《Harry Potter: My Life as Hermione》Chapter 37: Classic Tactical Maneuvers

"Wow, look—it's Qin! That Gryffindor first year, he's trying out too!" On the Ravenclaw stands, a petite girl with pale gold hair whispered excitedly to her friend.

Up above the pitch, several Gryffindor candidates were already mounting their broomsticks and rising slowly into the air.

"It really is him! First-years almost never try out. He's so brave!" Her friend's eyes sparkled with admiration.

"I always thought he was special, even in class. He's not just smart—he talks to professors like it's nothing, and he's always smiling…" the golden-haired girl murmured.

"Yeah, and his smile is so cute, with those little dimples…" her friend agreed with a dreamy sigh.

"Should we cheer for him?"

"Um… but he's not in our house. Wouldn't that be weird?"

As the two hesitated, a voice rang out nearby—

"Qin! You can do it!"

They turned to see a fellow first-year Ravenclaw girl cupping her hands and calling out. The two exchanged glances, grinned, and then joined in, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Go, Qin! You're the best!"

Their voices soared above the crowd, echoing across the pitch.

…

Qin Yu had barely reached the sky when a wave of cheers rolled up from the stands, catching him off guard.

He'd joked to himself that Cedric wasn't so special, that people shouldn't underestimate a newcomer—but in truth, he knew he couldn't match Cedric's popularity. Cedric had been at Hogwarts for over a year, always in the thick of things, practically a minor celebrity. Qin Yu himself had only been here a month, barely enough time for most people to learn his name.

But to his surprise, plenty of students were shouting for him—mostly Gryffindors, of course, but he spotted supporters in the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and even Slytherin stands.

—Most were first-years, and Qin Yu recognized quite a few familiar faces.

Guess I'm more popular than I thought, he mused, a small, proud smile tugging at his lips as he waved to the stands.

What Qin Yu didn't realize was that he'd already become a legend among the first-years. His maturity, sharp mind (always quick to answer questions and rack up House points), easygoing warmth (well, except with Jerome), natural leadership (with Jimmy and Elvis orbiting him constantly), and uncanny ability to charm professors—he was someone to admire, envy, and, for some, even obsess over.

Rumor had it that a group of girls had begun secretly collecting "Qin Yu facts." Elvis was their favorite source, grilled for details about Qin's birthday, favorite color, food, books—even how many pairs of socks he owned.

If Qin Yu ever found out, he'd probably throttle Elvis and toss him in the Black Lake for the grindylows.

But that was a worry for another day. By the time he learned about it, Elvis would have "reformed" and deeply repented.

…

Back to the Beater tryouts.

Bolstered by his friends' support—especially when he spotted Elvis and Jimmy waving a tiny, hand-made banner—Qin Yu felt a wave of calm settle over him.

He couldn't help but eye the oversized owl models floating in the sky. He stifled a laugh—leave it to Professor Swenton to come up with something this… whimsical.

This year's Beater tryouts were Swenton's own design. Twenty giant owl models—ten white, ten black—drifted erratically overhead, standing in for imaginary players.

The tryout host would release a flurry of Bludgers into the air, their targets set on the white owls.

The candidates' job: use their bats to defend the white owls from the Bludgers, while knocking down as many black owls as possible. Their scores would be judged by how many white owls they protected and black owls they knocked out.

The rules made sense. But those round, chubby owls looked so comical that Qin Yu could only shake his head.

So very Swenton.

…

Time didn't slow for his musings. The whistle blew, and the tryouts began.

Five Gryffindors—Qin Yu, George, Fred, and two older students—spread out in the air, hovering thirty or forty meters apart.

Moments after the whistle, official team members led by Charlie and Wood began launching Bludgers into the sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five Bludgers shot like cannonballs toward the drifting white owls.

One of the older candidates made a beeline for the nearest Bludger, bat raised. As he swung, he lost control—maybe his broom wobbled, maybe his swing was too wild. He missed, and the Bludger slammed into his arm.

"Ahh!"

He tumbled from the sky, clutching his arm, his broom spiraling out of control.

Luckily, a teacher cast a Slowing Charm in time. He landed without further injury, but the hit clearly hurt—he lay groaning on the grass.

A team of senior students, acting as medics, ran over with practiced efficiency. One cast a pain-relief charm, others lifted him onto a stretcher and hustled him away. Clearly, this wasn't the first Quidditch injury they'd handled.

After all, in Quidditch, a dislocated arm barely counts as an injury.

…

The unlucky candidate was out, and the rest were on high alert—dealing with Bludgers was no joke.

George and Fred exchanged a look and immediately abandoned the idea of direct confrontation. They decided to wait, tracking the Bludgers and picking their moment.

The last candidate—someone Qin Yu didn't know—rushed to guard his assigned white owl, ready and waiting.

As a Bludger streaked toward him, Qin Yu smiled to himself.

He rolled his neck and shoulders, then leaned low over his broom, gripping the handle tight.

With a burst of speed, he shot off—not toward the Bludger, but to the side.

"Huh? What's Qin doing? There's no Bludger over there!" the golden-haired Ravenclaw girl blurted out.

"Maybe he's scared of the Bludger and just wants to get out of the way…" her friend whispered.

"Impossible! Qin's not like that—he'd never run away!" the first girl snapped back.

"I didn't mean he was scared—maybe he's just avoiding it for now…"

"Maybe… I don't know…"

They watched, puzzled.

They weren't alone—many in the crowd wondered what Qin was up to.

But not everyone was baffled. Professor McGonagall's eyes lit up with recognition. Professor Swenton looked delighted. Even Professor Snape muttered, "Show-off," though a flicker of respect crossed his face.

Those who knew Quidditch tactics understood at once. Those who didn't, didn't have to wait long to find out.

Qin Yu wasn't flying in a straight line, but carving a tight, arcing path—like a Muggle car taking a roundabout at full speed.

After a rapid semicircle, he doubled back—timing it perfectly so he was approaching the Bludger he needed to intercept.

He accelerated, matching the Bludger's direction, closing the gap fast.

Now, the Bludger was less than ten meters from his white owl, about to smash into the chubby, swaying target.

At the crucial moment, Qin Yu steadied his broom with one hand, raised his bat with the other, and swung—striking the Bludger in the same direction it was flying.

CRACK!

The bat connected with a satisfying thud, sending the Bludger rocketing away.

The white owl wobbled but survived, bobbing in the air as if celebrating its lucky escape.

Thunderous applause broke out across the stands.

"That's the Arc-Flight Same-Direction Strike!" someone shouted. "He actually pulled off a pro-level move!"

"Yeah, I thought he might try it, but I figured there's no way—a first year can't do that! But he did!" another fan chimed in.

"Is it really that hard?" someone else asked, puzzled.

"Hard? It's nearly impossible! You need insane control and speed—if you can't match the Bludger, you'll never catch up!" the first fan explained, voice trembling with excitement.

"He's just a kid and he can do that? He's got a bright future!"

"I'm following him from now on! What's his name, anyway? Is he a first year?"

"I think so—I heard the first-years yelling 'Qin' or maybe 'King'? It was so loud I couldn't tell."

"Whatever, I'm a fan! You're amazing!"

…

Those who understood the move were beside themselves, eagerly explaining to the less-informed just how cool—and difficult—it was.

The first-years who'd been cheering for Qin Yu only grew louder.

As for Qin Yu himself, he had no idea what "Arc-Flight Same-Direction Strike" even was. He just understood one thing: speed is relative.

He owed that insight to the candidate who'd been walloped by a Bludger. If he hadn't seen that disaster, he might've tried a direct intercept and wound up the same way.

But after witnessing the crash, Qin Yu changed tactics. He couldn't slow the Bludger, but he could match its direction and speed—reducing their relative velocity to almost nothing, making it much easier to hit.

That was all there was to it. And it worked.

He knocked the Bludger away and felt a surge of confidence.

Little did he know, he'd just stunned the entire crowd by casually performing a maneuver most professionals struggled with.

During the rest of the tryouts, Qin Yu kept using his outstanding control and speed to smack Bludgers from every angle.

He even experimented with other moves—sometimes nailing them, sometimes improvising—but he still managed to pull off several classic tactics, turning the tryout into his own personal showcase.

He wasn't perfect—he'd never had formal training, and sometimes his moves were half-finished or a little rough—but none of that stopped people from seeing him as a rising Quidditch star.

Professor McGonagall and Charlie Weasley were over the moon.

Professor Snape clicked his tongue, already dreading the future strength of Gryffindor's team, and barely resisted the urge to cast a little "interference" spell to bring that "show-off" down a peg.

With all eyes on Qin Yu, hardly anyone noticed the other candidate who got knocked out by a Bludger—except, of course, the ever-efficient rescue crew.

Meanwhile, George and Fred teamed up to tackle the toughest Bludgers, each racking up an impressive score. Their teamwork didn't break any rules—there'd been no ban on collaboration.

When the tryouts ended, Qin Yu was named Gryffindor's new Beater, while George and Fred were chosen as reserve Beaters.

They didn't mind being substitutes—compared to Qin, they were genuinely impressed. The twins tumbled down from the sky and rushed off to find Angelina Johnson, who'd also made the team, eager to celebrate their new partnership.

As for the Slytherin candidates who followed, their performances were lackluster at best. One boy even tried to copy Qin Yu's arc-flight move and ended up launching himself off his broom, giving the rescue crew more work.

…

Afterwards, Qin Yu returned the borrowed broom to Charlie, then headed to the stands to rejoin his roommates. Seeing how hard they'd cheered for him, he decided to treat them all to Honeydukes sweets—though he'd need Hagrid's help to buy them from Hogsmeade, since first-years weren't allowed out.

When he reached the Gryffindor section, he was greeted with wild applause.

"Qin, you were incredible!"

"That move was amazing!"

"Will you teach me to fly? I'm still hopeless on a broom!"

Smiling and waving, Qin Yu basked in the attention, tasting for the first time what it meant to be a public figure.

He made his way to Elvis and Jimmy, who were holding up their little homemade banner—apparently crafted from Elvis's own scarf.

"Qin, you were awesome!" they shouted.

Finally, Qin Yu could read the words on the banner:

qin is the king

The autumn wind caught the scarf, making it flutter like a true flag.

None of them could have guessed how far that simple phrase would travel in the wizarding world.

But right now, they were simply happy—pure, uncomplicated, and utterly joyful.

And joy, after all, should be just that: simple.

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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