Since classes resumed at Hogwarts, the young wizards were a little nervous in the first few days, fearing that Sirius Black would make a comeback and threaten their safety.
However, since that day, no sign of Sirius was found in the castle.
If it weren't for the fact that Sir Cadogan's portrait still replaced the Fat Lady on the door of the Gryffindor common room, the young and forgetful little wizards would probably have completely forgotten about the notorious wanted criminal.
Visiting professor Remus Lupin was very dedicated. After arriving at Hogwarts, he patrolled various parts of the castle every day, looking for any trace of Sirius.
Not only that, he also pointed out many secret passages connecting the castle to the outside world.
These passages were discovered by him, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew when they were in school. Some of them were unknown to Filch.
The professors all agreed that Sirius had sneaked into the castle through secret passages unknown to Filch.
Because of this achievement, Lupin quickly made good friends with other professors, except for one person -
Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin.
"I don't think it's a wise decision for you to recruit a new visiting professor, Mr. Headmaster." One night shortly after Lupin arrived here, Snape stopped Dumbledore and said to him.
"But I don't think so, Severus, I guess you still have some prejudice against Remus." Dumbledore said indifferently.
Snape frowned, and there seemed to be obvious depression on his sallow face.
"You remember the relationship between the two of them, right, Headmaster?" Snape said. He barely opened his lips when he spoke, clenching his teeth tightly, as if he had some deep hatred for Lupin. "You should also remember his true identity..."
"Remember, Severus," said Dumbledore, with something like a warning in his voice, "there is no necessary connection between the nature of Remus and his coming to the castle to help. We have discussed that, have we not?"
"But I can see that he is likely to tip off Blake," Snape whispered. "He will appear in the most conspicuous places in the castle during his daily patrols. This is not only visible to us, but also to Blake outside the castle."
"It is entirely possible that he was using this action to send a message to Blake, telling him that we are under strict inspection and he cannot come..."
"I said, I don't believe that Remus would help Black enter the castle," Dumbledore said. "He wants to catch Sirius Black more than we do, and he wants to know the truth of that year."
"You just need to do your job and prepare the potion I give you. I will take care of the rest."
The tone of his voice made it clear that this was the end of the discussion, so Snape made no reply.
"I must go and deal with the Dementors outside the castle," said Dumbledore. "If I don't deal with them now, I'm afraid they will think we are hiding a criminal."
"Are they going to help, Headmaster?" Snape said softly, frowning in disgust.
"Oh, yes. I don't know whether they want to search for criminals or to suck the joy out of children..." Dumbledore said coldly, "But I'm afraid that as long as I'm the headmaster, I will never allow them to cross the threshold of the school."
…
Compared to the professors who were always on guard and nervous, the little wizards were obviously much more relaxed.
They had almost forgotten that an escaped criminal like Sirius Black had come to Hogwarts Castle, and that they were still in danger.
All they knew was that the first Quidditch match was approaching.
I don’t know if it’s the influence of the Dementors outside the castle, but the weather has been getting worse these days.
But in such weather, the Gryffindor Quidditch team trained even harder.
Originally, for Harry's safety, Professor McGonagall did not want to expose him on the empty Quidditch field to prevent Sirius Black from taking advantage of him.
But because of Harry's firm request, and Professor McGonagall herself hoped that the Gryffindor Quidditch team could get a good result in the game, she agreed to the team's request to continue training.
Of course, to be on the safe side, she asked Madam Hooch, who taught flying lessons, to accompany the Gryffindor team in training.
"Listen, our opponent this time is not easy." At the last training before the game, the team captain Wood said loudly while standing on the court, "Our opponent this time is the defending champion Hufflepuff from last school year."
It was a stormy day, and even as Wood was speaking, the team members heard thunder rumbling in the distance.
Hearing the name of the house, Harry subconsciously tightened his grip on the broom.
He remembered that the reason why his performance was so bad last year was because of Qiu Zhang and Hufflepuff Seeker Cedric Diggory.
Harry had been indignant about Cedric and Qiu Zhang's relationship countless times, thinking that Cedric was just a pretty boy with no other advantages except his good looks. He also had been distracted in class and had problems in competitions countless times because of this.
But when I think back to Qiu Zhang's face now, it seems like a lifetime ago, and even in my memory it seems a little blurry.
Harry discovered that what he liked was just the fake Qiu Zhang in his heart.
In fact, apart from the encounter when Professor Dracula presented awards to the top three students in the grade and the encounter when he shamelessly went to the Ravenclaw tower to chat her up, he didn't even know much about her before.
Her personality, family, character and preferences were all his own conjectures. When this obsessive love faded, what was left in his heart was the real Qiu Zhang whom he did not understand, and this memory naturally became vague.
And his assessment of Cedric as a gigolo was just a prejudice born out of jealousy.
Cedric was actually polite and friendly, and he always upheld the principles of fair and friendly play on the Quidditch field. His flying and ball skills were also quite impressive, so it was no surprise that girls liked him.
In the last game before the Quidditch final of the previous school year, between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Harry reconciled himself with Cedric, personally giving Hufflepuff a chance to beat Slytherin and allowing them to win the final championship.
Now, in the first Quidditch match of the school year, Gryffindor happened to meet Hufflepuff, which gave Harry a sense of destiny.
"Are you listening, Harry?"
Wood's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. He quickly raised his head and smiled at Wood.
"Are you really okay?" Wood looked at Harry suspiciously and hesitated, "Are you still out of shape like last school year?"
"Don't worry, Oliver, that won't happen again!" Harry laughed confidently, "I'm already a different Harry!"
"That's for the best," Wood nodded, and continued, "Our opponent this time is the Hufflepuff team, but we have no idea about their style this year. Because they have a new captain, Cedric Diggory—"
The three Chasers, Angelina, Alia and Katie, suddenly started grinning.
"What's wrong?" Wood frowned and looked at them, not very satisfied with their carefree behavior.
"Cedric Diggory is the tall, handsome boy, isn't he?" said Angelina.
“The one who’s physically strong and softly spoken,” Katie added.
As they spoke, they began to giggle again.
Harry sighed, feeling that it was not surprising at all that Qiu Zhang fell in love with Cedric.
"He speaks softly because he's not strong enough! Quidditch games need real strong men like us!" Fred, who grew up in the same village as Cedric, joked.
"There's no need to worry too much, Oliver. This is Cedric's first time as captain. He's definitely not as capable as a 'tyrant' like you!" George also said.
"I've told you so many times not to underestimate the enemy! Especially since we're facing the defending champions from last school year!" Wood shouted to the grinning twins, his eyes bulging a little. "Diggory has organized a strong team, no worse than the one organized by the previous captain!"
"Besides that, he's also an excellent Seeker! I don't know what Harry's current condition is, but I know that even if he returns to his best condition, he may not be able to suppress Diggory! So we must try our best, and we must win!"
"Oliver, don't get angry," Fred and George patted their chests and promised when they saw Wood's serious expression, "We will do our best to deal with the Hufflepuff team, we promise!"
…
The morning before the game, it was windy and rainy.
The weather was worse than the previous day's training. The corridors and classrooms were pitch dark, and Filch had to light more torches and lamps.
The Gryffindor common room was high up in a tower, and the sound of the storm hitting the window glass seemed louder than the sound outside.
Harry was awakened early by the sound of thunder and rain, and looked out the window which was blurred by the rain.
He knew better than to count on the match being cancelled - wizarding Quidditch matches were never cancelled over something as trivial as a thunderstorm.
Even though he knew this a long time ago, Harry still felt a little scared, as if there was an ominous premonition lingering in his heart.
He got out of bed and sat in front of the fireplace, thinking about random things.
He remembered that Quidditch seekers were usually light and nimble, and Diggory was taller than the average seeker, but his weight was an advantage in this weather, as he would not be blown off his feet by the strong wind.
However, Harry did not have time to dwell on this, because Crookshanks, the half-breed cat and neanderthal raised by Hermione, had always been obsessed with Ron's mouse Scabbers, and would often sneak up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
He had to stand up from time to time during his wandering thoughts, hug Crookshanks' soft belly and put it back in the common room.
At last, when it was nearly time for breakfast, he walked alone to the doorway guarded by the portrait.
"Stop and fight, you bad dog!" Sir Cadogan yelled at every little wizard passing by as usual.
"Oh, shut up," Harry responded with a yawn.
He had become accustomed to this knight's careless words. The curses he uttered actually only expressed his contempt for his opponent and did not contain any malice.
After a large bowl of porridge, Harry perked up a little, and by the time he was eating his toast, the rest of the team had arrived.
"This game is going to be intense," said Wood, who was so nervous that he couldn't eat anything.
"Don't worry, Oliver," Angelina comforted him, "We don't mind a little rain. We often train in the rain."
But it was more than just a little rain, they had never trained in such heavy rain before.
However, even in such horrible weather, all the teachers and students of the school came out as usual to watch the first Quidditch match of this semester. This is enough to prove that Quidditch is indeed very popular in the wizarding world where entertainment activities are scarce.
Teachers and students trotted across the lawn towards the Quidditch pitch, heads ducked against the strong wind - this was because their umbrellas would be blown from their hands halfway.
However, there was a pure black umbrella that showed no signs of damage and was quietly open in the howling wind and rain.
Dracula walked in the heavy rain with an umbrella. All the raindrops that were blown sideways by the wind would automatically change direction and fall to the ground when they were about to touch his robe.
Therefore, there was no wet spot on his collar due to the rain, which made him look out of place among the disheveled little wizards.
"Sure enough, as long as the sun doesn't come out, Professor Dracula is still willing to come to the Quidditch field to join in the fun." Harry looked at Dracula's robes without any wet marks with envy and thought to himself.
Finally, they walked into the Gryffindor team's locker room despite the wind and rain. The team members couldn't wait to change their wet clothes and put on the school's bright red Quidditch uniforms. They immediately felt better.
… Although it won’t be long before their clothes get wet once the game starts.
After changing into their uniforms, the players lined up neatly, waiting for Wood's usual pre-match morale-boosting speech as captain.
But no one expected that when Wood tried to open his mouth to speak several times, he only made strange gasping sounds and could not express any of his previous lofty ambitions.
Finally, he shook his head helplessly and waved for everyone to follow him into the stadium.
He had already led Gryffindor to win a Quidditch Cup. In his last year at Hogwarts, he didn't need to ask for anything more. As long as he did his best, the result wouldn't matter...
The wind was blowing so hard that the players staggered as they walked onto the field.
Amid the rumbling thunder, even if there were spectators cheering for them, they would not be able to hear them at all.
The raindrops hit Harry's glasses hard, and he was already beginning to worry about how he would be able to see the Snitch in the storm.
When the Gryffindor team members walked to the center of the field, the Hufflepuff team members, wearing canary yellow uniforms, walked towards them from the opposite side of the field.
The captains came forward and shook hands. Diggory smiled at Wood, who nodded.
The thunder was so loud that the players on both sides could not hear Madam Hooch's voice.
Fortunately, the contestants present were experienced enough to watch her mouth shape and wait until she seemed to shout "get on the broom" before getting on the broom together.
Harry pulled his right foot out of the mud on the field and stepped onto the Nimbus 2000.
"All-"
Madam Hooch put the whistle to her lips and blew hard, producing a sharp sound that barely broke through the thunder and the whistling wind—
The game begins!
Harry rode very fast, but his Nimbus 2000 was a little shaky in the wind. He held on to the handle as tightly as he could and turned and rushed into the wind and rain.
…
Dracula was sitting on a high platform in the audience, holding an umbrella, looking at the sky above the stadium with boredom.
Of all the seats around him, only his was dry.
"By the way, you guys are watching so intently, can you really see clearly what's happening in the game above?" Dracula grabbed a young wizard nearby who was concentrating on watching the game and asked.
This little wizard is obviously an avid fan of Quidditch. Even in the heavy rain, he would keep his eyes open and stare up into the sky, for fear of missing any details of the game. He would not blink even when the rain was hitting his eyes.
"Ah, Professor Dracula." The young wizard seemed to have just discovered that Dracula was sitting next to him. He scratched his wet hair awkwardly. "Actually, I can't see it clearly. I can only see a few small black dots. I don't know if they are birds or players..."
"You are still so absorbed in watching this?" Dracula looked at him speechlessly. "I don't feel any fun from this game at all. Isn't this pure torture?"
"You can't say that!" The young wizard subconsciously raised his voice and refuted, "Quidditch matches in bad weather are the best test of a player's willpower and skills. Winning in such a match is far more admirable than winning in normal weather..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Dracula's unhappy expression, and his tone became a little weak again, "I... I didn't mean to speak so loudly, I'm sorry, Professor Dracula..."
"Forget it, fans are such an unreasonable group." Dracula shook his head with a smile and snapped his fingers lightly.
All the young wizards in the audience were trying to open their eyes wide, trying to avoid the rain affecting their vision. However, they suddenly found that the raindrops in the sky had changed their positions, as if they were deliberately avoiding their eyes.
Dracula watched the confused expressions of the little wizards gradually turn into excitement, and smiled faintly.
Dumbledore, who was watching the game not far away, looked in surprise at the audience where Dracula was, and an amused smile appeared on his face.
"You're obviously very understanding of others, so why do you pretend to be so indifferent?" He chuckled and shook his head.
…
High in the sky, Harry was still trying hard to fly, and he didn't know how long the competition had lasted.
He was soaking wet and freezing, and it was hard for him to see his teammates, let alone the little golden snitch.
He flew across the court, passing by blurry red and yellow figures, unable to see the details of the game. In the strong wind, he couldn't even hear the comments of the audience.
Twice Harry was nearly knocked off his broom by the Bludgers, but the heavy rain made his vision blurry, and he could not see them coming the other way.
Slowly, his arms began to ache, and it became increasingly difficult to keep the broom flying in a straight line.
The sky grew darker, as if night had decided to arrive early.
Harry nearly bumped into another player a few times, and he couldn't tell if it was his teammate or the other team's player. Now everyone was soaking wet, and the rain was so heavy that he couldn't see the Snitch at all...
"Dudu—"
Madam Hooch's whistle blew with the first flash of lightning.
Harry could just make out Wood's outline through the dense rain, and Wood was waving at Harry to come down to the ground.
Then, the whole team, splashed with rain, descended into the mud on the ground.
"I called a timeout!" Wood yelled to his players amid the sound of wind, rain and thunder. "Come on, get down there—"
They huddled together under a large umbrella at the edge of the pitch. Harry took off his glasses and wiped them hastily on his soaking robes, which looked even dirtier.
"What's the score?" he asked hastily.
"We are leading by fifty points," said Wood, "but the score can't be too far apart. It still depends on the Seeker."
"I can't even see with my glasses on, let alone catch the Snitch," Harry said frustratedly, waving his glasses.
At this moment, Hermione ran over from somewhere wearing a cloak and squeezed under the big umbrella beside the court with a smile on her face.
"I have an idea, Harry!" she said excitedly. "Give me your glasses, quick!"
Although Harry was puzzled, he handed the glasses to her out of trust.
As the entire team looked on in amazement, Hermione tapped Harry's glasses with her wand and said:
“Imperuious!”
"There!" she said, handing the glasses back to Harry. "This is the Invulnerability Charm. The rain won't bother your glasses now!"
After the timeout, the players on both sides flew back into the heavy rain.
Hermione's spell really worked. Although the cold and numbness in his hands and feet and his soaking wet body were not solved, Harry could see now.
He pulled himself together, made up his mind, and urged his Nimbus 2000 to cut through the turbulent air currents, searching for the Snitch in all directions.
Thunder roared one after another, followed by lightning of different shapes. The situation in the sky became more and more dangerous, and Harry knew he had to catch the golden snitch as soon as possible.
So he turned around suddenly and wanted to return to the center of the court.
But just then, another thick bolt of lightning lit up the stands—
Harry saw something that completely distracted him: the silhouette of a huge, shaggy black dog, silhouetted against the sky, sitting in an empty row of seats at the top of the stands.
He thought of what Sybill Trelawney, the professor of the Divination class he took this semester, had said -
"'Bad omen', my dear boy, 'bad omen'!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed in shock when she saw his divination in class. "That ghostly big dog wandering in the graveyard! My dear boy, this is a bad omen... the worst omen... an omen of death!"
He thought again of the huge black dog he had seen before he met Tonks when he ran away from home.
Why did this black dog appear again today? !
Harry's numb hands slipped on his broomstick and his Nimbus 2000 fell several feet.
He brushed his wet bangs away from his eyes, but couldn't help being distracted and glanced at the stands, only to find that the black dog had disappeared at some point.
"Harry!" Wood's distressed shout came from the Gryffindor goal. "Harry, pay attention, look behind you!"
Harry turned around in panic and saw Cedric flying over the field. A small golden speck was flashing between them in the rain-filled sky...
It's the Golden Snitch!
In panic, Harry threw himself upon his broomstick and spun towards the golden flash.
"Come on!" he yelled to his Nimbus 2000, letting the rain slap his cheeks. "Faster! Faster!"
However, something strange suddenly happened.
The scene, which should have been filled with wind, rain and thunder, suddenly fell into silence.
Although the wind was still as strong as before, it had forgotten to roar, like an old TV set that someone had suddenly turned off; or as if Harry had suddenly gone deaf...
He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen!
The next moment, a strange yet familiar blast of cold air hit him and suddenly rushed into his body. Only then did he realize that something was moving above the court...
Harry didn't have time to think, and turned his eyes away from the Golden Snitch and looked to the side.
There were at least a hundred Dementors suspended in the air, their hooded faces turned toward him. It was as if frozen water was rising from his chest, cutting into his insides.
Then he heard the same sound he had heard on the train—someone was moaning, moaning inside his head... It was a woman... The woman's voice was very familiar...
"Don't touch Harry. Don't touch Harry... Please don't touch Harry!"
"Go away, you stupid woman... Go away, now..."
"Don't touch Harry, please don't, unless you kill me first... just kill me..."
Harry's brain seemed to be numb, and he fell into a white fog...
His subconscious desire was to help that woman, she was about to die... she was about to be murdered...
Meanwhile, Harry was still falling, falling through the cold mist.
"Hold on Harry! Please hold on... Have mercy... Have mercy..."
A shrill voice was laughing, the woman was screaming, and Harry knew nothing more.
Before he fell into a coma, he saw a dazzling silver light occupying the entire Quidditch field. A suppressed angry voice resounded through the sky, as if the rain and thunder had stopped because of the anger of that voice.
"Who allowed you into Hogwarts, you disgusting creatures?!"
…
…