Chapter 73: “Improving From Time to Time”
“Three minutes and forty seconds!” Marcus rubbed his eyes as he stared at the pocket watch he was holding.
“Impossible!”
When they heard Marcus report the time, the other six Slytherin team members shouted simultaneously. It’s nothing short of a joke to think he could catch the Golden Snitch in three minutes and forty seconds. This data can undoubtedly shatter the world record, even though it isn’t an official match.
“Luck, unquestionably luck!” The seven of them simultaneously said to themselves as they saw Jerry come back with the Golden Snitch.
It is impossible for someone who has only recently been riding a broomstick to capture the Golden Snitch with true talents in three minutes and forty seconds. Therefore, the recent occurrence can only be explained by luck.
Jerry smiled as he handed Marcus the Snitch, he took a long breath, and then hurled the Snitch back into the air. The Slytherin team members weren’t as disorganized this time, but they were all fixated on Jerry.
When Jerry was pursuing the Golden Snitch, they intended to stop him from utilizing magic to gain an advantage. Jerry, on the other hand, sped up on his broomstick and kicked his feet in their direction. He didn’t need to make many turns in the air before he caught the Golden Snitch.
The Golden Snitch, renowned for its quickness and agility, was then quickly caught by Jerry’s lightning-fast hand.
“Three minutes and five seconds!” Marcus reported Jerry’s performance, this time 35 seconds quicker than the previous report.
This time, everyone on the squad ceased speaking.
If you catch it the second time, now there is not any element of luck in the factor. Jerry is undoubtedly an expert broomstick, and even advanced wizards couldn’t perform those few tactical flips and accelerations.
It was flawless, precise, and quick without a hint of sloppiness.
“I’m not as good as him…”
When Terrance, a four-year veteran of the Slytherin team, saw Jerry coming back with the Snitch, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
Marcus numbly took the Snitch Jerry had given him and flung it out for the third time.
“Two minutes, forty-five seconds!” Once more, the time was cut in half, this time to below three minutes.
Is this really something humans can do?
All the Slytherin players were experiencing conflicted emotions as they stared at Jerry, who was smiling as if he had no idea what he was doing.
On the one hand, they are excited to get a hold of an extremely strong Seeker. On the other side, they felt as though all their years of practice had been in vain when compared to Jerry, a first-year freshman who had just discovered broomsticks. The Slytherin squad took a little hit from this.
“What do you think, seniors? I’ve won this bet!” Jerry gently reminded the seven Slytherin players as he took in their confused situation.
Marcus had glowing eyes as he gazed at Jerry. He was the first to respond, and Marcus said, “You won. You don’t need to engage in all the Quidditch training in the future. You just need to appear in the competition.”
As this year’s Slytherin team’s new captain, Marcus can already picture how, with a Seeker as capable as Jerry, he will be able to captain Slytherin with utmost integrity for the next three years before graduating and winning the Quidditch Cup easily.
“But I also have a request, and I hope you can accept it.”
“What’s that?” Jerry flinched an ear.
Marcus exclaimed wildly, “Don’t reveal to others how you came to be our new Seeker or what happened today. In this year’s Quidditch competition, I aim to throw a massive surprise at the other three houses.”
Jerry thought for a while, then nodded. “Ok, no problem!”
The news that he will be joining the Slytherin team is just the cherry on top because he is now good enough to be in Slytherin and Snape also agreed to do him a small favor.
—-
Jerry left the Quidditch match and went straight to the library.
He has gained a great deal of magic knowledge on his own over this time, and he has also left his heart with many uncertainties. He now wants to visit the library to conduct informational research and, incidentally, talk to Hermione.
Shortly after Jerry left the Quidditch pitch, Marcus also hurried to Professor Snape’s office.
He wanted to report Jerry’s performance to Professor Snape in detail.
“Jerry, would you like to record this new spell that is here?” Hermione pointed to a spell in the library that she had stumbled upon while leafing through the magic book.
“Certainly!”
Jerry instantly pulled out his pocket notepad and jotted down the information on the “Conjuration Spells” page.
Even though Jerry and Hermione both read books in the library, their reading styles differ in a few important ways.
Hermione reads primarily about the culture and ethics of the wizarding community. She also possesses some weird and odd knowledge. She doesn’t read anything related to spells most of the time.
On the other hand, Jerry’s reading focuses on a few magic theories and spells with various purposes. Not all spells are listed in spell books. Some biography and history books actually contain a lot of spells that are hidden.
For instance, Hermione was reading a book about a certain record pertaining to the history of Quidditch when she came across this very old “Arrow Shooting Spell.”
In fact, the Middle Ages saw a lot of use of the offensive spell known as the “Arrow Shooting Spell,” which was particularly effective against Muggle forces. An arrow and bow are not required. The arrow will be sent at the enemy with the wizard’s thoughts with a wave of the wand. The strength of the bow is comparable to that of regular strong bows.
Even horrific sequences where all the arrows are shot can be performed by powerful wizards.
Fewer people now employ this spell, though, as a result of the Secrecy Act and other laws and regulations, like the prohibition on wizards attacking Muggles.
It would be a ticket to Azkaban if an arrow flew by and shot the Muggle to death, therefore casting this spell against wizards is of little use.
After all, a wizard may easily overcome them with the Shield Spell or the Transfiguration Charm, even if you hurl 10,000 arrows at him. It is less efficient than utilizing the Sleeping Charm and Body Binding Charm.
Except when an arrow strikes the head. If a wizard loses an arm or a leg, a certain magic spell can restore them.
In order to show their support for their preferred team when watching a Quidditch match, wizards use the Arrow Shooting Spell for that occasion. But because it unintentionally blasted through the referee’s nose, it was prohibited from using it ever again.