Rhys led the two girls into the Quidditch stadium and found a spot in the Slytherin stands.
Because of the rain that day, rain shelters had been set up over the stands, but plenty of fine droplets were still blown in by the wind. Fortunately, the Slytherin stands were on the leeward side, so less rain made its way in.
Rhys waved his wand to clear the water from the seats before sitting down. Around them, more and more damp young wizards crowded in, wrapped in thick cloaks and opening umbrella after umbrella, doing their best to fend off the wind and rain outside.
"Isn't there a spell to make the weather better?" Daphne frowned at the dreadful conditions outside the stands—there was hardly anyone who could keep a good mood in such weather.
"There is." Rhys glanced up at the sky, then looked across to the Hufflepuff stands. Sure enough, in the front rows he spotted a familiar figure.
If he were to disperse the rain clouds above, Helga would probably be very displeased—she was counting on this downpour to give the Hufflepuff team an edge.
Daphne blinked in surprise. Did such a spell really exist? One powerful enough to disperse rain like this?
Just then, a sharp whistle blew from the pitch, followed by a wave of cheers loud enough to drown out the storm—the match had begun.
The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff players turned into tiny red and yellow dots, darting rapidly through the air.
The results of Gryffindor's intensive training showed at the start of the match—the heavy rain pouring from above couldn't stop their fierce offensive. For a time, Gryffindor even led Hufflepuff by more than fifty points.
But as their uniforms became soaked through and their joints stiffened from the cold, the gap between the two teams quickly narrowed—under the effect of the Waterproofing Charm, the Hufflepuff players were still in good condition.
Wood was the first to notice something was wrong.
As Keeper, he could clearly feel the increase in the opponent's offensive pressure, and the points gap between the teams was gradually shrinking.
Strange… why? Wood couldn't figure out why the Hufflepuff lot seemed completely unaffected by the heavy rain.
He began watching the Hufflepuff players closely—and then he saw a shocking sight: Hufflepuff Beater Cadwallader, after making a powerful hit, reached into his robes, pulled out a small bottle, and took a long swig of something.
Wood: !!!
His anger flared instantly. Ah, so you're drinking potion, are you? No wonder you're fighting better and better!
Without hesitation, he called for a timeout, then flew straight over to Cadwallader, grabbing the bewildered Beater and dragging him over to Madam Hooch.
"He took a potion! That's against the rules!" Wood almost roared.
"I drank cold medicine!" Cadwallader shot back, unwilling to back down. He directly handed the small bottle from his robes to Madam Hooch. "There's no rule saying you can't drink cold medicine, is there?"
Madam Hooch inspected the contents of the bottle, then brought it to the professors on the sidelines for verification. When they confirmed it was indeed just an ordinary cold remedy, she returned the bottle to Cadwallader.
The match resumed, but Gryffindor was penalised with a free shot for Wood's timeout. Zacharias Smith scored with a tricky throw, bringing the two teams level.
When the Hufflepuff supporters heard the score was tied, they erupted into thunderous cheers. Helga even jumped up, hopping and skipping like an excited child alongside the surrounding students.
Sitting beside her, Professor Sprout slowly felt a question mark form in her mind: the score was tied, yet Professor White seemed even more excited than she, the Head of Hufflepuff House. Could it be that she was once a Hufflepuff graduate?
Dumbledore had never explained Helga's background in detail, so Sprout didn't know that she was actually self-taught.
But judging from her attire and behaviour at the match, Sprout boldly guessed that Professor White was indeed a Hufflepuff.
That guess wasn't wrong—she truly was a Hufflepuff... the Hufflepuff.
From leading by fifty points to being tied, the Gryffindor players' mindset shifted subtly. In short, they began to grow impatient. Everyone, including Harry, sped up, and for a time Gryffindor regained the advantage on the field.
But this advantage was built on impatience, and they soon paid the price: in a beautiful counterattack, Hufflepuff took the lead!
Another wave of cheers erupted from the stands. Apart from Gryffindor, the other three houses were all delighted.
Naturally, Hufflepuff needed no explanation, Slytherin was nearly laughing themselves sick at seeing their old rivals stumble, and Ravenclaw was simply pleased by such a spectacular comeback.
The air in the Hogwarts Quidditch stadium was thick with intense, heated emotions, bubbling like boiling water. At this moment, the pitch was like a cauldron of hotpot, sending its "aroma" far and wide.
Normally, this would at most just make things noisier, but today was different—hundreds of Dementors were stationed around Hogwarts.
The joy inside the Quidditch stadium was lethally enticing to creatures that fed on emotions. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic's recent logistical supply to the Dementors had been running short, leaving those stationed outside Hogwarts starving. They were on the verge of losing control.
From the start of the match, the Dementors had been restless. When Hufflepuff's comeback ignited an explosion of joy, they could no longer restrain their desire.
Their hunger for emotion overcame their fear of magic.
The Dementors gathered together, crossed the previously set boundary, and began moving en masse toward Hogwarts.
Wherever they passed, cold seeped into everything. The rain in the sky turned into ice pellets, and the vegetation on the ground was first coated with a layer of frost, then sealed beneath ice.
An evil aura began to spill uncontrollably outward, spreading toward the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.
The young witches and wizards, still immersed in their joy, didn't notice anything unusual.
But Rhys and Helga in the Hufflepuff stands both keenly sensed that strange trace drifting in the air.
They narrowed their eyes at the same time, gazing into the distance.
Soon, they pinpointed the source of that disturbance—hundreds of dark creatures, crossing the Hogwarts boundary, charging straight toward them.
A blaze of anger ignited in Rhys's heart, one even the howling wind and pounding rain could not extinguish.
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