Gary and the others finally understood why Pandora wasn't talking to them. After getting to know her better, they learned that she didn't have many friends in Ravenclaw either due to her quiet nature.
Alfrina liked to call Pandora over in the common room. At first, she was a bit resistant, but she slowly realized that these few didn't seem to mind her accent too much.
She remained as reticent as ever, simply sitting beside Alfrina and Kona, watching them play chess and occasionally offering pointers.
The five members of "A Maverick Pig" decided to practice various spells in the abandoned classroom on the third floor every Sunday morning, and in the afternoon, they would continue their experience sharing sessions in the Library as usual.
With the entire Sunday taken up by team activities, Alfrina expected Lily to refuse, but to her surprise, she happily agreed.
Recently, Lily and Snape had been in less contact, no longer going to the Library to study together as they used to.
The reason was simple: Lily had noticed Snape acting strangely since before Christmas.
His admiration for Pure-blood Wizards grew day by day, and sometimes when he talked to Lily about the current situation in the magic world, a fanatic smile would appear on his face.
Lily noticed he was getting closer and closer to those blood purists in Slytherin, which made her very uncomfortable. Lily felt that Snape was no longer the innocent young man who had told her, "You are a Wizard," under the big tree and then led her to experience the world of magic.
Lily thought about it throughout the Christmas holiday and decided to distance herself from Snape for a while, allowing them both to cool down.
The lively and active Lily, without Snape's company, was terribly bored, so when she heard everyone was getting together to practice spells, she agreed without a second thought.
Saturday morning, Slytherin versus Gryffindor, the big battle was about to begin.
Many students from both houses brought outside factors into the game, and the tense situation in the magic world made the relationship between the two houses even more strained.
When Gary and the others arrived at the stadium, they saw banners all around the stands, all masterpieces by Gryffindor and Slytherin students, with some aggressive slogans mixed in with their respective cheering banners.
"Gryffindor stupid lions, go back and learn some manners… then you'll know how to treat your father."
"Evil Slytherin, your oily, glib faces are disgusting…"
"I think Slytherin won." Gary found an interesting banner among a pile of them.
Alfrina was holding binoculars, looking at the slogans on the other side of the stands and laughing happily.
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw occupied the east stands of the stadium, quietly watching the show. Everyone sat mixed together, and no one cared which house the person next to them belonged to. The silly Hufflepuff, wearing yellow and black scarves, mingled with Ravenclaw's blue and bronze.
The west stands were different; the Gryffindor and Slytherin camps were separated by ten rows of seats, like an unfathomable chasm.
Lily was also in the Gryffindor camp, waving a flag with a lion emblem to boost everyone's morale.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn also came to watch the match, sitting in the first row of their respective house sections.
Professor Dumbledore sat smiling amongst the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students.
The players entered the field from both ends. The Gryffindor captain, Jose Watson, and the Slytherin captain, Parkinson, shook hands. They both had fake smiles, and Madam Hooch, standing beside them, looked as if facing a formidable enemy, her face tense.
The importance of this match was self-evident, full of tension from the very beginning. The Bludgers hit by the Slytherin Beaters were accurate and fierce. If Sirius hadn't used his strong body to block for James, James's head would have probably been smashed with a big hole.
Sunny perfectly exploited the rules to trick the Slytherin Seeker to a pillar at the edge of the field, then used her excellent flying skills to suddenly fly left. The Slytherin player reacted too late and hit his head directly on the pillar.
The spectators in the stands gasped. Kona immediately covered her eyes; the scene looked painful.
After simple treatment, the Slytherin Seeker returned to the field with a white bandage wrapped around his head.
Presumably, both team captains had emphasized the changes in the foul mechanism, so the players' initial actions were not too aggressive, at most just elbowing the opponent a few times in their blind spots while using their bodies to block the view.
But as time went on and the score went back and forth, the players on both sides began to lose their tempers. Their actions became more ruthless. James's right shoulder was dislocated when pulled; even after it was reset, he couldn't use force, so he could only fly pale-faced in the sky, holding his arm, trying to block the opponent's attack route with his body.
Soon, Sirius avenged James. When he threw the Quaffle, he directly slapped the opposing Keeper, Parkinson, making him flip on his broom.
The score between the two teams caught up to one hundred seventy to one hundred seventy, and the Golden Snitch had not yet been found. There were still ten minutes left in the match. The intensity of this match was definitely top-tier for an amateur league; all seven players on both sides were almost injured, fighting with all their might for over eighty minutes.
James circled in the air on his broom. He injured his right shoulder midway through the match and then took on the role of Keeper, leaving the offensive tasks to his teammates.
As time was running out and Gryffindor still couldn't break the deadlock, James grew anxious. He scanned every corner of the field, searching for the Golden Snitch.
He suddenly began to dive. A nearby Slytherin player, fearing he had discovered something, quickly chased after him.
"Sunny!" James shouted. He sped up, and the Slytherin behind him immediately urged his broom to follow.
Sunny, in the center of the field, instinctively looked at James.
He was almost at the ground; he could see the frosty grass on the ground rushing towards him. The Slytherin player behind him didn't slow down at all, determined to stop James.
Just before landing, James performed a perfect Wronski Feint, narrowly avoiding the ground and turning to rush into the sky.
The Slytherin player behind him hadn't expected James to have this trick up his sleeve, reacted too slowly, and fell to the ground with his broom.
Applause erupted in the stands; such a difficult maneuver even impressed some Slytherins.
Sunny didn't understand James's meaning, but she still followed James on her broom. Now they had reached the edge of the field, and the Slytherin Seeker was still beside Sunny.
However, no one was watching James anymore. With the score tied, Slytherin couldn't risk sending another person to stop James.
Now, only the three of them were around. James smiled triumphantly.
"Sunny, do you see that pillar?"