translating_wizard
patreon
Chapter 1382: Re-plan
🕑 Added 2025-02-19 23:00:21 +0000 UTCThe girls hadn't arrived yet, and Evan and Colin waved at the two of them. Despite the skepticism, there was cheering all around when Harry
The girls hadn't arrived yet, and Evan and Colin waved at the two of them.
Despite the skepticism, there was cheering all around when Harry and Ron sat down at the table.
Ron still looked listless, taking a moody bite of toast with a gloomy face.
Colin was talking about the news he had heard about Slytherin's new lineup.
In his words, the Slytherin team this year were all complete idiots, which should be considered good news.
It was about ten minutes later that Hermione, Elaine, Ginny and Demelza entered the Great Hall.
Elaine, Ginny and Demelza did not come over. They had reached a consensus last night that they would not bother with Ron in the short term.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then was pulled away by Elaine.
This seemed to make Ron's mood worse, and Harry's reaction was a bit strange.
He winked at Evan and grinned as he took something out of his pocket.
"Ron, what do you want to drink? Tea?" Harry asked Ron. "Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"
"Anything," said Ron glumly.
Evan looked at Harry in surprise and soon knew what he was going to do!
He pulled out a small golden bottle and flicked it over the pumpkin juice he handed to Ron.
This was... Felix Felicis, the luck potion.
Yes, Harry had this thing in his hand, the reward he got from Slughorn.
But Harry’s action was so obvious that Ron noticed it and looked confused.
"What did you just put in there?" he asked.
"Nothing, just drink it," said Harry, stuffing the small bottle into his pocket.
"But I saw you tip something in..."
"It’s Felix Felicis!" Evan whispered, and Ron's expression suddenly became both excited and scared.
He looked at Harry and Evan in disbelief, then looked down at the pumpkin juice in his hand.
"W-what, you, you..." Ron lowered his voice, seeming incoherent and not knowing what to say.
"Drink it now!" urged Harry.
Ron hesitated for a moment, then drained the glass of pumpkin juice in one gulp, smacking his lips.
"Alright, nearly time, let's go to the pitch." Harry said cheerfully.
Felix Felicis could make the drinker luckier, but it was banned from all sports events.
Harry knew this, and Evan was sure that he was just pretending and did not add the potion to the pumpkin juice.
But Ron didn’t know that. He was now feeling extremely hyped.
Whether it was luck from the potion or just coincidence, by the time Evan reached the stands, Hermione brought the latest news about the match. Slytherin main Chaser Vaisey took a Bludger in the head yesterday during their practice, and he was too sore to play.
This was good news, especially for Keeper Ron.
With one of Slytherin’s key Chasers missing, the pressure on the goalposts would be much lower.
And that wasn’t all. Just before the match was about to start, Colin came running over excitedly.
"You won't believe this, but I just found out — Malfoy’s gone off sick," he said cheerfully.
"What? He’s ill? What’s wrong with him?"
“No idea, but it’s great for us. They’re playing Harper instead. Yes, that big idiot. He’s not good at all. We are sure to win." Colin said with a grin.
When things got to this point, Evan couldn't help but wonder if Harry really had given Ron Felix Felicis.
This was too much of a coincidence. Both of Slytherin's main players were unable to play, and the game was almost won before it even started. However, Malfoy's absence was indeed suspicious. Perhaps he was planning to do something secretly again.
After all, Malfoy had once before claimed he could not play due to injury, but on that occasion he had made sure the whole match was rescheduled for a time that suited the Slytherins better. Why was he now happy to let a substitute go on? Was he really ill, or was he faking?
Evan looked toward the other side of the stadium, where there was a vast sea of green and silver.
His thoughts drifted to other things. Dumbledore was not in school, so Malfoy could not continue with his ridiculous assassination plan. His last action had also been laughable, and it was just a show. Malfoy's real intention was the Vanishing Cabinet, and he might be repairing it in the Room of Requirement...
If this was true, Evan thought this was a good opportunity. Just like the last battle at the Ministry between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, they could set up an ambush. When the Death Eaters arrived, they could trap them all in one fell swoop.
Besides Voldemort himself, these elite Death Eaters were a serious threat.
Getting rid of them early would prevent a lot of trouble.
So, let Malfoy fix the Vanishing Cabinet.
Evan felt it necessary to investigate when they were going to take action. He wasn’t sure if Snape could get that information.
Oh, and they also needed to give them the illusion that Dumbledore was very weak and that there was a chance to kill him.
If Dumbledore seemed perfectly fine, Voldemort would not have been naive enough to think that his servants could kill the headmaster.
This also required Snape to pass the message over there, but there was a problem here. If the headmaster didn’t actually die or even get hurt, Snape’s cover would be blown. And it wasn’t time for that yet.
In the original book, Dumbledore was doomed to die, so his plan worked.
Now, with no reason for Dumbledore to die, sticking to that plan wouldn’t work anymore. Maybe Dumbledore could fake weakness to lure the Death Eaters in, but that wouldn’t accomplish much. If their mission failed, Voldemort would immediately get suspicious. This matter still needed to be considered in the long run...
If they wanted to take advantage of Malfoy's actions and the Vanishing Cabinet, they would need to come up with a more practical plan.
Just as Evan was thinking about this, a deafening cheer erupted from the stands.
The players had entered the field, and the commentator was introducing them.
With Lee Jordan having graduated, Hufflepuff’s Zacharias Smith had taken over the role this term.
He was a tall, skinny blond boy with an upturned nose — an annoying guy by all accounts.
Previously, because of his attitude toward Ginny and the D.A., Fred, George, and Ron had given him a proper thrashing.
Perhaps out of revenge, when introducing the players from both teams, he specifically mentioned Ron.
“Well, there they go, and I think we’re all surprised to see the team that Potter’s put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley’s patchy performance as Keeper last year, that he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain does help...."
