"Ron...he shouldn't be expelled, right?"
Watching the group follow Professor McGonagall out of the pitch, Hermione hesitated a bit as she spoke.
...
Professor McGonagall appeared three minutes after the conflict erupted.
By this time, the brawl on the Quidditch Pitch was nearly at an end—
Gryffindor team's captain Oliver Wood and Marcus Flint were wrestling on the ground, and George was contemplating how to shove the stolen Nimbus 2001 into Marcus' backside. Fred seemed to have been hit by someone's Tarantella Curse and was running around the center of the field as if he had leg cramps. People from both house teams were sprawled all over the place, and the few left standing had long discarded their magic wands and begun fistfighting.
As for the "protagonist" of the scuffle, Ron, he was currently tightly entwined with Malfoy, with dozens of slimy slugs crawling over their wizard robes. They were surrounded by an empty circle, clearly no one wanted to go near them—
Judging by Ron's expression, he evidently didn't want to be rolling in a heap of slugs, but Malfoy seemed determined to drag him into "misery," clinging to him like an octopus from behind. Ron struggled to free himself but to no avail.
Harry initially wanted to jump into the fray and kick Malfoy's face hard—
But instead, he reflexively pulled Colin Creevey aside to avoid two spells cast by Malfoy. To be honest, Harry hadn't expected Malfoy, in his condition, could still manage to cast spells successfully—
Colin's camera smashed onto the grass, turning into a pile of scrap, as his actions of snapping photos right in Malfoy's face had greatly insulted the pampered young master, making the previous spells aimed squarely at the first-year newcomer.
This served as the lighter that sparked the conflict.
As for the fuse... it was undoubtedly Ron's evil curse.
Why didn't Harry jump in after that? First, because Hermione held him back by the arm, and secondly... Malfoy's (and Ron's) disgusting state—honestly, no one at the scene wanted to go near them.
...The "punishment" Malfoy was receiving was already sufficient; perhaps I shouldn't interfere?
Having found a reason in his mind that seemed fairly reasonable, Harry felt extremely glad about his decision.
Because, in the next moment, Professor McGonagall, wearing her vibrant green robes, appeared in the center of the crowd. Judging by her expression as she came down from her broomstick, someone was going to be in big trouble.
Before long, using the Dissendium Charm to separate Malfoy and Ron, who had started to enter a state of "oblivion," the livid Professor McGonagall learned the rough course of events from Wood and soon led all involved parties towards the castle.
Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione, and Colin, who hadn't thrown punches, luckily escaped any punishment.
Watching Ron and Malfoy's slimy backs, Harry pushed up his glasses somewhat confusedly—although he didn't think Ron would be directly expelled, heavier "sentences" were inescapable, especially since they still had a detention—
The reason being for crashing a flying car into school, nearly running a few freshmen into the Black Lake.
After silently mourning for Ron for a moment, Harry ignored Colin, who was busy collecting the remnants of his camera. He turned to Hermione, "I want to visit Hagrid; this week has been..." He took a deep breath and mumbled, "incredibly unfortunate."
Hermione naturally had no objections, and the two walked out of the pitch together, heading towards the Forbidden Forest.
...
"Wait... what's that?"
Seeing a lavender figure emerge from the path's end, Hermione squinted to verify what she was seeing, but Harry quickly pulled her beside him, and they squatted within the trees by the road, watching the "shadow" that had been lingering in their minds float past from afar. Harry finally exhaled in relief.
"Professor Lockhart? What is he doing here?"
It seemed Hermione wanted to go out and greet him, but noticing the expression on Harry's face, she hesitated and ultimately refrained from it reluctantly.
"I don't know..." Harry shook his head, only finishing the first half of his thought—he couldn't understand why girls like Hermione would fan over someone like Lockhart, who was all looks and no substance. From what he knew, most of the Gryffindor boys had seen through his facade.
It wasn't until Lockhart's figure had completely vanished that the two finally emerged from the trees. They briskly circled the last shrub at the crossroads, and the view ahead opened up.
The light blue sky was dotted with a few languid clouds, the treetops of the Forbidden Forest gently swayed in the breeze, and a somewhat shabby cabin stood isolated on the forest's edge—a mound of variously sized pumpkins was arrayed in front of it—
The most noticeable among them was as large as a carriage.
"Engorgio."
Following the sound, they saw a tall boy in a dark blue wizard robe standing on the clearing in front of the hut. As his magic wand gently waved, another pumpkin rapidly grew larger, causing the boy to take a few steps back.
"Isn't he...the fifth-year transfer student?" Harry scratched his head, "What's his name again..."
"William Richard, I've been seeing him in the library quite a bit lately," Hermione said, "You should remember the name of your 'savior,' Harry."
"Harry—you've finally come, I've been wondering when you'd visit me." The next moment, a large figure appeared from behind the cabin, and Hagrid placed the huge pumpkin in his arms down and came forward, "Come, sit inside."
"Wait, Hagrid—" Harry waved his hand, "We just saw Professor Lockhart on our way here..."
"Oh, there's no need to listen to anything Lockhart says, Harry." It was rare for Hagrid to speak like that about a Hogwarts professor, but an unmistakable look of disdain appeared on his face, "If he had real skills, I'd eat all these pumpkins—"
"Then you're probably going to be eating until Halloween night."
William's voice came from the side, and as he pocketed his wand after successfully enlarging the last pumpkin at his feet, he approached the group.
"Oh, I haven't introduced you yet—" Hagrid tapped his forehead, "This here is William, you should know him—William, you should remember Harry. Then, this young lady is Hermione—" He gestured towards Hermione to introduce her to William, "Oh, right, is Ron not with you today?" Hagrid seemed to remember something suddenly.
"Hello."
William smiled and extended his hand to Harry.
Front and center, Harry instinctively shook William's right hand, glancing up slightly to meet a pair of deep blue eyes that sparkled like gemstones. He noticed William's gaze fixating on the scar on his forehead—
Harry normally disliked having others stare at his scar, but oddly, he didn't feel any discomfort at the moment.
On the contrary, Harry even felt a warm sensation flowing from his scar, quickly engulfing him entirely. This peculiar, yet comforting feeling momentarily left Harry a bit dazed.
Being wrapped in this warmth felt as if he were seeing...