"Hahaha, I made it just in time! I saw little Katie snatch the Quaffle—what a brilliant play!"
The towering figure of Hagrid squeezed into the stands with a booming laugh, plopping himself down between Ron and Neville. The whole row of students suddenly found themselves packed together, their space rapidly shrinking.
"Hi, Hagrid!"
Hermione turned around to greet him, but after a quick reply, her gaze snapped right back to the match. It was her very first time watching Quidditch live, but even she could tell how remarkable Qin's seemingly casual Bludger strike had been—a perfect setup for his teammates to attack. Just thinking about it made her heart race. She didn't want to miss a single moment, especially anything involving Qin, which was why her greeting to Hagrid was so rushed and brief.
"…I'm so excited—I've got to give everyone a play-by-play of what just happened!
Just now, after Qin created an opening, Alicia feinted toward the Slytherin Chaser, Crabbe, making him flinch instinctively. But the real thief was Katie! That's right, a textbook Parkin's Pincer fake-out!
Normally, Katie wouldn't have gotten the Quaffle so easily. But with Crabbe already struggling to stay airborne after Qin's Bludger hit, Alicia's fake-out left him totally blind to Katie at his side. That's how she pulled it off!
Sigh, you two sweet, innocent girls—bullying an injured player like that. I have to say, you're absolutely wicked~~"
Lee Jordan's "instant replay" let everyone who'd missed the moment catch up. As expected, his cheeky commentary earned him another round of glares from the Slytherin stands—and a stern rebuke from Professor McGonagall.
But the action on the pitch didn't pause for a second. The Slytherin players, finally realizing what had happened, closed in on Katie Bell like a pack of wolves. Adrian Pucey charged straight at her, looking ready to eat this upstart Gryffindor alive.
Katie wasn't fazed in the slightest. She met him head-on, ramming his left shoulder with her own. Using her flying skills, she forced Pucey back, then twisted away and powered toward the Slytherin goal.
"…Adrian Pucey's interception failed! Now it's up to the rest of Slytherin… Let's find their captain and Chaser, Marcus—oh, there he is, coming in on Katie's right flank, looking even more intimidating than Pucey. He's bigger, stronger, and Katie's in real danger!"
Hermione and the others watched anxiously as Marcus Flint bore down on Katie. He was a giant compared to her, and it looked like she'd never get past him.
But just as everyone's eyes locked onto the two, a black Bludger came screaming out of nowhere—whack!—and slammed into Marcus's lower back!
He jerked as if he'd hit a brick wall, his broom lurching to a sudden stop. Doubled over in pain, he clung to his broomstick, clearly out of commission for the moment.
"It's Qin! Qin strikes at the perfect moment! A flawless hit—he's taken Marcus out of the play!
With the biggest obstacle gone, Katie's charging for the goal!"
Lee Jordan's voice was electric, but the stands themselves went eerily quiet, everyone holding their breath as Katie streaked toward the hoops.
"Meanwhile, Slytherin's Keeper, facing a crisis, is frantically attempting a 'Double Eight Loop'—but isn't it a bit late for that? Slytherin's falling apart, one blunder after another!"
The green-robed Keeper began looping around the three goal hoops in a frantic figure-eight pattern. Normally, it was a classic defensive move, covering all three hoops. But in his panic, the wider he flew, the more gaps he left—he'd have been better off just standing guard.
Sure enough, Katie feinted left as the Keeper flew right, then, as he scrambled to cover the left, she whipped around and shot straight for the upper right goal he'd just abandoned!
"…Katie seized on Slytherin's defensive gap, and as she neared the hoops, she hurled the Quaffle—
Katie scores!
She's won Gryffindor the first ten points of the match! Let's hear it for her!"
Amid the despair of the Slytherin Keeper and his teammates, rookie Chaser Katie Bell broke through and scored—ten points for Gryffindor!
"Katie! Katie!"
"Gryffindor! Gryffindor!"
The stadium exploded with wild cheers, none louder than the Gryffindor section.
Harry Potter, playing in his very first match, was so thrilled by his teammate's goal that he spun two loops in the air, unable to contain his excitement.
As Qin Yu passed him, he called out, "Save some energy, mate—you'll need it soon enough."
Harry just grinned sheepishly, nodding and laughing.
Qin Yu didn't bother lecturing him further. He caught up with Katie and Alicia, offering a rare, proud smile. "Nice work! All that practice paid off. Keep up this rhythm—just play your game."
The two rookie Chasers beamed at the praise, circling Qin in the air in a classic Quidditch salute.
"Qin! Qin!"
Finally, the stands caught on, and a wave of cheers for Qin Yu swept through the stadium. Anyone with eyes could see that his two Bludger strikes had been the key to the goal.
Soon, that familiar chant was echoing everywhere.
Qin Yu could only wave sheepishly toward the roaring Gryffindor stands. Even from here, he could spot that brown-haired girl cupping her hands around her mouth, shouting with the rest—she really had spirit, he thought with a smile.
He truly hadn't meant to steal the spotlight. The encouragement he'd given the team should have come from their captain, Oliver Wood, but as Keeper, Wood couldn't exactly abandon his post mid-match. That would look ridiculous.
Among the veterans, Angelina Johnson didn't quite have the authority, and as for George—well, that was out of the question. So Qin had to step in.
After a quick round of praise for the two goal-scorers, Qin Yu sent everyone back to their positions to prepare for the next round.
...
As the saying goes, under the Quidditch sun, some rejoice while others despair.
Marcus Flint, having recovered, gathered his team and fumed, "We've been played by Qin! He used Harry Potter as a decoy to distract us!"
"So sneaky—using a useless Seeker to pull our attention. That's just despicable!" one of the Beaters spat.
The whole team started grumbling, cursing Qin's dirty tactics and calling him a scoundrel.
"All right, enough chatter!" Marcus snapped, cutting them off before anyone could dwell on his earlier blunder. "Stick to the original plan—focus on those two Chasers, and don't get distracted again!"
...
Elsewhere in the stands—
"I get it now—Qin really is a tactical genius!"
"Same here! He made everyone think Harry Potter was the key, but Harry was just a feint to tie up Slytherin's defense!"
"Exactly! Qin's incredible!"
The group launched into an animated analysis of how many classic luring tactics Qin had just pulled off, and how professional his Bludger shots had been.
A nearby spectator, listening to their breathless commentary and remembering their earlier wild guesses, couldn't help rolling his eyes. Finally, he thought, I see it now—you lot don't know a thing. It's all just hot air.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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