Chapter 291: the eve of the finals

Like Ivan, Harry slept very badly that night.

The Quidditch finals tomorrow put too much pressure on him, especially since it was the key to Gryffindor's victory, and Harry tossed and turned in bed and had many dreams.

First he dreamed that he had fallen asleep, and that Wood was shouting, "Where were you? You didn't come at the start of the match and we had to use Neville in your place."

Then he dreamed that Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team arrived for the match riding dragons.

He was flying at breakneck speed, trying to keep flames from shooting out of the mouth of Malfoy's mount, when he realized he had forgotten his firebolt.

He discovered that his firebolt was in Malfoy's hands, and his opponent was laughing, Harry panicked, fell through the air and woke with a start.

It was a few seconds before Harry remembered that the match had not yet taken place and that he was still in the safety of his bed.

Besides, the Slytherin team would not be allowed to play with dragons.

He rolled over and continued to sleep. With Ron's loud snoring in his ears, Harry snuggled into his comforter and his thoughts gradually blurred.

The next day, Ivan was a bit sleepy, and was finally awakened by Colin.

"We must hurry. Harry and the other players have already gone to breakfast in the Great Dining Room." Colin handed Ivan his robe. "I asked Vicky to help us get two places next to Harry. I want to wish Harry good luck before the match starts."

Ivan didn't react for a while before he realized what Colin was saying.

He dressed haphazardly, followed Colin hurriedly into the Grand Dining Hall, which was in high spirits, full of noise and applause.

People gathered around Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team. Professor McGonagall and Sirius were there, and there were even many people from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who were giving their best wishes to the players.

Colin hurried to take Ivan into the Hall. Ivan saw Cho Chang whisper something to Harry, who obviously blushed and nodded.

"Good morning, Ivan!" Cho Chang soon realized that Ivan had just approached, and a soft smile appeared on his face, looking very comfortable.

He had not yet spoken to Ivan, and Luna, who was humming a strange, light melody, came straight over.

Seeing "Luna the Lunatic," everyone subconsciously took half a step back.

As usual, no one was willing to approach her. But Luna didn't seem to notice the matter. She sent her blessings to Harry like everyone else, and then turned to Ivan to tell him about the Wrackspurt she had found this morning.

"These creatures like to be invisible, but if you are willing to help, I think we can catch them. My father has a very useful little spell." Luna said entranced, with expectations in her misty eyes, "We can write an article about the process of finding and catching Wrackspurts and put it in the latest issue of the paper."

"That's a good idea, Luna!" said Ivan apologetically. "But I have other plans today. I can't join you to catch those Wrackspurts!"

As planned the night before, Ivan was preparing to try to use the Hippogriff, Buckbeak, to fly to Aragog's lair after the Quidditch final.

He hoped Harry could win the match and no one would notice what he was going to do.

Ivan patted Harry on the shoulder and Harry smiled reluctantly.

Ivan turned around and saw Hermione waving at him in the corner. He walked hurriedly towards her.

"Besides Snape and Slytherin, almost everyone supports Gryffindor." Hermione glared at Harry and the surrounding crowd that kept coming to greet him. "I can understand their mood, but they're putting pressure on Harry by doing so. You know, in today's match, he has to keep track of the Snitch, and only when Gryffindor is more than 50 points ahead will he be able to catch it."

"Calm down, Hermione, you're starting to sound like Wood now!" Ivan filled his plate with the fastest speed he could.

"Really?" Hermione said in amazement. Just as Ivan was about to say something, her attention quickly turned to Harry.

The welcoming ceremony didn't last long, and Wood quickly told everyone to give his team members time for breakfast.

At the long table, he spent the entire breakfast urging his team to eat, without touching anything.

He then led them out onto the field before anyone else finished, so they could get a feel for the conditions.

When Harry and the team members emerged from the Great Dining Hall, everyone clapped again.

At the long Slytherin table, people sitting at the table booed loudly when Harry walked by. But Malfoy wasn't involved. He was sitting nervously in his seat, paler than usual.

The upcoming Quidditch final was a test for all the contestants.

Just like what happened in the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match over a month ago, when the players went to the locker room to change clothes, the other wizards ran into the crowd in hopes of getting a good spot.

These finals were destined to be different from all previous Quidditch matches.

Besides the Slytherin students, everyone else showed clear support for Gryffindor.

At Ivan's suggestion, Sirius prepared many scarlet rosettes and scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion on them, and other young wizards spontaneously prepared banners with slogans like "GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP!".

Now, if one were to look down from the air, they could see a scarlet ocean.

Three-quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes and shouting for Gryffindor.

Most notable was a giant banner behind the Gryffindor audience, with a vivid, ever-changing color animation of the Gryffindor lion running across the green grass, players, Bludgers and the Quaffle spinning and flying around it. Suddenly a small silver-white snake appeared and tried to stop him, but the lion jumped with irresistible momentum, bit the Golden Snitch in mid-air and stomped the silver snake hard on its feet.

The silver snake was unwilling to budge, and in the next second, the whole pattern turned into beautiful fireworks.

"VICTORY FOR GRYFFINDOR!" huge slogans erupted from the scene, attracting everyone's attention.