Saturday arrived quickly.
Early in the morning, Kate was woken up by the raucous noise outside the dormitory, preventing her from getting a good sleep.
Even if Quidditch held a special attraction for young wizards, there was no need to start cheering for the school team at six o'clock on a weekend morning!
"Slytherin—Go!"
"Slytherin—Go!"
Listening to the super-loud shouting outside, Kate stared blankly from her bed, lines of gloom on her forehead, her gaze involuntarily drifting to Fluffball, who was still fast asleep.
It must be nice to be able to sleep through such noise.
Getting up with utter helplessness, Kate moved her thighs with great difficulty—last night she had trained her legs, and the day before, her arms.
Anyway, after three consecutive days of exercise, her body basically didn't belong to her anymore.
Even Hermione refused to help massage her; it was truly tragic.
The thought of herself whimpering every night after training, wanting Hermione to give her a massage, only for that little girl to cast a Disillusionment Charm and flee... Kate's heart was bleeding.
Where was the promised friendship? How could it just vanish like that?
Sighing, she struggled to wash and dress while the noise outside continued endlessly.
Kate walked out with a sleepy face, only to see the Prefect leading the little snakes, preparing to head out.
Yawning, Kate followed slowly behind the crowd, drifting toward the Great Hall for breakfast.
The weather outside was sunny but cold.
The dining hall was filled with the tempting scent of roasted sausages. Everyone was looking forward to a wonderful Quidditch match, chatting excitedly and incessantly.
Even though the match wouldn't start until eleven o'clock, and there were still several hours until then.
Feeling that she really couldn't integrate into this enthusiastic atmosphere, Kate listlessly finished a portion of bread and sausage, wanting to go back to the Common Room to catch up on sleep.
Even Hermione, seeing her in this state, poked her head out from the Gryffindor long table and concernedly told her to go back and rest a while longer.
Kate yawned, then stood up and returned to the Common Room alone. She closed the door, collapsed onto her bed, asked the System to set an alarm for 10:30, and fell sound asleep.
This sleep was very sweet. It wasn't until the System's alarm rang in her brain that she crawled up, feeling comfortable all over.
"Hmm? Why doesn't my body hurt anymore?" Kate moved her arms with some surprise, asking with a face full of confusion.
[Strength has naturally increased to 25. Attribute growth can reduce the Host's pain within a limited range.]
When her attributes increased before, she didn't have any sore spots, so who knew the effect would be so obvious after three days of training this time?
Her body felt much more comfortable, and her spirit was especially vigorous.
It was certainly better than running to the Quidditch pitch to watch the game while looking sickly.
Kate quickly accepted this fact. She put on her clothes and ran straight toward the pitch.
Perhaps due to psychological reasons, she felt that her running speed had increased a bit.
[It is indeed an illusion. The Host's Agility has not changed.]
The System calmly reminded her.
Kate's mood, which had been quite good, was instantly spoiled by it. She speechlessly told it to shut up and jogged all the way to the outskirts of the pitch.
The time was approaching eleven o'clock. The match was about to begin, and the spectator stands were already full of people.
It seemed that all the teachers and students of the school had arrived at the stands. Before even entering the spectator area, Kate could feel the cauldron of voices within.
Sometimes, watching a game from the stands at close range was the only way to feel the charm of a sport.
Just like in her previous life, she didn't understand why the elders in her family were always full of anger after watching football.
Until she actually went to the scene to watch it once...
Well, let's not mention that. After all, football and Quidditch are different. She was ready to truly experience the brilliance of Quidditch!
Just as she stepped onto the stairs of the spectator stand, she caught a glimpse of a big head passing by in her peripheral vision.
Oh, not just a big head, but a big head wrapped in a turban, carrying a smell of garlic.
Why was Quirrell here? Shouldn't all the teachers and students be in the stands by now?
Kate carefully stuck to the wall, observing his movements out of the corner of her eye.
She saw Quirrell talking to himself outside the tall walls of the Quidditch pitch—needless to say, he was talking to Voldemort.
Kate couldn't hear what they were saying, and she wouldn't be stupid enough to risk exposing herself to eavesdrop intentionally.
She just watched Quirrell stand there for a while before continuing to walk toward the teachers' stand.
Presumably, he was going to follow the original works and prepare to chant a hex on Harry's broom.
Anyway, with Snape there, nothing should go wrong.
Although Harry had always hated him, it had to be said that Snape was, in many ways, the person who gave the most sense of security after Dumbledore.
Kate secretly put her mind at ease and climbed up to the Slytherin House stands. However, she was much shorter than the senior students and really couldn't squeeze into the front row.
"Hey!" Suddenly, a little girl next to a tall boy called out to her.
Looking over with some surprise, Kate didn't realize who it was until she met those yellow eyes.
"Aren't you coming over to watch?" Amber pointed to a small empty space between the two siblings.
This...
Kate's first reaction was that they were targeting her again.
But in front of all the teachers and students, and during an important Slytherin match, this pair of siblings shouldn't have the guts to do anything to her.
Hesitating for a moment, she walked directly between the two. This empty space was just right for her.
Raising her head, she saw Leif revealing a rather awkward smile at her.
Kate's mouth twitched. She wanted to say he should stop smiling, but before she could speak, the whole stadium erupted in a burst of cheers.
She fixed her eyes on the field and realized the players from both sides had entered.
"Look!" Amber introduced loudly to her, "That is our Captain, Marcus Flint! And that one, is the Beater, Adrian Pucey..."
Kate was somewhat surprised by her uncharacteristic enthusiasm. One had to know, after the wizard's duel, she and these siblings had almost no friendship to speak of.
The only thing worth mentioning was probably that every day after she got up, whenever she ran into Amber, the other party would show her an awkward smile—
Just the exact same expression as her brother just now.
What on earth were these two planning?
Kate secretly raised her guard. While they were talking, the players from both sides quickly ascended into the air under the whistle of the referee, Madam Hooch, and the match officially began.
According to the original works, this match would last for several dozen minutes. It wouldn't be until Harry discovered the key to scoring, the Golden Snitch, that Quirrell would cast a hex, nearly causing him to fall from his broomstick.
But fortunately, with Snape's help, he would successfully catch the Snitch and win the match.
Which meant Kate could enjoy the match for at least several dozen minutes—
Until she saw Harry's broom begin to shake uncontrollably right at the start of the game.
"We can see that contestant Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 has fallen into uneasy agitation just as the match began. Is this some kind of Gryffindor tactic?"
The commentator, Lee Jordan, still wanted to explain the matter with a humorous tone.
But the situation quickly took a turn for the worse. Everyone watched as Harry's broomstick began to roll and buck incessantly, and he could barely clamp his legs around the broom to keep from falling off.
What was going on?
Kate subconsciously looked toward the teachers' stand, only to discover that Dumbledore and Quirrell were unexpectedly absent. Only Snape was staring at Harry, chanting spells non-stop.
If she didn't already know the plot, even she might have thought Snape was harming Harry.
But where did Quirrell go?
Shouldn't he be staring at the target while chanting a hex?
Almost instantly, Kate realized. Quirrell wasn't in the teachers' stand, which meant he was in a more hidden place where he could still clearly see Harry's position.
She didn't know why the plot had suddenly changed, but seeing Hermione and Ron on the Gryffindor stands opposite already fixing their eyes on Snape, she inwardly cried out that things were bad.
If Snape was affected by them and couldn't chant the counter-curse, then Harry would really be hanging by a thread.
At this time, why was Dumbledore not present either!
Kate had no time to think so much. She had originally intended to wait until the match was halfway through before secretly helping Snape suppress Quirrell.
But now that the plot had twisted so abruptly, she could only help in advance.
"Hey, Wilson!" She raised her head and yanked hard on Leif's wizard robes. "I'm feeling a bit unwell, let me leave first."
Amber also leaned over to look at her. "What's wrong with you?"
"Don't worry about me for now," Kate pointed to Harry on the pitch, who was about to lose control of his broomstick. "You guys watch him first!"
With that, seizing the moment when both their attentions were focused on Harry, she ducked down, drilled into the surging crowd, and quickly left their line of sight.
Judging by the situation, Hermione had, just like in the original works, misunderstood that Snape was casting a hex on Harry and was trying to sneak under the teachers' stand to set him on fire and hinder his actions.
That meant Snape wouldn't last much longer.
The situation was urgent. She couldn't cross half the stadium to stop Hermione, nor could she make a loud noise to attract Quirrell's attention.
The only way was for her to stop Quirrell herself.
Kate quickened her pace, climbing all the way to the highest point of the stands. Amidst the noisy human voices, she quickly searched for places where Quirrell might be.
"Let me use this!"
She snatched a magically enhanced telescope from a snake student next to her. Scanning for a while, she finally found an iconic big head in the shadows of the Gryffindor players' entrance.
Sure enough, he was hiding there.
In the entire Quidditch stadium, aside from hiding in the crowd, one could only hide in places the crowd couldn't spot.
The players' entrance was a place only paid attention to during entry. Coupled with it being a blind spot for most stands, it was most convenient to hide in the shadows there.
Very good. Next, she just had to sneak over and create chaos around Quirrell, and then she could—
Suddenly, a gasp erupted from the field.
Kate snapped back to reality, only to find that Harry had been thrown off the broom, relying entirely on one hand gripping the handle to keep from falling.
But by the looks of it, that wouldn't last long.
Because Hermione had already quietly arrived beneath the teachers' stand and ignited a flame on Snape's robes.
This was the first time Kate felt that her childhood friend's capacity for action was a bit too excessive.
The moment Snape discovered the fire and stopped chanting the counter-curse, Kate quickly took over his work, her eyes fixed tightly on Harry as she continued chanting the counter-curse.
Admittedly, her control wasn't as good as Snape's, but her fullness of mana could barely make up for her deficiencies.
However, even if she could briefly resist Quirrell, Harry would sooner or later fall because he couldn't hold on.
Now Kate had no time to distract herself looking for Quirrell. She could only focus on chanting the counter-curse, watching Harry dangling under the broom.
Who else could help her at this time?
Snape? Or Dumbledore?
But of these two, one was wretchedly putting out a fire, and the other was nowhere to be seen.
The Slytherin student beside her was still mocking her for snatching the telescope.
Kate furrowed her brows tightly, trying hard to treat his bad language as wind passing her ears, concentrating on resisting Quirrell's hex.
But seeing that Harry was about to fall, Dumbledore was delaying his appearance, and the snake student beside her was still chattering endlessly...
Really, at the critical moment, no one can be relied upon!
She glared hatefully at that student. The mana inside her body, as if finding a vent, instantly poured out and surged toward him.
The boy opened his eyes wide in horror, wanting to draw his wand, but ultimately couldn't make it in time and was overturned by her massive magical power.
Not only that, but a group of Slytherin students nearby were also caught off guard and abruptly affected by the magical wave.
Just like leeks being harvested by a sickle, they fell down row by row.
Kate only felt that her ears were finally much quieter. Her gaze stared dead at Harry's figure, her mouth chanting the counter-curse non-stop.
The only plan for now was to release her magic and repel Quirrell's hex in one fell swoop!
She held her breath, her entire body's magic acting upon Harry's broom through the counter-curse.
Almost at a speed visible to the naked eye, everyone could see that Harry's Nimbus 2000 was gradually returning to calm.
He climbed onto the broom in disbelief. Aside from feeling that the tail of the broom seemed a little unstable, it was almost no different from before.
"The Golden Snitch!" A small golden thing flashed quickly before his eyes. He immediately steered the broom and dove toward the ground—
Kate's face was flushed red from holding her breath. She had already noticed the fearful and terrified looks of the students around her who had been affected by her magic.
But right now, she had no way to explain. She remained rooted to the spot, holding back her strength, fighting and entangled with Quirrell's power.
In the eyes of outsiders, they only saw Harry gradually gaining control of the broom.
But only the two parties involved, Kate and Quirrell, knew clearly just how intense the magical confrontation occurring on that broomstick was.
However, even Harry on the broom didn't know, let alone bystanders being able to see anything significant.
Just a little bit more!
Veins were already popping out on Kate's forehead, her eyes reddening, her body trembling. In the eyes of the students affected by her, she looked like a demon suddenly gone mad.
But only she knew how difficult Quirrell was to deal with after being possessed by Voldemort!
Even though she suppressed him comprehensively with magical power, he was still like a venomous snake in a dark corner, making her shudder without cold.
Where is Snape! Can you come help after putting out the fire on your robes?!
Where is Dumbledore? You bad old man, are you not even going to save the Savior you personally cultivated?!
She shouted loudly in her heart, but unfortunately, no one could hear her cry for help.
With great difficulty, she saw Harry stand on the broom and cover his mouth, then fall entirely to the ground.
However, after this, he spat out a Golden Snitch from his mouth.
"I've caught the Snitch!" he shouted loudly.
But in the next second, the Nimbus 2000, which had left his control, suddenly flew high up, trembling violently in the air for some unknown reason.
Immediately after, amidst everyone's dumbfounded stares, it exploded with a "boom," shattering into pieces of wood chips.
Harry bounced up from the ground, screaming in panic and heartache: "My broom!"
Meanwhile, in a corner of the high stands that no one noticed, Kate collapsed to the ground, exhausted, gasping for breath.
Darkness swam before her eyes, and her whole head buzzed with pain, unable to recover for a moment.
This was a sign of magical overuse.
The broom exploding just now was the final moment of her magical clash with Quirrell.
But obviously, in terms of magical confrontation, even though her total mana exceeded Quirrell's, her control was still far inferior.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have come to the last moment where she had to blow up the broomstick that served as the battlefield.
Through her blurred vision, she vaguely saw a figure in black wizard robes rushing over from among the Slytherins.
Screw you, Snape... now that it's over, you know to run over here...
Kate wanted to curse out loud in anger, but her vision suddenly went black, and she fainted completely.
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