Chapter 40: Don't Be Disgusting
It was the weekend, and the November wind already carried ice sharp enough to cut.
The stands around the Quidditch pitch roared with noise. Wrapped in a thick scarf and clutching a hand warmer, Tamara still felt the cold seeping straight into her bones.
"A barbaric sport."
From the Slytherin stands, she watched the figures wheeling through the sky on narrow wooden sticks, chasing a few battered balls as if their lives depended on it. Disdain filled her eyes.
"A group of wizards, flinging themselves about in freezing air for a handful of house points. They would be better off spending the same time in a warm library and learning two new spells."
Beside her, Draco was cheering himself hoarse for Slytherin and still finding breath to mock Gryffindor.
"Look! That idiot Potter is flying like a drunken duck!"
Halfway through the match, something went wrong.
Harry's Nimbus 2000 began to buck violently, like a wild horse trying to throw its rider. It jerked up and down, twisted at impossible angles, and shook so hard the whole broom looked as if it might splinter.
The crowd erupted.
"Ha! I knew it!" Draco shouted, nearly bouncing out of his seat. "He is going to fall. He is going to break his neck!"
Tamara narrowed her eyes.
As a former master of the Dark Arts, she knew the feel of unnatural magic when she saw it.
That is not a malfunction. It is a jinx.
While the rest of the stands screamed and pointed, Tamara lifted her Omnioculars and aimed them at the staff stand.
She found the source almost at once.
Professor Quirrell stared fixedly at Harry in the air, lips moving rapidly, unblinking, like a man reciting a prayer.
Tamara lowered the Omnioculars, contempt curling her mouth.
Low level methods.
She spoke to her foolish main soul in her head, with a sneer.
The so called Dark Lord trying to assassinate an eleven year old in public with a clumsy jinx.
To Tamara it was no different from leaving a banana peel at the school gate and hoping Potter would die from the fall.
Truly pathetic.
If Quirrell were genuinely serious, he would have used Avada Kedavra.
Tamara shifted her gaze.
Snape sat one row behind Quirrell.
The Potions professor was also staring at Harry. His mouth moved quickly, chanting under his breath.
A counter curse.
Tamara understood at once.
So this loyal servant does not want the saviour to die yet.
Is he protecting the school's reputation, or does he have other plans?
For a moment, Snape's behaviour made Tamara hesitate.
She had overlooked one possibility.
In her previous life, she had heard rumours about Snape and a certain woman.
Lily Evans, or rather Lily Potter, had died by her own wand.
Snape had looked devastated at the time, as if he might die himself, but later he had continued to serve without obvious change.
So surely he could not be protecting that woman's son.
Tamara dismissed the thought at once.
She had used Legilimency on Snape before and had found nothing alarming. This must be about protecting Hogwarts, nothing more.
Up in the air, the situation grew worse.
Harry was tossed so violently he clung to the broom with one hand only, seconds from falling.
Fall, then.
Tamara watched without emotion.
It would be convenient if he died now. It would save her the effort later.
Then the voice she hated most exploded in her mind.
[Ding! Emergency Alert!]
[Detected that the key figure Harry Potter is in extreme mortal danger.]
[Warning: This character is the Child of Destiny of this world. His premature death will cause the world line to collapse, severely affecting the host's future plans and this system's performance.]
[Forced Mission: Save the saviour.]
[Mission Description: Although you despise him, he cannot die yet. Set aside your arrogance and lend a hand. This is the mark of a leader who considers the bigger picture.]
[Mission Reward:]
Tamara's face went dark.
Are you insane? she roared at the system in her head. You want me to save him? Save the enemy who is destined to kill me?
She was already being generous by not adding her own jinx. Now she had to rescue Potter as well.
[System Notification: Given the host's current first year magic level, it is difficult to counter an adult wizard's jinx from long range. The system has temporarily unlocked an auxiliary spell.]
[Unlocked: Sectumsempra... Sorry, wrong one.]
[Unlocked: Finite Incantatem, simplified version.]
[Description: A universal counter curse enhanced by the system. It can remotely target and clear persistent malicious magic effects.]
[Please use it immediately.]
Tamara's knuckles turned white around her wand.
She had never endured indignity like this.
Being forced to save Harry Potter was even more disgusting than chewing one of Hagrid's rock cakes.
But she could already feel the system's pressure prickling at her fingertips. If she refused, it would not stop at a warning. It would turn into punishment.
Tamara had no doubt the system would shock her until she complied.
"...Go to hell."
She hissed under her breath.
Then she drew a steadying breath, swallowed her rage, and slipped her wand into the shadow of her sleeve. Without drawing attention, she aimed the tip at the struggling figure in the sky.
She gathered her magic.
That long missed sensation of power surged through her veins.
"Finite Incantatem."
The incantation left her lips in a whisper.
An invisible ripple of magic, one only she could sense, cut through the cold air like an arrow and struck the bucking Nimbus 2000.
The broom's violent thrashing halted for a heartbeat.
Quirrell continued to drive his curse, but Tamara's interruption gave Snape's counter curse the opening it needed.
For a moment, the two forces reached a fragile stalemate.
Harry finally managed to grab the broom with both hands and steady himself.
Then a plume of bright blue flame burst among the crowd on the staff stand.
People screamed and shoved.
Quirrell was knocked sideways, his sight line broken, and the curse snapped.
Harry's broom returned to normal.
Tamara withdrew her wand at once.
Using a spell like Finite Incantatem in her current state felt awful. Her magic was restricted. Simple spells came easily, but this one left her drained.
Her face had gone pale, though fury burned hotter than exhaustion.
I actually saved him.
Watching Harry regain control made her feel as if she had swallowed a fly.
[Ding! Forced Mission Completed: Save the saviour.]
[Evaluation: Although you were reluctant, your intervention was crucial. This spirit of considering the bigger picture is commendable.]
[Reward: Designated Skill Book x 1. Can bypass virtue point restrictions to forcibly learn one standard first or second year spell.]
Tamara gave a cold snort.
That reward was at least worthwhile. She would have plenty of time to kill the saviour later.
She had no interest in watching the rest of the match. Saving Potter left her nauseated, as if she had chewed a fly and half swallowed it.
Then Harry caught the Golden Snitch, and to everyone's horror, it was not in his hand.
He spat it out of his mouth.
Gryffindor won.
A chorus of wails rose from the Slytherin stands. Draco leapt up, shaking with rage.
"Cheating! He swallowed it. That does not count!"
With the match finally over, Tamara could leave this wind battered misery.
She stood, brushed invisible dust from her robes, and cast one last glance toward Quirrell, who now wore his most innocent expression on the staff stand.
Stupid people, she thought coldly.
With stupid people.
.....
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