"Just born in the wrong era."
Ian's sentiment might be understandable only to himself. If Auntie AK Rowling were living in the era of exhilarating tales, perhaps Cedric would have been her destined protagonist.
After all.
The traits of a typical protagonist in exhilarating stories can all be found in Cedric—Ian has interacted with this senior a few times and has a favorable impression of the helpful Hufflepuff senior.
This is also why he bet on a Hufflepuff victory.
On the Quidditch Pitch.
The players have already entered the locker room to prepare.
As time continues to pass, the once empty stadium stands are gradually filling up, with expectant eyes looking toward the direction of the dressing rooms of both teams.
Ian looked around.
Aurora did not come.
Perhaps busy promoting the campus loan business within the castle; upon hearing that Aurora was running such a business, Ian couldn't help but marvel at the gap between himself and a true heir of a black market dynasty.
"Well, it makes sense, coming from a family rooted in such dealings, who wouldn't make this kind of money?" Ian knew Aurora was making shady money, but he didn't find anything wrong with campus loans.
No matter how shady Aurora is.
She can't be worse than those Muggle banks. At least Aurora hasn't taken anyone's magic wand away when they couldn't repay a loan, nor has she sent threatening letters to their families.
The rumors about working black jobs at school are all just rumors; according to Aurora, as long as everyone owes her money, these connections might be of use someday.
Perhaps it seemed a bit foolish and spendthrift to Ian, but who's to say it's not a strategy of casting a long-line to catch a big fish, similar in some ways to Ian's own "Ian Loan".
"Good morning, everyone!"
"I am your commentator, Steve Zhou, for today's thrilling final Quidditch match of the academic year. Let us all look forward to it being a heart-pounding battle to the death."
Perhaps there is a reason why next year's commentator might be replaced by another little wizard; even though this year's commentator speaks with emotion and modulation, it fails to ignite real enthusiasm.
The choice of words is too simplistic.
Of course.
The cheers from the crowd remain fervent.
This leaves Steve Zhou, the commentator, quite satisfied. As the players from both sides take the field one after another, the match officially begins, and Ian has already counted how many little wizards are absent from watching the final.
"Forty-seven."
Clearly, despite Quidditch being the most popular sport in the Wizarding World, not all students chose to attend this so-called grand event at the final stage.
Especially Gryffindor College and Ravenclaw College, who didn't make it to the finals. The former because they didn't want to see Slytherin College flaunting, so only students involved in betting made it here, while the latter chose to manage their time better after being eliminated.
Given it's close to the end of term.
With their own college out of the finals and no suspense left in the House Cup standings, naturally, they'd prefer to spend more time prepping for their end-term exams.
Half of the forty-seven absent students come from Ravenclaw College, especially those in fifth and seventh years, facing more rigorous and important exams.
Being able to spend an additional hour in the library or have an extra hour of self-study could make a big difference; the little eagles have their own scales to weigh their choices.
"Score! Hufflepuff scores!"
"Damn! What is that Slytherin Seeker doing!"
"Foul! Isn't he going to get punished? It's a scandal!"
...
Even for non-rival college matches.
The Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff is full of explosive energy. Athletes are like this; their competitiveness drives them to strive for victory with all their might on the field.
But Slytherin College has its own ways of seeking victory, ways that align with everyone's perceptions of them—they seem to have a certain ruthlessness, always finding loopholes within the rules.
In less than ten minutes, the situation on the field turned vicious, especially with Marcus, like a pesky fly, maliciously knocking others down and laughing mockingly afterward.
This immediately ignited the fire of anger in the Hufflepuff players. Although Ian isn't a big fan of Quidditch, he's watching with great interest, mainly enjoying the petty squabbles between the two colleges.
"My suggestion is to give each of them a Knight's Lance, instead of using clubs." Ian's hellish joke perfectly illustrated how much genuine animosity the two colleges had generated on the field.
His suggestion, of course, wouldn't be adopted by anyone.
Upon seeing the escalating situation, Professor McGonagall promptly issued an order to pause for a few minutes, giving the players time for collective introspection and to calm down.
Maybe this is the authority that comes with being the deputy head. After halftime resumed, even Slytherin toned down considerably, making the now orderly Quidditch game lose its appeal to Ian.
After a very long time.
Under Ian's bored, yawning gaze.
"Cedric! Cedric has spotted the Golden Snitch! He's accelerating! Closing in on the Golden Snitch!" The commentator's voice was a bit hoarse.
Yet his excitement only grew stronger.
"Oh! It's not far from Cedric, but it seems Slytherin has also noticed the Golden Snitch situation. They're beginning to employ interference tactics against Cedric!"