บท 199: 0198 Race (Part-4)
Sometimes, Hermione's stubbornness really gives Harry and Ron a headache. Just like the matter of Scabbers, there were so many ironclad evidences in front of them, but she still insisted that Scabbers' death had nothing to do with Crookshanks, her fluffy ginger cat, even though she couldn't produce any proof to show Crookshanks' innocence. She claimed that Scabbers had run away, but Ron was convinced that Crookshanks had eaten his pet.
"Well, let me see what else I can do–"
Harry gasped, his eyes darting around, hoping to find something to help them.
"Uh!" Suddenly, Harry's eyes lit up. He spotted something in the distance that gave him an idea.
"Ha, there's a way, Hermione, we can make Malfoy's two little minions suffer a bit!"
By then, Hermione's sweat-drenched cheeks had turned a bit pale. The magic power she had consumed to shield their boat from the Slytherins' attacks and Harry's continuous control of the boat to make sharp turns at the critical moments made her head a bit dizzy. Hearing Harry say he had an idea to get rid of Crabbe and Goyle, she couldn't even squeeze out a happy expression. She just nodded her head weakly while suppressing the nausea. She trusted Harry, but she hoped he knew what he was doing.
"Hey, you two!"
With an idea in mind, Harry felt like he was back on the intense and exciting Quidditch pitch. He kept adjusting his position, sending out false signals. Like restraining the opponent Seeker, he restrained Crabbe and Goyle. He pretended to be scared and confused, luring them into a trap. He wanted them to think that they had the upper hand, that they could catch up with them.
And finally, after half a minute, the turbulent water surface of the two boat's relative position made Harry feel satisfied. He shouted at Crabbe and Goyle who had overshot because of the high speed. They had fallen for his trick, and now they were in trouble.
"Can't you be smarter?" Harry mocked and laughed. "Without Malfoy, you seem to have degenerated into savage trolls!"
"You dare to say that, Potter!" Crabbe roared. "I think you're the troll!"
Then, Crabbe and Goyle really looked like two small trolls. Their eyes only had Harry's mocking smile, and they ignored everything around them. They were blinded by rage and stupidity.
"Speed up, Hermione!"
Seeing the menacing two, Harry's heart beat faster. He held the rudder tightly, asking Hermione to inject all the magic power into the oak boat under them. He needed to get away from them, and from the place where he had led them. In an instant, the boat was hurtling forward like a car stepping on the gas pedal, speeding forward, directly hitting a cloud of mist floating on the water surface. The mist was thick and cold, obscuring their vision. But Harry knew what was behind it, and he hoped they could make it. It was a risky move, but he was willing to take the chance.
The familiar wind whistled in his ears, flying the boat. Harry unexpectedly found a bit of the thrill of riding his beloved Nimbus 2000 in the air.
But even so, the distance between the two boats was still shrinking at an alarming speed, and it looked like they would collide heavily in just a few seconds! Crabbe and Goyle had not given up, and they had increased their speed as well.
"Harry!" Hermione, who was lying on the stern, looked at the shadow behind her and reminded him nervously. She hoped Harry had a plan, because she didn't. She was out of magic, and out of ideas.
Whoosh!
"Hold on, Hermione!"
Suddenly, Harry crouched down and hit the rudder hard. The whole boat kept jumping on the water and in the air, like a stone skipping on the water!
At first, Crabbe and Goyle didn't care, thinking that Potter was just repeating his old tricks. They thought he was trying to dodge them, to avoid them. But when they turned in the same direction, the oak boat under them drifted forward on the water. They noticed something was wrong, because the direction in which the boat lost control was the mud pit where the Hinkypunk that made them lose their minds lived!
Whoosh!
The raging wind scattered the weird smoke in an instant. A mud pit vortex with a diameter of about twenty feet suddenly appeared in Crabbe and Goyle's terrified eyes. And with them, there was also a Hinkypunk, the size of a house-elf that changed between real and unreal like a mist. It had been hiding in the smoke, waiting for its prey. And now it had found it.
This Hinkypunk, holding a swinging 'will-o'-the-wisp', stared blankly at the huge boat that was like a giant to it. It had never seen anything like it before, and it didn't know what to do. It was confused and scared, and it wanted to run away. But it was too late. And before it could scream, it was hit and 'scattered'!
The boat crashed into the Hinkypunk, and the Hinkypunk dissolved into nothing. The reason why the mud pit vortex where the Hinkypunk lived had such a strong suction force was that it harbored a kind of fish widely found in the Indian Ocean - the Ramora fish. This fish had a strong magic power. In the Middle Ages, the sailing wizards would use them as anchors for their ships.
This was a tragic thing for Crabbe and Goyle.
The sudden halt of the boat was a catastrophic event for the two burly boys who had a tremendous amount of inertia. They were flung into the air with a burst of ear-piercing screams, drawing a beautiful arc across the sky, and finally smashing into the water with a loud splash like a depth charge. The impact created huge waves that rippled across the lake, startling the nearby creatures.
Harry, who had managed to stop his boat not far away, laughed out loud at this ridiculous and hilarious scene. He couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction at seeing Crabbe and Goyle get their karma. Even Hermione, who had been feeling drowsy and listless, couldn't help but curl up her lips into a faint smile.
But Crabbe and Goyle's tragic fate was not over yet.
When they had just come to their senses, a large group of Silverback fish swam over from somewhere. They were vicious and predatory fish that had razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They circled around the two boys, constantly spraying water arrows at them, hurting them so much that they howled in pain and fear. This time, even Hermione didn't have any pity for them.
"Congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the first round of competition–"
A familiar voice suddenly echoed over the vast lake. It was clear and authoritative, and it carried a hint of amusement.
"Then, the remaining warriors, will compete for the glory on the track!"
"It's Professor Watson's voice!"
Harry, who had helped Hermione up, reacted immediately. Before he could think about the meaning of Professor Watson's words, the space around them boiled like water. It was a strange and dizzying sensation. Then, Harry felt a rapid rush to the sky, and the earth was quickly moving away from his sight. He held on to Hermione tightly, hoping that she was alright.
And when his vision cleared, he swept over the unmasked space, Harry's face darkened.
He saw three hundred feet away, Ron and Parvati, who had bruises on their faces, were using the oak boat that was stuck in the mud pit as a shield to avoid a group of silverback fish's water arrows. They looked exhausted and desperate. Lavender and Seamus, who had used up their energy, resignedly leaned on the boat's side and didn't move. And many other Gryffindors were also roughly in the same situation, only Neville and Dean looked similar to him and Hermione. They had managed to evade the silverback fish and conserve their magic power.
And Slytherin, Harry glanced over them roughly. Malfoy and Parkinson's group were laughing at the two Gryffindors they had sent into the mud pit. The one who had a grudge with Hermione, the tall and sturdy Millicent Bulstrode, was staring coldly at him. She looked like she wanted to eat him and Hermione. Behind her, Theodore Nott was silent, looking like he hadn't consumed much energy.
In addition, Slytherin had another group of people, a girl who looked pretty aloof, Daphne Greengrass and her teammate Blaise Zabini. They were discussing quietly according to the current situation. They looked calm and confident, as if they had a plan. It had to be said that for such a game with no prior information, the Slytherins, who were more calm and cautious, had an advantage over the Gryffindors.
"Three against two, and we've consumed more magic power!"
Harry was good at analyzing the game situation as a Quidditch ace. After a few glances, he had already foreseen what would happen next.
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