dmims Chapter 27 Cooperation
Chapter 27 Cooperation
Nimbus 2000 was blown away. Harry held onto the Golden Snitch tightly with one hand, while gripping the wand he had drawn from his waist even tighter with the other.
Although he can use a staffless spell to reduce shock and stop speed, he still needs to be on the safe side when his life is at stake.
"Arresto Momentum" (Shock Absorption and Speed Stop)
As Dumbledore's voice rang out, Harry suddenly felt himself "swimming" into a vast ocean about twenty feet above the ground.
The students' terrified screams gradually subsided, replaced by a deafening roar that nearly shook the stands to their core.
"Harry! Harry caught the Golden Snitch!"
"My God! How did he do that? That's incredible!"
"Cheating! He definitely cheated! How could he do that!"
……
The final result of the match was Gryffindor defeating Slytherin 160-70. Madam Hooch's whistle was completely ineffective; she even had to use hand gestures and magical sparks to signal Gryffindor's victory. Similarly, apart from the professors and a few observant students, most people didn't notice that Harry had used Curse of the End to stop the bouncing ball that was chasing him.
"Harry! Are you alright?!"
The Gryffindor team, led by Wood, weren't blinded by their victory. One by one, after landing, they rushed straight for Harry. After confirming Harry was unharmed, George and Fred drew their wands from their waists and shouted:
"You despicable bastards!"
"I knew Slytherins couldn't possibly play a match without cheating or committing fouls!"
Flint was also furious and yelled:
"You're the ones who cheated! Who knows what trick Potter played up there in the clouds! I request to inspect his wand! There's no reason for Nimbus 2000 to be faster than Nimbus 2001!"
"Get lost! Do you think we're blind? You dare say that bouncing ball wasn't tampered with? The game was over and it was still chasing Harry!"
"Shut your stinking mouth, Weasley! Everyone knows the game ball is locked in the teachers' office! You poor, ignorant fool..."
"Stupify!" (Faints and collapses)
Mrs. Hodge had witnessed many bloody matches during her time as a coach, but this was the first time she had ever seen players directly pull out their wands and start fighting. Before she could even warn the players with a suspension for fighting, flames of magic had already shot out from Fred's wand.
"Expelliarmus!" (Expelliarmus)
“Tarantallegra!” (Tarantallegra dance)
“Rictusempra!” (Grinning widely)
"Funnunculus!" (Hot and spicy!)
"Densaugeo!" (A big stick in front teeth)
"Fred! George! No! Protego!" (Armored body)
Harry hadn't expected the match to escalate into a brawl between the two houses, and quickly intervened to stop it. (Harry only used his armor charm to protect his Gryffindor classmates.)
"Finite." (Stop the curse)
"Relashio." (Relaxation)
boom!Boom!
Water splashed everywhere.
Apart from Harry and Malfoy, who had just fallen from the sky, all the other 12 players landed on the muddy grass. Dumbledore had somehow managed to get there from the stands.
"Kids, the game is over."
He held up a transparent "air umbrella" in his hand, and said with a complicated expression:
"Please don't do things that violate sportsmanship and damage the school's reputation."
Flint, whose face was still oozing boils, didn't even have the strength to stand up, but he still endured the excruciating pain and shouted to Dumbledore:
"Headmaster! Potter cheated to steal the Golden Snitch, and then Gryffindor launched a sneak attack first... Ouch!"
"He didn't cheat..."
An unexpected voice rang out from beside Flint.
"Potter snatched the Golden Snitch by using the speed of his broom and that runaway ball. I think the school needs to investigate the game ball."
Not only the Gryffindor members, but even Dumbledore showed a hint of surprise when he looked at Malfoy, even though he looked like he wanted to kill someone when he said those words.
“Oh, thank you for your clarification, Mr. Malfoy. I think Mrs. Hooch will investigate this matter thoroughly. Now…”
Dumbledore waved his hand and said:
"Students who are still feeling unwell or injured, please go to the school clinic to see Mrs. Pomfrey for treatment..."
"Oh, my dear headmaster."
Beneath a lavish umbrella adorned with floral patterns and gold trim, Lockhart's gleaming teeth and irresistibly charming yet greasy smile set him apart from the other professors.
"There's no need to trouble Madam Pomfrey with such a small problem. With just a wave of my wand, I can guarantee the students will be cured."
Gilderoy Lockhart eagerly drew his wand, his eyes searching for the best person to heal.
"Don't!"
A Slytherin student staggered to his feet and shouted:
"I don't need you to treat me, I'm fine!"
Another Gryffindor player targeted by Lockhart was also terrified. He covered his Quidditch robe with the wound on his calf and said:
"It's just a minor injury, let it be for now, thank you, Professor..."
……
The Gryffindor celebrations were especially enthusiastic, particularly after Harry recounted how he used the Loopball to snatch the Golden Snitch, instantly transporting the entire common room back to the glory days of their House Cup victory the previous year.
"That was amazing! Absolutely fantastic! I wish I could have seen that with my own eyes!"
Wood, waving a towel he'd grabbed from who-knows-where, was beaming with joy, completely oblivious to Harry's cries of "I'm not full yet!" Meanwhile, George and Fred, acting as the atmosphere-maker, each grabbed one of Harry's legs and lifted him up, launching into a comedic performance.
"It's such a waste of your talent, Harry, to keep you on the school team!"
"But we can't bear to let you go play in the professional league right now!"
"You're too young!"
"Too young!"
"Just imagine the delicious food in the auditorium!"
"Think about the pretty girls at school!"
"So listen to your seniors!"
"Before graduation..."
"You can stay on the school team and play Quidditch for now!"
The Weasley twins' words amused the boys and also made a group of little witches, including their sister, blush. Even as lights out approached, many female students in Gryffindor were still unable to sleep, their faces buried under their blankets.
The moon hung quietly in the sky.
With the Marauder's Map at his fingertips, Harry has now made nighttime walks a regular part of his routine. He was supposed to go to the Room of Requirement to practice Transfiguration magic today, but Moran's sudden awakening interrupted his plans.
Hey! You're awake?
Feeling the familiar magic emanating from the depths of his soul, Harry seemed even happier than when he had defeated Slytherin.
"Hmm... How have things been lately? Has anyone else been attacked?"
Mo Ran's voice still sounded somewhat tired, which only made Harry more interested in what had happened that night.
"No new attacks have occurred, and the students have mostly taken the opening of the 'locked room' as a joke. As for Ginny, whom you asked me to keep an eye on last time, she's been behaving quite normally. Whether in class or watching Quidditch, she's no different from any other student."
"Oh? You played Quidditch? How did it go? You seem to be in a good mood?"
"We won, but it wasn't easy. If it hadn't been for the heavy rain, I probably wouldn't have been able to outrun Malfoy. And... strangely enough, I originally thought that the troublesome ball was tampered with by Slytherin, but Malfoy actually came forward after the match to admit that he had lost and even asked Mrs. Hooch to inspect the ball."
"what?"
Mo Ran was also dumbfounded. Based on what he knew of Malfoy from the movies, even if he didn't drop his broom during the match, he should have first said some harsh words and then cried and looked for his father.
"Is he really that magnanimous?"
Mo Ran asked incredulously, and Harry thought for a moment before replying:
"No, that's not it. His face looked like he was about to break his flying broomstick, which is why I said it was strange. Oh right! We can use Marauder's Map to see if he has any tricks up his sleeve."
Harry, who had already reached the door of the Room of Requirement, said this as he removed his Invisibility Cloak.
"Using it to monitor the entire school during this time has taken a lot of my energy, but I've also roughly figured out the secrets of the Marauder's Map. You see, when we entered the Room of Requirement, our footprints disappeared from the map! That means the Marauder's Map can only show locations that its creators knew. Also, the magic used by Moonface, Wormtail, Bigfoot, and Prongs when creating the Marauder's Map was probably the Human Trace Charm. It's a very profound and complex spell! Once successfully cast, it can't be fooled by any disguise, whether it's me wearing an invisibility cloak or Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form, the charm can be correctly identified. Good heavens, I can't even imagine how long those four self-proclaimed Marauders spent creating the Marauder's Map!"
Harry sounded excited; part of him was still basking in the victory.
"Didn't you notice anything wrong?"
Mo Ran asked.
"Yes, I have!"
Harry said:
"As I said, this Marauder's Map only shows human traces. Even if it can record the direction the ghosts wander, it cannot detect anything other than humans. So the attacker in the locked room incident was either hiding in the locked room when the attack was launched, or it was a non-human creature itself."
Harry's deduction was already quite close to reality, but what Mo Ran really wanted to say was that the rat Scabbers sleeping next to Ron was Peter Pettigrew's Animagus. However, just as he was hesitating whether to give away the spoiler, a somewhat familiar, sharp voice suddenly rang out in the darkness.
"Harry Potter is back at school."
"who!"
Harry's wand pointed directly at two tennis ball-sized eyes that were gleaming faintly in the darkness.
"Dobby has tried so many times to warn Harry Potter, so why won't you heed Dobby's warnings? Why didn't you just turn back home when the wall was sealed off?"
Harry didn't relax his guard at all just because he recognized the house-elf; he asked sternly:
"Whose house-elf are you? And how did you get into this room? Wait, how did you know the walls were sealed?"
Dobby looked a little flustered, but not because he was being pointed at by Harry's wand.
“I…I…I can’t say, sir.”
"Ha, I can't say anything?"
Dobby, in his panic, thought for a moment, then downplayed the issue and said:
"Oh...oh oh! Sir, I used Apparition to find you here."
Harry's eyes widened, and he shouted:
"Apparition? You can apparite in school? Wait, what are you hiding behind your back?"