Chapter 90: Opponent of the 1st Quidditch match

Even though Ivan said he trusted him, Hermione's face was still as grim as the dark night sky. She couldn't believe that Professor Lupin was going to be a werewolf, the news was simply too shocking!

"Wait, are we missing something here?" Ron looked suspiciously at Ivan and Hermione.

Harry and Colin nodded their heads, they wanted answers.

Ivan and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione wasn't sure if she should tell them that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. Since both Dumbledore and Ivan believed in him, she should keep it a secret too. Moreover, Professor Lupin was especially kind, and he was nothing like the image of a ruthless werewolf.

Hermione silently kicked Ivan under the table and nodded for him to answer Ron's question.

Ivan had no idea how to tell his friends. Fortunately, he saw Oliver Wood coming with an angry face and the Gryffindor Quidditch team towards them.

"Bad news, we're not playing Slytherin tomorrow," he said angrily. "Professor McGonagall just told me that our opponent tomorrow will be Hufflepuff."

"Why?" the other players asked with one voice.

"Slytherin's excuse is that their injured seeker's arm isn't healed yet." Wood frowned and gasped furiously. "But the purpose of this is obvious. They don't want to play in this weather and they think it would destroy their chances of winning."

Hogwarts had been stormy over the past few days. As Wood finished his words, everyone heard the rumble of thunder outside the castle.

"The Slytherin Seeker?" Angelina said in surprise.

"It's Draco Malfoy. His arm was injured in Care of Magical Creatures class in the first week of school when he was attacked by Buckbeak." Ron whispered. "But that was exactly what he deserved. If I were Buckbeak, I would have made it harder for him."

"Malfoy's arm is gone!" said Harry angrily. "It's completely healed!"

"I understand that, but we can't prove it," Wood said bitterly. "They used this as an excuse to talk to Professor Snape..."

"I knew it was him!" Harry and Ron shouted in disgust.

"The problem now is that we've been training for Slytherin and tomorrow we're playing the Hufflepuff team. Their style is very different. Even more problematic is that this year, they have a new Captain and Seeker - Cedric Diggory."

As soon as his voice dropped, Angelina, Alicia and Katie suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Wood said curiously, disapproving of this carefree behavior.

"You mean that tall, handsome boy?" said Angelina.

"The strong one who rarely speaks," Katie added, "He's really charming."

They started laughing again, Wood and Fred looked very unhappy.

"He doesn't talk often because he's too stupid to say two words in a row," Fred said impatiently. "Oliver, I don't understand why you should worry. The Hufflepuff team is an easy opponent. The last time we played them, Harry took the Golden Snitch in only five minutes - don't you remember?"

"We're in a completely different situation!" shouted Wood, his eyes slightly protruding. "Diggory put together a strong team - he's an excellent Seeker! Your thinking worries me - we must not underestimate the enemy! We must address the main issues. Slytherin wants to watch us every step of the way looking for our mistakes.We must win this year!"

Wood's voice was loud, loud enough to make most of the people in the Great Dining Hall turn around curiously.

"Oliver, calm down and don't get angry," Fred said, a little alarmed, "We'll take Hufflepuff seriously, we mean it!"

Oliven nodded and said sternly, "Training, at three o'clock in the afternoon, all players must assemble at the Quidditch stadium. We must come up with a set of coping strategies."

No one said anything, everyone nodded with pale faces.

In their gaze, Ivan saw the storm of thoughts in their minds. He silently prayed for these guys.

Ivan could understand Wood's state of mind. This year was his last year at Hogwarts, he had to get the Quidditch Cup. Ever since Harry had joined the team, the Gryffindor team had clearly been the strongest in the school, but in the last two years, they had always met with all sorts of accidents, and finally lost the Quidditch Cup.

To be more precise, Harry was not to be trusted. Apart from being an exceptional seeker, he had to pursue a career as a part-time hero! If Gryffindor didn't get the Quidditch Cup this year because of him, there would be no need for a Voldemort, because Wood would kill Harry himself.

Yes, he had it in his eyes!

The sudden training continued until seven in the evening. Ivan had just persuaded Hermione not to tell anyone that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. Then he watched the members of the Quidditch team drag themselves into the common room looking tired. After a while of chatting, they went to the dormitory and fell asleep.

The next morning, around five o'clock, Ivan woke up. He was awakened by the roaring winds outside the castle. He could hear the rumble of thunder in the air, the stirring of the wind hitting the castle walls, and the sound of the trees in the Forbidden Forest.

She came out of the dormitory with sleepy eyes and saw that Harry was dressed and with his Nimbus 2000 silently in front of the fireplace in the common room.

There was no fire in the fireplace, and the entire common room was pitch black.

"Good morning, Harry!" Ivan snorted, "When did you get up?"

"Good morning, Ivan!" said Harry worriedly. "At about three in the morning, Peeves woke me up. He was blowing air on my neck."

Ivan nodded and said, "And then you've been sitting here all this time?!"

Harry nodded, "Yes, Crookshanks wanted to sneak into our dormitory. I sat on the stairs so he wouldn't get there, Scabbers needs to rest."

"But you need to take a break too!" said Ivan in surprise. "In three hours, you'll have to spend a whole day flying in such scary weather."

"I'm not sleepy, Ivan, I have a bad feeling" Harry waved his hand weakly. "The big black dog, the harbinger.... When I trained last night, I saw him heading towards the Forbidden Forest, he was watching us from the forest."

"It should just be a stray dog!", Ivan couldn't understand what Sirius would be doing in such stormy weather.

Any normal, sane person would be trying to find shelter from the rain! However, judging by the current situation, Sirius Black was not normal.

"This is the third time. I can't be seeing the same stray dog all the time." Harry sighed. "You know Black is after me. If it means death, I'm afraid..."

"You don't have to worry about that stray dog. I've seen him many times," Harry's words reminded Ivan of what happened in the books during the game. He looked up at the sky and added, "Harry, you need to save your strength for now. If there's anything you need to worry about, I'm worried about Dementors..."

"Dementors?!" Harry looked up and his face paled instantly.

"Yeah, those guys are not too far from the Quidditch pitch, and the cheerful atmosphere on the pitch should be quite a feast for them. If they come, then...." Ivan paused and said, "You need to get your wand ready, and, how's the Patronus spell coming along?"

"Not so good, not much progress!" Harry shook his head, "I don't seem to have any happy memories to recall."

Over the next few hours, Ivan practiced the Patronus spell several times on Harry, but try as he might, Harry's wand could only emit a white mist.

Ivan sighed. While this might not be able to ward off the Dementors, it was better than nothing. It should be enough to hold out for a while, giving him enough time to land safely on the ground.

Besides, with Dumbledore watching the game, Ivan didn't think even a hundred Dementors could do anything.