Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 25 Slytherin's New Seeker

The Quidditch training grounds were shrouded in mist in the early morning. Apart from Wood, Harry, George, Fred, Arya, and the other team members all had disheveled hair, puffy eyes, and looked drowsy.

"Cough cough!"

Oliver Wood coughed loudly twice; he looked extremely energetic.

"Alright everyone! Before we officially begin training, I'd like to say a few words. Although we won the Quidditch Cup last year, one school year's victory doesn't prove Gryffindor's strength. Only winning the championship again will shut up those who are talking about 'luck'."

“In previous matches, we used a 6-1 strategy, which was effective because of Harry’s broom performance and his light physique as a first-year student. But Harry is growing very fast, and we can’t rely on just one approach, so I designed several new strategies for the team over the summer…”

At this point, Wood pulled out a diagram of a Quidditch pitch from behind him, clearly showing signs of use. The lines, arrows, circles, and crosses of various colors slowly began to move under the control of Wood's wand.

"Come on, let's start with the first one, a variation of the previous 6-1 strategy. If we continue to rely on Harry catching the Golden Snitch as the winning condition, instead of going toe-to-toe with the opponent, we should strengthen our defense and only score through fast breaks at appropriate times. This will not only reduce the players' physical exertion but also earn us a larger net score..."

Fred and George: "zzzzzz"

……

That's basically it!

Upon hearing Wood's last words, Harry seemed to sober up considerably. He looked at his teammates with a slight sense of guilt and realized that he was actually in relatively good condition.

George, who had also just emerged from his drowsy state, yawned and asked:

"Ah... I have a question, Oliver... Why can't you talk to us about tactics when we're all sober?"

Wood looked somewhat displeased, but since everyone present was indeed a key contributor to Gryffindor's championship victory last semester, he had no choice but to appeal to their emotions and reason with them:

"Guys, I know you might still be basking in the joy of your previous victory. But believe me, when a winner falls from the summit to the bottom because of pride and arrogance, the pain is something no one can easily bear. I don't want you to only understand this after experiencing several crushing defeats, which is why I'm urging you all to work harder and train even harder."

As he spoke, Wood became more and more excited and grabbed his flying broom.

"Let's go! Let's put theory into practice and defend the glory of Gryffindor!"

Harry tried to control his emotions and cheer himself up, but like his teammates who were dragging their numb legs behind Wood, he still couldn't suppress the urge to yawn a few more times.

The sun had already risen, and Ron and Hermione were up and had breakfast. Seeing his friends and brothers looking so listless, Ron assumed that Harry and the others had gone through some rigorous training.

"How long have you been practicing? Are you going to continue practicing?"

Harry took the homemade sandwich Hermione had brought from the Great Hall, swallowed it in a few bites, and replied:

“We haven’t even started practicing yet… We’ve been listening to Wood explain the new tactics to us ever since we arrived at the court.”

Hermione was somewhat displeased with Wood's behavior. She frowned, took another sandwich from the paper bag, handed it to Harry, and said:

"Didn't we win the championship last semester? How come it seems like we're at the bottom?"

Harry was somewhat surprised that Hermione could make the sandwiches his favorite way, but he was so hungry that he simply said "thank you" again and then repeated Wood's theory about consecutive championships and the inevitable defeat to his friends.

"Harry, come to training! Eating too much will make you get a side stitch when riding a broomstick!"

Just as Wood turned around to greet Harry, a group of guys who could turn his friendly expression into a volatile one appeared from the entrance to Quidditch Stadium.

"what happened?"

Wood said in a low voice:

"I've booked the entire stadium for today! What are they doing here?!"

The other Gryffindor players, who had also taken to the air, noticed the Slytherin player in the green robes and quickly turned back to the ground.

“Flint! Don’t break the rules! This field belongs to Gryffindor today. We all got up early for this, and you…”

Marcus Flint flicked the parchment in his hand, interrupting Wood with a slightly cunning air.

"Don't get excited, Wood. I have a note here specially signed by Professor Snape—I, Professor Severus Snape, hereby grant the Slytherin team permission to train at the Quidditch pitch today in order to train their new Seeker."

"New Seekers? You guys? Who?"

"Malfoy?!"

Wood, Harry, the Weasley brothers, and the others exclaimed in unison when they saw the thin, pale-faced blond boy step out from behind them.

"Oh? You know Draco? Since you know his last name, you must also know that his father is one of our school's board members. Come and see the gift he gave to the Slytherin team!"

Seven people, seven boxes, and seven brand-new Nimbus 2001 rings gleaming with dazzling gold lettering appeared on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch with the Slytherin players' synchronized movements.

"To prevent you country bumpkins from not knowing what's good, let me introduce it to you."

Flint gently stroked his broom and said:

"The latest model in the Nimbus series, the Nimbus 2001, was just released last month. Its performance is much better than the old 2000. Both its speed and handling have improved significantly. As for... well, as for the old sweeping series, I suggest you use them to sweep the floor."

"..."

Draco Malfoy was smug. He quietly observed the Gryffindor players' expressions, maintaining a friendly demeanor. Just as Wood and the others fell silent, a woman's voice suddenly rang out:

"There's nothing to be proud of, Malfoy. The Gryffindor players don't need to spend money to buy themselves into the team; they become the house players entirely based on their own merit."

Upon hearing this, Draco Malfoy's face darkened instantly. He glared at Hermione for a moment, then surprisingly resumed his previous expression and said:

"Really? Then I really want to see their strength. How about we have a simple friendly match right now? You can set the rules."

All the Gryffindor players looked at Wood, and now they no longer doubted whether their captain was being overly cautious.

"Just three balls!"

Wood said firmly:

"No need for the Golden Snitch. Whoever scores three goals first wins. We have our own tactics to practice later, so we don't have time to be your sparring partners!"

Everyone knew that Gryffindor had no chance of winning, but even so, Wood found a way that wasn't too embarrassing.

Draco Malfoy shook his head in disappointment, left with the words "quick and easy," kicked aside his broombox, straddled Nimbus 2001, and flew into the air.

The waves created by the seven light wheels rising into the air made the robes of the Gryffindor team members flutter. Wood, looking at the figures in the sky, said to the group:

"We'll just focus on offense from now on. Don't worry about teamwork or tactics. Treat this match as a practice session to familiarize ourselves with Nimbus 2001. And Harry, don't get involved, lest..."

"No! I want to go!"

Harry shook his head and said to Wood:

"Don't worry, Oliver, I won't lose confidence because of the result of a friendly match, and I also need to find out about Malfoy's flying skills."

"Okay, then!"

"One! Two! Three! Gryffindor will win!"

……

Three to zero, Gryffindor lost as expected.

Even though Slytherin "kindly" gave up the training ground after their victory, most of the team members were already too disheartened to train. Nimbus 2001 was almost two or three times faster than the Sweeper series, and apart from Harry, all the Gryffindor players were being toyed with on the field.

"Alright, now that we've witnessed the speed of Nimbus 2001, dealing with Slytherin is simple. In the future, when we encounter them in the arena, we'll use the first tactic I taught you this morning."

Oliver Wood was under the most pressure, but as captain, he had to take on the responsibility of inspiring his teammates and devising tactics.

"Slytherin's brooms are fast, but it's clear that their team doesn't have the ability to fully control Nimbus 2001. In this situation, if we adopt a defensive strategy and let Harry catch the Golden Snitch as quickly as possible, we might still have a chance of winning."

As the team's main attacker, Ailiya was not very optimistic about this tactical arrangement, saying:

"But Harry isn't as fast as Malfoy, didn't we just see that?"

Wood shook his head and explained:

"That was with Harry involved in the attack! Indeed, as you said, Nimbus 2000's linear acceleration is not as good as Nimbus 2001's, but the Golden Snitch is not a Quake; its flight trajectory is more unpredictable. I just observed Draco Malfoy closely; he has some flying skills, but he is definitely not as good as Harry."

"So we're just going to put all the pressure on Harry alone?"

"This is the only way!"

Fred and George also disagreed with Wood's statement, but before they could speak, Harry stepped forward.

“I think Oliver is right. Slytherin’s three goals just now only took about five minutes in total. No matter which of the other three houses goes head-to-head with them, they will lose badly. Even... even if we catch the Snitch first, we will still lose to them on the scoreboard.”

Wood patted Harry on the shoulder with great satisfaction. The Gryffindor captain, who loved Quidditch so much, had completely regained his fighting spirit after hearing his Seeker's words.

"Everyone! The Slytherin team has only one advantage: flying broomsticks. We are the reigning champions, and our broomstick riders are far superior. In the end, the competition comes down to the players. Even if we lose, we shouldn't bow down to that rich little scoundrel!"

Wood's impassioned speech resonated with everyone, and the Gryffindors, including Hermione and Ron, all raised their fists, vowing to fight Slytherin to the very end.

……

By the time Gryffindor's practice ended, it was already noon. Harry, without even changing out of his Quidditch robes, rushed into the Great Hall and began to devour his food. Hermione and Ron were already used to Harry's ravenous eating; when they sat next to him, they would even help their friend get his favorite meats and vegetables.

"The atmosphere seems a little strange, don't you guys think?"

Hermione said.

"Logically, Draco Malfoy should be spreading the word about how he beat Gryffindor in the practice match, but... it seems like no one in the Great Hall knows about it yet?"

Harry and Ron looked up sharply and around. Just as Hermione had said, all the students who had come to the Great Hall for lunch, including those at the Slytherin House long table, were eating their lunches as usual.