Chapter 33: The Glorious Victory of the Snake Courtyard
Just as the two were getting closer and closer to the Golden Snitch, Harry's new broom suddenly became incredibly unruly.
It would dart up and down, sway from side to side, and even spin 360 degrees, looking like a wild horse trying to throw off its rider.
Aaron noticed this and couldn't help but frown, even stopping his pursuit of the Golden Snitch. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know either, the broom isn't listening to me. It's the first time I've encountered something like this," Harry said, on the verge of tears. It was no longer a question of whether he would lose the game, but whether he could save his life.
"No way!" Aaron's expression was odd. This was a Nimbus 2000; such a situation shouldn't normally occur.
Furthermore, Harry was now a professional Seeker. A rookie mistake like this shouldn't be happening to him at all.
Not only Aaron, but many in the stands also noticed the problem, pointing and gesticulating at Harry Potter, who was constantly being flung around on his broomstick in the sky.
"How did Harry's broom get like this?" Hagrid said, stunned.
Hermione watched Harry through her large binoculars, and as her gaze followed him, she unexpectedly glimpsed someone in the stands concentrating on chanting a spell.
This struck her as odd, so she adjusted her binoculars and discovered that the person was Snape, and his eyes were fixed on Harry Potter, not blinking once.
"It's Snape, he's chanting a spell," Hermione said, surprised. Although she was reluctant to believe that Snape, who had saved her life, would do such a thing, she couldn't deny it in the face of the facts.
"He's chanting a spell?" Ron also looked towards Snape's position and saw that it was indeed true. "What do we do then?"
"Watch me!" Hermione thrust the binoculars into Ron's hand and left the stands, quickly running towards the section where Snape was.
Harry's broom was shaking even more violently, more frantically. Before, it was just flipping horizontally; now it had started flipping vertically.
After two full rotations, Harry nearly fell off, managing to grab onto the broomstick with one hand, dangling precariously in mid-air. But anyone with eyes could see he wouldn't last much longer.
The Nimbus 2000 continued to sway from side to side. Harry grabbed it with his other hand as well, refusing to let go for anything.
The Seeker's predicament naturally affected Gryffindor's morale, and Slytherin, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity, scoring two quaffles in quick succession within a few minutes.
The score became ten to twenty, putting Slytherin ahead of Gryffindor.
"Uh oh! It seems the situation is more serious than I thought," Aaron flew next to Harry, and in front of the entire audience, somewhat reluctantly extended his right hand to him. "If you don't want to fall off.
Just a friendly reminder, this isn't a problem with the broomstick. No broom would be so disobedient. Someone is definitely trying to harm you."
Harry hesitated for a moment, then, while being swung around, grabbed Aaron's right hand and was pulled onto his broom.
The Nimbus 2000 also seemed to have lost its target, gradually settled down, and hovered in mid-air.
Both Gryffindor and Slytherin widened their eyes at this sight. Most people showed him admiration, believing he didn't take advantage of the situation, while a minority were angry at his lack of ambition, believing he had given up a great opportunity to win.
Aaron didn't know what they were thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. After pulling Harry onto his broom, he began to fly quickly around the stadium, not daring to delay for a moment, fearing he would follow in Harry Potter's footsteps.
"Thanks!" Harry saw his broom quiet down again and knew Aaron was right, so he awkwardly expressed his gratitude.
"You could have won," Harry said, somewhat confused. Aaron had spotted the Golden Snitch before him, and even if his broom hadn't malfunctioned, there was a very high chance Aaron would have snatched the Snitch before him.
"I have my principles. I can lose honorably, but I cannot win unfairly," Aaron said calmly. "My condition for joining the House team was that when I participate in a match, the entire team is not allowed to commit any fouls.
But if I had seized the Golden Snitch using that opportunity just now, then I would be the one fouling."
Meanwhile, Hermione had already pushed through the crowd and quickly ran to the stand where Snape was located.
Just as she was about to pull out her wand to interrupt Snape's spellcasting, she unexpectedly saw Harry on Aaron's broom.
"How could this be?" Hermione murmured softly. With her clever little mind, she quickly understood what had happened, and looking at Aaron flying in the sky, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upwards.
"What are you doing here?" Snape looked at Hermione Granger, who had appeared in the row behind him at some unknown point, his face so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
"Ah!" Hermione was startled, then instantly collected herself, forcing herself to calm down. "I think the view is clearer here."
"Is that so? Then is it necessary to draw your wand?
Miss Granger, I suppose you think Gryffindor has too many points and want me to deduct more?"
"No?" Hermione nervously put away her wand, stammering, "It's, it's..."
"I asked her to come," Professor Flitwick quickly interjected, "Miss Granger was confused about a few spells, and I asked her to come see me after the Quidditch match.
Perhaps she was a bit impatient! You know, Hermione has always been a little Wizard eager for knowledge."
Hermione froze for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.
Snape gave Hermione a deep look, then turned his gaze to Flitwick, snorted softly, and turned his head away.
Professor Flitwick secretly breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Hermione to his side, as far away from Snape as possible.
"What am I going to do with you?
Many Gryffindors don't like Professor Snape, but there isn't a single one who would try to play a prank by drawing a wand like you just did.
Hermione, you're still a first-year student, with seven years until graduation. Are you sure you want to offend a Potion Class teacher who will be teaching you for seven years in your first year?"
"I..."
"Don't say anything, child. Promise me you won't do anything so impulsive again, okay?"
Hermione felt a little wronged. She wanted to tell Professor Flitwick about seeing Snape casting a spell, but without evidence, she could only nod helplessly.
"That's good, let's watch the game!
Aaron is even more outstanding than I thought. This excellence isn't about talent, but about character.
Of course, his talent is also very good," Flitwick smiled.
Hermione also came back to her senses and focused on the match.
Aaron flew around the stadium once, figuring that the person who had tried to harm Harry earlier probably wouldn't dare to cast another spell under so many watchful eyes. So he simply sent Harry back to his Nimbus 2000.
"The game continues. I won't hold back now," Aaron said.
Harry also nodded, gripping his broom tightly with both hands, quickly adjusting his state, and searching for the golden streak in the stadium.
This time he was very focused, but Aaron still spotted the Golden Snitch first and chased after it.
Harry followed closely, and soon collided with Aaron.
As they chased the Golden Snitch, they constantly bumped into each other with their arms, trying to make the other lose control, but neither could get the better of the other.
The Golden Snitch began to dive towards the grass on the ground, and the two also began their descent.
The Nimbus 2000 was slightly faster, but in this head-first dive towards the ground, Harry didn't dare to go full speed, always maintaining the same speed as Aaron.
Finally, when the blades of grass on the ground were clearly visible, Harry dared not continue his dive. He suddenly pulled up his broom, coming to an abrupt stop.
But Aaron continued to fly downwards. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he extended his right hand, his fingers quickly skimming the green grass, leaving three shallow furrows on the lawn.
Then, with a pull of his right hand, while dislodging a small amount of soil, he caught the Golden Snitch flying just above the grass.
"Aaron Gaius has caught the Golden Snitch! He gets one hundred and fifty points and ends the game!" Lee Jordanannounced. "The score between Gryffindor and Slytherin is ten to one hundred and seventy."
Professor Hooch blew her whistle and loudly declared, "Slytherin wins!"
Slytherin's cheers instantly enveloped the entire stadium. The Professors in the stands also applauded the exciting match, though Professor McGonagall was a bit more dejected than the others.
She had thought that with Harry Potter, such a gifted Seeker, Gryffindor would finally be able to hold its head high and shake off its previous slump, but she hadn't expected Slytherin to also have a trump card like Aaron Gaius.
But she couldn't find a single fault. Before, she could claim the other side won unfairly, often fouling, but this time she really had no way to comfort herself.