A sharp Hogwarts

"Impossible, impossible—"

Wood looked at Percy with despair and said quickly.

"Who did Slytherin choose? George, Fred, or actually me?"

"Dalia and Harry - Professor McGonagall just gave me the list."

Percy breathed a sigh of relief and handed the short note in his hand to Wood.

"This is no joke, Oliver...we were tricked by those guys from Slytherin House."

"Wait, how is this possible?! Dalia is the referee!"

Angelina stared at the note in disbelief and spoke over Percy's voice.

"We have to appeal! This is a playoff for the Quidditch match, and the candidate designated by Slytherin does not meet-"

"That fits," Hermione whispered.

"We fell into a trap." Percy's voice was hoarse.

"You all remember the selection rules, which are talking about [students from the opposing house on the Quidditch pitch]. Dalia was also on the field at the time. Listen, I dare say this was definitely planned by Slytherin. They have never The target from the beginning was Daria and Harry...otherwise they would have used 'players' instead of such a complicated term."

"Uh, um..." Dalia looked at the people surrounding her and Harry, trying to comfort everyone, "Don't worry, I will work hard to win..."

In fact, after hearing the news, Dalia was not only not worried, she even wanted to laugh a little.

Maybe she has shortcomings in magic comprehension and spell-casting power, but cooking magic dishes?

Not to mention a few students who had only been practicing for two or three years, Dalia didn't think she would lose even when facing a formal professor at Hogwarts.

However, Dalia's confidence obviously could not be conveyed to Wood and others.

"Who is our final opponent?" Fred asked Percy.

"Terence Higgs, and Marcus Flint." Wood replied solemnly.

He glanced at Fred, who looked surprised, nodded, and repeated it before he could speak.

"Well, yeah, Percy and I ended up picking Flint - even though he was a fifth year - he was so bad in class."

"It can't be described as terrible. He is just a humanoid monster... I suspect he will probably repeat the grade a few times."

Percy shrugged, looked at the little wizards around him and explained, "He is at most a third grader."

"Maybe lower—" Wood said.

"Higgs is Slytherin's Seeker, second year, very smart."

Wood glanced in the direction of the Slytherin table, "The shortcoming of smart people is that they are not easy to follow the instructions of fools."

"And in the field of magical cooking, Flint is such an idiot...the two of them will probably quarrel."

Percy sighed, "We had a good plan. No matter who Slytherin House picked on the team, our winning rate was very high."

"But... alas - I was careless."

He glanced at Dalia, patted her shoulder gently, and tried to force a smile.

"Forget it, it's not your fault. I should have discovered this trap earlier."

"Just try your best. It's not like we haven't lost in Quidditch."

"Think of the better scenario - Percy," George reassured with a smile, "What if tonight's theme happens to be something learned in first grade?"

"Well, now I can only pray for a miracle to happen... and see if I can get something good in the lottery."

"that--"

Dalia raised her hand curiously.

"Theme? Are there any holiday restrictions or ingredients?"

"No, to be fair, small magic duels usually have random themes."

Wood shook his head, glanced at Harry, who was also curious, and took the initiative to explain with some despair.

"Appetizers, soups, side dishes, main dishes, salads, desserts, drinks - a total of seven categories are randomly selected."

"The first graders should have been exposed to salads, soups, and side dishes. If these three categories are drawn, we still have a little hope."

Angelina Johnson analyzed calmly, her eyes moving across the dining table.

"I heard that Dalia and Harry did pretty well in class..."

"But if we draw the remaining four-sevenths -" Wood groaned.

"Then make some dark dishes!"

Fred said viciously, glancing at the teacher's desk.

"Even if we can't win, we must at least make Snape feel the pain!"

"...We will definitely win." Dalia said seriously.

“Well, yes, yes—Wood, it’s up to you to draw lots!”

Percy said with a wry smile, turning to look at Wood solemnly, "Don't hit the head plate!"

"Eh? Is there anything special about the appetizer?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Generally speaking, appetizers should be light and refreshing, with bright colors, and the main taste is either sour or salty."

George Weasley took the initiative to explain, pouting his lips to the other side and saying with some reluctance.

"What Slytherin is best at is the appetizer, just like Hufflepuff is invincible in desserts - and what's even more terrifying is..."

"The first game is also divided into a cold game and a hot game. In the cold game, Slytherin has not lost in more than ten years."

Fred added, turning his head to look at Wood and speaking solemnly.

"Please, even if you win the first round, don't get the cold one——"

"It can't be that unlucky, I'm not your kind of guy!"

Wood waved his hand, glared at Fred hard, and said quickly.

"I'm a goalkeeper. I'm lucky. There's a [-]% chance that I won't be able to draw."

"..."

Dalia opened her mouth, and an unknown premonition arose in her heart.

These senior guys are really... they are so ruthless and accurate in setting up the flag.

As breakfast came to an end, the mood in the castle about the outcome of tonight's duel suddenly changed.

The Gryffindor students' happiness disappeared and now the Slytherins were talking and laughing loudly in the corridors.

…………

"Hey, Scarhead, why don't you and your Squib sister withdraw from the competition-"

When Harry, Dahlia and others were rushing to take History of Magic, Malfoy stood in the corridor and laughed loudly.

"Don't be embarrassed and conspicuous. The professors may not touch your food. Don't cry too ugly when the time comes!"

"Ignore him, he just wants to provoke you on purpose."

Hermione whispered, holding the book and pushing Malfoy away without looking back.

The entry age for Hogwarts is 11 years old, and Hermione's birthday happens to be in September - she is actually the oldest child in the whole grade.

"Well, you're right - there's no need for us to argue with him."

Dalia nodded slightly and rubbed her shoulder against Malfoy's chest as he staggered back.

Bang!

Draco Malfoy rolled to the ground with a look of astonishment on his face.

He rolled around in a panic, dodging the calfskin shoe that stepped towards his face.

"Are you crazy?!" Malfoy shouted angrily, "You crazy bitch——"

"Huh?" Dalia stopped and turned her head to look at him quietly.

"...Hmph, you will lose the duel anyway!"

Malfoy panicked, as if he was being targeted by some kind of beast, and continued speaking.

"Wait for a big surprise then! You mud-sects have no idea how big the world is!"

"Oh? Niba, what did you want to say just now..."

Hermione also turned around and stared at Malfoy with an evil expression.

However, before she and Dalia could get closer.

“There were people fighting in the hallway, there were people fighting in the hallway.”

Malfoy shouted, quickly got up, and ran to the other end of the corridor without looking back.

As for Goyle and Crabbe, they ran away at the first opportunity - they couldn't beat the two girls together.

"I told you, my cousin can be a bit scary sometimes -" Harry said quietly to Ron.

“Women are terrible—big and small.”

Ron echoed with lingering fear.

However, Dalia and Hermione obviously couldn't deal with everyone who said sarcastic things.

No one is optimistic about Gryffindor's duel tonight, not even in Gryffindor House.

Percy has already begun to think about how many points they need to win in subsequent games to advance if the last game is ruled a loss.

…………

"The venue for tonight's duel has been revealed, the empty classroom next to the kitchen."

Before dinner, Dalia and others had just walked to the auditorium when they saw Wood walking from the other end.

"How's the result of the lottery?!" Ron asked quickly.

"Four-sevenths—"

Wood's eyes were dull and his voice was hollow.

"The starter, and it's a cold dish..."