Another period of peace passed without any people or animals in the Castle being attacked. As the days went by, the panic on campus subsided.
Another activity that could ignite the students' passion even more quickly occupied the center of conversation—the annual Quidditch tournament officially kicked off.
Early on the morning of the opening day, Lynn was forcefully pulled and practically dragged out of his warm bed by the energetic Edgar.
He was dragged all the way to the bustling stands of the Quidditch Pitch.
"I say... is this really necessary?" Lynn yawned, leaning listlessly against the railing of the stands.
"Today is Gryffindor against Slytherin; it's not even a Hufflepuff match."
Edgar had a look that said "you just don't get it" and replied righteously, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated! Isn't that what you always say?"
"Today is the first official appearance of the Slytherin team's new Seeker—Draco Malfoy."
"As a future main Beater for Hufflepuff House, I have an obligation and a responsibility to scout the potential opposition in advance!"
Lynn narrowed his eyes and accurately caught the core of the issue: "Then what does that have to do with me being forced to give up my precious weekend sleep-in?"
Edgar immediately looked away and mumbled vaguely, "Well... watching a match alone is so boring. Good brothers should share the joy, of course..."
Lynn: "..."
After some waiting, the Quidditch stands were finally packed to the brim with students from all four houses.
Cheers and shouts of encouragement rose and fell, creating a heated atmosphere.
As the match drew near, a flamboyant figure walked into the center of the pitch with exaggerated strides—it was Gilderoy Lockhart.
Today, he was wearing a set of eye-catching gold-threaded Quidditch robes, even though he wasn't competing.
He also had an armband pinned to his shoulder that read "Fair and Just." With his triumphant expression, he might as well have carved the words "I am the referee" directly onto his forehead.
"Players from both sides, enter the field!"
The players from both teams filed into the arena on their broomsticks.
When the Slytherin team appeared, a burst of intense discussion immediately erupted from the stands.
"Malfoy? He's the Seeker? Can he do it?"
"Merlin! Look at their brooms! They're all Nimbus 2001s! Slytherin really went all out!"
"Wait... no, doesn't the broom in Malfoy's hand look familiar? I feel like I've seen it somewhere..." a sharp-eyed student wondered aloud.
"That... isn't that the one Cedric used last year? The one Lynn modified!"
Finally, a Hufflepuff student with a good memory recognized it. Instantly, countless gazes snapped toward the Hufflepuff stands, focusing on Lynn.
Lynn ignored the surrounding gazes; he'd rather watch the match.
"Match—start!" As Lockhart waved his arms with flamboyant gestures, the players from both sides quickly took to the air.
Malfoy couldn't restrain his desire to show off at all. Not long after taking to the air, during a circle, he impatiently activated the broom's skin-switching function.
Clang-clang~ Accompanied by sound effects and flowing light, the gorgeous and dazzling Phoenix skin made its stunning appearance once again!
Now, there was no more doubt; every student was certain that this was definitely Lynn's broom.
Lynn still paid no mind to the gazes focusing on him again. He crossed his arms and watched the match intently.
The commentator Lee Jordan's voice was full of passion, despite his obvious house bias:
"Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor! A beautiful feint! She's broken through those despicable Slytherin blockades! She scores! Ten points!"
"Oh! The devious and cunning Slytherins! They used a dirty tactical play to blind the referee... and they've scored too. Ten points!"
The situation on the field was largely like this, full of the smell of gunpowder.
"Merlin's saggy old trousers! Things aren't looking good! Harry Potter is being attacked! That Bludger is acting like it's gone mad, targeting only him!"
Lee Jordan's voice suddenly rose, filled with concern.
Harry was seen on his Nimbus 2000, dodging clumsily in the air. An out-of-control Bludger was hot on his heels, every impact heavy and powerful.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Harry suddenly caught a glimpse of a golden figure.
Harry instantly ignored the whistling Bludger beside him and turned his broom, charging toward the Snitch like an arrow released from a bow!
Malfoy, who had been closely monitoring Harry's movements, spotted the target almost the moment Harry started moving.
Malfoy slammed down on the broom handle. The broom exploded with incredible speed, accompanied by the piercing sound of breaking air. Starting later but arriving first, he quickly closed the distance with Harry and even overtook him!
"Wow! That speed! It's incredible!"
"That's definitely faster than a Nimbus 2001! You can tell just by comparing the speed of the other Slytherin players!"
A chorus of gasps and genuine exclamations rang out from the stands, and many young wizards had looks of longing in their eyes.
On the field, the two of them engaged in a race in the air.
Relying on the absolute performance advantage of his broom, Malfoy held a steady lead. His fingers were almost touching those frantically vibrating little wings!
However, at this critical moment—
Buzz—shhh!
A familiar sound rang out!
The broom once again inappropriately performed an emergency stop just as it was about to hit the ground.
Malfoy was thrown into a panic by this sudden turn of events, scrambling to try and restart the broom.
In that split second, Harry, who was right behind him, seized the opportunity. He leaned out from his broom and stretched his arm out with all his might!
"He caught it! Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch!" Lee Jordan roared at the top of his lungs.
Lynn covered his face in the stands, unable to bear the sight: "...How can there be a repeat performance like this..."
"The winner of this match is—Gryff—in—dor!!!"
Lee Jordan's voice cracked slightly from excitement.
However, joy turned to sorrow.
Just as the Gryffindor stands erupted in deafening cheers and Harry raised his arm to show off the Snitch, that Bludger, which had been hounding Harry all game, slammed hard into his raised arm!
A crisp sound of bone cracking was even faintly audible.
Harry let out a scream and tumbled down from the not-too-high altitude, landing on the grass. He clutched his arm, his face turning pale with pain.
Meanwhile, Hermione arrived just in time and blew up the Bludger that wanted to continue attacking Harry with a spell.
Seeing this, Lockhart ran to Harry's side with a certain flamboyant posture. He knelt down and checked Harry's injury.
"Oh, you poor boy! It's just a broken arm, nothing major!" Lockhart announced loudly, as if to soothe the entire audience, and then he pulled out his wand.
"Don't worry, I happen to be very skilled at treating these kinds of minor injuries! Just a tiny spell..."
From the stands, the moment Lynn saw Lockhart pull out his wand and point it at Harry's arm, he subconsciously mourned for Harry in his heart.
He could already envision Harry growing an extra row of teeth or his arm turning into rubber.
However, to Lynn's surprise—
Lockhart waved his wand, and Harry didn't seem to be in pain anymore?
It was too far away for Lynn to see clearly what spell Lockhart had used.
Lockhart gave Harry a few more pointers with a proud look on his face, and then Harry, under the care of Ron and Hermione, walked toward the Castle's school infirmary.
"Wow! Professor Lockhart is amazing!"
"He healed the fracture instantly!"
"He really does have real talent!"
Cheers and applause even more enthusiastic than the victory celebration just now erupted from the stands. Many students' admiration for Lockhart seemed to have returned.
Lynn stood among the cheering crowd, but his brow was slightly furrowed, and he was muttering to himself:
Something's wrong... very wrong.
Lockhart stayed at St. Mungo's for two weeks; could his "fraudulent" nature have been cured as well? This doesn't make sense... Besides, according to Edgar, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes recently were still just performing "adventure plays" from his books, with no progress at all.
Did he suddenly have an epiphany?
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