bacchusnovels Chapter 312 The Moon Overcast with Rain
Chapter 312 The Moon Overcast with Rain
Chapter 312 The Rainy October
In early October, the weather was gradually turning cooler, and the autumn atmosphere permeated every corner of Hogwarts. The morning air carried a hint of chill, and a thin mist hung over the lake, like a light veil covering the calm water. The towering castle was faintly visible in the mist.
The trees around the castle were slowly turning shades of red and yellow. A gust of wind rustled the fallen leaves, which drifted down onto the path, carpeting it with gold and red. The giant pumpkins by the Black Lake were preparing for the upcoming Halloween, their massive bodies entwined with vines. Occasionally, a low whistling sound could be heard as the wind rustled through the branches of the Forbidden Forest, producing a long, drawn-out sigh.
In the corridors of Hogwarts, the fireplaces were lit, and the warm flames dispelled some of the chill. Students hurried through the corridors, unconsciously wrapping their wizard robes even tighter.
Among these events, the Quidditch and Wizards of Oz games, two new seasons of competition, are in full swing.
Quidditch is a well-worn topic, so there's no need to go into too much detail here. What I want to briefly explain is Wizards Kill.
The Wizard Killing Contest, organized by Professor Sean Phillips, quickly became one of the most talked-about events on campus.
Unlike Quidditch, Wizards Kill is not primarily a team game; instead, it uses an individual points-based system.
Each participant is an independent individual, and everyone's goal is to defeat their opponents and earn ranking points through strategy, magic skills, and adaptability.
The ranks are divided into several levels: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger.
Participants earn points through ranked matches held every weekend in the "Witcher Slayer Club." Accumulating 100 points allows them to advance to the next rank. Losing results in a deduction of points, and if a participant reaches 0 points, they will be forcibly demoted.
This intense individual competition and novel points ranking system make the competition more suspenseful and exciting.
Of course, what's even more eye-catching are the rewards for the Wizard Killer tournament.
At the end of the season, the ten players with the highest ranks will receive rewards ranging from 1000 to 100 Galleons.
This is a huge sum of money for many young wizards.
In addition, there are items such as flying broomsticks, Sean's autographed books, and original flavors as extra item rewards.
The two competitions, one intellectual and one physical, brought joy to all the young wizards.
The four members who advanced from the three-member group have become busy because of these two different competitions.
Harry was a Quidditch enthusiast, and he was always excitedly discussing the team's tactics and the strengths and weaknesses of each house's opponents.
Meanwhile, Ron, in pursuit of the enticing 1000 Galleons reward, practiced Wizard Kill tournament techniques day and night, researched different deck combinations, and strived to find the best tactical solution.
As for the two girls, Hermione had no time to participate in the competition due to her heavy academic workload, while Sophia had little interest in the competition and preferred to review and discuss magical knowledge with Hermione's mother after class. In order not to delay his daughter's studies, Sean took on the role of a father for the first time and assigned Sophia extra homework that was hard for ordinary people to imagine.
What he didn't know was that Sophia had handed all the homework over to Hermione's mother to do.
Despite all this, the four boys are busy with their own things, but they still maintain close contact.
It was Thursday evening, and the four children were resting in the common room. Just as Harry and Ron were having a heated wizard-killing match, Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, suddenly stopped Harry and asked him to go to the cold locker room for a meeting to discuss tactics for the new season.
Harry put down the cards, his brow furrowing slightly, but he still followed Wood out. Wood was unusually serious, his face grave, his tone carrying a suppressed resolve. He strode through the dressing room like a commander about to go into battle, his voice ringing out: "To win the Quidditch Cup, this is our last chance, my last chance."
"After this school year ends, I'll be leaving, and there won't be another chance." He paused, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress his emotions. "Gryffindor hasn't won in seven years. Yes, we're the unluckiest team in the world—constantly injured—and last year the league was canceled for various reasons—" Wood swallowed hard.
It seems that recalling those past events still suffocates him.
"But we also know that we are the best team in the whole school—the absolute best." He slammed one fist into the other, his eyes gleaming with his former wildness. "We have three outstanding chasers!"
Wood pointed at Aria Spinnett, Angelina Jensen, and Katie Bell, his eyes gleaming.
"We also have two invincible batters," he added confidently.
"Stop, Oliver, you're making us blush," Fred and George Weasley interjected in unison, feigning embarrassment.
"And there's another Seeker who's never lost a game!" Wood continued, looking Harry in a fierce and proud gaze. "And me." He seemed to realize he was in the team only at the very end, and his tone relaxed slightly.
"Of course we think you're great too, Oliver," George said with a grin.
"A fantastic goalkeeper," Fred continued to tease.
Wood, unfazed by their jokes, continued explaining his plan: "The key is that for the next two years, the Quidditch Cup should have our names on it. Ever since Harry joined, I've thought it was a sure thing. But it hasn't happened yet. We want to see our names on the cup, and this year is our last chance—"
Wood's poignant words instantly sombered the atmosphere in the locker room, even moving Fred and George. Their playful expressions faded, and they listened intently to Wood's words.
"We'll succeed, Oliver!" Angelina encouraged him from the side.
"It'll definitely be a success." Harry nodded in agreement. He looked at the other team members and made up his mind: no matter what, they must give it their all this season, for honor and for their common goal.
Therefore, the team started extra training tonight.
After the grueling training camp ended, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room.
However, he found that the common room was much more lively than before he left.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked Ron, Hermione, and Sophia, who were sitting on the sofa by the fireplace. The three of them were busy finishing two star charts for their astronomy class.
"Haven't you heard?" Ron said excitedly, pointing to the newly posted notice on the bulletin board. "First time going to Hogsmeade for the weekend! It's at the end of October, just before Halloween."
"That's awesome!" Fred exclaimed excitedly, having just crawled through the portrait hole with Harry. "I'm planning to go to Zonko's Joke Shop; I'm almost out of stinky eggs."
Harry plopped down in the chair next to Ron, his initial excitement vanishing instantly.
Hermione seemed to sense his emotions and offered words of comfort, "Harry, you'll definitely be able to go next time. They'll surely catch Black soon; someone has already seen him once."
"Black isn't stupid; he's not going to go to Hogsmeade and do anything reckless," Ron said. "Harry, ask McGonagall if you can go this time. The next time will be a long time coming—"
Upon hearing this, Sophia nodded to herself.
Yes, if she remembered correctly, Uncle Black was at Hogwarts at that time.
To be more precise, he was in his father's office.
These were all things Uncle Blake told her personally when she was a child, telling her stories.
Besides, with Uncle Harry here, why would he go all the way to Hogsmeade?
"Ron!" Hermione suddenly interrupted him, her voice tinged with anxiety, "Harry should stay at school—"
"Don't leave a third-year student at school!" Ron continued to argue. "Go ask McGonagall, Harry, hurry up!" "Alright, I'll go ask," Harry said, having made up his mind.
Hermione opened her mouth and looked at Sophia, wanting to pull her along to refute, and was about to say something when Crookshanks lightly jumped onto her lap, a large dead spider in his mouth.
"Does it have to eat that stuff in front of us?" Ron asked, frowning.
"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch this yourself?" Hermione asked softly, her eyes full of affection.
Crookshank slowly chewed the spider, his two yellow eyes staring arrogantly at Ron, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
"Just leave it there and don't move," Ron said angrily, burying himself back in his star chart. "Spotty's sleeping in my bag."
Harry yawned. He really wanted to go to bed, but he hadn't finished his star chart yet. He dragged his schoolbag over, took out his parchment, ink, and quill, and began to do his homework.
"You can copy mine if you want," Ron said, marking the last star in cursive script and pushing the chart toward Harry.
Hermione disapproved of plagiarism; she opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing.
Crookshank remained staring intently at Ron, the tip of his fluffy tail swaying gently.
Suddenly, it pounced.
"Ouch!" Ron yelled, grabbing his backpack. Crookshanks dug their four claws deep into the bag, tearing at it viciously. "Get away, you stupid beast!"
Ron tried to pull the backpack away from Crookshank, but Crookshank wouldn't let go, grimacing and tearing at it desperately. Hermione, getting a little nervous, quickly stood up and tried to pull Crookshank away: "Ron, don't hurt it!"
All the students in the common room were watching this scene, and the atmosphere instantly became lively. Ron grabbed the backpack and tried to snatch it, but Crookshank still wouldn't let go. Suddenly, Scabbers flew out of the backpack.
"Catch that cat!" Ron shouted, and Crookshank finally dropped his backpack, went to the other side of the table, and began chasing after the panicked Scabbers.
Sophia almost burst out laughing as she watched Peter, the little dwarf, being chased around by a cat.
This trip was definitely worthwhile.
How could we possibly see this guy, whom Uncle Blake described as a heinous criminal who had been dead for who knows how many years, fifteen years later?
If Uncle Blake's story is correct, Peter will soon...:
George Weasley lunged forward to grab Crookshank, but failed. Scabbers darted through the students' legs and disappeared under the old chest of drawers.
Crookshank hurriedly crouched down and stretched his front paws under the dresser, frantically digging around.
Ron and Hermione rushed over, and Hermione grabbed Crookshank by the waist, lifted him off the dresser, and tried to pull him away.
Meanwhile, Ron lay on the ground and, after some effort, finally managed to pull Spotty out by its tail.
"Look at it!" he said angrily, dragging Scabbers in front of Hermione. "It's skin and bones! Keep that cat away from it!"
"Crooked Hill didn't know what was wrong!" Hermione's voice trembled. "Cats love chasing mice, Ron!"
"That beast's weird!" Ron said, struggling to get the wildly wriggling Scabbers back into his pocket. "It heard me say Scabbers was in my bag!"
"Oh, stop talking nonsense," Hermione said impatiently. "Crooked Hill can smell it, Ron, you think—"
"That cat just keeps staring at Spotty!" Ron ignored the chuckling crowd around him. "Spotty was here first."
And it's sick!
"Okay, relax." Seeing this, Sophia tried to ease the tension, saying with a smile, "I think Crookshan is just too excited. It's just instinct."
Hearing Sophia defend herself, Crookshan nodded humanely.
Then, it slowly approached Sofia and gently nuzzled her arm with its head, appearing very affectionate.
"See, it didn't mean to scare Spotty." Sofia bent down and gently stroked Crookshank's fur. Crookshank's fur was as smooth as silk, and the gentle touch brought back many memories for Sofia.
Crook Hills was a constant companion throughout her childhood.
From the moment she opened her eyes and saw this world, Crookshanks had been by her side.
It always sat quietly at her feet, unconditionally protecting her.
Even on those boring days, it could bring her joy with its very existence.
However, as time went by, Crookshank gradually showed signs of aging. Its steps were no longer as light as before, and its fur gradually became sparse, sometimes even appearing grayish-white in the sunlight.
Nevertheless, Crookshan still retained those bright eyes, constantly watching Sofia's every move.
Sometimes, when Sofia is sad, Crookshan will gently jump onto her lap, snuggle up to her, and rub his head against her arm, as if to comfort her.
This intimacy warmed Sofia's heart, and at that moment, all the world's worries seemed insignificant.
But considering how lively Crookshan is now, Sofia felt a little sad.
Seemingly sensing the inexplicable sadness emanating from the person in front of him, Crookshank wagged its tail and then gently jumped onto Sophia's lap, rubbing its head against her arm repeatedly.
"Look how much it likes you!" Hermione said with a smile, watching Sophia interact with Crookshanks. "It's usually only this affectionate with people it trusts."
Seeing this heartwarming scene only made Ron angrier.
He stormed through the common room and headed upstairs to the boys' dormitory without looking back.