HP: Hogwart's Journey

Professor Flitwick stood on the commentary platform, his excitement causing his hands to flail about. "Oh, look! There are the Weasley twins! Perfect coordination! One of them is using a snowball to distract Warrington, while the other casts a Knockback Jinx! Warrington's down! Well done! And who's that with the Transfiguration? It's Roger, ha, nicely done! If you can catch up to someone's snowball, the Golden Snitch should be no problem! Go for it, young man!"

"Huh, isn't that Cedric? What's he up to?" Professor Flitwick stared, wide-eyed, as Cedric and another Hufflepuff student teamed up to build an enormous snowball. It was as tall as a person, resembling a snowman. "A Levitation Charm? What are they planning... wait, that snowball looks a bit too big... Okay, well, now we see the last Slytherin player buried in the snow."

The Slytherins, overwhelmed by the group assault, were almost instantly forced to forfeit. Upon seeing this, Professor Snape wasn't pleased. "So, it's three houses ganging up on ours? Get those two knocked-out players out of the game, and as for the one buried under the snow... let's call it a day for him!" But before the Slytherins could even get on the field, Robert and his friends were already in the thick of it.

It's unclear who threw the first snowball, but it wobbled its way through the air, and with a soft *plop*, it struck right on the forehead. Fred stared, dumbfounded. "How did such a slow snowball hit someone?!"

"Ah, there we go! We see that a Gryffindor has been hit," Professor Flitwick's voice echoed. Robert saw the three crystal diamonds on Fred's vest shatter, dissolving into the snowflakes around him. "So that thing was made of snow too."

"Alright, let's get back to the game. Oh dear, gentlemen, although no ladies are competing, try to control yourselves," he added, noticing the chaos unfolding on the field. The twins began tossing snowballs indiscriminately, and tiny snowballs zipped through the air, flying long distances. They were small but fast, and it only took a moment for them to strike.

With the twins leading the way, Ravenclaw's eagles started casting Softening Charms around them, making the snow underfoot soft and spongy. This made it difficult for the Gryffindors to maneuver, and it even affected the Hufflepuffs—unable to approach their targets, they struggled to throw snowballs back.

"Hey, Cedric, that Levitation Charm is great. I'll help you out, and let's make a bigger snowball!" Robert called out to his potions partner. The Hufflepuff student, clearly hyped up, immediately crouched down to scoop snow. Robert joined in, and together they crafted several snowballs. Robert also used a Knockback Charm to deflect incoming snowballs.

The free-for-all battle made Robert realize where his magical limits were. He'd already used up half of his energy, so he decided to focus on throwing snowballs to keep the pressure up. 

"Transfiguration really does drain a lot of power... I wonder how Headmaster Dumbledore manages those high-intensity magical duels," Robert muttered as he planned his next move against the opposing teams. 

"Stebbins, you're in charge of the heavy artillery. Don't know what that means? No problem, just keep making snowballs," Robert instructed. "Alright, Cedric, can you make the snowballs faster? Let's do this!"

With a steady supply of snowballs, Robert and Cedric maneuvered their snowballs past the Gryffindors and sent them flying toward the Ravenclaws. Caught off guard, the Ravenclaws were hit squarely, and just as the twins were about to cheer, Cedric's slow-moving snowball hit them in the face. Fred had barely wiped the snow off when Robert's fast-moving snowball arrived, sending the Ravenclaws scrambling. The Softening Charms on the snow made it hard for Gryffindors to approach and retaliate, and Fred was quickly eliminated.

Just then, Slytherin's substitute players took the field.

"Oh, look at these two brothers. They're getting flattened like a couple of foolish roosters," one Slytherin taunted. But before he could finish his mockery, he froze in place.

"Hey, what's this?" George asked.

Lee Jordan, sporting a fatherly grin, chuckled as the Slytherins quickly realized that it was their turn to be hit. A minute later, the Slytherins were retreating, overwhelmed by three houses teaming up against them. 

However, just when the audience thought the match was over and the celebrations could begin, Robert grinned mischievously. Experienced Slytherins froze in fear, and in the next moment, countless snowballs flew through the air. Alongside them came Robert's snarky voice: "Here it comes, Slytherins! The losing team's gotta come down and join in on the punishment!"

"That's right! Come down and join the snowball fight!" Fred and his twin brother joined in, hurling snowballs too.

The Slytherins were momentarily stunned, but they quickly recovered. "They've run out of magic! We don't need spells!" one of them shouted as they jumped off the stands, scooping up snowballs and charging at Fred, shouting as they ran.

Other Slytherin first-years, after a moment's hesitation, followed suit, annoyed at being dragged into it. "Why are we even doing this? If we used magic, we could just finish them off in a few spells! And why the hell do we have to charge with them?!"

Seeing the Slytherins jump into the fray, the Gryffindors couldn't sit idle any longer. "For the honor of Gryffindor!" they shouted as they rushed down. The Ravenclaws couldn't stay back either. "Our house deserves honor too!" they cried, leaping into action. 

Finally, the Hufflepuffs, unsure for a moment, exchanged looks, then reluctantly joined in. "If everyone else is doing it, it seems wrong to just stay here."

By the time Professor McGonagall arrived on the scene, all she could see were young wizards lying in the snow, grinning like fools. Some from different houses were even chatting about their snowball-throwing techniques. The older students looked on awkwardly, unsure whether to join in or not. 

Though the scene was harmonious, Professor McGonagall remained serious. She deducted 50 points from each house for "participating in a public brawl."

When Transfiguration class resumed the following week, Professor McGonagall was surprised to find that the students who had participated in the weekend's snowball fight had significantly improved in Transfiguration. Her expression softened, but she made a mental note that the snowball tournament would continue, with one important rule: only first-year students could participate. Robert Leslie, on the other hand, was strictly banned from coming near the field during the event.

"Meow meow meow???" Robert stared blankly. "Wait a minute, Professor McGonagall! I just wanted to find a fun way to practice my skills! I already knew you'd scold me about such a dangerous game one day, but you're telling me this competition is staying?!!"

Robert's expression was blank. "You can't be the real Professor McGonagall! Who are you really? Did someone slip you Polyjuice Potion to impersonate her?"

As for the ban on getting near the competition grounds? Well, Robert thought, "Next year when the snow falls, I'll be a second-year student. Who cares about this kind of game anymore?"

(End of Chapter)