Chapter - 018 As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots. The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, the most anticipated match among the Hogwarts students, Gryffindor versus Slytherin was going to be played. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship. Gryffindors seems to be placing a lot of their hope on Harry. Hardly anyone had seen Harry play. Maybe Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. The gambling house has been set up, and bets were being placed. Odds were more in favour of Slytherin. It was not the only bet. Bets were also being placed on other things. Odds on bet Slytherin Gryffindor 1.1 1.37 The major attractions with the best odds were the bets on Harry Harry Potter will be knocked out within TIME (MINUTES) BET WIN <2 1 1.5 2<5<10 1 3 5<10<20 1 5 10<20<30 1 10 30+ 1 15 SPECIAL BET BET WIN HARRY WILL CATCH THE SNITCH 1 20 The returns were high, and the amount betted broke all previous records. Most of the Slytherins were betting on Harry being knocked out in the first two minutes. On the other hand, Gryffindors were not so sure. They wanted to support Harry, but they were not too confident in him with their money. Nicole has betted about four hundred galleons, almost all the money she got from Alex on Gryffindors victory and Harry being knocked out in ten minutes equally. She has read most of the books on Quidditch during this time and asked a lot of people. Most of the people during their first game get knocked down within minutes. Placing a bet on ten minutes was the most optimistic situation for her. The amount of money betted by Nicole took others by surprise, except for Harry [Well he has got thousands in his vault]. Alex too was a bit interested in Quidditch. He read all the books available in the library. From 'Quidditch Through the Ages', 'Beating the Bludgers - A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch' to ' The rulebook concerning both on- and off-pitch magic'. Alex learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473. The day before the match Alex was on a walk with Erebus, when he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting in the yard. Professor Snape was approaching them while limping on his feet. After reprimanding them for a while, Professor Snape took the book in Harry's hand with him. Alex followed him to his office. He knocked on the door once. "Come in," Snape said, in his typical deep and emotionless tone. "What are you doing here?" Seeing Alex coming in, Snape asked. "Master, I saw that you were injured. Is everything all right?" Alex asked. He was worried about Snape. "I am fine, it's nothing serious. If there is nothing else, you can leave" Snape said not wanting to divulge any information to Alex. "Master I can hel..." Alex just wanted to help Snape, but Snape snapped at him. "I said you can go now" "Yes, master" dejected by the refusal, Alex could only go back. As Alex left the office, he saw Filch the caretaker going in. Alex thought to wait for a while and ask Filch about Snape's injury. Alex saw Mrs Norris and squatted beside her. Alex picked Mrs Norris and held her in his lap. He began to caress her slowly. From a very young age, Alex had an affinity toward animals. He found peace around them. He especially liked cats, that's why he chose Erebus over the others. While Alex was with Mrs Norris, Harry went past him towards professor Snape's office. Soon professor Snape's loud voice reprimanding Harry can be heard across the corridor. Harry ran as fast as he could, without giving a second's notice to Alex. Snape's curses could be heard even after Harry was long gone. Alex heard professor Snape talk about the three heads of something. He instantly knew what he was talking about. So professor Snape tried to get past the three-headed dog and got injured. But why would he do so? After a while, Filch came out. Alex picked Mrs Norris and went towards Filch. "How is the professor?" Alex asked. Seeing Mrs Norris relaxed in Alex's arms while the latter stroked her, Filch was amazed. Mrs Norris's notorious nature was spread across Hogwarts. She can't be this docile right? "He is fine it was just a small injury". Filch assured him. Hearing this, Alex was relieved. He handed Mrs Norris to Filch and left. The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match. Daphne and Alex were having breakfast. Today was a day off because of the match. "Have you placed bets?" Daphne asked. "Hmmm..." Alex just nodded. From the time, when Daphne waited for him, he has tried his best to avoid her. That strange feeling made him lose sleep for a while, and he felt uncomfortable. He did not feel like himself. "Me too, I have gambled fifty galleons on Slytherins victory and twenty galleons on potter being knocked out in ten minutes". Daphne didn't notice any difference. Alex didn't reply to her in more than three words, to begin with. So she didn't notice the change in his behaviour. She was oblivious to the turmoil in Alex's heart. "Hmmm..." Alex nodded again. "What about y...". Daphne wanted to ask how much he betted but was interrupted. "Let's go" Alex stood and left. By eleven o'clock, the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes. Alex and Daphne joined the other Slytherin's on the stand. Soon the teams approached the field. As the Gryffindor's team appeared, a giant lion came out of Gryffindor's stand and roared towards the Slytherins. It showed the might of the Gryffindors. The Slytherins felt aghast. Daphne looked so angry that she might just jump off any moment to fight the lion herself. Daphne looked towards Alex with hope. She knows that only Alex can match up against Hermione, who was behind the little trick. Alex didn't what to stand out, and moreover, he didn't want to have a duel of spells with Hermione. But looking at Daphne's expectant face he felt his resolve go weak. Finally, under the expecting gaze of Daphne, Alex gave in. Alex took out his wand and gave it a whirl. Greenlight emerged from his wand in waves and converged in the sky. The whole school be it, students or teachers were looking intently towards the mass, which looked like an egg. 'BOOM' the mass exploded, and bright light engulfed the field. As the light faded they saw a majestic 'Horned Serpent' floating in front of the lion. The snake hissed towards the lion. The Gryffindors lion took a step back. The Slytherins let out massive cheers. The green Horned Serpent looked towards Alex and bowed his head. Then it looked towards the stand where teachers were seated. It bowed his head once again. Then the snake zig-zagged its way around circling the field. After going around for a while it stood grandly in front of the lion. The Slytherins began provoking the Gryffindors with their jeers. Soon the sky was filled with lions and serpents but despite that, the ' Horned Serpent' stood where it was and no one dared to approach it. The Slytherins were clearly in the advantage in this contest of skills. When the teachers had enough, professor Flitwick flicked his wand, and all the lions and serpents vanished into thin air. But he was soon booed by students from both Slytherin and Gryffindor. After the commotion settled the much-awaited game finally got to kick start. Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand. "Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. Alex noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth year. Alex could only shake his head. The notorious reputation the Slytherins have accumulated over these years was too much. But it was not like Slytherins did despicable things for someone's individual gain. It was all for their house Slytherin. When it comes to comradeship no one could match the Slytherins. "Mount your brooms, please." All the players clambered onto their brooms. Harry's nimbus was the most eyecatching of all. All the other brooms looked like they would blow up if handled a bit roughly. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. And the game began... * * *