Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 56 An Encounter

In the film *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, the Hufflepuffs, not the Slytherins, played the first Quidditch match against Gryffindor. The director didn't elaborate on the reason for this, focusing instead on Harry's attack by the Dementors within the limited screen time.

In short, in the original story, the Slytherin team, not wanting to play in the terrible weather of a torrential downpour, exaggerated the injury Malfoy suffered from Buckbeak's attack on his arm and successfully got Hufflepuff to replace them.

Having only seen the movie, Mo Ran was naturally unaware of the subtle details. More accurately, being on the altered timeline, he had no chance of ever knowing them again.

……

"Get your act together, Slytherin! We won the Quidditch Cup last year! And we'll do it again this year without a doubt! Let's teach those empty-headed, stupid lions a lesson!"

Marcus Flint's sermon contrasted sharply with the silence on Wood's side. Wood, soon to graduate from Hogwarts, was eager to win this year's Quidditch Cup, but after witnessing the power of seven Nimbus 2001s, he understood that passion and enthusiasm alone were no longer enough to defeat Slytherin.

"The weather is terrible today, but it presents us with a golden opportunity to defeat Slytherin. Remember our tactics, everyone keep an eye on your assigned area."

Fred and George exchanged a glance and replied jokingly:

"Yes, among the four academies, only we train like madmen in the rain."

"Looks like we should thank the Dementors."

Harry smiled as he cast a spell on his teammates' goggles:

"Impervius...Impervius." (Waterproof and moisture-proof)

“Oliver is graduating this year, and he definitely wants to lift the Quidditch Cup one more time before leaving Hogwarts. As for you two, although you complain a lot, you never slack off during training, so…”

He reached out and patted the Weasley twins on the shoulder.

"Cheer up! Let's go tell those sluts that Quidditch isn't just about equipment!"

About 40 minutes later, with Lee Jordan's dejected announcement, "140 to 200, Slytherin wins," Gryffindor's long-awaited dream of defeating Slytherin once again vanished.

Harry and his team did lose the game, but Mo Ran, who was watching the game from the first-person perspective live broadcast room, was surprised to find that Oliver Wood's tactics were quite similar to the Tiki-Taka passing and possession philosophy used by the peak Barcelona in the football field of his previous life.

All the players, including Seeker Harry, abandoned their strategy of trying to outrun Nimbus 2001. Instead, they used their greater familiarity with playing in the rain to score frequently with the Quaffle.

Unfortunately, when the Golden Snitch appeared, Slytherin decisively sent two players to stop Harry's actions, successfully helping Draco end the game before Gryffindor's lead exceeded 150 points.

The players' locker room was completely silent. Apart from the sound of raindrops mixed with sweat dripping down, the Gryffindor Quidditch players were all silent.

Did they lose?

Lost.

But throughout the entire match, they made almost no mistakes. Their teamwork and Harry's individual skill in shaking off two batters demonstrated a level approaching that of a Division Two professional team.

"If you ask me, instead of wasting time here, let's take a shower and go to the auditorium for some good food!"

After a long silence, George threw his batter's stick to the ground and said decisively. His brother, Fred Weasley, immediately echoed his sentiments:

"You're right, George. It's only the first game, and we're already very close to winning. Why are you looking so sad?"

Harry and the Weasley twins exchanged a glance, and after a long while, he stood up and addressed the crowd, saying:

"Yes! That's right. I think we played exceptionally well today. Maybe I was a little lacking and lost to that Malfoy guy... But most importantly, our opponents have improved compared to last year. Don't let the fact that we lost to Slytherin cause any unnecessary emotional reaction."

Arya Spinnett and the other veteran players were deeply moved, but before they could react, they all instinctively glanced at the brown-haired boy in the corner. As the hardest-working and most eager-to-win Gryffindor captain, Oliver Wood still held the highest prestige within the team.

"Eh..."

Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Oliver sighed, then stood up, took off his soaking wet red Quidditch robe, and said:

"It's not Harry's fault. Let's try again next time! Come on, let's wash up and go have dinner."

"Great!"

……

In fact, there were two main reasons why Wood did not appear extremely upset.

First, as Harry said, while Slytherin had an advantage in equipment, their overall strength had improved significantly compared to last year. Losing to a stronger opponent isn't shameful. Otherwise, with Wood's "Tiki-Taka" tactics, Gryffindor could have won the match using Quaffles.

Secondly, back in 1991, the year Harry first joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Wood and his friends had already won the Quidditch Cup. Without the regret of "no trophies" after Charlie Weasley's departure, the question of whether or not they could defeat the Slytherin "Galactic Team" was no longer a major obsession.

……

Before even reaching the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the shouts of the celebrating Slytherin team echoed from the connecting corridors outside the castle. Malfoy and Flint acted as if they had already won, bouncing around on the unserved tables while leading the Slytherin students, both new and old, in chanting the unified Slytherin chant:

"We come from the mire, we crave power, we are ambitious, we are strong and calm, we are elegant and self-possessed!"

Ron and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, one covering her ears and the other frowning as she read, waiting for their house's players to return. When Harry and Oliver Wood appeared around the corner with the rest of the team, all the little lions stood up from their seats.

Splash splash splash splash!

The thunderous applause completely drowned out the celebratory shouts from the Slytherin side, and Harry's little fans, led by Colin Creevey and Ginny Weasley, even shouted out loud:

"That was a beautiful play! Gryffindor! They were just a hair's breadth away!"

"You are all the best! You are our heroes! Oh!"

Wood felt his head buzzing. He looked at his juniors and then at his teammates, and scratched his nose sheepishly, saying:

"How is this going?"

His question was answered by an even louder cheer.

Just moments before, another group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, caught up in the atmosphere, joined the cheering crowd for the losers.

"A truly exciting match!"

"Even in defeat, there is honor!"

Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang, as their respective teams' new Seekers, both expressed their admiration for the high level of competition displayed by Gryffindor. It was only after these two stood up that some of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw badgers and hawks began to applaud Harry and his friends.

Later, the young wizards at the tables of the Gryphon and Scythe schools started arguing directly. One side insisted on a purely results-oriented attitude, claiming that the winner takes all, while the other side focused on the technical differences between the players, making quite a scene.

Harry did not join the debate. After waving to Ginny, Colin, and the others, he sat back down next to Hermione and Ron.

He is so tired!

After showering and changing, the adrenaline and endorphins from the intense exercise began to slowly subside. Now, all that remained in his body and mind was endless exhaustion.

Are you alright, Harry?

"Oh dear, Harry must be hungry, but thankfully dinner starts in a few minutes, he'll be fine once he's full."

Harry's friends' greetings did not bring him much comfort. He was once again filled with all the troubles he had recently experienced, so he simply chose to clear his mind for the time being and went to sleep.

Whether it was luck or misfortune, before Harry could truly drift off to sleep, the sizzling sound of food sizzling off the table instantly jolted him awake. The aroma of a sauce infused with thyme and basil, wafting over the juicy roast chicken, instantly invigorated him.

"See! I told you Harry was hungry, and nothing in this world can stop him from eating!"

Harry rubbed his sleepy eyes and smiled at Ron. Then, he tore off a whole chicken leg and chicken breast and put them on his plate, beginning his helpless and mechanical chewing.

Hermione, watching Harry's expression, felt both sorry for him and curious. However, after more than two years together, she now knew that the best course of action in this situation was to avoid causing trouble and to refrain from gossiping.

沙~

The sound of the plate scraping across the table was so faint that even Harry didn't notice when Hermione had picked out his favorite steak and cured meats for him, and the second plate was already in front of him.

A dozen minutes later, the auditorium became noisy again.

After a hearty meal, the young wizards spoke with much less tension. Some focused on analyzing Gryffindor's new tactics, others discussed hypothetical strategies for defeating Slytherin, and still others evaluated how much of a boost Nimbus 2001, as a flying broom, could provide to the team.

Clearly, a thrilling Quidditch match, coupled with comforting food, allowed almost all the Hogwarts students to temporarily forget about the dreaded Dementors.

Harry had wanted to join in the fun, just like he'd done with Ron and the others when they played with the voice changer candy, to cheer himself up. But the problem was, he was genuinely exhausted.

……

That night, having regained control of his body from the sleeping Harry, Mo Ran ventured alone into the Forbidden Forest. Intending to take another look around Hermione's graveyard, he unexpectedly encountered two acquaintances.

"Ah...it's you, Haha~"

Dumbledore deliberately dragged out the word "Harry," as if to remind Newt Scamander, who was rummaging through the tree roots nearby, that someone had arrived.

"Oh, Harry? Long time no see. I hope there's nothing wrong with your Obscurus."

"No, everything is fine."

Mo Ran casually replied with a couple of sentences, then quickly walked to the tree roots, looking around as he asked:

"Professor? What brings you to Hogwarts this time?"

Professor Scamander glanced at Headmaster Dumbledore and replied:

"Professor Dumbledore told me that something extraordinary seemed to have appeared in the Forbidden Forest some time ago, and asked me to come and take a look."

"So, have you figured out what it is?"

"not yet."

Professor Scamander stated realistically:

"I originally thought that the Dementors caused some kind of climate change that led to the changes in the Forbidden Forest, but now it seems that what is changing the ecological environment of the forest is something more dangerous than the Dementors."

Upon hearing this, Mo Ran immediately thought of all the things that would happen to Hermione in the future, and he tentatively suggested: