touchnovel Chapter 178 Waiting and the Competition
Chapter 178 Waiting and the Competition
Chapter 178 Waiting and the Competition
Lynch's plan proceeded methodically in the quiet of the night.
Under Filch's almost obsessive guidance and the work of those silent and efficient house-elves, the main entrances to the castle's intricate pipe system were cleverly fitted with specially made metal fences engraved with defensive and monitoring runes.
Lynch carefully dripped the tracking potion provided by Snape into the stagnant water in several key main pipes. The colorless and odorless liquid quietly dissolved into the water, like an invisible magical spider web.
After completing all this, Lin Qi removed the heavy curtains from the second-floor corridor and restored the stripped-off walls to their original state, as if nothing had ever happened.
After that, he fell into a state of patient waiting, like an experienced hunter standing guard beside a well-camouflaged trap, waiting for the prey to trigger the mechanism on its own.
However, as time went by, the castle remained calm.
The basilisk seemed to have vanished completely, with no further activity or new attacks.
This silence, however, has only made some people more anxious.
Although Professor McGonagall kept her promise and did not interfere with Lynch's actions, the worry between her brows deepened day by day, and when they occasionally met in the corridor, her gaze toward Lynch was full of silent questions.
Filch could no longer contain himself; the sadness on his face was gradually replaced by an impatient frenzy. Finally, during a night patrol, he encountered Lynch inspecting a pipe joint. He could no longer hold back, rushing forward, his voice shrill with excitement:
"Professor Lynch! How much longer are we going to wait?! Why don't we follow the pipes all the way? There must be a way to its lair! My Lady Lorris—" His voice choked, but was quickly replaced by stronger anger, "We can't just wait like this!"
Lynch stopped what he was doing, turned around, and calmly looked at the agitated administrator. The firelight from the fireplace in the corridor danced in his deep eyes, reflecting his composure.
“I understand your feelings, Mr. Filch,” Lynch’s voice was low and steady. “But this monster is no ordinary creature. It’s a dark magical being capable of shrinking and passing through conduits far narrower than its own size. The castle’s pipe system is a labyrinth, a maze of interconnected passages, and we don’t know at which branch it lurks at the end. Venturing in rashly could not only alert it and cause it to flee, but it could also alert the one controlling it, forcing them to hide completely. To ensure a successful strike, we need to wait patiently.”
Filch opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but under Lynch's calm, all-seeing gaze, he finally just stomped his foot hard, muttered something resentful, and dragged himself away.
Lynch continued his wait.
As the days passed peacefully, the suffocating tension in the castle began to ease.
Despite the lingering suspicions about the "Slytherin successor" and the anxieties in the hearts of the Muggle-born students, the students no longer strictly adhered to the grouping of five as before, and laughter gradually filled the corridors.
The inertia of life begins to slowly smooth out the sharp edges born of fear.
It was against this backdrop of a gradual return to calm that the day arrived for Harry's first Quidditch match of the school year.
Gryffindor versus Slytherin.
On the day of the match, the weather was clear and cold. The Quidditch pitch in front of the castle was bustling with noise as students from the four houses waved their flags and the noise almost lifted the sky.
Lynch also appeared in the teachers' section, wearing a black overcoat over his suit, watching the game like the other professors.
His gaze calmly swept across the stadium, quickly locking onto the familiar figure of Harry Potter, riding Nimbus 2001 and nimbly weaving through the sky.
This brand-new broom was the gift Lynch bought for Harry in Diagon Alley before the start of the school year.
Not far from Harry, Gryffindor's Chaser Angelina Jensen was riding Harry's original Nimbus 2000, which had a qualitative leap in flight performance compared to her usual broom.
Harry lent the broom to the team after learning that he might not be able to play at the beginning of the season.
Captain Oliver Wood, the Quidditch tactical mastermind, had been using the two high-performance brooms as a hidden trump card. Even during difficult training sessions and internal matches, he strictly forbade them to be revealed before the official match, all in order to catch their old rivals, Slytherin, off guard at this moment.
The tactics clearly worked.
Angelina, with her excellent flying skills and the superior performance of Nimbus 2000, overcame the disadvantages of flying broomsticks and even gained a clear advantage in the Chaser duel, tearing through Slytherin's defenses time and time again, accurately sending the Quaffle into the goal, and constantly widening the score gap for Gryffindor.
The Slytherin members, despite riding identical Nimbus 2001s "generously" donated by Lucius Malfoy, appeared somewhat flustered due to their tactics being suppressed and their sudden equipment advantage being neutralized.
What the Slytherins, especially Draco Malfoy, found most unacceptable was Harry Potter's brand-new Nimbus 2001, the same model as his and all the other Slytherins' Nimbus.
When Malfoy realized that Harry had not only returned to the field, but was also riding the latest model broomstick that was exactly the same as his own, or perhaps even earlier, his pale face was first filled with disbelief, which was then quickly replaced by a ferocious expression that was a mixture of jealousy, anger, and humiliation.
Those grey eyes were fixed on Harry's agile figure, almost spitting fire, as if Harry wasn't riding a broom, but rather an honor stolen from him.
He tried to get close to Harry to interfere, but Harry and Nimbus 2001's perfect teamwork made his attempts futile, leaving him looking clumsy and frustrated.
From the teachers' seat, Lynch took in Malfoy's grim face and the situation on the field. His face remained expressionless, but his gaze followed the black figure in the air searching for the Golden Snitch.
Suddenly, his gaze swept past the players vying fiercely in the air and locked onto one of the loose balls.
The black iron ball's trajectory was extremely unnatural at this moment. Unlike its companion, which attacked all nearby players indiscriminately, it was like a cannonball imbued with malice, charging towards Harry again and again with unusual persistence and precision. Each impact carried the ferocious momentum of smashing the broomstick and rider together.
Each successful dodge by Harry was accompanied by gasps from the audience.
Lin Qi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Confusion Spell"
He made a quick judgment, and with a powerful Confusion Charm, forcibly distorted the ball's instincts, causing it to lock onto a single target.