Although the final decision-making power for the club's location had been handed over to Jane Yu, the lobbying from all sides never ceased.
Draco seized every possible moment to mutter things like, "It has to be close to the Slytherin common room," and "Make sure Potter and Weasley have no chance of getting there." Meanwhile, Harry and Ron took every opportunity before and after their shared classes with Slytherin to whisper suggestions into her ear about the location.
The three of them were like buzzing mosquitoes, constantly droning around her.
Jane wished she could just cover her ears and shout, "Master, please stop nagging!"
Fortunately, the Quidditch match was fast approaching. Under Flint's watchful and intimidating gaze, Draco had no choice but to throw himself into training. Likewise, his nemesis Harry was utterly powerless under the relentless and borderline tyrannical training regime of Oliver Wood.
Before being dragged off to the pitch by his ear, Harry managed to stretch out his right hand, fingers splayed, and leave a parting shot:
"Make sure it's close to Gryffindor Tower—"
Draco furiously covered Jane's ears. Only after they returned to the common room did he let go, repeatedly urging her:
"It absolutely can't be too close to those stupid lions! Who knows if Black might break in there to kill him!"
"Besides, our first match on Saturday is against Gryffindor—that scarhead is definitely trying to spy on us!"
The words "spy on us" instantly caught the attention of Marcus Flint, who was in the middle of lecturing the Quidditch team. He promptly joined the persuasion efforts:
"All our training is focused on strategies to counter Gryffindor. I know their style like the back of my hand—even in my dreams."
At this point, Flint flashed a somewhat smug smile and shifted the topic:
"But they don't know that, thanks to Jane's masterpiece, we've adopted the latest theoretical training methods—"
He pulled out a gaming console and waved it in front of them.
"Jane! I bet Wood hasn't discovered the secrets hidden in this Quidditch game!"
"I've already used it to train our Chasers, Montague and Warrington, as well as the Beaters."
He treated the console like a precious treasure, worried it might break if he dropped it or dissolve if he put it in his mouth. He went to great lengths to hide it, even stuffing it into his pants during class to evade the professors' thunderous inspections.
Thanks to Madam Malkin's excellent tailoring, the gaming console, struggling under the Summoning Charm, didn't burst through his pants, sparing him from public humiliation.
He had never felt so grateful in his life.
Flint then started complaining about the recent bad weather, lamenting that it wasn't the best time to defeat Gryffindor. He glared at Draco, their Seeker, and grumbled:
"Why did you take off the bandages so early? We could have postponed the match and made them play Hufflepuff first!"
"Diggory has formed a strong lineup. He's an excellent Seeker, and Wood won't be able to handle it—"
Draco shrank his head, having already removed the bandages that hindered his movements because he was eager to play the game.
"This year is our best chance to win the Quidditch Cup!" Flint declared, pacing back and forth in front of the lined-up Slytherin players, his hands almost reaching the ceiling.
"Think about the Nimbus 2000s you're riding, think about the gaming consoles in your hands!"
"Our auxiliary equipment has completely surpassed the other three houses—"
"Our players' physiques and reflexes are far superior to those little chicks!"
He spared no effort to inspire the passion and determination of the Slytherin players. They trained almost every moment—when the weather was too bad, the team stayed in the common room and used the gaming consoles for simulation.
Thanks to the 19 consoles Draco had brought back, which were temporarily stored with him before the club's new location was decided, the team had an unexpected advantage. Moreover, they were the latest models—the Quidditch game could be played in multiplayer mode and now included the Beater position.
Through a series of simulations, Flint had written a five-page parchment of Quidditch improvement suggestions, strongly urging Jane to add all player positions and include moves like the Wronski Feint and Transylvanian Tackle.
Jane nervously accepted the parchment.
She touched her money pouch and suddenly remembered the three new gaming consoles she had sold to Wood, Diggory, and Davies a couple of weeks ago—
Those Quidditch captains... surely they wouldn't have the same idea, right?
She shook her head, thinking it couldn't be such a coincidence.
After all, plenty of students had approached her for private gray-market deals.
...
What Flint truly hadn't expected was—
His nemesis, Oliver Wood, had the exact same idea.
"Flint would never have guessed we'd use this strategy!" Wood exclaimed, waving a gaming console with a Beater moving at high speed on the screen. "Brilliant design! Exquisite simulation! Jane is an absolute genius!"
According to the fanatical Gryffindor Quidditch captain, he had employed various methods to prevent professors from confiscating it, including but not limited to hiding it in a locked bathroom stall or in the box containing the Golden Snitch.
Even the Weasley twins couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow." Fred draped an arm over Wood's left shoulder:
"If only we'd hidden our console in your toilet—"
His twin brother immediately chimed in, draping an arm over the other shoulder:
"Or stuffed it down the drain—"
Their hands were promptly slapped away by Wood, who glared at them and shouted:
"This is serious business! We need to catch Slytherin off guard!"
"It was no easy feat to get Jane to give me a new gaming console while avoiding the professors' eyes!"
The twins raised their hands in surrender and quickly changed the subject:
"Relax, Oliver! We all know it's a gaming console made by Jane! That thing is indeed marvelous—"
Wood eyed them suspiciously before continuing to lecture the two Beaters about various tactics and strategies. Before them, Gryffindor's Chasers had already endured a round of scolding and were now slumped on the couch, staring blankly into space, questioning their life choices.
After finishing his explanations to the entire Gryffindor team, Wood, still unsatisfied, began searching the common room for Jane.
"Where's Jane? Where did she go? If Gryffindor wins the match, she'll be one of our greatest contributors—"
All the players shot Wood a look of horror, unable to believe their ears.
"Uh..." Harry glanced at his slightly deranged captain, unsure if he had gone mad. "Isn't it possible that she's in Slytherin and wouldn't appear in the Gryffindor common room?"
Hearing the word "Slytherin," Wood seemed to calm down a bit:
"Oh, right, that makes sense."
"But that's not an issue. She could totally be considered an honorary member of our team, don't you think?"
"I've always thought Quidditch house teams should have managers, just like professional leagues—"
Harry had to dash his hopes:
"That's assuming Snape would allow a Slytherin student to manage the Gryffindor team."
Wood let out a long sigh and looked at Harry with a regretful expression:
"Why does she have to be a Slytherin?"
This prompted a chorus of sighs from Harry and the Weasley twins.
The other team members were left dumbfounded, wishing they could shake the four of them awake—
What was going on? Had Jane Yu, the Slytherin, cast some sort of curse on the Gryffindor team?
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