Thunder and rain made it impossible to tell how time was passing.
Astoria's windproof goggles had been struck, and the cracks across them blocked her vision, so she tore them off and threw them away.
She panted for breath. So far, every effective attack had been completed by her.
Ron had fully erupted and was like a guardian at the goalposts. Apart from her shots, every ball had been saved.
Ginny was also severely drained, but with Ron and Dean working with her, she was not as exhausted as Astoria.
The gears of fate had already begun to turn. The two captains of the following year clashed here, sending sparks flying.
300 to 500, a gap of 200 points!
Ginny charged forward with the resolve to stake everything, only to be stopped by Astoria.
The two met on a narrow path, and in the end, neither would yield. Their collision sent both girls falling from their brooms.
The Quaffle wobbled through the hoop.
"Go, Harry!"
Ginny roared into the rain, passing on this message.
Her voice pierced through the sound of the downpour.
Lightning broke through the darkness.
The gold fell, and with it, two figures appeared, plunging straight downward amid the cheers and Ginny's roar.
Astoria refused to call the match to a stop and shouted at the Slytherin players, "Go and score!"
Slytherin attacked Gryffindor madly.
Harry stretched out his fingers, about to touch the full stop that was right before his eyes.
"You know, Potter," Malfoy's voice sounded.
Harry turned his head to look. There was no tension on that face, only an obsession with victory and the thrill of the match.
"I'm a Malfoy." Malfoy grinned. "Fighting with everything I have, by any means necessary. That's who I am!"
With that, Malfoy changed his flying posture, planted both feet on his broom, and kicked off with force.
Under everyone's dumbfounded gazes, he leapt.
Because of that leap, the gold before Harry's eyes disappeared.
The Firebolt lost control and shot straight out of the pitch. Malfoy spread his arms and let out an unrestrained roar.
Harry's mind went blank. That was a height of a thousand metres. How did he dare?
Seeing Malfoy still falling, Harry did not hesitate at all. He changed direction and flew toward Malfoy.
Everyone was stunned by Malfoy's insane action, and cries of shock rose one after another.
Astoria struggled to go and rescue him, but a Bludger struck the tail of her broom, causing her to lose control.
"Is he mad?" Ron cursed loudly.
All the Slytherin players turned around.
But Malfoy was falling very fast.
Just as he was about to hit the pitch, Malfoy was struck by a figure.
Immediately afterward, the two of them wobbled along on the broom for a short distance before falling, rolling together through the muddy water and lying on their backs on the pitch.
The next second, laughter burst from their mouths.
One figure raised his right hand high, and gold shone in the darkness.
The gold that had slipped past them countless times had finally appeared in his hand.
"The match is over!"
Malfoy looked at the Golden Snitch in his hand, laughing with an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.
Finally, he had caught the Golden Snitch before Harry Potter's eyes.
Using everything he had.
He laughed and laughed more, until the rain choked him and made him cough violently.
As if exhausted, he simply lay on the pitch.
"You won," Harry said, his lenses soaked by the rain, his expression complicated. "It was always you who won."
"No, Harry." Malfoy sat up and stared at the Golden Snitch in his hand. "It was always you who won."
Yes, this was Malfoy's first victory.
The one who had defeated Harry Potter had always been Slytherin.
This time was truly Malfoy's first victory.
Yet it had been won back by Harry's rescue without the slightest hesitation.
He staggered to his feet and stretched out his hand to Harry.
Harry was stunned for a moment, then smiled, relieved.
The hand he had not taken in first year was grasped at this moment.
Malfoy pulled him up and said seriously, "Brilliant match."
"Yes, very brilliant." Harry looked up at his teammates, who were gradually descending.
This time, it was not Gryffindor that had lost, but Harry Potter.
Applause rang out. No one cared about victory. They were all applauding a brilliant match.
Ernie wiped his tears and choked out, "Slytherin won this match. This was an unprecedentedly brilliant match, and it will be recorded in the history of Hogwarts."
"Draco Malfoy fought with everything he had, and Harry Potter made that final rescue."
"This is the most brilliant match, a duel at the peak."
"How I hope they will meet on the next pitch. I will certainly cheer for them again."
Ernie was overwhelmed with emotion. Not only him, even Professor McGonagall was wiping away tears.
What she loved had never been victory.
It was match after match, each one different, making people shout with excitement, making people weep.
Only Snape wanted to say that while this match was brilliant, it was not quite enough to be written into Hogwarts: A History.
Everyone looked at the two people shaking hands and making peace on the pitch.
The players from both sides landed.
Malfoy suddenly smiled wickedly, and Harry was stunned.
Then Malfoy pulled hard on his hand and flung it backward, sending Harry flying out and crashing back into the muddy water.
All those emotional voices came to an abrupt halt.
Malfoy said in an extremely punchable manner, "The loser should look up to the victor."
Harry was furious. You bastard, I just saved you!
Since this was the final match anyway, Harry simply stopped caring.
Like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, he rushed forward and wrestled with Malfoy.
Regarding this, John could only say that Malfoy truly lived up to his name.
Ernie looked as if he had eaten shit and said angrily, "Give me back my emotions!"
However, once the two started fighting, the cheers grew even louder.
Gryffindor, who had originally been saddened by missing out on the championship this year, immediately began cheering Harry on.
"Take him down, Harry!"
"Kill that damned Slytherin!"
"Punch his bloody face!"
The arena turned into the scene of a boxing match.
The entire school watched as two students brawled.
In the end, it was still their respective Heads of House who dragged them away and sent them to detention.
The two who had been entangled for seven years brought it to an end in a way that was both moving and ridiculous.
The Golden Snitch that served as the full stop was collected by Malfoy.
In his words, it was proof of Potter's defeat.
Regarding this, even John could not help giving him a thumbs-up. No wonder you're so annoying.
However, after this match, people continued to discuss it with relish and recall it again and again.
Astoria seemed to have developed a spark with Ginny. After the two beautiful girls met in the Great Hall, it ended with them coldly snorting at each other.
After Ron's explosive performance, his adrenaline ran out, and he lay in the Hospital Wing for three whole days.
Only during the examination did he discover that his body was covered in bruises from being struck by the Quaffle.
Before, he had not felt any pain at all. Now, he was gritting his teeth from the pain.
There were benefits too. Lavender kept casting flirtatious glances at him and often went to the Hospital Wing to visit her Won-Won.
Ron enjoyed the happiness of being fed by someone.
Hermione watched from the side and said expressionlessly, "I'm going to be sick."
Harry also felt somewhat nauseated by this mushy scene, but after thinking carefully, if Ginny treated him like that, then perhaps...
He grinned foolishly, making Hermione feel that he was hopeless.
...
John once again saw Malfoy being hung up because he had been showing off too much.
For some reason, after winning against Harry once, he acted as if he had won the whole world.
He always liked to repeat, tirelessly, how he had caught the Golden Snitch right in front of Harry.
Although impatience could be seen on Goyle and Crabbe's faces, they had no choice but to submit to Malfoy's force.
With the final match over, what came next was their last stretch of time at school.
The library became a place where students stayed constantly.
Except for John.
He sent away the professor who had come to ask him about Alchemy.
Basil flew back, carrying an arrow in its mouth.
John was somewhat baffled and took the arrow down.
"Didn't I ask you to deliver the Soul Potion? Why did you bring back an arrow?"
Holding the arrow and examining it, John discovered that its material was quite special and extremely resilient.
He had thought this was his father's prank.
Little did he know that Basil had simply carried away an arrow that had flown past on the way.
John did not take the matter to heart either and casually tossed the arrow aside.
He glanced at the grey Level 7 on his panel.
Having reached a bottleneck, he needed to use other methods to increase his strength.
On his fingers, a black, smoke-like substance moved between them.
Staring at it, John said silently, "Obscurus. Darkness."
If he wanted to break through this limit, he needed the help of an even stronger power.
He possessed magic at the very peak, and seeking a breakthrough felt as if he had returned to the process of going from zero to one.
The Obscurus came to his palm, and John crushed it.
The exploding power shook the Constellation Society, causing several Star Spirits to sway unsteadily.
John said thoughtfully, "The power of darkness."
Black mist flashed through his eyes.
He recalled the endless darkness from that mysterious magical dimension.
If he were there, John could break through this bottleneck.
But the possibility of reaching that place again was too low.
"Other than magic, I need another kind of power."
He raised his head and looked toward the starry sky on the dome.
He rubbed the ring on his finger.
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