Eve had to admit—Gryffindor had put in a lot of effort to stop her.
The three Chasers had a solid formation, constantly sandwiching her in, trying to block her movements. The Weasley twins were excellent Beaters as well, always managing to predict her flight path and send Bludgers her way.
But it wasn't enough.
If Eve Stock were the kind of Chaser who could be restrained by such tactics, then Gryffindor wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths to prepare for her in the first place.
CRACKLE—BOOM!
The sky, already overcast, finally broke open, and rain began to pour.
Eve shot past Oliver Wood with a deceptive feint, leaving him grasping at air as she scored another goal. Silver hair plastered to her forehead, she pushed her bangs back and called out, "Seekers—just end this match already."
Meanwhile, Wood was fuming. His face was as dark as the stormy sky above.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath. "That woman is impossible to deal with."
"Oi, Wood! You're not scared, are you?" One of the Weasley twins called out, panting heavily as he flew down to join him.
"George!"
"I'm Fred!"
"Fine, Fred," Wood wiped the rain from his eyes. "Where were you when George was trying to stop Stock just now? We need a proper pincer attack! Best bet is to knock her right off that broom with a Bludger!"
Fred let out a deep sigh. "You've got to be joking, Wood. A Bludger can't even keep up with her speed! And as for where I was—I was helping Harry! That damn Bludger keeps tailing him… Oh, hell, could it be cursed?"
His words had barely left his mouth before he shot up into the sky, club raised, just in time to smash the Bludger away from Harry.
"It won't stop chasing me!" Harry gasped. "I can't focus on finding the Snitch like this!"
Sure enough, the moment the Bludger was knocked aside, it made a sharp U-turn and came straight back.
"Someone tampered with this Bludger!" Fred yelled, whacking it away once more.
"It's Slytherin!" George bellowed angrily. "Of course they'd pull something like this! As if having Eve on their team wasn't already enough!"
At that exact moment, a glint of gold flashed past Harry's vision.
"I see it!" he shouted, diving downward—
CRASH!
Only to collide directly with Fred, who had been trying to shield him.
Thankfully, neither of them fell, but by the time Harry stabilized his broom, the Snitch had vanished again.
"Sorry, Harry!" Fred called through the rain, barely able to keep his eyes open. "I didn't see you!"
"This isn't working! I need to keep an eye on Eve!" George yelled, taking off—
BANG!
A Bludger slammed into him mid-air, sending him spiraling down.
He crashed onto the pitch from a five-meter drop, groaning in pain as he clutched his backside.
"Keep your eyes on the game!" Montague, one of Slytherin's Beaters, barked. "Slytherin doesn't rely solely on Eve, you know!"
With George down and a substitute Beater stepping in, Gryffindor's situation turned even more dire.
Harry was still being relentlessly chased by the rogue Bludger, forced to zigzag across the field in desperation. Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was spending 80% of his time mocking him and 20% of his time trying to control his Nimbus 2001.
He sneered, shouting across the pitch, "You look like a rabbit being chased by a bear, Potter!"
And while all of this chaos unfolded—
A silver shadow streaked through the storm like an arrow, scoring goal after goal.
"I can't catch her!" Alicia groaned, her face pale.
No matter how much training they had put in, no matter how hard they tried—once they were actually in the air, all they could do was watch her disappear into the distance.
It was cruel.
"I have an idea!" Harry shouted, pushing wet hair out of his face. "I'll lure the Bludger towards Stock! You guys take this chance to close the gap in the score!"
The Firebolt was far too fast for him to compete with, but at least his Nimbus 2000 was still better than the ancient Comet 260s the Weasley twins were flying.
"What the hell are you doing, Potter?" Eve snapped, frowning as he suddenly started flying toward her—bringing the Bludger along with him.
She had already dodged it three times in a row now, and it was definitely because of him.
Harry yelled, "You Slytherins tampered with the Bludger!"
"We did NOT!" Eve shot back, glaring. "The Quidditch balls have been locked in Madam Hooch's office all week—no one could have touched them!"
The Bludger came screaming toward her again. Eve swiftly dodged, gritting her teeth in frustration before rocketing upward—firing off a Bludger-clearing shot at the sky.
"I can't keep up with her!" Harry muttered in frustration—
Then, in that instant, he saw it again.
The Snitch!
Slytherin: 140 – Gryffindor: 0
"My Merlin, is Eve Stock going to shut Gryffindor out completely?! I have to admit, her performance today has been absolutely terrifying, but—wait! Harry! Everyone, look at Harry!"
The crowd erupted.
This was it.
The moment that would decide everything.
If Harry caught the Snitch, Gryffindor could pull off a miraculous last-second victory!
"GO, HARRY—! YOU'RE THE BEST SEEKER WE'VE GOT! SHOW THAT ARROGANT FERRET MALFOY—"
"JORDAN!"
"Right, sorry, Professor McGonagall! What I meant to say was—show that Slytherin brat that having a rich daddy doesn't mean EVERYTHING on the Quidditch pitch!"
"JORDAN!"
But Lee Jordan didn't care anymore.
Neither did the rest of the audience.
Every single pair of eyes was locked onto Harry.
Draco finally snapped out of his taunting and realized what was happening. His expression twisted in panic.
With a sharp tug on his broom, he shoved himself against Harry, shoulder to shoulder, neck and neck!
Both of them were racing toward the Snitch—bumping, colliding, desperate to reach it first!
Slytherin: 150 – Gryffindor: 0
"EVE STOCK SCORES AGAIN! HURRY UP, HARRY! IF YOU CATCH THE SNITCH NOW, YOU CAN STILL FORCE A TIE!"
At the same time, Eve had once again snatched up the Quaffle.
Harry and Draco were still 30 meters away from the Snitch—and that number was dropping.
Meanwhile, Eve was on the other side of the field, just outside Slytherin's goal area.
If she scored now, it would be over.
No tie.
No comeback.
Victory would be absolute.
"A tie…?"
Eve's electric-blue eyes flashed.
"Not a chance."
She flattened herself against her Firebolt, and with an explosive burst of speed—
She shot forward like a bullet!
A silver blur tore across the pitch, cutting through the rain, leaving Gryffindor players spinning in her wake!
"MERLIN'S BEARD! WHAT KIND OF BROOM DOES SHE HAVE?! SHE'S MOVING AT TWICE THE SPEED OF A NIMBUS!"
"WOOD! WOOD, YOU HAVE TO BLOCK HER! YOU'RE THE BEST CAPTAIN GRYFFINDOR HAS!"
Wood clenched his teeth, drenched in rain and sweat.
He had one job.
One final save.
"Left? Right? LEFT!"
He made his decision—
But it was a trick.
Because Eve never planned on dodging in the first place.
From the very start—
She had only aimed for one thing.
The center goalpost.