Elwyn and Hermione were sitting near the goal, and all the students waiting to compete for the position of goalkeeper were queuing up there.
So, like Harry, they saw Ron's green face.
Ron's reaction was expected. His heart could not take it, and it was easy for him to get stage fright.
However, his body was trembling uncontrollably, which could be due to anger.
Not far from him, McClagan openly criticized the performance of every student participating in the selection. He said some unpleasant comments and unfounded rumors, which was really annoying. It was not known if it was intentional, but McClagan's main target of criticism was Ron, and he kept talking about the embarrassing things that happened last semester …
Ron must have heard it, because McClagan's voice was very loud, as if he had said it deliberately for him to hear.
McClagan was a senior of Gryffindor, and he could still hold it in until now, mainly because McClagan was Gryffindor's senior.
In addition, he had a good grasp of the scale, and did not mention Ron by name.
However, the things he said, such as falling off the broom, missing all the balls, and not being able to tell left from right, all sounded like Ron's performance last semester.
"This guy is really annoying!" Hermione said. She and Elwyn had also heard McClagan's words.
"He's really annoying. I dare say that Harry would not want such a guy in the team …" Elwyn nodded.
McClagan's method of deliberately belittling others to elevate himself was very despicable.
He kept mentioning Ron's poor performance last semester to put pressure on Ron and affect his performance.
After failing to get special treatment from Harry through the back door, this was probably his plan. It sounded like the style of Slytherin Academy, but most of the politicians' families were the same as pureblood Magi families, so it was not surprising that McClagan could do this!
It seemed that he had learned these tricks from his uncle, who was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, and was able to use them flexibly.
The only difference between a pureblood Sorcerer family and a politician family was that they were not so extreme. They did not believe that pureblood Sorcerers were superior to others. Most of the time, they put their own interests first.
What both sides had in common was that they didn't care how dirty their methods were. As long as it was useful and could help them achieve success, it was fine.
Five minutes after the batter's selection, the wicketkeeper's selection began.
Just like before, most of the students who participated in the selection did not perform well. The first five contestants only managed to save two balls at most.
The sixth player to take the field was Cormac McClagan. Surprisingly, he successfully saved the first three balls. Alicia, Reacher, and Demirza — the three ball chasers from Gryffindor's team were all easily blocked by him. Only Ginny and Elaine did not attack.
Although McLagan was annoying, he had to admit that he was very capable.
Not considering those tricks, his own ability was comparable to Ron's.
Judging from Elwyn's unprofessional Quidditch level, McLagan's skills might not be as good as Ron's when he was in his best condition, but he was better than Ron most of the time. He was good enough to be the goalkeeper and would be a strong opponent.
Ginny began to serve. If he saved all the balls, the possibility of Ron becoming the goalkeeper would be very small.
"We should help Ron …" Hermione said, but she immediately shook her head. "No, we can't do that!"
"What are you going to do?"
"I was suddenly thinking about whether to use a Confusion Spell on him so that he can't tell the direction. That way, he won't be able to stop the balls." Hermione said, her face turning red. "But we can't do that. It's not honorable, and it will affect the fairness of the selection …"
At this time, the first thing Hermione thought of was fairness.
This was the weakness of decent wizards. They were too particular about principles and rules, and always worried about whether their methods were honorable.
However, based on Elwyn's understanding of Hermione, if the situation was really dangerous, she was the one who could make up her mind the most.
In other words, if Elwyn was in Ron's position, Hermione might have already used a Confusion Spell.
"Don't worry, there's no need to interfere with the selection directly. I don't think he can get past Ginny and Elaine."
Sure enough, as Elwyn said, Ginny's angle of the ball was very tricky.
She lured McLagan to fly to the left side of the goal, making him think that she was going to shoot. However, Ginny made a beautiful turn in the air, flew to the right side as fast as she could, and threw the ball in. The ghost ball flew past McLagan's fingertips, and he glared at Ginny fiercely.
When it came to Elaine, McLagan became more cautious, but he couldn't keep up with the speed of the Firebolt.
After a few laps, there was a gap in his defense, and Elaine easily threw the ball in.
"I object!" McLagan said fiercely, flying straight at Harry. "Their brooms are too good."
"The quality of the broom is also part of the strength of Quidditch, and it's the same for everyone who participates in the selection," Harry said, ignoring McLagan's protest. "Okay, next!"
McLagan gritted his teeth and retreated to the side. Harry's words made sense, and it was fair to everyone.
If Ginny and Elaine maintained their previous difficulty, no one would be able to stop their balls.
Unless that person's broom was as good and fast as the Firebolt or the Star Plucker …
This person was Ron, and the flying broom in his hand was the Star Plucker, the only one apart from Ginny.
From the looks of it, the situation was in his favor. Ron was the thirteenth to play.
The players after McClagan all played very well. No one could stop the three balls.
When Ron went on stage, Lavender was the one who cheered the loudest in the stands.
In the small area where Slytherin came to watch the selection, they spontaneously sang the song "Weasley is our king."
Because the rhythm was good, many students from other academies soon sang along.
The singing and noisy laughter drowned out the cheers.
In the middle of the field, Harry wanted to shut up the people from Slytherin or chase them out, but he couldn't do that.
He didn't dare to look at Ron's performance, afraid that he would miss all the balls.
But he felt that as the captain, he should show more courage, so he turned to look at Ron.
In fact, there was no need to worry at all. Although Ron looked nervous, he played very well.
Amidst the cheers, he saved one, two, three, four free throws in a row …
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