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Chapter 117
Only fools wish for their opponents to become weaker instead of striving to become stronger themselves.
"Yeah, I hope you'll be able to use Hawk Eye while flying on a broom tomorrow. So, how's the team training going?" Ron said. He was counting on Wood's tactics to work. Even though Harry's flying skills were slightly inferior to Malfoy's, he was much stronger overall. That meant their chances of catching the Golden Snitch first were still quite high.
At the mention of team tactics, Harry immediately brightened up.
"The cage formation might not look very elegant, but it's incredibly effective. When Fred goes all out with the 'Seven-Star Sweep' defense, the opponents can't break through at all. We've tested it against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and even I couldn't get past Fred's defense. Slytherin thinks they can beat us with better brooms, but they won't succeed this time."
"We should take another route. I just saw Lockhart coming from the other side," Harry said, already leading Hermione and Ron to change direction, easily avoiding him.
Ron looked at Harry with admiration and gave him a thorough once-over. "All that practice avoiding Lockhart and Snape really paid off."
"Of course. If I had a bit more time, I could even use Hawk Eye while flying on a broom," Harry said excitedly. Casting spells without a wand was already unbelievable for most students.
If not for the upcoming match, Harry would've been very satisfied with his progress. Now, whenever he walked through corridors or passed corners where people might suddenly appear, he instinctively used Hawk Eye to avoid bumping into Lockhart, Snape, and Filch. And now, there was one more person to avoid—his overenthusiastic admirer, Colin.
"You should practice that spell too. George doesn't teach us much, and there aren't many practical spells this year. Defense Against the Dark Arts has become a joke," Harry said. "This spell is really useful. I'm planning to convince both of you to spend some time mastering it."
"Yeah, it does sound useful—especially if it works on a broom," Ron said, now clearly interested. If he could learn Hawk Eye while flying, maybe he could even join the Quidditch team next year.
"I'll spend a few days practicing wandless casting," Hermione replied decisively. She was the first among them to master the Hawk Eye spell, and practicing it on the ground without a wand didn't seem difficult for her at all.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Whenever it came to studying, Hermione always managed to say something impressive.
As they talked, they left the castle and crossed the fields, spotting a crossbow placed outside Hagrid's hut.
Hagrid wasn't inside—he was in the vegetable patch behind the hut, tending to his pumpkins. Thanks to magic, the pumpkins had grown to the size of small houses. He had to stay nearby constantly to prevent them from exploding due to overgrowth. Luckily, he planned to harvest them all today.
With Halloween only three days away, Hagrid needed to transport the pumpkins to the Great Hall, where they would be carved into jack-o'-lanterns.
The school was short on staff, and some teachers were utterly unreliable. For example, Lockhart had been very active at the start of term, recommending his books to everyone. But it didn't take long for the staff to realize he was completely useless.
Hagrid invited Harry and the others to help move the pumpkins. Although Harry didn't plan to attend the Halloween feast, he didn't mind helping out.
Soon, the pumpkins proved too large—even the cart couldn't carry them. Fortunately, Hagrid had prepared a shrinking spell to reduce their size.
However, having been expelled in his third year and unable to use magic properly, Hagrid struggled. He had seen Professor McGonagall perform the spell, but when he tried it himself, he accidentally blew up two pumpkins.
Ron and Harry also tried casting the spell, but failed. In the end, Hermione saved the remaining pumpkins.
"Hermione really can do any spell!" Hagrid said proudly.
Hermione blushed deeply, unsure whether it was from mastering another useful spell or from the praise.
Halloween finally arrived, bringing both good and bad news. The bad news was that Harry still hadn't made much progress with using Hawk Eye on a broom.
The good news was that Ron and Hermione decided to accompany Harry to the Deathday Party. Even George showed interest.
"The Halloween feast happens every year, but hardly anyone gets the chance to attend a Deathday Party," Hermione said, her curiosity piqued.
"Can't I just go to the Halloween feast alone?" Ron shrugged. He wasn't interested in a party where ghosts celebrated their deaths. But going alone felt a bit awkward.
"I'm interested in long-lived ghosts. Maybe I can learn something useful," George added. Recently, he had been studying ancient spells, and this was a rare chance to interact with ghosts from all over the country.
As Harry passed by the Great Hall, he couldn't help but admire its festive decorations. The pumpkins they had brought were now carved into giant jack-o'-lanterns, and students were saying that Dumbledore had even invited a troupe of dancing skeletons for the feast.
"Maybe we could—" Harry began hesitantly, wanting to suggest something.
"You have to keep your word," Hermione interrupted firmly. "You promised Nick you'd attend the Deathday Party."