When Hogwarts' snow was no longer falling so frequently, news came from Madam Hooch that Quidditch matches would resume.
On a pleasant, sunny day, the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff began.
Sterling originally had no interest. After all, Harry, the most watchable player, was unavailable, and he wasn't particularly interested in the sport himself.
Ever since being able to fly on his own, he'd lost interest in broomsticks.
But Terry and Ron persuaded him to come, claiming it would relax his mood. Though Sterling didn't find it particularly relaxing, with the stands' shouting making his head buzz.
"Why does today feel so intense? The last Gryffindor versus Slytherin match wasn't like this. Weren't they supposed to be more exciting? Rival houses?"
Sterling shouted to Terry; otherwise, he couldn't hear clearly over the crowd.
"That's because this match has better spectacle. Both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are strong Quidditch teams, and unlike rule-breaking Slytherin, Hufflepuff prefers winning fair and square!"
"Plus last time, because of Harry's broomstick accident, many people didn't cheer much. Otherwise it would definitely be similar to today!"
Sterling was speechless.
Slytherin was the reigning Quidditch Cup Champion; Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were acknowledged as strong teams. What about Ravenclaw?
Ravenclaw, symbolising the sky, didn't deserve recognition? Was this reasonable?
Sterling looked disapprovingly at Robert, who was mixed in with the Hufflepuff stands cheering enthusiastically. He was currently pursuing a Hufflepuff upperclasswoman, so he was particularly energetic about cheering for Hufflepuff.
For him, the shouting wasn't boosting Hufflepuff's morale but his romantic progress.
Sterling sighed, hoping Robert wouldn't throw matches when commanding Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff.
Otherwise he'd have Hermione draft a petition to Professor Flitwick.
"Ron, who's the Seeker replacing Harry?"
Since it involved Harry, Sterling didn't shout but pulled Ron over to speak in his ear.
Yes, Ron had come to the Ravenclaw stands.
There were many reasons. Harry was unavailable; Seamus had exploded his cauldron in Potions yesterday and was still lying in the hospital wing; Neville had been dragged to the Hufflepuff stands by Hannah, leaving lonely Ron to find teammates among Ravenclaw.
"Elfra Will Combacher!" Ron shouted, nearly making Sterling, who had deliberately leaned his ear over, shake from the volume.
"Why are you yelling so loud!" Sterling smacked Ron's head hard, making his red hair tremble.
"Sorry!" Ron pouted pitifully. "Elfra's technique is way worse than Harry's! I guarantee if Harry were Seeker, this match would be over already!"
"That's true."
Even Sterling, who didn't understand Quidditch, could feel the gap between them.
Flying speed, posture, and all aspects were quite different.
Harry's flying talent was truly exceptional. This Elfra upperclassman was clearly at least a sixth-year or above, having handled brooms for at least five more years than Harry.
But he still couldn't compare. Talent was just that unreasonable.
"Feels like Gryffindor is stuck in a stalemate now."
Terry said, holding binoculars. Among the three of them, his Quidditch appreciation level was highest.
After all, he'd declared he'd shoulder reviving Ravenclaw's glory, initially aiming to take Robert's position, so he naturally cultivated his strategic vision.
Ron leaned toward just practising technique. He could play, but didn't understand how to play to win, needing others' arrangements.
"What! Gryffindor's only behind by twenty points! Two goals could bring them back!"
"But their condition is already wrong. Sterling, can you see it? I don't mean tactics or anything; look at their coordination."
Terry handed Sterling the binoculars. Sterling looked and noticed something odd.
"Very strange. Elfra flies like he's not from the same team as the others."
"That's exactly the problem." Terry held up two fingers, one representing Elfra, the other one of the other players.
"They're unfamiliar with each other. Flying separately, but this is impossible for a Quidditch team, especially Wood. I've heard of him; his pursuit of Quidditch is almost obsessive."
"The only possibility is..."
"Harry!" Ron answered before Sterling could.
"Exactly, Harry. Whether Wood or others, their training partner must have been Harry. But if Harry died that night from the beginning, this becomes an inconsistency."
"So Harry being forgotten left other traces too." Sterling said with certainty.
Not just "people with deep stories involving Harry retain memories." Even those who forgot Harry still have memory residue in their bodies?
Just like when Sterling first remembered Andrew, even without memories of him, tears still flowed on their own.
This was good news, Sterling thought.
Initially, whether it was him, Snape, or Dumbledore, they all had a most fearful assumption. Harry wasn't simply "forgotten" but had been erased from origin entirely, since his death was recorded in magical history.
But now it was certain. Just massive memory modification.
Simply and crudely replacing Elfra into Harry's position, but he couldn't display Harry's abilities, making coordination terrible. According to the forgetting's auto-adaptation characteristics, Wood probably couldn't even notice.
No, more than that. Probably the entire Hogwarts, except those unaffected by forgetting, couldn't see this problem; otherwise, just asking about Wood's arrangements would expose this flaw.
Terry had probably thought of this too. As for Ron...
Sterling looked at Ron's expression of "I said switching Harry back would win easily" and felt he probably couldn't hear the subtext.
He probably hadn't even considered that worst possibility.
"So basically, the Gryffindor team is bound to lose."
"Yes." Terry nodded. "And as long as Harry doesn't return, except when facing Ravenclaw, Gryffindor shouldn't expect to win."
This was easy to understand. After all, they couldn't even discover it was a coordination problem. Even if Wood lost a hundred consecutive matches, he'd only think his technique was insufficient.
How tragic. But... Sterling looked at Terry with an incredulous expression.
"Keep it down. Is this really something to be proud of?"
Still able to score against Ravenclaw with such a terrible Seeker. Truly hopeless.
After losing to the current Gryffindor, there was nothing left to lose.