In the days that followed, the black dog visited Hagrid's hut every day, getting some food from him, and when it rained, it would run under his eaves to take shelter. Over time, even Fang accepted its presence.
Once it had become familiar with Hagrid and Fang, Hagrid gave it its own bowl, and whenever he prepared food, he would make an extra portion—Hagrid's style of keeping pets was rather rough; the dog ate whatever he ate.
On rainy days, Hagrid even allowed the black dog to come inside, warm itself by the fire, and keep dry.
After some time, the black dog grew plump and strong under Hagrid's care, its fur becoming sleek and glossy again.
This black dog, of course, was Sirius in Animagus form. By freeloading food and shelter from Hagrid, he had recovered most of his strength.
While Sirius was restoring his health, the Hogwarts Quidditch League quietly arrived. Along with the league came continuous rainy weather. The closer it got to the first match, the worse the weather became, to the point where an entire day could pass without seeing the sun.
According to the schedule, Gryffindor and Slytherin were to play the opening match. In order to win, the Gryffindor team trained as scheduled even in heavy rain. In contrast, the Slytherin team seemed to have given up entirely, showing no sign of outdoor practice. Even with less than two weeks left until match day, their "training" consisted solely of playing Quidditch board games…
This piqued Rhys's curiosity. While it was true that students inheriting the Slytherin legacy generally did not possess strong flying talent, surrendering without a fight seemed far too disgraceful.
With these tangled and conflicted feelings, Rhys asked Daphne to help him find out what was going on, and then he was stunned—
"What? They're not playing against the Gryffindor team next week?!" When Rhys heard the news, he thought for a moment that there was something wrong with his ears.
"Are they planning to forfeit? That would be an automatic loss."
Daphne's expression grew very complicated. "I heard from Marcus that all the team members have caught a bad cold and can't play against Gryffindor, so in the opening match, Gryffindor will be playing Hufflepuff instead—Marcus said it's his strategy. He doesn't want to fight Gryffindor in the rain, because that would stop them from using their advantage."
Bang!
Rhys slammed the table heavily. He was truly infuriated by this bunch—using such a shameless excuse to avoid the match!
What do they mean, "can't play to their advantage in the rain"? Does the rain only fall on Slytherin players?! He even wanted to say that the rain would obscure the Seekers' vision, narrowing the gap between the two teams' Seekers!
The more Rhys thought about it, the angrier he became. He slammed the table again and said furiously, "They've lost all sense of shame. This lot doesn't deserve to win! They've completely sullied the honour of the game!"
He lifted his head and, in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the common room, declared, "I say the next time we face Gryffindor, we might as well just surrender. After all, you can't win with a bunch of cowards who only know how to fake illness!"
It had been raining endlessly, and many Slytherin students were spending their time in the common room. Rhys's words were heard by nearly half the House. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see how the team members would respond to Rhys Lint's provocation.
Marcus's decision to avoid the match still stirred considerable controversy, even within the House. Many students were dissatisfied, believing it showed weakness to Gryffindor and was an act of cowardice that should not be tolerated.
But Marcus had his own reasoning—he thought it was a wise choice, using his brain to gain an advantage for the team. What did the others know? Quidditch wasn't just about flying around; it was also a battle of wits. In his mind, this was "subduing the enemy without a fight."
When Draco Malfoy heard Rhys's words, his face darkened, and he was about to stand up to retort, but Marcus held him back.
"There's no need to bother with him. Let the results speak for themselves—using a few insignificant tricks for the sake of victory, that's the Slytherin spirit!"
Marcus's voice wasn't loud, but unfortunately for him, Rhys had excellent hearing. When he caught the words "Slytherin spirit," he was so angry he almost laughed.
He couldn't exactly say much, because he did, in fact, encourage doing whatever it took to achieve one's goals… but for a Quidditch match? Really? There were only four teams in total! Wasn't that goal just a little too down-to-earth?
Rhys's definition of "achieve the goal at any cost": for the sake of the entire wizarding world—or at the very least, for Hogwarts.
Marcus's actual "achieve the goal at any cost": win the championship in a tournament with a grand total of four teams.
Rhys truly didn't know how to evaluate behaviour like that.
What's more, the contrast with Gryffindor now was far too stark, turning the whole Slytherin team into a laughingstock.
He could only turn to Daphne and say, "If Harry comes to borrow your Firebolt before the match against Slytherin, make sure you lend it to him."
"If Harry gets the Firebolt, then doesn't that mean…" Daphne thought that if Harry got hold of it, Slytherin would most likely lose.
"They don't deserve to win," Rhys said bluntly.
When Gryffindor learned their opponent had been switched to Hufflepuff at the last minute, their side was in an uproar. But no matter how much they complained, Hufflepuff's Cedric had already accepted the change, the schedule was fixed, and they had no choice but to accept the reality.
The news quickly spread throughout Hogwarts, even reaching Helga. As the founder of Hufflepuff House, she decided she would attend the match that day to stand with her House's team.
Of course, the match against Gryffindor was just the appetizer. The real highlight would be the future clash against Slytherin.
In a slightly provocative tone, she had once asked Salazar which team he thought would have the higher chance of winning between Slytherin and Hufflepuff.
Unexpectedly, Salazar actually said that the team he now supported was Hufflepuff.
"The Slytherin team has completely abandoned its honour. I'm now a die-hard Hufflepuff fan," Salazar said.
As for why he chose Hufflepuff—well, that was his final line in the sand. He certainly wasn't going to support Gryffindor, was he?
…
On the day of the match, the weather changed—shifting from steady rain to a violent storm. By the time everyone was up and in the Great Hall that morning, the sound of the storm lashing against the windows could make anyone want to give up on going outside.
Listening to the howling wind and rain outside, Malfoy and the other team members smiled triumphantly.
Great! Thank goodness they've taken the day off!
Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team, was at the house table, doing everything he could to encourage his teammates. Cedric wanted to go and boost morale as well, but was stopped by Professor White, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, before entering the hall.
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