The sun was setting, the last glow of twilight had disappeared from the distant mountains, and night was covering the land.
Inside Hogwarts Castle, the house-elves and school staff were bustling about, preparing for the start-of-term feast. This should have been a happy day, but at this moment, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, the headmaster and deputy headmistress, both had grim expressions on their faces.
This was because the arrival of an uninvited guest had broken the tranquility of Hogwarts. Dressed in a pinstripe suit, a bright red tie, a long black cloak, purple pointed boots, and a dark-green bowler hat, the visitor was the current Minister for Magic of Britain, Cornelius Fudge.
He was walking briskly with a few staff members from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and showed a photograph to the two professors.
"Albus, Professor Minerva McGonagall!" he said. "Have a look. This was just sent over by the Aurors. At least dozens of Muggles saw this car. I've already verified it before I came. The car was illegally modified by Arthur Weasley, but the ones sitting in it were your students Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Now the wizards from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes are busy dealing with the fallout from this magical exposure, and it's caused a lot of trouble for me and the entire Ministry of Magic."
"So I'm very eager to know why two Hogwarts students, who were supposed to be on the Hogwarts Express, suddenly decided to fly an illegally modified flying car in the skies over Britain."
Fudge wasn't in a hurry to demand an explanation from Dumbledore or Hogwarts, because after careful consideration, the biggest problem with this accident might lie with the Ministry of Magic itself.
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Transportation, and the entrance usually had at least two Ministry of Magic employees on duty. They would erase the memories of passersby in time to prevent the wizarding world from being exposed.
So if it could be confirmed that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had gone to the platform, but the Ministry staff on duty hadn't noticed anything unusual, then the Ministry would have to bear a large part of the responsibility for this incident.
If the cause of the incident was indeed as described above, then Fudge could completely foresee a headline in tomorrow's Daily Prophet: Serious Magical Exposure Incident, the Worst Minister for Magic in History?
That woman, Rita Skeeter, loved to turn a small issue into a big deal and a molehill into a mountain…
However, on the other hand, if the two people involved in this incident had never been to the platform, then that would be a different story. At the very least, he could pin most of the blame on Hogwarts for its inadequate education.
However, even though the cause and effect of the matter were still unclear, Dumbledore remained calm and collected in the face of the somewhat agitated Minister for Magic. He reached out to appease him.
"Cornelius, please be patient," he said. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley might have had a small accident. We won't know anything for certain until they return to school."
"Albus…" Just as he finished speaking, Professor McGonagall next to him suddenly patted Dumbledore's arm and gave a worried look in the distance. Everyone looked in the direction Professor McGonagall was pointing, and they saw a red light flying upward from the valley in the distance. It bloomed against the night sky, looking exceptionally dazzling.
"What is that?" Fudge asked, confused. "Does Hogwarts have a fireworks show tonight?"
Before anyone could react, another firework suddenly bloomed over the Black Lake, which was much closer. A dull explosion sound followed, and then they heard a whoosh whoosh sound of something cutting through the air above their heads.
Everyone subconsciously looked up and saw two students on broomsticks circling in front of Hogwarts Castle. One of them shot a firework into the sky, while the other landed on the ground and walked straight toward them.
"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall!"
"Miss Blanchard?!" Professor McGonagall walked forward, looking at Ivanna in surprise. "What's going on with you?"
"The Lord of Wisdom asked us to safely deliver a magical flying car to the school, but it's already dark. We can only use our broomsticks to guide it from the front," Ivanna explained.
"A magical flying car?" Professor McGonagall was stunned and quickly handed over the photograph Fudge had brought. "Is this the car?"
"Yes!" Ivanna looked at the photo carefully and nodded in confirmation.
"What about Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley? How are they?"
"They're both fine. They should have arrived at the Hogwarts station by now."
"However, I think it would be a good idea to have Madam Pomfrey ready, because when they were in the car, it suddenly lost control several times, and Mr. Weasley got a big bump on his head." Ivanna gave a rough explanation of the situation, while also drawing an extremely exaggerated circle in the air with her finger.
"Oh, well, at least their lives aren't in danger!" Professor McGonagall sighed in relief, but it was clear that her expression had turned sour.
A little while later, the Quidditch Ravenclaws who had escorted the flying car back to school had also arrived in front of Hogwarts Castle. The small car slowly landed on the grass and bounced up and down a few times before coming to a stable stop. The young Ravenclaws, who had just completed their task, were all lying on the ground, sweating profusely and panting.
Professor McGonagall quickly went over to them and asked worriedly, "Oh, my goodness! Are you children all right?!"
"We're fine, Professor McGonagall!" a young Ravenclaw said, feebly raising his hand, but with a smile on his face. Although it was very draining to maintain the Levitation Charm for such a long time, he had also gained a lot.
Through this escort mission, he felt that his mastery of the Levitation Charm had not only improved, but he had also accumulated a lot of experience in using the spell. At the same time, the other young Ravenclaws who had participated in the escort mission had the same feeling.
Just then, Dumbledore also walked over. He looked at the young Ravenclaws lying on the ground and nodded in appreciation. "Thank you for your hard work, children. You did a very good job this time!"
Then he instructed Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, please take them to the hospital wing and have Poppy take a look at them."
"Yes, I'll go right away!" Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement. She then waved her wand, and the rocks on the ground turned into four-legged stretchers with legs. They then carried the half-dead young Ravenclaws away.
Watching Professor McGonagall leave, Dumbledore stroked his beard and then said to Fudge next to him, "Cornelius, this accident may take some time to deal with. Perhaps you can go back to the Ministry of Magic and wait?"
"Oh no! I don't actually want to go back just yet!" To everyone's surprise, Fudge directly rejected Dumbledore's suggestion. He continued, "It's not often I return to Hogwarts. I would like to attend the feast tonight."
"Of course," Dumbledore nodded with a poker face. In his heart, he already knew what the Minister for Magic was really here for.
To be honest, this magical exposure incident was neither big nor small, and there was no real need for the British Minister for Magic to come in person.
And so, a "distinguished guest" was unexpectedly present at the Hogwarts start-of-term feast.
On the other side, after a long journey, the Hogwarts Express finally blew its arrival whistle.
Choo! Choo! Choo!
The compartment doors opened, and the young wizards started to get off the train one after another. At this moment, on the platform, Harry was supporting a still-shaking Ron and constantly reassuring him, "Ron, don't worry too much! I don't think the car will be damaged!"
"Harry, you don't get it! This isn't about the car at all…" Ron looked like he was about to die, and his eyes were hollow as he stared in the direction of Hogwarts. "I was so stupid! We should have just stayed at home and waited for a professor to pick us up, but I took the car without permission. My mum is going to kill me the moment she finds out…"
Harry looked at his friend, who seemed ready to die a martyr, and for a moment didn't know what to say. After all, he was also partly to blame for this incident.
But just then, Hermione, who was standing beside them, shot them a sharp look. Her icy voice made the two of them flinch and sobered them up a lot. They heard her start her non-stop scolding:
"What's the point of regretting it now? Why didn't you think of this earlier?!" she fumed. "If you were so afraid of Mrs. Weasley scolding you, why didn't you use an owl to notify the school in the first place? Or did you think Hogwarts would expel you over something like this?!"
"Now you two are big shots, big celebrities! Racing the Express on the track in front of the entire student body!" she continued. "Did you even think about whether you could drive? Were your legs long enough to reach the gas pedal? Could you see the road ahead?"
"Your brains must have been eaten by a troll to do something so stupid!!!"
This sudden barrage of insults stunned both Harry and Ron. They stared blankly at the enraged Hermione in front of them, and the nervous and fearful emotions they had just been feeling suddenly vanished.
"What… what's wrong with her? Did she eat a fire-breathing sausage or something, or has Snape possessed her?" Ron whispered to Harry, a face full of questions. "She wasn't like this on the train!"
"You'll know if you look ahead…" Harry secretly glanced at Hermione, making sure she hadn't heard him speak, and then whispered, "Do you remember last Christmas when she was also like this? So who do you think it has something to do with?"
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