Chapter 31 The Battle of the Badger and the Snake (Patreon)

The Quidditch match was approaching, and despite the unwavering efforts of the Hufflepuff team, there was a sense of nervousness before the match. There was a significant change in their mindset compared to previous times - this time, they were genuinely considering how to win.

One afternoon, the weather was relatively good.

The bright sunshine bathed the earth, spreading a warm atmosphere to everyone. The magically treated lawn appeared neat, like waves rippling when a gentle breeze passed by.

On top of each tower in the spectator stands, colorful flags were flying. The red and gold belonged to Gryffindor, the silver and green intertwined for Slytherin, and the representation for Ravenclaw was blue and bronze. Only the Hufflepuff flag was plain black and yellow, which honestly looked a bit plain.

When Maca flew out from the team entrance with the Nimbus 2000, waving his hand as he circled the field, the whole stadium erupted!

Perhaps it was due to Hufflepuff's exceptional secrecy measures! Most of the students had no idea that their team had a new member, and a first-year student at that!

At Hogwarts, Maca had quite a good reputation. His outstanding performances and humble demeanor had won him the favor of many students. Thus, the cheers at this moment were particularly enthusiastic!

"We have received this exciting news before the match! With the approval of Headmaster Professor Dumbledore, Maca McClain has officially joined the Hufflepuff House team through selection. He has become the youngest Quidditch player at Hogwarts in a century!"

"Let's cheer for Maca McClain!"

The two announcers declared excitedly in their voices, and the atmosphere in the stadium became even more heated.

"Alright, everyone, take your positions!" Captain Darren waved his hand. "David, Mark, hold your bats steady. Stick to the tactics, everyone, relax a bit!"

Including Maca, the three Chasers positioned themselves in the center of the pitch, while three players from Slytherin flew over. They all hovered around Madam Hooch, waiting for the game to start and the first chance to grab the Golden Snitch.

Madam Hooch kicked the trunk containing the balls, and as the lid opened, the three balls other than the Golden Snitch ascended one by one.

"The Bludger is up, followed by the Golden Snitch! Remember, the Golden Snitch is worth 150 points. Catch it, and the game ends!" The announcer passionately began the official commentary for the match.

"Ready! The Golden Snitch is in the air. The match begins!"

Maca stared intently as Madam Hooch tossed the Golden Snitch to its highest point, and then he made his move!

As a member of the outstanding Nimbus series broom, known for its excellent performance, Maca accelerated rapidly under his control. In almost a straight-line acceleration, he was the first to capture the Golden Snitch!

But Maca didn't hold onto the Snitch for long. While he was rushing forward at high speed, he discreetly dropped the Golden Snitch beneath him, and it was caught by the short-haired girl, Kristen!

When the two Slytherin Chasers just caught up to Maca, whose speed had already slowed down, they found that he didn't have the Snitch in his arms at all.

"We've been fooled!"

The Slytherin players were furious, but before they could react, Maca soared high above them.

A Bludger was hit towards Maca by a Slytherin Beater, but he skillfully dodged it.

"Over here!"

Charles, the only player who could match up against Slytherin's tall players, had broken through the defense of their Beater and arrived near the left goalpost of Slytherin.

Kristen, who was still low in the air, put in all her strength and threw the Snitch upward.

"Oh - she didn't throw it accurately!" the announcer shouted.

Indeed, Kristen threw the Golden Snitch to an empty area.

"No, that's McClain! McClain dived from a high altitude, McClain dodged two Bludgers consecutively!"

"Slytherin's Keeper is still on the left goal, can he make it? No, he can't make it! The ball is in! Hufflepuff scores 10 points!"

The Golden Snitch flew past the Slytherin Keeper's fingertips and entered the central hoop, causing the crowd to erupt once again.

"Oh my goodness! Look at this! Look at this! McClain is the youngest team member in a century! A century!"

Next was Slytherin's turn to possess the ball. Their Chasers appeared quite strong. They cooperated with each other, forcefully pushing aside Charles, who was trying to interfere, as they attempted to score directly.

Maca swiftly flew to a position two body lengths ahead of them and glanced at the Beater, David.

David immediately understood and flew up high, hitting a Bludger towards Maca. Maca dodged it skillfully, and the Bludger hit the face of a Slytherin Chaser.

"Boom!"

Maca reached out and grabbed the Bludger that had slipped out of the opponent's hand, landing accurately in his own hand.

He bent down and charged forward again, almost identical to his previous move. The Slytherin Chasers were a bit confused, but they still sent one person to chase him according to their basic tactics.

However, the attention of the others had to be diverted because of Hufflepuff's first attack tactic.

Slytherin's reactions were all within Maca's expectations. He spun twice in a row, maximizing the agility of his Nimbus 2000, shaking off the Slytherin Chaser by a distance of five body lengths.

"Oh! McClain is back in front of the goal! Is he going to shoot this time?"

Maca naturally wouldn't just shoot like that, as the probability of being blocked by the opposing goalkeeper would be too high.

While Slytherin's goalkeeper was on high alert, Maca suddenly rolled over, and the goalkeeper immediately followed towards the center goal. However, Maca suddenly hovered and made a throwing motion, intending to shoot at the left goal again.

"Is it really the left goal? Is it really the left goal? Oh, it's not!"

The goalkeeper dove towards the left goal, but Maca threw the Bludger to Kristin, who had just arrived in front of the center goal.

"The ball goes in again! Hufflepuff scores 20 points!"

In the following match, Maca almost dominated the entire field.

He enticed the opposing Beaters to attack him, creating another opportunity for Kristin. He evaded the interference of two Slytherin Chasers, allowing Charles and Kristin's cooperation to be perfectly successful. He used dazzling flying techniques to make the opposing goalkeeper collide with the goalpost. He even used Charles' size as cover, making it difficult for the opposing players to find him!

The score kept rising, and the enthusiasm of the audience in the stadium reached the highest peak of the Quidditch Cup so far!

"The Golden Thief!"

Hufflepuff's Seeker, Charlotte, was the first to spot it.

While moving quickly, Maca observed the movements of the entire field. He noticed that the opposing Seeker was flying towards Charlotte, employing the tactic of following the Seeker.

When the Seeker himself hadn't found the Golden Snitch yet, but the opponent had already noticed it, following the opponent would obviously be much better than blindly searching on one's own. This was one of the basic tactics for Seekers, simple yet highly effective.

The current score was 100 to 30. Although the Quidditch Cup, like the World Cup, was based on total points, and a single match didn't determine everything, 150 points still had significant value.

Moreover, Hufflepuff had already lost one match so far, and Maca wanted to make up for the score with these 150 points!

Charlotte's flying skills were decent, even in Maca's opinion. However, Slytherin's Seeker was a despicable guy who engaged in dirty actions.

The opponent repeatedly disturbed Charlotte and even forcefully collided with the tail end of her broom, trying to make her fall. The other players chased each other as much as possible to prevent the opposing Seeker from affecting their own Seeker.

"Hmph!" Maca snorted coldly and charged straight toward them.

Except for the Seekers, it was a foul for other players to touch the Golden Snitch. But did that mean he couldn't do anything if he didn't touch the Golden Snitch?

Maca easily shook off the Chaser who was chasing him, aimed at the position of the Golden Snitch, and then used his shoulder to forcefully bump into Charlotte's back.

"Oh!" Charlotte, being bumped by him like that, almost lost her breath. However, the fact proved how accurate Maca's bump was, as her outstretched right hand immediately grabbed the Golden Snitch flying in front.

"She caught the Golden Snitch! Charlotte White caught the Golden Snitch! She did it! The match is over, with a score of 250 to 30. The match is over! Hufflepuff has won!"

With a whistle and the excited shouts of the commentator, Madam Hooch waved her hand, signaling the end of the match!

Maca flew around the pitch, thanking everyone for their support. He saw Dumbledore, whose long white beard was shaking as he smiled, showing that he truly enjoyed the game of Quidditch.

"Well done, Maca!" Captain Darren excitedly patted Maca on the shoulder.

He let in three goals in this match, while Slytherin only had four opportunities to score. In other words, he played a rather insignificant role in the match.

But no one cared about that. They witnessed Darren's efforts during training. Everyone has one or two things they're not good at! As a captain, Darren's ability to motivate the team and analyze tactics was highly effective, and that's the most important quality of a captain.

After summarizing the gains and losses of the match with everyone, Maca left the changing room.

Outside, many Hufflepuff students gathered at the entrance, occasionally mixed with students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. If we talk about the four Hogwarts houses, except for Slytherin, the other houses are relatively friendly with each other.

Maca looked at the lively scene in front of him and suddenly felt that it was time to pay a visit to Ravenclaw. It was said that there were some unique books in the Ravenclaw Tower, distributed on every shelf in the tower.