Chapter - 19.2

By eleven o'clock, the stands were already full. But a majority of the students were from Slytherin and Gryffindor, the two arch-rivals. While the other few were to join in the fun. Many students even had binoculars with them. And it was all because of the size of the stands.

The last time Alex was on the Quidditch pitch, there were no such stands. So to prepare something so huge and extravagant in a couple of days was a marvel in itself. And even though the seats were raised high in the air, it was still difficult to see what happened on the field sometimes.

Soon entering the stands, Alex and Daphne parted ways with Nicole and Hermione as they made their way toward the Slytherin side. They did not have to wait long, and soon the Gryffindor team was the first to walk out. And as soon as they did, a giant lion emerged from Gryffindor's side. The lion was at least the same size as the troll Alex fought in the bathroom. The lion dashed around the stadium before it stood in front of the Slytherin stand and let out a loud, deafening roar. It was clearly showing the might of the Gryffindors.

It was nicely done. And it was the Weasley twins who did it. Alex earlier saw them open a bottle from which the lion emerged. It was a well-planned trick, and Alex had to praise the twins for thinking that way. Well, at least not every Weasley is a black sheep.

But this little trick did not go down well with the Slytherins. Boos emerged from the Slytherin side in response. And Daphne looked so angry that Alex was afraid she might just jump off any moment to fight the lion herself. It was the first time Alex had seen Daphne so invested in something.

"Do something," Daphne suddenly turned towards Alex. She had a feeling that if anyone, it was Alex who had a response to this sneak attack from Gryffindor.

"Don't look at me like that," Alex shook his head, "I don't want to..."

"Stand out?" Before Alex could say it, Daphne completed him, "You say that, but every now and then, you are in the limelight... What? Do you think you are a monk or something? Do you think no one knows you in school? Dah... Everyone does... In fact, they are all terrified of you."

"... So don't play this "I want to be invisible" card on me, alright?" Daphne was quick to shoot down Alex.

As Daphne spoke, Alex could not agree more with her. Though he really wanted to keep a low profile, one way or the other, he would end up in the limelight, and it was generally not for a good reason.

"Please... You have already done a favour to Hermione that night. Did I say anything? Did I throw any tantrums?" Daphne asked. The morning after the troll attacked, Daphne heard from Nicole about Alex's tryst with Hermione in the washroom. And Daphne was certainly unhappy with the news, but she could not say anything.

"What could you say?" Alex asked, puzzled.

"True... True that I don't have a say in that... But... Please... Do this one thing for me..." Daphne looked at Alex with puppy eyes. Now more than the prestige of Slytherin, it was a desire in her heart... that Alex did something for her as well.

Alex wanted to reject, but in front of Daphne's pleading eyes, he could not do that right away. The scene of Daphne waiting for him by the fireplace played in his mind. No matter what, he could not just get that out of his head.

"Fine..." Finally, under Daphne's hopeful gaze, Alex gave in, "Come here..." Alex said and pulled Daphne in front of him. Now Daphne was standing in front of Alex with her back rubbing against his chest.

"What are you doing?" Daphne asked, confused.

"Just stand still... And let me do the rest," but Alex shut her up, "Pull out your wand and hold it in front," Alex instructed Daphne.

"What?" Daphne was confused, but even then, her hand made its way inside her robes and pulled her wand. But just as she pulled out her wand, Alex wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled Daphne even closer.

"Eehh..." A flustered Daphne let out a squeak and tried to look back at Alex.

"Shshh... Just look straight," But Alex let go of her waist and pushed her face to look forward. Alex then pulled out his wand as well.

It was different from any other magic. Alex could use transfiguration, but he had never done it on such a scale. The object this time was the air itself. So, he had to go towards the basics. So Alex closed his eyes. He had to envision the whole process in his mind.

And in that process, a couple of minutes passed. The Gryffindor lion was still roaring in the sky proudly. Many Slytherins tried to attack it, but the lion would dodge them all, jumping around.

On the other hand, Daphne was getting impatient.

'Why is he not doing anything?' Daphne thought. Even her arm was starting to hurt while holding the wand straight. But just as Daphne was about to turn and look back, a greenlight emerged from beneath her hand and shot towards the Gryffindor lion. The lion was quick to dodge the green streak of light. But unlike others, this time, the greenlight did not disappear. Instead, it formed a green mass and spread through the sky, covering the whole of the stand.

The whole school... Be it the teachers or the students, everyone looked intently toward the sky. The sight was mesmerising and intriguing at the same time.

"Swissh..." Suddenly the greenish fog in the sky merged together and formed an egg. Everything was like a story being told.

"Boom!" The egg exploded, and a bright light engulfed the field. It was so brilliant that none of the students could keep their eyes open and see what was happening.

Slowly as the light faded, everyone tried to look toward the sky. And in front of them hissed a majestic Horned Serpent. The Serpent was at least twice the size of the lion. As it looked toward the lion with those squinting eyes, the lion finally took a step back. And everyone could see that. So as soon as the Gryffindor lion took the step back, Slytherins let out massive cheers.

From the get-go, the green Horned Serpent did not do anything fancy. It turned its head towards the stand where the teachers were seated and bowed its head once. It was in sync with Alex's character. Whatever the situation may be, Alex had never disrespected anyone who deserved the slightest respect.

After it was done, the Horned Serpent zig-zagged its way around the field before stopping in front of the lion once again. And even though it was standing against the lion, the snake was filled with pride.

And this started a war... Soon the sky was filled with lions and serpents. But no one could match the level of the initial two. No one dared to approach them as the majestic Gryffindor lion, and the prideful Horned Serpent stood face to face.

It was clear from the sheer number of serpents in the sky that Slytherins were clearly at an advantage in the contest of skills. But this was a Quidditch match. And when the teachers had enough of the meaningless fight between the two rivals, they decided to intervene. Professor Flitwick took charge. And with a wave of his wand, all the lions and serpents in the sky vanished. Even the lion by the twins and the Serpent by Alex were not spared.

But this action from Professor Flitwick did not go well with the students. Now, instead of booing each other, the Slytherins and Gryffindors joined hands to boo Professor Flitwick.

"Whistle!! Enough," It was Madam hooch who blew her whistle and brought the commotion to an end, "We need to start the match."

And with that, the much-awaited game finally got to kick start.

But, at the same time, Alex felt a few eyes on him.

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