With the arrival of November, the 1992-93 Quidditch season finally kicked off.
The Slytherin Quidditch team had become the number one enemy of the other three houses.
In an era where most teams were using the Nimbus 1700, Slytherin shamelessly relied on their wealthy benefactors and upgraded to Nimbus 2001s. To say the other teams weren't bitter would be a lie.
Most students, focused on their studies, had average skill levels.
Only a few were naturally talented and exceptionally skilled. For the rest, having better equipment made a significant difference.
The saying "the rich rely on gear, the poor rely on miracles" wasn't just a joke, it was the reality.
This left the captains of the other three house teams disgruntled, especially Oliver Wood, who had sworn to win the championship.
If he could, he would've sneaked into the Slytherin common room at night and set all seven Nimbus 2001s on fire.
And then?
He'd frame the attack on whoever assaulted Filch!
If Harry knew about this, he'd probably be grateful to Wood for life.
Everyone already suspected Harry of attacking Filch, if Wood pulled such a stunt, it would only pile more blame on him!
Fortunately, Wood didn't become a crazed arsonist in the end. He just ranted about it in private like a typical keyboard wizard.
…
On Saturday, the first match of the season officially began: Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin.
By 11 o'clock, the entire school began heading to the Quidditch pitch.
It was a rare sunny day, the sun shining brightly overhead.
When William entered the changing room, Hermione and Annie rushed over to cheer him on.
Annie urged William to give the Slytherin team a good thrashing, she still hadn't forgotten how they'd insulted them last time.
Cedric also came over with an enthusiastic smile, but he wasn't there for William. He came to wish Cho Chang good luck.
"Watch out for the Bludgers."
"And be mindful of Malfoy's Nimbus 2001, don't try to match him in speed."
If it were allowed, Cedric probably would've flown beside Cho during the match to play bodyguard.
Typical loyal admirer behavior, always finding an opportunity to worm his way in.
"Where are Fred and George?"
After Cedric finished chatting with Cho, William finally grabbed his broom and asked.
"They're working with the Niffler," Cedric replied with a knowing wink.
The search for the Chamber of Secrets was still ongoing, and combing through the complex sewer system was a long and arduous task.
Fred and George had practically become underground workers. Any free time they had, they spent scouring the pipes.
Apart from searching for the Chamber, their greatest success had been finding lots of Galleons, Sickles, and, unsurprisingly, Knuts.
Apparently, students' lost coins often ended up in the sewer pipes.
Fred and George had discovered that scavenging could actually be a lucrative business. It seemed there was some truth to the rumor that Hogwarts stayed financially afloat thanks to Nifflers collecting coins worldwide.
Besides money, they'd found something particularly unsettling: a large clump of long hair clogging part of the pipe.
Long hair in the sewer, it was like something straight out of a horror film.
The most disgusting find, however, was the mermaid in the sewers.
Though not quite as terrifying as the grotesque mermaid from that Muggle movie, it wasn't far off.
How the mermaid from the Black Lake ended up in the sewers, no one knew. Its entire body was in a state of decay.
William could handle it, though. After all, he'd seen his fair share of disturbing films in his previous life. His mental fortitude was strong enough for this.
Soon, the match was about to begin.
The Ravenclaw team donned their sky-blue uniforms and stepped onto the pitch.
The audience erupted into cheers. Many banners reading "Go Stark!" fluttered in the stands.
In last season's match against Slytherin, William had broken the record for the highest individual score.
Then, he led his underdog team to a single-handed victory (Cho: "Excuse me??"), winning the championship and earning a massive fan following.
Many believed that William was the best Chaser Hogwarts had ever seen.
Of course, the more fans he had, the more wild fans emerged. A few of his female fans had already started arguing, and none of the male students watching the fight tried to stop them.
"Are you going to tear her robes off or what?"
"Don't worry, let her do it! She won't dare, we're all watching."
"If you're not going to do it, we're watching the match instead!"
As usual, Lee Jordan was the commentator for the game, and he immediately started commentating like a nee san commentator.
"Ta-da! Ravenclaw's Quidditch team has entered the field!"
"Jordan, please keep your commentary professional!" Professor McGonagall snapped, visibly bristling.
The crowd jeered at Lee.
"Chotto matte! What's wrong with the way I'm speaking?
Come on, tell me!"
"Sou ka... You guys don't like me anymore, huh... Such cruel people. Gomen nasai for showing you something unpleasant. People like me... should probably just disappear, huh? Ne?"
William wondered how things had come to this. All he did was recommend a few Japanese special films to Lee. How did it end up like this?
Even Cedric, after watching a few, had only picked up the habit of occasionally muttering yamete and getting dark circles under his eyes. Nothing this extreme.
Soon, the captains of both teams went up to shake hands.
William locked eyes with Malfoy and gave him a casual throat-slitting gesture.
"Cho, how's your Wronski Feint coming along?" William asked, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand.
"I'm not confident I could fool Potter, but Malfoy? That rookie? Easy," Cho replied.
William shook his head. Others might struggle to fool Harry, but you? You could trick him every time.
Of course, it wasn't really a Wronski Feint, it should be renamed to "Cho Chang's Charm Maneuver!"
Or... the "Seduction Tactic."
All Cho had to do was pretend to lose control of her broom and plummet toward the ground. Harry, in a fit of heroism, would undoubtedly follow her to "save the damsel in distress."
Then Cho could expertly right her broom at the last moment. Harry, too distracted by his concern for her, would crash into the ground.
In terms of game mechanics, if William played the Cho Chang Card, the special ability "Charm" would activate.
Effect: [During the play phase, reduce the combat effectiveness of one opposing Quidditch player (male) by half.]
Note: This card has a special bonus effect on "Cedric Diggory" and "Harry Potter," reducing their combat effectiveness by 200%.
A few well-timed plays, and Harry could easily be knocked out of the game three or four times.
Heh heh...
Of course, there was a downside. After falling for this trick too many times, Harry might lose faith in love altogether.
He'd retreat into solitude, contemplating two harsh truths:
"Simping never pays off.""True love only exists between bros."
William chuckled to himself, realizing he was a tactical genius. He really should've been head coach of the Chudley Cannons.
But he couldn't let Cedric find out about this strategy. If he did, he'd probably toss William into the Black Lake and feed him to the merfolk.
As William stood with his hands on his hips, laughing smugly, Cho gave him a puzzled look.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," William said, suppressing his grin. "Just thinking about something amusing. Are you ready to slaughter Slytherin?"
"Of course!"
"Good!"
The Ravenclaw team put their hands together.
"Listen for my whistle," Madam Hooch said, raising her whistle to her lips.
"Three... two... one... start!"
The crowd roared as the fourteen players shot into the sky.