Chapter 288: Unsuccessful flight practice

On the eve of exams, the nervous mood in the castle was tense.

Harry and the other Gryffindor players had to do their homework at Quidditch practice every day, just as they were forced to divert all their energy away from Acromantulas and into homework.

On top of all that, there were endless discussions of tactics with Wood.

This year's Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch final would take place on the first Saturday after the Easter break.

Slytherin was leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points. This meant that they needed to win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It also meant that the burden of victory fell heavily on Harry, because catching the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty points.

Every day at the table, Ivan could hear Wood constantly telling Harry, "So, you should only catch it if we're more than 50 points ahead. Only when we're more than fifty points ahead, Harry, or we win the game but lose the Cup. You've got it, right? You must catch the Snitch only if we're within 50 points..."

"I KNOW, OLIVER!" Harry shouted. "That's the twenty-third time you've told me this!"

"We have to be careful, Slytherin already knows you have a Snitch, and they must have made their tactics." Wood shifted the discussion to tactical arrangements, "We're going to have to score a lot of points in this game and put the Slytherin team down. You're the key to this game, Harry; we have to be fifty points up first."

It wasn't just Wood; Gryffindor house as a whole was obsessed with the upcoming game.

It was exciting enough to think about. Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup since the legendary Charlie Weasley left.

All of the Gryffindors were hoping to win this match, and all of them couldn't wait.

This was particularly evident considering the many grudges between Gryffindor and Slytherin, between Harry and Malfoy, and what happened in the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match, this had already made Harry determined to beat Malfoy in front of the entire school.

They trained day and night, trying to find the best state of the team.

Slytherin, on the other hand, trained much less frequently than Gryffindor, and now met all day gloomily, glaring at Harry and the other players. It seemed that they intended to use other "tactics" to win the match.

As time went on, the tension between the two teams and their houses grew. Harry was having a very hard time about it. Wood had already given instructions for Harry to be escorted wherever he went, in case the Slytherins tried to knock him out.

Harry was more concerned about the safety of his firebolt than his own. When he wasn't flying it, he kept it safely in his trunk and frequently returned to Gryffindor Tower on breaks to check that it was still there.

Like Harry and Hermione, who were both very busy, Ivan didn't have much time.

In addition to the pressures of the semester and continuing his magical studies in the library, he was also trying to find a way to sneak into Aragog's lair.

Ivan hadn't made much progress in that regard.

He couldn't break in directly, and none of Ivan's known magic could help him sneak into Aragog's Lair under the eyes of hundreds of Acromantulas and kill him silently.

He thought it over and over, and found that it was more feasible to fly directly to the place.

Ivan had to find his Nimbus 2001 from under the bed. Every afternoon, when he didn't have class, he went to the field to practice flying.

Now, the young wizards could often see the Gryffindor Quidditch team practicing high in the air, while Ivan was just riding his broom and flying slowly beneath them.

Everyone would point out Ivan's behavior, wondering what he was doing.

It was known that he had always been the center of attention for young wizards, especially at this delicate moment when the Quidditch final was about to begin, and Ivan's move was all too suspicious.

There were rumors that Ivan was the secret weapon being prepared by the Gryffindor team. The Slytherin were suspicious, but didn't dare harass Ivan as they did Harry and other players. Like Snape, they were now indifferent to Ivan's every action.

With much practice, Ivan's fear of heights eased somewhat.

Even if he couldn't fly at Harry's level, he wasn't at the same level as before, when he couldn't sit on a broom and fly in the air.

After mastering certain flying skills, Ivan was increasingly hesitant to use his broom to sneak into Aragog's lair.

Carrying a broom while fighting Acromantulas, just thinking about it, that image was kind of funny.

I wasn't going there to sweep the place. I couldn't fly mindlessly and then ignore it all, flying back on the same broom. The chances of success were very low.

As time went on, Ivan didn't make much progress.

The night before the match, he had to stop flying practice and completely abandon such fantasies. In fact, all the usual activities in the Gryffindor Common Room ceased. Even Hermione had put down her books.

"I can't work, I can't concentrate." Hermione said nervously.

There was a lot of noise. Fred and George Weasley were dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever.

Oliver Wood was crouched over a model of a Quidditch pitch in the corner, pushing small figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were laughing at Fred and George's jokes.

Harry and Ron were sitting together, and both avoided Hermione and Ivan, always muttering something under their breath, apparently discussing the next day's game.

No one cared about the upcoming exam, or the Acromantulas and the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, only Ivan thought about it from time to time, thinking about himself sneaking into the dangerous and shadowy lair of the Acromantulas.

Every time Ivan thought about it, he had the horrible feeling that something very big was struggling to get out of his stomach.

"Relax, Ivan, don't think about centaurs and Acromantulas." Hermione closed the book. She seemed to see Ivan's thoughts, "You told me before, don't put too much pressure on yourself, and the same goes for you. As for the centaur requirements, we can think of ways to do it together. This is not just up to you."

"I know, I'm just..." said Ivan.

"Come on, Harry seems more nervous than you. We should have comforted him earlier." Hermione walked with Ivan. "This time is not suitable for studying, there's no way to concentrate."