Hogwarts: I'm Truly a Model Wizard

After two days of rain, the castle was buzzing with excitement as everyone anticipated the second Quidditch match.

"Our next opponent is Gryffindor," Harris told the Hufflepuff team earnestly during a practice session. "They're nothing like Ravenclaw—they're a very strong team with virtually no weaknesses. Their new Seeker, Harry Potter, is every bit as skilled as Cedric, and he has a knack for spotting the Golden Snitch quickly."

"Dean, Ronny…" he addressed the team's Beaters, "don't worry about Angelina; just keep an eye on Potter."

"What about you and Kyle?" one of the Beaters asked with a frown. "The Weasley twins are sharp players. They'll definitely try to use the Bludgers to throw you off."

"That's fine," Harris replied calmly. "We have two Chasers, so even if we're dodging Bludgers, we won't lose any points."

"But then we won't be able to score quickly," another player pointed out.

"To be honest, it's unlikely we'll score quickly anyway," Harris admitted after a moment's thought. "Wood isn't like other Keepers. He's got professional potential and is incredibly strong. Our tactics against Ravenclaw won't fool him."

Harris paused, looking around at his team. "I'm sure the key to victory will come down to the Golden Snitch."

He turned back to his Beaters. "So, do whatever it takes to support Cedric. If Potter spots the Snitch first, you'll need to find a way to stop him. If necessary, use a Bludger to divert the Snitch."

"Don't worry, Captain," Cedric assured him. "I'll catch the Snitch first."

"I have complete confidence in you," Harris said with a smile, patting Cedric on the shoulder. "That's why I've asked everyone to play around you."

Just then, a stir came from the passageway. Several heads turned to see Wood approaching with the Gryffindor team.

"Oliver, it's our training time. What are you doing here?" Harris asked, his tone sharp. Although he and Wood had been on good terms in the past, there was no love lost between them now.

"Not anymore," Wood replied, striding up to him. "I timed it to be here right as your session ended."

"Wait…" Harris glanced up at the darkening sky, realizing what Wood meant. "You're not seriously planning to train this late, are you?"

"Don't worry about it," Wood replied curtly.

Harris frowned, disapproving of Wood's relentless training schedule. But since none of Gryffindor's players had openly objected, he held his tongue. "Just be careful not to push them too hard, Wood," he murmured in a quiet warning, then turned and led the Hufflepuff team off the Quidditch Pitch.

As they walked away, Fred and George exchanged helpless looks, shrugging at Kyle in silent commiseration as he left.

Once Hufflepuff was gone, Wood jumped right into action. "We've got an hour left—let's make the most of it!"

"Oh…" the team responded with unenthusiastic groans. Even Harry couldn't summon much enthusiasm. With Wood's relentless schedule lately, it felt like he was either in class or on his broom, with barely any time for meals. He just wanted to crawl into his warm bed and get some real rest.

But at Wood's urging, the team reluctantly took to the air. Fred and George, however, had other ideas. Ignoring Wood's commands, they began diving at each other, pretending to slip off their broomsticks.

"Will you stop messing around!" Wood snapped angrily. "If you keep this up, you'll lose us the match! Snape's the referee this time, and you know he'll find a way to deduct points from Gryffindor."

George practically fell off his broom when he heard that. "Snape as referee?" he sputtered, spitting out a mouthful of mud. "I thought he didn't care about Quidditch—he barely even shows up to watch!"

The other players landed beside George, voicing their own concerns. Harry, in particular, looked pale, his whole body trembling. He remembered Ron and Hermione's warning that Snape had cast a spell on his broom during the last match. If he did it again, there'd be no way to stop him—Hermione wouldn't be able to rush onto the pitch.

"Harry, you look awful," Angelina said, concerned.

"No, I'm fine…" Harry mumbled, though his voice was shaky. "Wood, in the next game, don't worry about me. Just focus on scoring as many goals as you can."

"No, that won't work," Wood replied, frowning. "Catching the Snitch is worth 150 points. You think we can just score that many goals?"

"But Snape's definitely going to target me," Harry said nervously. "I'm… I'm worried…"

"There's no reason to worry, Harry," George chimed in, patting Harry on the shoulder with a grin. "Remember, we're playing Hufflepuff. What's there to be nervous about?"

Harry blinked, a bit confused, wondering if George had hit his head when he fell and was confusing Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw.

"I'm serious—Snape will target me," Harry insisted. "He hates me. I don't even have to do anything wrong in Potions, and he still finds a reason to take points."

"Don't sweat it; everyone's lost points to Snape," Fred laughed. "So, how many points has he taken from you at once?"

"Fifteen," Harry whispered, almost feeling guilty. He worried that maybe his potions blunders were partly why Gryffindor was trailing in the House standings. But to his surprise, Fred didn't look bothered in the slightest.

"Only fifteen?" Fred said, sounding amused. "I thought it would be more."

Harry stared at him, stunned. Only fifteen points? That sounded like a lot! Maybe George's fall had actually affected Fred, too. But then, that didn't make sense… he'd never heard of twins sharing concussions.

Fred chuckled and went on. "Do you have any idea how many points Kyle's lost in Potions?"

Harry shook his head, puzzled. He'd assumed that someone as accomplished as Kyle would probably earn extra points rather than lose them.

"Fifty…" George held up a hand, dead serious. "Once, Snape took a full fifty points from him."

"And on any normal day, Kyle usually loses around twenty points for all sorts of reasons," Fred added. "If it weren't for Kanna earning points back, Hufflepuff would be right down at the bottom of the House standings with us."

Harry was speechless. The thought of someone like Kyle losing so many points was beyond belief. It was almost as unthinkable as Hermione forgetting to do her homework.

Fred continued, "So you see, Harry, compared to Kyle, you're practically safe from Snape's wrath."

"With him around," George added, grinning, "we've got nothing to worry about."

The twins exchanged a look and burst into a wicked laugh.