days at Hogwarts

Chapter 256 Quidditch Finals

Most of the little wizards looked at Neville in a daze. He actually succeeded?
People who have experienced failure understand the hardships of this process better. With a fragile blade of grass in their mouth, they must be cautious and trembling at every moment, maybe an inadvertent sneeze, an accent in a voice, or a meal. Chewing will make all previous efforts undoable.

Many members of the teaching class blame their failures on the twins, but they know in their hearts that the main reason lies with themselves.

In the second half of the ceremony, many young wizards thought they understood Professor McGonagall's intentions and thought of giving up. After the blades were damaged, they felt relieved.After several good students represented by Cedric declared failure, everyone felt more at ease.

And now, the little fat man who silently persisted until he succeeded shocked everyone.

Looking at Neville who was a little timid about raising his hands alone, Professor McGonagall cast an approving look:

"A month ago, I did not expect that any of you would succeed. Many famous scholars in the field of Transfiguration were blocked by the high walls of Mandrake. You have an amazingly strong will, Mr. Longbottom. !”

Neville's eyes sparkled with the praise. He blushed and suppressed the thought of burying his head in his arms. He looked straight at the stage: "Professor, then, can I perform the following ceremony?"

Over the past month, Neville had also heard rumors that the ritual was impossible.

The principles of Transfiguration had not been learned, and the control of reason and wildness had not been taught at all. Neville felt that the arguments of those smart students made sense.

It’s just that Professor McGonagall only asked them to start the ceremony and didn’t mention anything else. Between the smart person’s approach and stupidly obeying the professor’s instructions, Neville chose the stupid kid’s approach.

Talking may bite the leaves, so try not to talk.It is easy to bite the leaves when eating, so eat less.You may accidentally swallow the leaves while sleeping, so sleep less.Neville couldn't think of any smart ways, so he could only use his own stupid methods to slowly crawl forward.

Now, the stupid kid has climbed ahead of the smart student.

"Of course," Professor McGonagall nodded to him with a smile, "Tonight is the full moon. Come to my office after dinner. We need to spend some time preparing the secret potion, and then find a quiet place to hide it away from the sun."

These words immediately caused waves in the classroom.

"Wow!"

George and Fred immediately screamed, and the other little wizards whispered to each other to express their envy and strong condemnation of the twins.

"Peeves! I must teach that guy a lesson!"

Cedric, who had always been gentle, said this with gritted teeth. He was only a few days away from success.

Hermione pursed her lips. When the blade was damaged, she had already convinced herself to accept failure, but now that she knew that Neville was about to take the next step in the Animagus ritual, the always-strong little witch couldn't help but feel worried.

"Awesome Neville!" Loren smiled and punched his roommate in the front row.

Neville's red face showed a bit of embarrassment. Not used to this kind of scene, he could only show a naive smile, nodded vigorously towards Professor McGonagall who looked at him with a smile, and sat back in his seat.

"Professor, when will the mandrake be distributed this month? I will definitely not fail again!" A little wizard shouted, "I will stay away from George and Fred for the next month."

"I'm afraid not." Professor McGonagall had a gentle smile on her face. "The final exam is coming soon. After the exam is over, it will be summer vacation. Even if you manage to persist for a month, you will not be able to perform the rest of the ceremony."

Suddenly there was a cry in the classroom:
"Oh~ no!"

"It's all George and Fred's fault!"

"Shut up Andrew, don't think we don't know you swallowed the leaves while eating bread!"

Professor McGonagall stood on the podium and listened to the shouts of these little wizards with a smile. She knew that with Neville's stimulation, more people would stick to it when the ceremony starts again next semester.

"Although this semester is coming to an end, you can continue to try holding mandrake leaves in your mouth to gain experience." Professor McGonagall said slowly.

A seventh-grade wizard raised his hand and shouted loudly: "Professor, what about our graduating students?"

Only then did Loren remember that the people in the Animagus teaching class did not distinguish between grades. Many of them were about to get rid of their status as students and say goodbye to this castle for a long time.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

"There is a chance." Professor McGonagall's voice sounded softly in the ears of every student, "You have just graduated from school, and learning is a lifelong matter. You can continue to study magic knowledge after leaving school. Welcome You write to communicate with me. Not just about transfiguration, spells, potions, magical animals... I believe no professor will reject your letter.

In addition, Animagus is not necessary magic, it may even be dangerous, and I do not encourage you to perform your own rituals.When you are sure that you have mastered sufficient theoretical knowledge, you can go back to school and give it a try. Of course, you will need to bring your own mandrake at that time. "

The last sentence made some people laugh again.

During the rest of the time, Professor McGonagall talked about some of her methods of studying Transfiguration and introduced many magazines, books and even detailed articles. She said it was because summer vacation was about to begin.

But many young wizards know that this is to teach those who are about to graduate how to educate themselves in the days away from school.

The atmosphere of this class was quieter than before. Professor McGonagall left the classroom first after class.

Through the graduates' conversations, Loren learned that it was not just this class, but all the classes that the graduates had taken recently. The professors no longer focused on detailed knowledge and were more willing to teach general methods.

Hermione put away the album and walked out of the classroom side by side with Loren, talking about their review plan along the way.

Generally, the final exams at Hogwarts are held in the first week of June. Occasionally, the exams may fluctuate for a few days depending on the situation. Results are released in the second week, and summer vacation begins after the farewell dinner.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts exam was cancelled, and the difficulty of other second-year subjects was significantly reduced due to teaching restructuring, so Hermione did not start reviewing two months in advance.

At night, in the boys' dormitory.

When the four Lorens were lying on the bed and were about to fall asleep, Neville gently opened the door and walked in, then gently closed the door. The wooden door inlaid with copper hinges made a harsh creaking sound.

Neville turned his head and met four pairs of glowing eyes. The four roommates stared at him with curious eyes.

Visible to the naked eye, Neville was so frightened that his fat body trembled: "I, I didn't mean to make the door so loud, I'm already very light."

"This door will be inspected by elves during the holidays. If we don't talk about this, no one will care about the door." Loren waved his hand, "Tell me about the Animagus rituals and what Professor McGonagall will show you. Already?"

"Yeah!" Harry, Ron and Seamus couldn't help nodding. They also heard about Neville's scenery.

"Just put mandrake and some of my saliva into a crystal bottle, add a piece of hair and a teaspoon of dew from Professor Snape, and then put in the pupa of the Grimace Hawkmoth." Neville slowly said Said, "Finally find a quiet, dark place to hide."

Several people knew the content of Animagus rituals, but they still listened with interest.Harry looked at the night outside: "It doesn't sound like much trouble, why did it take so long?"

Neville was a little embarrassed and scratched his head: "I forgot to bring my password list. I was locked out by the Fat Lady. I just came in with George and Fred who had just returned from a night trip."

"What?" Ron shouted immediately, "George and Fred went out at night again! I must report them!"

Loren ruthlessly exposed his fantasy: "I advise you to think clearly and take a vacation immediately. They will have two months to retaliate against you."

"Do you think I'm afraid of them?"

Harry yawned and nodded: "Yes."

"Loren! Harry! Which side are you on?"

There was another burst of laughter and noise in the dormitory.

Neville slowly changed into his pajamas, turned over on the bed and lay down flat on his back. His eyes flew through the black curtains on the four-poster bed, through the bright moonlit night outside the window, and all the way to the closed ward of St. Mungo's Injury and Injury Hospital.

In this case, will his parents be proud of him?
Should be.

……

Saturday is the day of the final showdown between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

In the morning, people talked and laughed loudly and poured out of the auditorium, all the way from the front door to the Quidditch pitch. With earth-shattering cheers, players from both sides rose into the air.

It's a bit strange to say that the less enthusiastic Gryffindors such as Loren and Hermione were organized by Luna. She held the banner in her hand and urged Hermione and others who were holding a notebook to shout loudly with her. .For a moment, it was hard to tell which one was Gryffindor and which one was Ravenclaw.

The situation on the court was a bit anxious, and the eagle-headed offensive formation was not very effective. Angelina rushed straight towards her, and the Slytherin players ran towards her even more brutally. Angelina could only be forced to turn.

Slytherin's offense was more fierce than in the last game. Gryffindor had a hard time defending. Wood quickly moved in front of the scoring ring to make saves, and the score continued to grow.

The key to victory or defeat still lies with Harry.

What surprised Harry was that Malfoy seemed to have changed his gender and was openly engaging in a Seeker contest with him.Speeding up to create distance, feints, psychological games... Malfoy didn't even say anything annoying.

Wronsky's feints, Cobra maneuvers... Harry struggled with Malfoy for a while, and happily found that he was much stronger than him.So Harry happily led Malfoy around the field, disrupting Slytherin's offensive rhythm and relieving Gryffindor's defensive pressure.

Once again, he used a double "8" shape to help the team get the ball. Before Harry could smile, goalkeeper Wood flew to his level and looked at him with a solemn expression:
"Harry, if we wait any longer we will lose."

Harry suddenly turned his head to look at the score - 30:100, and the score difference was quickly approaching 150.

Flying next to the score board was Malfoy. Harry noticed the sinister smile on his lips and his eyelids twitching rapidly.

Is Malfoy deliberately catering to me?

Ginny in the audience noticed this scene and asked with some confusion: "We got the ball, why does Harry look unhappy?"

Ron did not answer his sister's question. He was leaning on the railing and watching the game intently, with half of his body leaning out of the auditorium. He wished he could fly into the sky and knock Marcus, the Slytherin captain, off his broom.

Fearing that he would fall off the auditorium, Loren pulled him up and explained: "It seems that Harry has the advantage and is leading Draco by the nose with his superb flying skills, but in fact it is Draco who is accommodating." Him, delay the time for him to find the Golden Snitch. If the point difference increases to more than 150, we will definitely lose."

The notebook in Hermione's hand has been closed. She can't concentrate on reviewing, and she is mumblingly calculating the scores of the Academy Cup.

Luna Luna shook the banner above her head and said in a disembodied voice: "Harry will win."

"Got it, Captain!" Harry responded dully.

No longer caring about Malfoy, Harry grabbed the broom and accelerated quickly, looking in all directions, and began to fly around the stadium.

The two seekers began to unleash the full speed of Nimbus 2001, leaving only two flying shadows on the field.

On the frontal battlefield, the chasers and batters of the two teams also fought fiercely, turning into a pot of boiling potion.Slytherin's players were ruthless, and Gryffindor's players cooperated tacitly, using a variety of encirclement and suppression tactics to create a situation in which more and fewer were defeated.

Worrying about Mrs. Hooch's presence, neither party took out their wands.But the equipment gap is too big, and the score difference between the two teams is still rapidly approaching 150.

As it flew over the edge of the field again, Harry's peripheral vision caught a flash of golden light. Before he could think too much, Nimbus 2001, flying at full speed, accelerated again and crashed straight into the Golden Snitch.

After catching the Golden Snitch, Harry couldn't stop his broom from flying at full speed. Harry hit a flag on the sidelines and landed smoothly on the ground with the cushion of the flag cloth.

Raising his right hand high, Harry showed off the golden light in his hand.

The audience was quiet for a moment, and then burst into even louder cheers:

"Long live Gryffindor!"

"Long live Harry Potter!"

The Quidditch champion is Gryffindor, and there is no longer any suspense about the House Cup.

In the audience, Professor McGonagall suppressed the smile on her lips and said calmly: "It seems that the broomstick is just a tool after all. Winning the game depends on the players."

"Winning or losing is not important. What is important is the growth and gains of the students. I think Malfoy gained a lot from this game." Snape looked at the stadium with a blank expression and added, "Next year I plan to let them change the fire. Crossbows and new broomsticks are faster."

Professor McGonagall: "..."

Professor Sprout smiled and said: "I will check it out and replace it with a batch of broomsticks for our team if appropriate."

Professor Flitwick quickly stroked his beard: "I think Professor McGonagall is right. Broomsticks are just tools, and the game is more important for the players. Let's discuss unifying the broomsticks used in future games, and we can't fall into meaningless comparisons. "

The Potions Professor and the Herbology Professor were both well-paid, and he was a Charms Professor who couldn't compare. If they had replaced Firebolts, Ravenclaw would really be at the bottom.

(End of this chapter)