Harry soared over the Quidditch pitch on his flying broom, multitasking.
He had to keep an eye on what was happening outside the field, interfere with Cho Chang to prevent her from catching the Golden Snitch, and dodge the occasional Bludger from the Ravenclaw Beater... or else he would have fallen off his broom.
The most frustrating thing for Harry was that in previous matches, it had taken him a long time just to locate the Golden Snitch. Moreover, today's match was one of those where he had seen a glimmer of the Golden Snitch many times while surveying the field. Once, it had even flown right past his ear, as if it knew he wouldn't catch it...
Harry could only keep adjusting his position in the air, using his body to get between Cho Chang and the Golden Snitch. He even used the legendary Plumpton Pass!
The Plumpton Pass was a tactic invented by Roderick Plumpton in 1921, which simply involved the Snitch holder hiding it in their sleeve instead of catching it.
Although Prenton insisted until his death that it was his intention, most people believe it was a coincidence that the Golden Snitch ended up in his sleeve.
However, it was a useful tactic for teams trying to score points, so it ended up in the Quidditch playbook. Yet, it was rarely seen in a match.
This was due to three reasons: firstly, it was difficult enough to catch the Golden Snitch, let alone catch it in your sleeve. Secondly, even if it was caught, having the Golden Snitch fly inside a player's sleeve would be uncomfortable and others would easily notice that something was amiss...
That's how they discovered Harry, for example.
"Plumpton Pass!" exclaimed Zacharias Smith, who was commentating. "It's the first time I've seen someone use that tactic!"
Even from above, Harry could hear the laughter coming from below.
Here comes the third reason why the Plumpton Pass rarely makes an appearance...
This tactic is too despised; doing it is simply mocking the opponent Seeker's skill.
When Harry's tactic was discovered, the entire Ravenclaw team was outraged. The Beaters kept hitting Bludgers in his direction, and Cho Chang stopped looking for the Golden Snitch. She surrounded Harry and restricted his escape routes.
The rest of the Gryffindors took advantage of the situation and scored several goals in a row.
In terms of the game... Harry's tactic was quite successful.
As Harry struggled to cope with the combined efforts of the Ravenclaw players, Greyback leaped out of the forest with his men and descended onto the Quidditch pitch.
Upon seeing them, Harry's spirits lifted. He pulled on his broom to avoid an errant ball heading towards him, then pointed at Greyback and the others approaching and shouted, "Wait a moment! Look over there. It seems someone is coming!"
Cho Chang unconsciously looked in the direction Harry was pointing. Although she couldn't clearly see the faces of the people, the group was so aggressive that they didn't seem like Hogwarts professors or students.
"Who are they?" asked Cho Chang, puzzled.
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling," said Harry. He then directed his broom closer to Greyback and the others, not flying too fast but with a curious expression to see who was approaching.
"Harry, what are you doing?!" Ron, who had become a Beater, flew up from below with a bat and stopped Harry, then looked in the direction Harry was looking. "Who are they?"
"I don't know, I want to go check it out." Harry suppressed his anxiety and took control of his broom as he continued leaning towards them.
"Are you mad? We're still playing!" Ron tugged on his robe. "Flying off the field for no reason could cost us the game!"
Naturally, the actions of the two on the field caught the attention of others, and Madam Hooch blew her whistle loudly, shouting at Harry to get back in the game.
"I'll handle it from here, you keep playing!"
Madam Hooch had already followed Harry's gaze and spotted the strange group of people, so she gestured for Harry and the others to return to the game as she flew towards Greyback and the others.
Harry's heart immediately tightened, and he wanted to catch up, but he also feared that his behavior might seem too deliberate.
However, as he hesitated, Greyback, probably thinking they had been discovered or perhaps genuinely believing they could defeat the professors and students of Hogwarts head-on, cast a Killing Curse directly at Madam Hooch, who was flying towards them.
"Watch out!"
Harry didn't care if it was deliberate or not, he accelerated and caught up to Madam Hooch from the side, crashing into her.
After successfully saving Madam Hooch, Harry stabilized his broom, then drew his wand and tapped it against his throat.
"Sonorus." Harry took a deep breath, then shouted, "Enemy attack! Everyone, prepare to fight!"
At the same time, the pack of werewolves cooperated by casting the Dark Mark, and a huge green skeleton rose into the air, with a snake coming out of its mouth.
"That idiot Greyback!" Umbridge, who was still hiding in the grove, saw the Dark Mark in the sky and cursed, "Is he worried that Hogwarts isn't coming quickly enough?!"
The others also looked uneasy; they, like Umbridge, didn't want to come to Hogwarts to cause trouble, but now they had no other choice.
"Let's all prepare to fight! We'll be caught either way." One of the fugitives looked towards where Lucius had been before and said helplessly.
Then they saw a golden light flying from the direction of Hogwarts castle, a golden light that exploded as it approached the Dark Mark, transforming into a golden cat's head that was two sizes larger than the Dark Mark.
"Meow~!"
(=ΦДΦ=)
The golden cat head in the sky screeched and opened its mouth, then bit into the Dark Mark.
The attacked Dark Mark immediately disintegrated into a bright green cloud, which was swiftly dispersed by the cat head in the sky.
"...What is that?"
None of the group in the grove, except for Lucius and Umbridge, had witnessed the Quidditch World Cup two years ago, and being guarded by Dementors, they wouldn't have been in the mood to read a newspaper, so naturally, they didn't know where the cat head came from.
"It's Fish McGonagall's spell!"
Umbridge clenched her teeth, her eyes fixed on the path to the Quidditch field. In that moment, her thoughts had shifted once again...
She wanted to seize this opportunity to kill that obnoxious little monster, Fish McGonagall.
"Attention, everyone! If you see a boy with cat ears or a cat with tiger stripes, attack immediately! Don't hesitate!" Umbridge said fiercely.
However, the others didn't take her orders seriously, and even though Voldemort had appointed Umbridge as their leader, the criminals weren't convinced.
Besides, they didn't believe that a Hogwarts student posed a significant threat, although they had heard a lot about Fish in the time since the escape.
"Eh? Isn't that Umbridge? You're back!"
(ΦωΦ)
Just as everyone was focused on the path out of the forest, a voice came from above them.
Looking around, they saw a young boy with cat ears crouched on a tree, waving at them.