowed.
And naturally, Wood's expression was also seen clearly by Link and Emily through the magical binoculars they were holding.
Emily turned her head with a smile and said, "The Hufflepuff team really prepared thoroughly, but just relying on these external things, can they really win? I heard that other than Cedric, the Hufflepuff team is full of useless players."
"They'll definitely win."
"Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Just watch and you'll know."
Link sold the suspense. At this moment, Madam Hooch below also blew the whistle that signaled the start of the match.
The red and yellow teams immediately soared into the sky. Harry and Cedric from the start flew up to the top of the pitch, overlooking the entire field from an aerial angle, searching for the Golden Snitch.
Below them, the players of both teams were fiercely fighting over the Quaffle.
They were like a school of fish in the sea, sometimes clustering together in the storm, sometimes suddenly scattering apart.
The spectators in the stands, who had shrunk like quails under the assault of the storm, were now also excited, shouting and cheering with all their might.
Unfortunately, that passion was only temporary. As time passed bit by bit, the stands returned to the calm they had at the start.
This was unavoidable. The average Quidditch match was already long, and historically, there were even matches that lasted two full days and nights. This time, Hufflepuff's main tactic was defense and delay. Such a match was indeed dull.
Moreover, a long match made the already shivering spectators in the wind and rain even harder to bear, many people had already begun to leave.
"Your house's team is still too restrained in play style. In this kind of weather, the Nimbus 2000's performance can't fully shine, and Harry Potter's physical condition isn't strong either."
Emily, already bored to the point of yawning beside Link, said, "If it were me commanding, I'd have sent someone up to dogfight Harry Potter long ago to drain all his stamina."
That was a classic Slytherin-style mindset from Emily.
Link smiled and said, "Although I also think so, that's Hufflepuff's Cedric we're talking about!"
"True, true," Emily laughed and nodded with meaning, "Ah, Cedric, oh Cedric, always so noble, bright, and righteous. He's practically like one of those heroes from ancient Greek myths!"
"Only, Link… the endings of heroes like Prometheus and Achilles weren't very pretty."
"But isn't that exactly the greatness of heroes? And I firmly believe Cedric will definitely have a perfect ending."
"Oh? Really? Just that, the current situation doesn't look too favorable for Cedric. Look, Harry Potter has already found the Golden Snitch."
Emily smiled and pointed to the sky. Looking in the direction she pointed, one could see Harry already accelerating toward a speck of gold faintly visible among the clouds, while Cedric obviously reacted slower and could only desperately chase after Harry.
But the two of them were both riding Nimbus 2000s, with the broomsticks being equal, Cedric simply couldn't catch up to Harry.
The scales of victory began to tilt. Many Hufflepuffs in the stands covered their eyes in pain.
To them, this match was already lost.
And at this moment, Link hugged Emily, smiled mysteriously, and said, "I don't think so."
The next second, a lightning bolt flashed, lighting up the sky, also illuminating the countless dark shadows hidden within the rolling black clouds.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y