"Are you serious, Harry?"
Ron stared at him in disbelief, genuinely floored by the question. Who in the wizarding world didn't know what a Bludger was?
"…Honestly, I don't even know how many players are on a Quidditch team," Harry admitted with a shrug, completely unbothered.
He'd never let Malfoy see his ignorance, but with Ron, he could be honest about anything.
Seeing the earnest look on his friend's face, Ron realized Harry wasn't joking. He cleared his throat, slipping into the role of expert.
"All right, let me break down the rules of Quidditch for you. There are three types of balls: the Quaffle, the Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch…"
"That many?" Harry blinked, surprised. Even wizarding sports had more balls than anything in the Muggle world.
"Isn't that normal? I mean, you can't have a whole bunch of people chasing just one ball, can you, Harry? Ha!" Ron grinned, finding the very idea ridiculous.
"We… I mean, in the Muggle world, we really do only have one ball. Football, basketball, even ping-pong," Harry replied, a little sheepish.
"…That's… really hard to imagine," Ron said, genuinely baffled.
It was just one of those differences—two kids raised in two very different worlds.
Harry couldn't picture a game with three balls flying everywhere, and Ron couldn't fathom a sport where everyone fought over just one—and on foot, no less!
A match where you couldn't even fly, just running around on the ground? Where was the fun in that?
But as their horizons grew, so would their understanding of both worlds.
Today, Ron flailed his arms and legs, enthusiastically explaining Quidditch until Harry finally felt like he had some grasp of this magical sport.
…
As Harry and Ron reached the pitch, they spotted a girl shouting encouragement at the top of her lungs.
Who else but Hermione Granger?
Ever since Friday's Potions class, the first-years had elevated Hermione's status.
A girl who liked to answer questions might be a bit annoying, but a girl who dared to talk back to a teacher? That was a true Gryffindor.
And with Qin behind her, Harry respected her naturally, and Ron even more so—after all, his two older brothers practically worshipped Qin, and even his school supplies were thanks to him.
All these tangled connections meant Harry and Ron treated Hermione with a sort of awed respect.
"Harry? Ron? You're here too!" Hermione called out, waving cheerfully. Then she glanced around, puzzled. "Where's Adam? Aren't you three always together?"
"Adam's still asleep."
"He never seems to get enough rest."
Harry and Ron answered in turn.
"He probably hasn't recovered from the holidays yet," Hermione guessed, thinking of her own struggles with early mornings.
If Qin hadn't made her fix her schedule before term, she'd probably still be in bed herself.
So the three of them gathered to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team's training, cheering for the players on the field.
Soon, they noticed another group about thirty meters away—three boys also calling out in excitement.
It was the Malfoy trio.
Malfoy didn't really want to cheer, but watching that lightning-fast Beater in the air pull off those high-difficulty moves, he just couldn't hold back his excitement.
Quidditch was every wizard boy's dream!
In that moment, Malfoy finally understood just how skilled Qin really was.
Of course, he quickly noticed Harry Potter and the others watching him, so he forced himself to act nonchalant.
But when Qin Yu, in perfect sync with another red-haired Beater, pulled off a V-Formation Double Hit, Malfoy couldn't help but shout again.
The V-Formation Double Hit—where one Beater smashes the Bludger downward and the second, waiting below, sends it rocketing back up in a sharp V—was a move you'd only ever see in the pros.
Malfoy had only seen it a handful of times, and always at his father's side.
"If only Qin were a Slytherin upperclassman, I'd definitely ask him for Quidditch tips…" Draco Malfoy muttered.
"What was that, Draco?" Goyle asked, confused.
"Nothing. Gryffindor's just lucky to have him," Malfoy replied with a sigh.
"Yeah, a Beater that good belongs in Slytherin!" Crabbe agreed, shaking his head.
…
"Great work, everyone! That's it for today. Next training's Wednesday afternoon…"
Up in the air, Captain Oliver Wood called out to his team.
Everyone broke off, leaning into their broomsticks and streaking away in all directions.
Qin Yu, George, and Fred flew straight toward where Hermione, Harry, and Ron were waiting.
"Qin, you were amazing!"
"Qin, you're the best Beater I've ever seen!"
Harry and Ron crowded around, starstruck.
George and Fred looked a little put out—their little brother seemed to have forgotten that his own two brothers were Beaters too, and he barely spared them a glance.
Hermione just watched helplessly as Qin was mobbed by two fanboys, unable to squeeze in.
As the group chatted and laughed, three more figures strolled up—Draco Malfoy and his two shadows.
Malfoy immediately launched into a speech about how Qin was wasting his talent in Gryffindor, and if he were Qin, he'd rather drop out than stay.
"Only you would want to be in Slytherin!" Harry snapped, bristling.
He was suddenly very glad he hadn't ended up in that house. If he'd had to share a dorm with Malfoy, he'd have gone insane.
"I wasn't talking to you! And anyway, Harry Potter, do you really think just anyone gets into Slytherin? Someone like you—practically a Mudblood—wouldn't even make it through the door!" Malfoy sneered.
(Note: "Mudblood" is a deeply offensive term for Muggle-born witches and wizards.)
This guy just couldn't stop picking fights! Malfoy fumed inwardly.
"Hah, even if the Sorting Hat wanted me there, I wouldn't go!"
Harry almost laughed—after all, the Sorting Hat had considered putting him in Slytherin.
But that was a secret he'd never share; it involved the Sorting Hat and the whole Hogwarts sorting ceremony.
"All right, Draco, don't you think the three of you are being a bit bold, saying these things in front of a bunch of Gryffindors?" Qin Yu said calmly.
Only then did Malfoy realize that, apart from his own gang, everyone around was from Gryffindor—including a second-year and two third-years.
He swallowed hard and tried to sound tough: "If you bully me, Professor Snape will dock points from your house!"
"Ha!" Qin Yu laughed.
He turned to the Weasley twins. "George, Fred, how many points did I lose last year?"
"Dozens, probably."
"Too many to count, honestly."
The twins shrugged, feigning forgetfulness.
"So, you think I'm afraid of losing points, little first-year?" Qin Yu said, pointing at the Slytherins.
Malfoy froze, stunned.
He hadn't expected Qin to be such a notorious "problem student."
"Oh, that reminds me—I lost points once for chasing a second-year from your house named Jerome with a sword… I wonder if he ever mentioned that at any of your Slytherin gatherings?" Qin Yu added with a grin.
Malfoy's already pale face went even whiter.
He'd heard rumors about Jerome being terrified of Qin Yu, but he hadn't realized it was because he'd actually been chased down.
"I—we're leaving…"
Sensing danger, Malfoy quickly motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow.
At first, they walked away slowly, afraid to draw attention from the Gryffindor "bullies."
But once they were far enough, Malfoy couldn't take the pressure anymore and broke into a run, his cronies scrambling after him.
…
"Hahaha!"
"I can't breathe!"
George and Fred doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down their faces.
Harry and Ron just stared, bewildered.
"Qin, was all that true?" Harry finally blurted out.
Even if Qin really was the school's resident troublemaker, Harry figured he'd still stick by him.
That's the power—and peril—of role models.
"Of course it's true!" George answered for Qin Yu.
"He was just teaching Jerome a lesson. The kid had bullied Qin's roommate," Fred added.
"Yeah, that guy Elvis," George supplied.
"So that's how it was!" Harry finally relaxed.
He didn't mind following a "bad boy," but he was relieved to know Qin was just standing up for friends.
Hermione knew all about it, of course. She'd watched Qin Yu's performance from start to finish, and saw Harry and Ron's reactions.
She walked over, poked Qin Yu in the chest, and scolded, "Why do you have to act like a villain? If I didn't know better, I'd think you really were a bully."
"To deal with different people, you need different faces. That's how you survive," Qin Yu said, suddenly serious.
It was a good lesson for the younger students—and besides, you had to be tough to keep kids like Malfoy in check.
Then he took Hermione's hand, smiling. "All right, let's go. After a whole morning of training, I'm starving."
"Yeah, let's hurry to Hagrid's!"
"We never saw Anna before, but maybe now that you're coming, Qin, we'll get to meet her!"
"Yeah, it's been two months since you last saw each other. Anna must really miss you."
"That's right—Anna likes you best."
George and Fred chimed in, one after the other.
With every word, Hermione's face grew colder.
Finally, she stopped in her tracks, looked up, and asked with a sweet—but icy—smile:
"So, who exactly is Anna?"
Everyone could feel the chill in her words, despite the smile on her face.
George and Fred exchanged a panicked glance, then both looked at Qin Yu.
"You never told Hermione about Anna?"
"That's on you. Why haven't you told her about you and Anna?"
Before Qin Yu could scold the twins, a sharp pain shot through his palm—Hermione's nails digging into his flesh.
He glanced down to find her pouting, eyes already rimmed with red.
"You two are dead," Qin Yu growled at the twins.
The brothers, realizing they'd stirred up real trouble, quickly grabbed Harry and Ron and made a hasty retreat.
Well, they'd only meant to stir the pot a little after all that "couple time"—but it looked like the consequences might be more than they'd bargained for.
Who knew what Qin would do to get even?
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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