Chapter 35: Chapter 35: What a coincidence... (Edited)
It was the first time Tom had seen the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, a pitch in the twilight, not as crowded as on match days, it looked cold and eerie. The pitch was oval in shape, 150 yards long and 55 yards wide, with a small circle two feet in diameter in the center, where the Bludgers, Quaffle and Golden Snitch were released. At the end of the long axis of the oval, there are three poles of fifteen meters each with rings at the top, which are the scoring areas for the Quaffle. On the outside of the field are the bleachers, which are divided into four areas according to House and the podium for the teachers. Spectators can sit at the top of the tower-shaped grandstand to get a good view of the field.
[Mission: Travel the world]
[Objective: Explore the magical world]
[Stage 4]
[Progress: 4/8]
[Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch Unlocked]
Of course, the quidditch pitch could be considered an anchor point. He found a seat and waited quietly for the captain to arrive. Tom had been in many of the castle's classrooms during the week, but not just any classroom could be an anchor point. He had only found two more anchorages during the week, the Hogwarts greenhouse and the Astronomy Tower. Today there was one more place: the Quidditch pitch.
Tom waited for a while, but instead of meeting Richie, the Ravenclaw captain, he encountered a familiar face: Harry, whom he had met on the train earlier, approached on a flying broom. In the morning, six owls had delivered a package to Harry, and it appeared to contain this broom. It was clear that Harry was happy and anxious, and he walked quickly, humming a little tune under his breath. But when he saw Tom, he was clearly taken aback.
"Why are you here?" ×2
"I'm here to take a walk-" ×2
"What a coincidence..." ×2
Then they both fell silent.
Harry: "..."
Tom: "..."
Harry was surprised, Tom was no less surprised, Tom knew that Harry was going to be accepted into the Gryffindor Quidditch team early, but he didn't think that his initiation test would also be at seven o'clock in the evening!
This was a bit awkward, but luckily for Tom, it was much more awkward for Harry: he was carrying a contraband item in his hand! First years can't have brooms. He had already met Tom and had a feeling that he was a much more normal person than the Slytherin and wouldn't report him, and he certainly wasn't afraid of being reported.
Seeing Tom's eyes land on his broom, Harry sketched a smile, "A friend gave it to me...and I couldn't resist taking it out and riding it."
"Well, then your friend is very rich, since he's willing to give you a Nimbus 2000." Tom liked it best when people were tough, it was fun to tease them.
Harry gave a sheepish grin, "Ah, is that a Nimbus 2000? I don't know much about it...anyway, can you keep it a secret from me?"
Fortunately, Tom didn't delve into it, but changed the subject, and Harry chatted with him at the same time, anxious: it wasn't long until seven o'clock, and Wood was coming!
...
Alessandro Richie was in a good mood. Because his House team is likely to bring in a talented newcomer.
Oliver Wood is in a good mood. Because his Casa team is likely to bring in a talented newcomer.
Today, Alessandro Richie was on his way to the Quidditch pitch to determine what position the newcomer would fit into, and today, Oliver Wood was on his way to the Quidditch pitch to determine what position the newcomer would fit into. Richie set an appointment for 7 p.m. and Wood set an appointment for 7 p.m. as well.
So the two met on their way to the Quidditch pitch.
Richie and Wood looked at each other and there was absolute silence. Finally, the silence was broken by the tapping of the wooden box under their armpits.
"What a coincidence, I never thought I'd see you here, what are you doing?" said Wood.
"Out for a walk. I ate too much at dinner and went out for a couple of laps to digest it," Richie said.
"And why are you carrying two brooms and a suitcase?" Wood asked.
Richie cursed inwardly, "Aren't you carrying a suitcase, too?
Wood didn't dwell on the question, the two looked at each other and Richie coughed, "You made a date to the Quidditch pitch?" Now that Ritchie had broken the ice, Wood didn't hold back, "Yes, I have a date."
"Coincidentally, I also have a date on the Quidditch pitch."
They both had a good idea what the other was up to, a suspicion that was confirmed when they found Tom and Harry chatting on the Quidditch pitch.
The two captains lapsed into a brief silence, then looked at each other and smiled, both Richie and Wood were relieved that they both knew the other's secret, which meant that neither had an advantage over the other. And they knew they had to know who were their enemies and who were their friends. Is Ravenclaw friends with Gryffindor? This is a moot question, but Ravenclaw is certainly not an enemy of Gryffindor, and Gryffindor only has a single mortal enemy.
From Wood's point of view, not if another strong member is added to the Ravenclaw ranks, it can't make up for Gryffindor having compensated for their shortcomings with hard training, and it may make things worse for Slytherin, which is good. And from Richie's point of view, it wasn't a loss at all, after all didn't he get valuable information from Gryffindor?
So the two of them simply walked onto the pitch together. Harry was dumbfounded by their presence, but Tom wasn't that surprised. Wood gave Harry and Tom a lecture on the rules of Quidditch, and then the four of them went off in pairs to do their trials at each end of the pitch.
Richie handed a brand new 80% broom to Tom, "Here, this broom is a Cleansweep Seven from the Cleansweep Broom Company, it's the standard broom for our team, it's good value for money, basically everyone plays with this broom if they don't have any special needs."
When he finished, Richie was a little down. Just by looking at it he recognized the broom in Harry's hand, how could a team captain not recognize the famous Nimbus 2000? he would have loved to ride it!
"Unfortunately, it is impossible for Professor Flitwick to buy such a broom for his students. He doesn't have such a strong will to beat the Slytherin team" Richie sighed in his mind, but he had heard some whispers that Professor McGonagall's obsession was because he had broken some ribs and suffered a concussion when a Slytherin player fouled him in a match he had played in seventh year that could have decided the Quidditch Cup. Since then, his lifelong wish had been to see the Slytherin team lose in Quidditch.