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chapter 167 part 1
Chapter 164: "Generations of Loyalty": A Vow from General Malfoy
Although his mind was filled with questions, William had no intention of asking Adams and the others about what was likely common knowledge. It wasn't worth being ridiculed just to learn something he could find out by looking up the game rules.
'I'll just take a little time to look up the basic regulations. It's fine to ask about tactics if I don't understand them, but I need to get the basics down. The popularity of Quidditch among wizards is unbelievably high—'
As he thought this, William took his wand in hand. He had never watched a Quidditch match before, but he was familiar with the basic fact that commotions could easily break out after major sporting events.
"Will it be alright if we don't keep an eye on the Slytherin side?" William asked Adams while quickly scanning the surrounding students.
"It should be fine. When the Board of Governors is present, we generally don't need to worry about them. Besides, Professor Snape is also there. Even if they lose, it shouldn't be a major issue."
Adams glanced quickly toward the Slytherin side, confirmed there were no problems, and then replied to William.
"Wait, the Minister is leaving the stands—" Adams's tone rose slightly, but he quickly calmed down. "It's probably fine. He's going to congratulate Harry Potter. After all, catching the Snitch to turn the match around is the highest honor for a Seeker."
The string of technical terms from Adams left William baffled—but he soon understood it in his own way: Harry had won a great honor, and the Minister for Magic was going over to offer congratulations and, incidentally, get in on the photo-op...
'There shouldn't be any more problems—the school doesn't sell mineral water, so they can't start throwing bottles... Holy crap!'
"Heavens!"
"Oh!"
"Hiss~"
All sorts of sounds erupted beside William—even Adams and the others couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
By now, the scene had descended into chaos. The Minister for Magic had fallen heavily to the ground, curled up like a shrimp. It looked as if he'd been hit by some kind of hex, but William could guarantee—if he were the Minister, he would have preferred it to be a hex.
——
"I've got it!"
Harry struggled to free himself from the hands clutching his robe, standing up and trying his best to show everyone the Golden Snitch struggling in his grasp, trying to escape.
So what if he had a Nimbus 2001?
He had defeated Malfoy once again, and in Quidditch, his greatest strength. The immense pressure from missing last year's match due to injury now dissipated for the most part, making him want to fly a victory lap around the entire pitch with the Snitch in hand.
Just moments ago, the mischievous Snitch had darted provocatively back and forth over their robes. In the fight to seize it, Harry's neck and face were now burning with pain, but it was all worth it. He had finally caught it behind Malfoy's neck.
But a sharp pain from his knee snapped him out of his celebratory joy—
"Potter, you dare!"
Malfoy, on the ground, was now furious. Harry finally noticed that in his struggle to stand up and display the Snitch, he had firmly planted his foot on Malfoy's robe, right near the chest, preventing him from getting up.
As he subconsciously eased the pressure from his foot, Malfoy shot to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he lunged at him—
"You dare! How dare you!"
A heavy punch flew toward his nose. Harry dodged instinctively but was hit in the shoulder. The sharp pain made him punch back without thinking.
Malfoy let out a muffled grunt but continued charging at Harry without even a pause—
Harry nimbly dodged to the side, revealing a smiling wizard walking toward them.
"My boy, the charm of sportsmanship doesn't include—"
Unable to stop, Malfoy, driven by his fist and his rage, collided with something remarkably soft. The height of a twelve-year-old boy became the perfect guarantee for a critical blow to a very sensitive spot.
Although the Minister for Magic was very restrained and made no sound, the impact and force caused him to lose his balance. He toppled to the ground, his body instinctively curling up.
——
"My goodness," William said, looking at the wand in his hand, unsure for a moment what to do or say.
Seeing the force and height of that impact, he was a little scared himself—how could it be so accurate?
This shouldn't count as a premeditated incident by a student, right? It should be considered an accident?
William wasn't sure, but thankfully, he wasn't alone in handling sudden incidents. Adams and Singeade were also there.
When he looked at them for guidance, he found his two teammates to be completely useless—Adams's mouth was wide open, the man frozen in place, while the lighter Singeade had been fiddling with had fallen to the ground, and he paid it no mind.
'You can't be serious, you two?'
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were at the very front of the grounds, so it wasn't up to the three of them to handle the accident. Professor McGonagall had already rushed over with staff from the Ministry of Magic.
"Adams, Adams..."
William gave him a gentle nudge. "Snap out of it. The students are watching. Don't look like you've never seen anything before."
Before Adams could respond, he composed his expression, glanced around, and then lowered his voice, "This is none of our business anymore. Our funding is secure."
Before William could grasp Adams's meaning, Adams started nudging Singeade beside him.
"Singeade—what are you thinking? You're always bragging about how worldly you are, yet a small thing like this leaves you stunned?"
...
After a round of sarcastic remarks, Adams turned back, an unconcealable smile on his face. "I almost forgot, you probably don't know that kid. Draco Malfoy. His father is a School Governor."
A School Governor?
William instantly understood why Adams and the others were in such a state.
The son of a School Governor hit the Minister for Magic. What did that have to do with Hogwarts?
'No wonder the Slytherin House Team's brooms are so good. With a School Governor's son on the team, sponsoring a few brooms is perfectly reasonable—plus, it gets him some publicity at major events. It's a win-win.'
'You can't say he bought his way in, though. For them to fight that fiercely without falling off their brooms, they must have some skill.'
William shamelessly critiqued the students' flying skills, ignoring the fact that he himself sometimes fell into the Lake when flying. The tension that had been building since morning finally eased. No one would be trying to steal the spotlight now. Today, the focus of all conversation at Hogwarts was on that boy named Draco.
However, the incident probably wouldn't cause too big of a stir. The Daily Prophet likely wouldn't dare to sensationalize such gossip—after all, the Ministry of Magic didn't have a multi-party system, and compared to the tabloids that peddled unsubstantiated rumors, this newspaper was quite dedicated to its quasi-official status.
Chapter 164: "Generations of Loyalty": A Vow from General Malfoy
Although his mind was filled with questions, William had no intention of asking Adams and the others about what was likely common knowledge. It wasn't worth being ridiculed just to learn something he could find out by looking up the game rules.
'I'll just take a little time to look up the basic regulations. It's fine to ask about tactics if I don't understand them, but I need to get the basics down. The popularity of Quidditch among wizards is unbelievably high—'
As he thought this, William took his wand in hand. He had never watched a Quidditch match before, but he was familiar with the basic fact that commotions could easily break out after major sporting events.
"Will it be alright if we don't keep an eye on the Slytherin side?" William asked Adams while quickly scanning the surrounding students.
"It should be fine. When the Board of Governors is present, we generally don't need to worry about them. Besides, Professor Snape is also there. Even if they lose, it shouldn't be a major issue."
Adams glanced quickly toward the Slytherin side, confirmed there were no problems, and then replied to William.
"Wait, the Minister is leaving the stands—" Adams's tone rose slightly, but he quickly calmed down. "It's probably fine. He's going to congratulate Harry Potter. After all, catching the Snitch to turn the match around is the highest honor for a Seeker."
The string of technical terms from Adams left William baffled—but he soon understood it in his own way: Harry had won a great honor, and the Minister for Magic was going over to offer congratulations and, incidentally, get in on the photo-op...
'There shouldn't be any more problems—the school doesn't sell mineral water, so they can't start throwing bottles... Holy crap!'
"Heavens!"
"Oh!"
"Hiss~"
All sorts of sounds erupted beside William—even Adams and the others couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
By now, the scene had descended into chaos. The Minister for Magic had fallen heavily to the ground, curled up like a shrimp. It looked as if he'd been hit by some kind of hex, but William could guarantee—if he were the Minister, he would have preferred it to be a hex.
——
"I've got it!"
Harry struggled to free himself from the hands clutching his robe, standing up and trying his best to show everyone the Golden Snitch struggling in his grasp, trying to escape.
So what if he had a Nimbus 2001?
He had defeated Malfoy once again, and in Quidditch, his greatest strength. The immense pressure from missing last year's match due to injury now dissipated for the most part, making him want to fly a victory lap around the entire pitch with the Snitch in hand.
Just moments ago, the mischievous Snitch had darted provocatively back and forth over their robes. In the fight to seize it, Harry's neck and face were now burning with pain, but it was all worth it. He had finally caught it behind Malfoy's neck.
But a sharp pain from his knee snapped him out of his celebratory joy—
"Potter, you dare!"
Malfoy, on the ground, was now furious. Harry finally noticed that in his struggle to stand up and display the Snitch, he had firmly planted his foot on Malfoy's robe, right near the chest, preventing him from getting up.
As he subconsciously eased the pressure from his foot, Malfoy shot to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he lunged at him—
"You dare! How dare you!"
A heavy punch flew toward his nose. Harry dodged instinctively but was hit in the shoulder. The sharp pain made him punch back without thinking.
Malfoy let out a muffled grunt but continued charging at Harry without even a pause—
Harry nimbly dodged to the side, revealing a smiling wizard walking toward them.
"My boy, the charm of sportsmanship doesn't include—"
Unable to stop, Malfoy, driven by his fist and his rage, collided with something remarkably soft. The height of a twelve-year-old boy became the perfect guarantee for a critical blow to a very sensitive spot.
Although the Minister for Magic was very restrained and made no sound, the impact and force caused him to lose his balance. He toppled to the ground, his body instinctively curling up.
——
"My goodness," William said, looking at the wand in his hand, unsure for a moment what to do or say.
Seeing the force and height of that impact, he was a little scared himself—how could it be so accurate?
This shouldn't count as a premeditated incident by a student, right? It should be considered an accident?
William wasn't sure, but thankfully, he wasn't alone in handling sudden incidents. Adams and Singeade were also there.
When he looked at them for guidance, he found his two teammates to be completely useless—Adams's mouth was wide open, the man frozen in place, while the lighter Singeade had been fiddling with had fallen to the ground, and he paid it no mind.
'You can't be serious, you two?'
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were at the very front of the grounds, so it wasn't up to the three of them to handle the accident. Professor McGonagall had already rushed over with staff from the Ministry of Magic.
"Adams, Adams..."
William gave him a gentle nudge. "Snap out of it. The students are watching. Don't look like you've never seen anything before."
Before Adams could respond, he composed his expression, glanced around, and then lowered his voice, "This is none of our business anymore. Our funding is secure."
Before William could grasp Adams's meaning, Adams started nudging Singeade beside him.
"Singeade—what are you thinking? You're always bragging about how worldly you are, yet a small thing like this leaves you stunned?"
...
After a round of sarcastic remarks, Adams turned back, an unconcealable smile on his face. "I almost forgot, you probably don't know that kid. Draco Malfoy. His father is a School Governor."
A School Governor?
William instantly understood why Adams and the others were in such a state.
The son of a School Governor hit the Minister for Magic. What did that have to do with Hogwarts?
'No wonder the Slytherin House Team's brooms are so good. With a School Governor's son on the team, sponsoring a few brooms is perfectly reasonable—plus, it gets him some publicity at major events. It's a win-win.'
'You can't say he bought his way in, though. For them to fight that fiercely without falling off their brooms, they must have some skill.'
William shamelessly critiqued the students' flying skills, ignoring the fact that he himself sometimes fell into the Lake when flying. The tension that had been building since morning finally eased. No one would be trying to steal the spotlight now. Today, the focus of all conversation at Hogwarts was on that boy named Draco.
However, the incident probably wouldn't cause too big of a stir. The Daily Prophet likely wouldn't dare to sensationalize such gossip—after all, the Ministry of Magic didn't have a multi-party system, and compared to the tabloids that peddled unsubstantiated rumors, this newspaper was quite dedicated to its quasi-official status.
