Chapter 314 Cat and Mouse, Ravenclaw's Seeker
After the New Year came the new semester, and students returned to Hogwarts.
News of Harry receiving the firebolt spread quickly. Gryffindor team captain Oliver Wood was excitedly dancing, and the other team members were also given a shot in the arm.
The firebolt is a world-standard flying broom, and even all of Slytherin's Nimbus 2001s combined couldn't compare to this one.
Harry was already an excellent Seeker, and with this flying broom, it would be an outrage if he lost.
Professor Lupin would also teach Harry the Patronus Charmto ward off Dementors, which completely put them at ease. Wood, striking while the iron was hot, increased training sessions to five times a week.
The intensity of the training was undeniably strong, but none of them complained; instead, they were quite cooperative.
Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup for seven consecutive years, and Wood was graduating this year. His only hope was probably to lead the Gryffindor team to win the Quidditch Cup before he left... In the Library.
Aaron was contemplating the design blueprints for the secret base when Hermione placed a pile of books on a Library desk, looking much more anxious than usual.
"Tsk tsk tsk!" Aaron's eyes widened slightly, "Arithmancycharts, a Runes dictionary, Muggle diagrams for moving heavy objects... Your willpower truly astounds me. It's been a semester, and you still haven't given up."
"Don't even mention it. I feel so much pressure right now.
But I really can't bear to give up these classes. How are you not tired?"
"Maybe it's because I gave up Arithmancy!"
"Liar, I mean you're also taking several classes at once, but you're not as... flustered as I am," Hermione asked, puzzled.
In her electives, she was racing against time, listening to lectures with a tired body, taking notes, and then facing homework that could stack several feet high. But Aaronseemed particularly relaxed; not only did he show no signs of fatigue, but he even had time to fly dragons in his spare time.
"This is the difference between top students," Aaron said seriously, pointing to his head. "I can remember much more than you think."
"What about the homework then? How do you write so much homework?"
Of course, I give it to my thought form; isn't that what a clone is for?
"Of course, I write it by hand.
Actually, I've thought about writing with my feet too, but it's just a little too difficult."
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You're so humorous."
"Uh... I'll take that as a compliment."
"Yes, I'm complimenting you." Hermione impatiently pushed a stack of notes in front of him. "Help me check them and see if anything needs to be added."
Aaron's mouth twitched slightly, and he chuckled awkwardly. "Are you really asking me to do something like this?"
"As a friend, aren't you ashamed not to help me?" Hermioneretorted, "If you don't help me, no one else can."
Aaron was choked up, feeling a strange pang in his heart.
"Alright! But I can't be the only one doing it!
What about Harry and Ron? Shouldn't you have asked them to share the burden first?"
"Harry is busy practicing the Patronus Charm."
"How is he doing with it?" Aaron asked curiously.
"Barely," Hermione shook her head slightly. "The Patronus Charm is a very advanced magic, and ordinary Wizards might never learn it.
Harry has spent a month and can only summon a blurry Patronus, so he won't faint so easily when facing a Dementor."
"That's not enough!" Aaron frowned. "There are at least a hundred Dementors outside Hogwarts."
"Yes!" Hermione sighed. "But for a third-year Wizard to achieve this much is already remarkable. At least there won't be any accidents on the Quidditch Pitch."
"Harry aside, what about Ron?
Asking him to write your homework might be too much, but he can at least check it, right?"
"Don't mention him to me," Hermione said indignantly. "His rat, Scabbers, is missing."
"Good riddance," Aaron said without thinking, but noticing Hermione's slightly reddened eyes, he decisively placed Abey on the desk. "Uh... Abey wanted to kill Scabbers the first time it saw him."
Abey nodded affirmatively; it indeed disliked that rat.
Seeing this, Hermione's mood improved slightly, and she continued, "He suspects Crookshanks ate his rat, which is simply unreasonable."
"After all, Crookshanks is a cat," Aaron said with a wry smile. "It's perfectly normal for a cat to catch a rat."
"You also think it's Crookshanks?" Hermione's eyes showed a hint of displeasure and the pain of being distrusted.
Gollum!
Aaron swallowed, immediately changing his tune: "I've always detested such baseless speculation about suspects without evidence.
Although Crookshanks harbors considerable hostility towards Scabbers, no one saw it with their own eyes, so it might not be him."
"Actually, a few orange cat hairs were found on the floor of Ron's dormitory," Hermione said weakly.
Aaron:...What's the difference between this and lying through your teeth?
"Um... perhaps you don't want to hear it, but if you have time, you should prepare a new meal for Crookshanks—no, buy Ron a new rat."
Hermione pursed her lips in a forced smile, then lowered her head dejectedly to organize her homework.
"Alright, unlucky me." Aaron slapped his forehead and took out jack sparrow's compass.
"What is this?"
"A magical compass; it points to what one desires in their heart," Aaron said seriously. He then stared at the compass's needle, which, originally still, began to slowly turn and showed no sign of stopping.
"This is?"
"This is good news," Aaron said with a smile. "Scabbers is still alive. The compass is pointing to his location. Do you want to go find him?"
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then coldly shook her head. "No, if nothing unexpected happens, Scabbers will run back. I'll wait for Ron to apologize to me and Crookshanks."
Aaron blinked, wanting to laugh but unable to.
"Wait," Hermione suddenly thought of something. "This compass should also be able to find Sirius Black's location. If we can catch him..."
Snap!
Aaron, without a word, immediately closed the compass's lid and tucked it into Abey's pocket.
"Aaron, am I wrong?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"You're right, but I don't want to look for trouble."
"Trouble? How can this be trouble?"
"This is certainly trouble," Aaron sighed deeply. "Sirius isn't important, but the person behind him is Lord Voldemort. Although he hasn't fully revived yet, it cannot be denied that he has a large number of loyal followers.
I've already offended Lord Voldemort to the core, but he poses no threat to me now. His followers, however, might."
"You mean?"
"If they knew I sent Lord Voldemort's loyal servant to Azkaban, they might seek revenge on me. There are plenty of desperate people among them."
"What if we give the compass to Dumbledore...?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible," Aaron refused without even thinking.
Catching Sirius Black would entail a slight risk for him, but with his current strength, that risk could be ignored.
However, if he were to give the compass to Dumbledore, the risk would be extraordinarily great. He had never truly trusted the character of this Wizard who had firmly held the White Magic King's throne for decades.
"I hope the Dementors are effective, otherwise Harry might have to stay in the Castle for a long time."
"But at least he'd be safe."
...Saturday, eleven o'clock.
Quidditch Pitch, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.
Harry Potter made a high-profile entrance on his firebolt. To guard against Dementors, he had his wand hidden in his sleeve, ready to use the Patronus Charm at any moment.
There was no other way; after all, Dementors had left too great a shadow on him. Even with Dumbledore present, he still felt a bit uneasy.
The firebolt was very fast, giving him an absolute speed advantage in the match.
Commentator Jordan occasionally interjected with background information on the firebolt—its speed, performance, and balance were all impeccable. If one didn't know better, they might suspect Jordan was paid to advertise the firebolt.
"Did Ravenclaw get a new Seeker?" Aaron looked curiously at the only girl on the Ravenclaw team.
"Her name is Cho Chang. Wood says she's a very excellent Seeker," Ron said. "But her broom is terrible; it's just a Comet series and can't compare to the firebolt at all."
"Indeed, the firebolt's speed is much faster than my magic carpet," Aaron said blandly. "However, that's not what I wanted to say. Don't you think Cho Chang is very pretty?"
"Hmm... perhaps!" Hermione said, blushing slightly, her voice trembling a little.
"Hmph!" Ron snorted. "At least much prettier than someone else."
"Ron, stop being so sarcastic."
"Am I wrong?"
"You two," Aaron interrupted. "Don't misunderstand. I meant Harry Potter thinks she's very pretty.
Haven't you noticed? Harry has been overtaken by Cho Chang several times. His firebolt is much faster than a Comet, yet he keeps getting blocked again and again while chasing the Golden Snitch."
Hearing this, both quickly shifted their gaze to the Quidditch Pitch and found that it was indeed true.
Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were having a back-and-forth match, with Gryffindor having a slight upper hand, but their ace, the firebolt, was repeatedly overtaken by the Comet broom, even being forced to change direction.
"The firebolt wasn't really cursed, was it?" Hermione said, a little uneasy.
"Harry has test-flown it many times, and there hasn't been any problem," Ron said, but his expression became a bit unnatural. "It's too sneaky; Ravenclaw knew they couldn't beat the firebolt's speed, so they sent out a pretty Seeker.
We need to warn him and Wood, otherwise Gryffindormight lose."
"Idiot," Aaron rolled his eyes. He only wanted to express that Harry might be interested in that girl, but how did it turn into a honey trap in Ron's mouth?
"How conceited," Hermione also looked at him with some disdain. "Harry wouldn't be so thoughtless!"
Just as Ron was about to say something, he heard Madam Hooch's whistle, followed by Jordan's commentary: Harry Potter caught the Golden Snitch, Gryffindor wins.