Chapter 33: The Rogue Bludger
After the incident, Ron seemed to have made the decision not to speak with Evan or Percy, avoiding them as much as possible, which embarrassed Harry and Hermione.
As time passed, no one mentioned Moaning Myrtle.
The topic of the Chamber of Secrets was becoming less prominent. Everyone began to think like Ron, regardless of who the heir might be, if their only ability was to petrify a cat, then they had nothing to worry about.
Hermione spent most of her time poring over thick books detailing Hogwarts events to find clues about the Chamber of Secrets. Evan used his spare time to practice curses in an empty room.
Harry's first Quidditch match was drawing near, so Harry's Quidditch practices increased significantly.
After dinner every day, Wood took Harry to the Quidditch stadium.
Thanks to Malfoy's sponsorship, Slytherin's Quidditch team brooms had been upgraded to Nimbus 2001, far superior to Gryffindor's brooms.
Unable to procure the same brooms, Wood decided to intensify the team's training. They flew in almost every imaginable weather condition, aiming to close the gap between the two teams caused by the brooms.
Since the altercation between the two teams, conflicts between the two houses had escalated, so many Gryffindor and Slytherin students were anticipating a major confrontation; the upcoming Quidditch match only fueled the fire.
The day before the Quidditch match, there was a fierce confrontation between the two houses, but since the first major fight, all the school teachers had become very vigilant and stopped it before anything serious could happen.
In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday morning.
Evan and Colin went to the Great Hall for breakfast. Evan could sense the gloomy atmosphere around the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Wood let all the players eat as much as they could, but he ate nothing himself, and when everyone finished, they headed to the Quidditch stadium.
Because of Ron, Evan did not join them, but he waited until eleven and went to the Quidditch stadium with the teachers and school students.
Evan was in the stadium alongside Colin and Ginny.
The game started soon, dazzling figures flying through the air.
From the outset of the game, it was evident which team was more dominant; in less than ten minutes, Slytherin scored three consecutive goals, Fred and George's brooms lagging behind their opponents, never getting close to the Quaffle.
"All our brooms are too slow, and no one except for Harry can keep up with Slytherin," Colin said weakly.
"I hope Harry can catch the Snitch soon," Ginny said, slightly perturbed by the number of goals Slytherin was scoring.
The situation gradually turned more favorable for Gryffindor as the rain began.
Wood's training paid off, and because Slytherin lacked practice in different weather conditions, the Slytherin players became slower.
Soon, everyone saw a rogue Bludger that seemed to be magnetically drawn to Harry. The Bludger was doing its utmost to knock Harry out of the air. Ginny was screaming while tightly gripping Evan's arm.
To evade the fierce Bludger attack, Harry had to soar with force.
He spun, twisted, zigzagged through the air, but nothing worked, the Bludger kept on targeting him instead of others.
With Fred and George shielding him, Slytherin scored two more points.
"The Slytherins must have..." Evan began.
"Evan, what should we do?" Ginny asked.
"Do not worry, Ginny," Evan said as he comforted her and made his way through the crowd, "Someone must be controlling the bludger, I'll take a look." This must be the work of the house-elf Dobby.
Evan didn't know where Dobby was, but one thing was certain, he must be hiding somewhere nearby.
Evan wandered around the stadium, searching everywhere until he found the hideous creature near the Ravenclaw stands. Before he could stop Dobby, he saw Wood calling the team to form a circle.
"What is happening?" Wood asked, "Where were you when the bludger prevented Angelina from scoring?"
"We were twenty feet above her, preventing another bludger from hitting Harry," George said angrily, "someone has put a curse on the ball."
"But as we practiced last night, the bludger has been locked in Madam Hooch's office since this morning..."
"Listen, you can't keep flying around me; I have no chance of catching the snitch unless it comes towards me."
Harry saw the Slytherin team mocking him and said, "Fred and George, go deal with the other bludger and let me handle the one chasing me."
"Don't be foolish, Harry," Fred said, "it will hit you on the head. It's all about you!"
George glared at Wood and said, "Catch the snitch or risk in the game; you must be crazy to tell that to Harry!"
"And now what?" Wood said as he looked at Harry, Fred, and George.
"Oliver, be reasonable," Alicia Spinnet said angrily, "you can't let Harry face that thing alone. We should call for an inquiry!"
"If we stop now, we will be disqualified," Harry said shaking his head, "we can't lose to Slytherin because of a rogue bludger; we've been preparing for this match for three months."
"But..."
"Let me handle the Bludger; I believe I can resolve the issue," Evan said as he approached running. When the Gryffindor Quidditch players heard him, they turned their heads and looked at him.
"Evan, what are you going to do?" Harry asked anxiously.
"You just focus on catching the snitch; leave the rest to me," Evan said, "Come on, Harry! I've already written the article about Gryffindor's victory, and you can't let it be replaced."
"Very well," Wood said as he looked at Evan and Harry with a determined expression, "Fred, George, you heard them, let Harry deal with the bludger."
With Madam Hooch's whistle, the game resumed.
Evan knew he had to hurry. He drew his wand as he headed towards the Ravenclaw stands, ignoring Luna who stood up and greeted him.
Evan shouted "Stupefy!", causing a red light to shoot out of his wand.
When Dobby heard Evan's shout, he turned his head, looking somewhat surprised, glanced at him for a second, but vanished before the spell could reach him.
"Curse it!" Evan exclaimed as he clenched his fist, for he had forgotten that house-elves could apparate freely within Hogwarts.
At that moment, there was an exclamation from the stands.
Evan hurriedly stood up and saw Harry catch the snitch but was struck by the stray bludger from behind and fell to the ground.
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