Of course, it's also possible that Professor McGonagall was too busy half a month ago and simply couldn't spare the time to watch the match.
Harry and the others took their seats in the stands, waiting for the match to start.
"Hermione, can't you put the book down?" Ron couldn't help but say, "How can you even concentrate in a situation like this?"
"Why not?" Hermione calmly turned a page.
"This match determines whether we can win the Quidditch Cup!" Ron said, "We haven't won it for over a decade."
"Compared to the Quidditch Cup, I think you should be more concerned about the final exams next week."
"I know, but that's a separate issue, we..."
Ron was about to say more, but was interrupted by a deafening cheer.
He instinctively turned his head and saw that everyone in the Hufflepuff seating area was standing up excitedly.
Then he understood why.
Kael appeared in the lineup of starting players, and judging by his position, he must have returned to his old role as a Chaser.
"Oh, no!" Ron covered his forehead, "Didn't Kael take a leave of absence? Why is he playing in the match?"
"You haven't figured it out by now?" Hermione glanced up at him, "Ever since the last Death Eaters attack, Kael resumed attending classes."
At this point, Ms. Hooch blew her whistle to start the match.
"It's okay." Harry said from the side, not sure if he was consoling Ron or himself.
"Quidditch isn't a one-man game, even Kael can't guarantee a win over Ravenclaw..."
"Goal!"
The shriek of the new commentator drowned out Harry's voice.
"Kael scored the first goal just after the match began, and the Ravenclaw Keeper didn't see it coming.
"10:0, Hufflepuff leads!"
Deafening cheers erupted again from the stands, with several Hufflepuff fans even dancing in their seats.
They hadn't seen such a powerful offensive play in over a year.
"It's okay..." Harry's voice was dry, "It's just one goal, we still lead by 150 points."
Five minutes later...
"It's fine, just three goals."
...
"We still have a 100-point lead."
...
"It's alright, Gryffindor still has a 50-point advantage."
Twenty minutes later...
"It's okay, it's just a tie right now, maybe Cho will catch the Golden Snitch soon."
Harry's voice grew smaller, and his expression more dazed.
When Kael made another long throw, sending the Quaffle through the goalpost, Harry's hopes finally died.
The entire Gryffindor stand fell silent.
"It's okay..." Harry struggled to say, "We still have next year, I mean, next year Kael graduates, right?"
Ron didn't answer, he sat there like all his energy had been drained.
Hermione shook her head and resumed reading her book.
Since seeing Kael in the lineup, she'd anticipated this outcome.
The facts proved her right; only Ron and Harry refused to accept it.
After half an hour, the game was over.
Cho, with her rich experience, caught the Golden Snitch with a two-inch lead, but Kael scored so many goals—a total of 28 in the match, almost one per minute—that he directly broke the school's record.
Incidentally, the previous scoring record was also Kael's.
So even though Ravenclaw added 150 points, they were still far behind in the score.
As the audience exited, Harry didn't dare meet Professor McGonagall's eyes, keeping his head down the whole time.
"Don't think too much about it." Hermione, unusually putting down her book, patted him on the shoulder and comforted, "Like you said earlier, there's always next year, and Kael will graduate by then."
Somehow, even though Hermione was right, and Harry believed it too, he felt even worse.
"Try looking at it another way." Hermione continued.
"Another way?" Harry looked at her, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"Exams are coming up soon." Hermione said softly, "I've heard Professor McGonagall say that for most people, their sixth-year final exam scores are generally consistent with the certificates they receive at graduation, and if you fail any subjects, you'll likely not get a certificate.
"There's less than a week left until the exams, so are you ready?"
"Thank you, Hermione." Harry said with a bitter face.
Well, when compared to the looming exams, missing the Quidditch championship seems like no big deal.
After all, his dream is to become an Auror after graduation, and as everyone knows, Aurors require very strict scores, and missing any critical certificates is unacceptable.
"It's okay, it's something I should do, a duty as a friend, you could say." Hermione smiled slightly, walking into the castle.
Meanwhile, the victorious Hufflepuff team had already begun celebrating. In the common room, Mikel, with a trophy made of cake, was yelling and jumping on the table, celebrating their sixth consecutive Quidditch championship win.
Of course, maybe you should count in seven consecutive House Cups, since the Quidditch champion team also adds a significant number of points, and with the additional 100 points Kael scored earlier, they have a lead of over 200 points on the second place Ravenclaw.
At that moment, not even Voldemort could dampen their spirits.
The celebration continued late into the night, and Kael finally managed to escape the crowd, finding a seat in an armchair in the corner.