Seeing his team being steadily crushed by Ravenclaw's run-and-gun strategy, unable to stop their attacks while their own stamina was rapidly being drained, Wood decisively changed tactics.
He returned to their original strategy.
The other players would focus entirely on defense, while Harry concentrated solely on finding the Golden Snitch.
Without Harry, who was riding a Firebolt, providing defensive support, Gryffindor had no way to contain the breakthroughs of the two Firebolt riders.
Lewis and Shirley practically ran wild.
Relying on the superior performance of their brooms and their exceptional skills, they completely suppressed Gryffindor's Chasers in their own half.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Seeing that Gryffindor had switched to a defensive strategy less vulnerable to the run-and-gun approach, Lewis immediately signaled his Ravenclaw teammates to change tactics as well.
They began using man-marking and screens.
By assigning players to mark their opponents, then constantly switching defensive assignments and setting screens, they repeatedly created situations where Ravenclaw had a numerical advantage in localized areas.
This caused Gryffindor to repeatedly lose track of their opponents and concede openings.
Wood was truly in incredible form today.
He seemed to have transformed into a four-armed gorilla, making save after save against difficult shots.
But there were simply too many opportunities for Lewis and Shirley to shoot!
Ravenclaw's exquisite teamwork tore holes throughout Gryffindor's defense.
Even if Wood were a god, he couldn't block every single shot.
The outstanding performances of the young Ravenclaws even caused quite a few Gryffindor students to switch sides temporarily and cheer for them.
At this point, the Gryffindor players' mentality completely collapsed.
Harry no longer had the luxury of worrying about Lewis and Shirley.
He was frantically circling through the air, searching for the Golden Snitch.
The score difference had now reached 120 points.
Only 30 more points, and the difference would reach 150.
The Golden Snitch was worth 150 points.
As long as he caught it before Ravenclaw widened the gap that far, Gryffindor still had a chance to win.
No matter how spectacular Ravenclaw's scoring performance was today…
The final winner could still be Gryffindor!
Thirty points wasn't too little, but it wasn't exactly a huge amount either.
It was only three goals!
So they had to finish the match as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, Harry caught a flash of golden light in the distance.
The Golden Snitch was circling near Gryffindor's goalposts.
Harry finally spotted it.
He tilted his broom upward, increased his speed, and rushed toward it.
Cho, however, hadn't noticed the Golden Snitch.
She had been participating in the screening tactics, and since Gryffindor's goal was nearby, she immediately followed the man-marking instructions and moved to intercept Harry.
The Golden Snitch disappeared again.
Seeing the goddess in front of him, Harry immediately slowed down.
He became hesitant, unwilling to clash with her.
"Harry, this isn't the time to pretend to be a gentleman!"
Wood roared angrily when he saw this.
"I want you to knock her off that broom and catch that damn Snitch immediately!"
He couldn't care less whether she was Harry's goddess or anyone else.
Wood only wanted to win!
Meanwhile, Cho received Lewis's warning and also spotted the Golden Snitch.
She immediately abandoned her screening duties and returned to her actual role, searching the field for the Snitch.
Harry followed closely behind her.
Cho was extremely annoyed.
Previously, she had been the one marking Harry.
Now Harry was marking her.
Wherever she flew, Harry followed.
He was practically like a pet bird following its tail.
During the long time she had spent playing with her pet, Cho had discovered that the creature was somewhat like a cat.
She and its tail were practically two separate species!
The tail could suddenly attack the pet when it wasn't paying attention, while the pet often held a grudge against the tail.
Of course, most of the time they got along peacefully and played together.
Sometimes, the tail would even hypnotize the pet and make it fall asleep.
And now Harry was playing "follow the leader" with Cho.
He felt rather pleased with himself.
Cho, however, was simply irritated.
She glared fiercely at Harry.
But to Harry, that glare looked incredibly charming, her eyes sparkling with irresistible allure.
Then again, with the sun this bright, it would be strange if someone's eyes weren't reflecting light!
Harry's thoughts were actually very simple.
He just wanted to stay closer to Cho and spend more time with her.
Perhaps this was what people called being a simp.
Of course, even while trying to impress the girl he liked, Harry didn't forget to keep his eyes and ears alert.
He remained ready to dodge Bludgers while continuing to search for the Golden Snitch.
Suddenly, Harry's eyes shifted.
It seemed as though he had spotted the Golden Snitch.
But Cho wasn't fooled.
Lewis had already told her the Snitch's general direction through their psychic communication.
There was no way she would fall for such an obvious trick.
Cho tilted the Firebolt beneath her and continued searching instead.
She glanced at Harry and said in an exaggeratedly deadpan voice:
"Harry, your acting is really good! You almost fooled me just now!"
Harry flew halfway forward before realizing that Cho hadn't followed.
Embarrassed, he turned around and flew back.
The wind was too strong, so he hadn't heard her clearly.
Harry's face immediately turned bright red.
His heart pounded wildly.
Was she hinting at something?
Happiness had come so suddenly!
Wood's earlier warning had already been forgotten.
While the two Seekers were entangled with each other, the situation on the field had reached its climax.
Shirley stole the Quaffle from Angelina and casually passed it toward Roger, who was in an open position.
"Veteran Roger Davies has the Quaffle! Is he going to score his first points of the day?!" Jordan shouted.
"Another defensive screen! Alicia, who was marking him, has been blocked by Duncan and Ingby, who suddenly switched positions! This is Ravenclaw's standard tactic today!"
"Most of the defensive strength has been drawn toward Lewis and Shirley!"
"Roger has only Wood in front of him!"
"SHOOT! Please, brother, I beg you!"
But Roger had absolutely no desire to attack.
The moment he saw Shirley create an opening, he immediately passed the Quaffle back to her.
He knew exactly how unreliable his shooting was.
"AAAH! Ravenclaw is so steady today!"
"They don't even take unnecessary risks!"
"Are they seriously refusing to give us even a single opportunity?!"
Lee Jordan covered his face in despair.
Shirley caught the Quaffle perfectly.
But Katie immediately moved in to mark her, while George, who had lost his own assignment, also rushed over.
"Get her, George! Hit her hard!"
"Come on! Just like you did to me in the dorm that day!"
"Are you even a man?!"
Jordan couldn't help shouting.
Professor McGonagall looked furious enough to snatch the microphone away from him.
"Sorry, Professor! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"
Jordan dodged while continuing his commentary.
"Angelina has also moved in to harass Shirley!"
"This poor girl has been lost for the entire match!"
"If Ravenclaw had any gentlemanly manners, they should request that the match be postponed until she recovers!"
"Otherwise, even if you win, you won't receive Lee Jordan's approval!"
"Sorry, I'm a woman, and I'm a king!"
Shirley snorted.
She shook off Angelina and attempted to continue her breakthrough.
George charged directly toward her, swinging the Beater's bat toward her broom in an attempt to stop her from shooting.
But Shirley wasn't helpless.
She bent down and dodged a Bludger.
Using the momentum of her descent, she slipped underneath George.
However, the Beater's bat still struck her broom.
Before losing her balance, she had already thrown the Quaffle.
Then she tightly gripped the Firebolt and rolled through the air, recovering her balance.
"Ah… that's ridiculous!"
"How did that even go in?!"
Lee Jordan stared in disbelief.
"Oh, no! Madam Hooch has blown her whistle!"
"Fred committed a foul by hitting the player with his Beater's bat!"
"Shirley has been fouled!"
"Shirley has the Quaffle!"
"Shirley scores!"
Jordan groaned.
"Ravenclaw has reached 180 points!"
"They're now 140 points ahead of Gryffindor!"
"If Harry can catch the Golden Snitch, perhaps they can still drag this match into overtime!"
"Gryffindor doesn't have much time left!"
Cho's heart suddenly began pounding.
She had spotted the Golden Snitch.
It was hovering high above the area near the Hufflepuff stands.
She immediately accelerated and shot toward it.
Harry didn't follow.
He was still dazed, lost in his thoughts.
She really did compliment me just now, didn't she?
"Oh my!"
"Cho Chang seems to have spotted the Golden Snitch!"
Lee Jordan shouted from the commentary booth.
"But Harry is still standing there daydreaming!"
"Has he suffered a concussion too, just like Angelina?"
"Jordan, that's enough!"
Professor McGonagall rushed over, intending to seize the microphone.
Unfortunately, she was moving somewhat slower than usual.
She seemed almost like an ordinary Muggle grandmother.
Jordan easily dodged her and continued his loud commentary.
The spectators began laughing at him.
It was obvious that he was deliberately giving Harry a reminder.
With the commentator practically cheering him on, Harry finally snapped out of his daze.
He tilted the Firebolt and accelerated.
The two Seekers raced toward the Golden Snitch, one behind the other.
The Snitch suddenly changed direction, attempting to escape downward.
Cho glanced sideways.
Harry had taken the shortcut and was about to overtake her.
At that moment, she remembered Lewis's reminder before the match.
She gritted her teeth and turned her broom sideways, deliberately colliding with Harry.
The two brooms scraped against each other with a sharp sound.
The two of them struggled against each other as they continued racing toward the Golden Snitch.
They were now less than ten meters from it.
The difference between their distances was negligible.
Thinking about how hard Lewis had worked for this match, Cho gritted her teeth and made a bold decision.
She suddenly stood up.
Both hands left the broomstick.
She stood directly on top of it.
At such high speed, the wind whipped violently around her.
Under the sunlight, her slightly wild smile seemed to sparkle.
Harry was momentarily dazzled.
"Harry, you've lost this time!"
Harry immediately realized what she intended to do.
He hurriedly stretched out his hand toward the Golden Snitch.
But Cho had already leapt from her broom.
She threw herself toward the Golden Snitch.
Harry had lost his advantage.
Lee Jordan's voice rang out at almost the exact same moment as Madam Hooch's whistle.
"Lewis SCORES THE FINAL GOAL!"
"That puts Ravenclaw 160 points ahead!"
"And at the same time, CHO CHANG HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH!"
"THE MATCH IS OVER!!!"
High above the pitch, Cho tightly clenched the Golden Snitch in her hand.
She felt the wind rushing past her.
A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
She hadn't allowed Harry to catch the Golden Snitch.
She had taken away his chance to turn the match around.
This should count as helping Lewis, right?
That meant even if she took a hard fall, it would be worth it.
Besides, Hogwarts had such powerful magic that a fall from this height wouldn't kill her.
But Cho never felt herself hit the grass.
Instead, she felt herself falling into a warm embrace.
She looked up.
It was Lewis.
Lewis was holding her in his arms in a princess carry, controlling the broom with his feet.
"Cho, are you all right?"
"How could you do something like that? That was incredibly dangerous."
"I'm fine."
Cho proudly displayed the tiny Golden Snitch in her hand and grinned.
She looked as though she hadn't just jumped from several dozen meters in the air.
"This was only a single victory."
"You didn't have to push yourself that far."
Lewis scolded her gently.
"But it was your victory."
Cho spoke softly.
Lewis heard her.
He was suddenly touched.
He squeezed the broom tightly with his feet.
The Firebolt immediately shot upward at incredible speed, carrying the two of them out of everyone's sight.
On the Gryffindor stands, Hermione stomped her foot angrily.
Winning the match should have been a good thing for Lewis.
So why was she feeling so unhappy?
Then she heard something even more depressing.
Beside her, Luna was holding an extendable telescope, happily watching the sky.
"Oh!"
"Their mouths are touching!"
"It must be that woman!"
"She's pressed so close to Lewis. Maybe she's forcing him to go home with her and become her boyfriend!"
Hermione began to hate Cho Chang.
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