Entering November, the weather began to turn cold. Trees began to shed leaves, and the green grass began to turn yellow.
Hermione, who had reconciled with Harry and Ron, recently often engaged in activities with them, especially when Ethan Jones was in class.
Hermione even invited the two to join the weekend spell practice group, but Harry needed to practice Quidditch, so he went to training after practicing for a while.
The happiest person in this was naturally Hagrid. He very happily prepared hot tea and snacks for the four, very happy to be able to talk and chat with them every week.
Time passed quickly, and the Quidditch season arrived before Harry was fully prepared.
On the day before the Saturday match, after Potions class, Ethan Jones went to the library first. Hermione and the other two rested temporarily in the Castle, waiting for Professor Kettleburn's class.
When meeting Hermione in the afternoon, she talked about what happened during this gap.
"Snape limped over and confiscated Quidditch Through the Ages that Harry borrowed from the library.
When Harry tried to retrieve the confiscated book, he accidentally heard the conversation between Snape and Filch in the staff room and discovered that the professor was injured by the Three-Headed Dog."
Hermione continued: "Harry and Ron both think Snape released the Troll to steal the thing Dumbledore guarded with the Three-Headed Dog."
"What about you? Do you think that's his purpose?"
Hermione shook her head: "I don't know, but I don't think so. Although Snape is bad, I believe he wouldn't do that."
Ethan Jones smiled: "Keep your own thoughts, Hermione. Sometimes your eyes will deceive you; what you see is not actually the truth."
"Then do you know what the truth is?"
"No, I don't know, but after spending so many weekends together, Professor Snape is not as indifferent as he appears."
"Really? I hope so." Hermione, who had been scolded by Snape many times, didn't believe Ethan Jones's words.
He didn't correct this. Some things were enough for him to know; there was no need to publicize them. He wanted to be the riddler he hated the most.
The next day was originally the day Snape taught Potions, but because this Quidditch match was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, as the Head of House, he had to attend, so this class was skipped.
Ethan Jones, who was not interested in Quidditch, was also asked by Snape to go cheer for Slytherin. So, helpless, he had to take the hand warmer Hermione made and go to the Quidditch pitch.
The weather was cold, but the wizards' enthusiasm for Quidditch was very high. Even many people from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, who were not competing, came. Perhaps to ensure the safety of the players, many teachers teaching at the school also came.
Ethan Jones sat in the Slytherin stands, appearing out of place with the excited little snakes around him.
He waved lazily at Hermione, Ron, and the others, then continued to hug his hand warmer and look listlessly at the empty pitch.
When the time came, players from both sides gathered on the pitch, and the audience instantly erupted in huge cheers.
"Is Quidditch really that interesting?" In his previous life, he was not a ball game lover and lacked interest in all ball games. At Hogwarts, because he was not very interested in broomstick flying, he also had basically no understanding of Quidditch.
Madam Hooch stood in the center of the pitch, holding her broom and saying something.
As the whistle blew, players from both sides rose from the ground on their brooms and began to scramble for the Quaffle flying in the arena.
Gryffindor's commentator, Lee Jordan, was a black boy whose partiality for his own House was obvious. His words were full of praise for his own players and anger towards Slytherin players, so Professor McGonagall had to remind him frequently to be impartial.
Listening to this passionate commentary, Ethan Jones became slightly interested. Of course, just like watching football without understanding it but enjoying the commentary, he was still a complete layman, just listening for the excitement.
Suddenly, the whole crowd began to exclaim, and Ethan Jones looked up too.
It was Harry Potter's broom that had a problem. His broom was rolling and twisting in the air. He was now hanging in the air, holding the broom with only one hand.
Ethan Jones looked at the stand where Snape sat immediately. Although the distance was a bit far and he couldn't see if Snape's lips were moving, he could see that this professor, like Quirrell, had his eyes on Harry Potter.
Ethan Jones felt injustice for his professor in his heart: "Professor, oh Professor, look, it's clearly Quirrell doing bad things, but the blame will be pinned on your head later."
Of course, if judging solely by the first impression of the two, he would also think Snape, the indifferent greasy-haired middle-aged man, was the bad guy, not to mention he had a history of deliberately making things difficult for Harry. It was hard not to suspect him.
He paid close attention to the situation there and sure enough saw Hermione's figure.
She sneaked over from the Gryffindor stand, first knocking down Quirrell, then using Impervius (or Bluebell Flames) to ignite Snape's robes.
The effect was immediate. Harry's broom returned to normal, but what she didn't notice was that the moment Quirrell was knocked down, the broom had already stopped twisting violently.
In the end, this game ended with Harry Potter catching the Golden Snitch, Gryffindor one hundred and seventy to Slytherin sixty.
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands. Hermione waved at Ethan Jones, and he followed the four to Hagrid's hut.
Hagrid was making tea for everyone to warm up.
Ron couldn't wait to start talking about what happened on the pitch as soon as he sat down:
"Harry, it was Snape jinxing your broom. His eyes were staring at you, and his mouth kept muttering something. Hermione and I saw it through binoculars."
Hermione nodded vigorously on the side, agreeing with Ron.
Hagrid didn't believe it: "Impossible. Why would Snape do such a thing?"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, then glanced obscurely at Ethan Jones who was sitting silently on the side. Finally, they decided to tell the truth. Ethan Jones saved their lives, and although he was close to Snape, he should be trustworthy.
"Before Halloween, he tried to pass the Three-Headed Dog's guard and was bitten."
"How did you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid slammed the freshly boiled teapot heavily on the table.
"Fluffy?"
Hagrid panicked: "Um, it, it was bought by me from a Greek chappie, lent to Dumbledore to guard..."
The three were eager to know what Fluffy was guarding, but Hagrid didn't want to say.
Hagrid changed the subject: "Don't think nonsense. Snape wouldn't want to kill a student! Isn't that right, Jones?"