The Killer Bludger
The roar of the stands seemed to shake the entire stadium.
Today's match was a little different from an ordinary Quidditch game. Besides the fact that two Houses were taking their rivalry to the extreme, both teams had been sponsored with brand-new Quidditch equipment.
And yes, we're talking about Nimbus 2001s.
Slytherin, which had become far too proud of Malfoy's sponsorship, was immediately overshadowed when the Gryffindor Quidditch team also appeared on brand-new brooms. Their sponsor had even had each player's name engraved in gold on the handle, making it clear that they weren't just a gift to the Quidditch team, but to each individual player.
Unlike Slytherin's, which they would only be allowed to use while they were still at school. Once they graduated, the brooms would stay behind.
And obviously, while the Malfoys were a wealthy and influential family, they simply couldn't compare to the Blacks, one of the oldest and noblest houses in the wizarding world.
Back in the stands, Percy was sitting beside Tyson and the others, who could barely keep track of Harry as he soared through the sky on his Nimbus 2001.
"As always, Harry's in his natural habitat," Percy said with a faint smile as he watched his brother fly with complete control, climbing much higher than the other players as he searched the sky for the Snitch.
"You don't like flying, Percy? I've never seen you on a broom," Neville said, only just seeming to realize that now.
"No, of course not. If I did, my uncle would probably strike me down with a lightning bolt," Percy replied with a grimace. "I don't like it, but I've learned to accept it."
Hearing that, Neville accepted it easily enough.
"I see. I didn't like my uncle either before. He even threw me out of a window to make my magic appear, and luckily it worked. I bounced a few times instead of dying. After that he became much nicer and even gave me Trevor. Maybe it'll be something like that, and your uncle will be nicer afterward too," Neville added.
That earned him a sideways glance from Percy.
"Yeah... I don't think so. He made it pretty clear that my birth was a mistake. If it weren't for my father and my other uncle, he probably would've tried to fix it already," Percy said with a slight grimace, remembering his last visit to Olympus.
"Oh," Neville said, unable to think of anything else to say, only feeling a little sympathy for Percy and his family.
"I'm glad you were born, Percy," Tyson said from beside him, having heard everything Percy had said. "I'm sure Harry is too."
"Yeah... thanks," Percy replied, not really worrying much about Zeus's words. If he had, he would've gone crazy a long time ago... or joined Luke.
Percy had barely finished speaking when a collective scream swept through the stands.
"Ahh...!" Hermione gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
Percy immediately looked skyward.
High above, Harry suddenly shot across the sky at full speed while one of the Bludgers, completely out of control, chased after him, trying to knock him off his broom.
Even Fred and George had to stop protecting Angelina for a moment to try and help Harry.
But when Fred swung his Beater's bat to knock the Bludger away, the force behind the ball shattered it in half.
Wood splinters flew toward George, forcing him to shield his eyes, and the Bludger slammed into the side of his broom, throwing him completely off balance and sending him tumbling.
Fortunately, Fred reacted in time and dove after his brother to catch him.
Meanwhile, Harry had no choice but to change direction, with the Bludger still right behind him.
"Again... of course it's happening again," Percy muttered. "I guess every world has its own way of trying to kill you."
"It's just like last year. Maybe someone is controlling the Bludger," Hermione said immediately, her voice tense as she looked around.
Naturally, the first place they looked was the teachers' stand.
But today, none of the professors were there, except for the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, who didn't even seem to notice the Bludger had gone berserk. He was happily cheering for the match instead, enthusiastically supporting the sport... or something like that.
The runaway Bludger whistled past Harry's head before smashing into one of the stadium towers with a deafening crash, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere.
Harry twisted his body at the last possible moment, letting the black ball pass only inches from his face.
The crowd erupted into a mixture of terrified screams and excited cheers as everyone realized there was something terribly wrong with the Bludger's movements.
Even Hagrid had jumped to his feet in alarm.
The Bludger spun around again in midair and, ignoring every other player on the field, flew straight back toward Harry.
Like Hermione, Percy searched the stands, trying to find whoever was responsible, already prepared to test out his repaired wooden sword—a gift from his teacher for making him look good during the holidays... or something like that.
A pretty stingy gift, if you asked him.
Still, it was better than having no training sword at all.
Then something caught his eye.
Hidden among the spectators, a small figure with enormous ears was staring fixedly at the match, one hand raised toward the Bludger, moving its finger as though the ball were following wherever it pointed.
He'd found the culprit.
But it seemed Percy wasn't the only one.
"There you are!"
Percy watched as Lia appeared out of nowhere and immediately pounced on Dobby with her deadliest weapon—
her wooden spoon.
Dobby's eyes went wide as he tried to run, but Lia managed to land a solid smack right on his head.
Even so, Dobby escaped with a loud crack, disappearing and reappearing farther away.
Lia did exactly the same, appearing right beside him again, fully prepared to beat him senseless.
Percy, who had been about to run over, couldn't help stopping for a moment, suddenly wondering whether Lia actually needed his help at all.
"Don't run away! Lia's going to beat you up, you bad elf!" Lia shouted before disappearing once more.
"Should we step in?" Percy couldn't help asking Hermione, who had also managed to spot the two house-elves. She seemed surprised for a moment, as though this was the first time she'd ever seen creatures like them, even though she'd already heard about house-elves before.
"Obviously!" Hermione shouted, snapping out of her surprise the moment she realized Dobby was the one trying to hurt Harry.
"Tyson!" Percy yelled, knowing he'd need a little help.
The two of them immediately dashed into the stands. Hermione, a little slower, hurried after them, while Ron barely understood what was happening. Still, seeing them run, he followed without hesitation.
Only Neville remained where he was, wearing a confused expression, unsure what to do. By the time he thought of acting, it was already too late, so he simply stayed behind.
...
Meanwhile, high above the pitch...
Harry tilted his Nimbus almost straight upward.
The Bludger flew so close that it actually tore a few black hairs from his head before shooting past behind him.
Without slowing down, Harry made a complete loop around one of the stadium towers.
The ball slammed into the structure.
Fortunately, the Bludger was far too heavy to turn that sharply, and Harry kept taking advantage of exactly that to dodge it.
"Nice dance moves, Potter," Draco called out as he watched the maneuver Harry had been forced to make in midair to avoid the Bludger. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying watching him in danger.
Harry desperately wanted to punch that smug face of his.
But staying alive was a slightly higher priority.
As he looked up again, he finally spotted what he'd been searching for throughout the entire match...
Right above Draco's head shimmered the Golden Snitch.
Once he caught it, the match would be over.
But that brief moment of distraction allowed the Bludger to close the gap again until it was almost impossible to dodge.
"Tsk... it's not cheating if the rules don't say it is," Harry muttered to himself.
Then, right in front of Draco's eyes—who was watching eagerly as the Bludger was about to smash into Potter's arm, surely breaking it just like Fred's bat—his eyes widened in shock as the Bludger seemed to pass straight through Potter's arm as though it were nothing but a mirage.
Then Draco watched as the Bludger, unable to turn in time, flew straight toward him instead.
He didn't have time to dodge either.
The Bludger slammed into his shoulder.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
Draco let out a pitiful scream of pain, sounding like a pig being led to slaughter, and his broom spun wildly out of control as he plummeted toward the ground.
Fortunately for him, one of Slytherin's Beaters caught hold of him and immediately dove after him to save him.
Meanwhile, Harry pretended he hadn't just used an illusion and immediately shot forward at full speed after the golden flash that had only seconds earlier been hovering above Malfoy's head without him even noticing it.
But before he could reach it...
The Bludger came back.
This time, though, its path was different.
Now it was aimed directly at his head, as though whoever was controlling it had stopped trying to knock him down...
...and had decided to kill him instead.
"You've got to be kidding me," Harry muttered as he jerked his head aside, barely avoiding the deadly projectile, losing sight of the Snitch for a moment in the process. "I hope Percy and the others figured it out."
He could only hope that, just like last year, his brother and his friends would help him.
Though last time they'd picked the wrong target...
Well, not entirely.
Percy had actually hit the one enchanting Harry's broom, even if Percy himself had thought he'd missed.
...
Meanwhile...
"Over there!" Hermione shouted, pointing toward Dobby, who had just appeared on top of one of the railings.
Lia popped into existence behind him again and was even faster this time, throwing herself at him and immediately raining rapid blows down with her wooden spoon while Dobby flailed his arms everywhere, desperately trying to throw her off.
But Lia seemed absolutely determined to catch him and save her young master, no matter what.
"Tyson, grab them before he escapes again!" Percy shouted when he noticed the Cyclops was the closest.
Tyson immediately lunged forward.
He landed flat on his stomach, but at the same time managed to grab the elf's legs.
Dobby lost his balance and crashed to the floor while Lia kept violently smacking him over the head.
"Bad elf! Dobby bad elf! Lia punish you for trying to hurt Master Harry!" Lia shouted as the repeated THONK! THONK! THONK! of her wooden spoon echoed against Dobby's head.
Hermione and Ron were breathing heavily after chasing the elves halfway across the stands.
Percy and Tyson looked perfectly fine.
Even better now that they'd finally caught the foolish elf who had been trying to hurt his brother.
...
At that exact same moment...
Harry watched as the Bludger flying straight toward him suddenly seemed to lose its strength and slow down.
"I knew I could count on you," Harry said with a smile, realizing his brother and the others had succeeded.
The smile lasted only an instant.
He still had a match to finish.
At the same time, he spotted the distant golden glimmer of the Snitch again.
With Slytherin's Seeker no longer competing against him—since he was now lying on the ground screaming as though he were about to die—Harry pushed the Nimbus to its absolute limit.
The wind roared around him.
The other players could barely follow him with their eyes.
In a single movement, he shot across the middle of the pitch and reached out with one hand as though grabbing the air itself.
A few seconds later, Harry slowly opened his hand.
There it was.
The Golden Snitch.
And so everyone could see it, Harry raised his arm with a triumphant smile.
"Harry Potter catches the Golden Snitch!!" Lee Jordan shouted instantly.
For one second, the entire stadium fell completely silent.
No one seemed able to believe the match had ended so quickly.
And then...
The crowd erupted into a deafening roar.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted Percy in one section of the stands, waving wildly at him while pointing toward Tyson.
In one hand, Tyson was holding Dobby.
In the other, he was holding Lia, who still looked ready to leap at Dobby again so she could keep hitting him.