Chapter 86
"They still haven't shown up, and no one has seen Harry or Ron," Hermione muttered, growing worried. She even briefly thought about leaving Hogwarts herself. Had Harry and Ron dropped out? That seemed unlikely, but since she hadn't seen them anywhere, a seed of doubt had been planted in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it.
Neville hurried back, out of breath. "It's bad… Fred still hasn't seen Harry or Ron. They went to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters together, but they got separated once they reached the platform. They haven't arrived yet—they must have missed the train."
"Oh!" Hermione groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "How could they be so careless? Why didn't they just arrive at the platform earlier?"
"What… what should I do?" Neville stammered, overwhelmed by the situation. He turned to Hermione, hoping she could come up with a plan.
"We just wait. Once we've waited long enough, we'll tell Professor McGonagall. She'll probably get scolded in the end, but she'll send someone to find Harry and Ron," Hermione suggested, rolling her eyes. Even if McGonagall got in trouble, the train wasn't going to stop just for Harry and Ron.
"All right, I'll go tell Professor McGonagall later," Neville said, finally finding his composure. Harry had helped him many times—now it was his chance to help.
"Let's go together," Hermione added. "If there's a group, McGonagall's lecture won't be so harsh." The very first day of term had already become a headache for Hermione. But, after all, it was her friendship with Harry that had brought this complication.
They didn't need to search for Harry for long. Not long after the feast began, strange rumors about him started to circulate.
"Harry got expelled! Someone saw a flying car chasing the train in the sky. They said he missed the train and took that car instead!" Neville exclaimed, panic in his voice. He had tried looking for McGonagall before dinner but hadn't found her—only heard terrifying stories.
"Who said that? Flying cars are ridiculous. Wizards don't even drive cars!" Hermione couldn't believe it. Wizards didn't need cars—they didn't even need electricity or refrigerators.
"It was Malfoy! During the Sorting Ceremony, they noticed Professor Snape wasn't there, and then McGonagall disappeared too. Finally, even Dumbledore and the other professors vanished. That's why Harry and the others got into trouble!" Neville's face went pale, and he started stammering again.
"Neville, don't worry. Malfoy's nonsense isn't trustworthy. The school would expel a student like that," Hermione said softly, though her own heart skipped a beat.
Malfoy's behavior was awful, but the news itself was even worse. Harry and Ron really could be in trouble. If McGonagall caught them, it would just be a scolding. But if Snape found out… well, he would definitely take revenge. Even Dumbledore was concerned, and Hermione's worry grew as well.
She wanted to ask McGonagall immediately—but were Harry and Ron really in trouble? First, she needed to know what had happened before she could act.
Suddenly, the food at dinner seemed tasteless. Hermione tried to comfort herself: Even if they did chase the train with magic, it's not a big deal—they won't be expelled.
As dinner went on, Hermione grew increasingly anxious. Neville scurried about, asking questions, but bad news kept arriving one after another:
"Harry and the others drove into a willow. They've been sent to the hospital.""They crashed on a hillside and are paralyzed.""They fell into the lake in the flying car. All the teachers went to rescue them, and they never came back.""They're all dead!" Neville wailed in despair.
"Neville, don't listen to Malfoy's nonsense. Stop asking about it—we'll see Harry soon," Hermione said, frowning, her voice rising slightly. She had wanted to stop Neville from panicking. "I asked, but I can't help worrying."
Listening to the increasingly absurd reports, she realized it was all likely Malfoy spreading rumors blindly. Her heart raced, but she refused to be fooled.
"Then let's go find Harry," she said firmly. Neville, shaken by Malfoy's tales, still trusted Hermione's judgment and seemed calmer.
After dinner, Hermione took Neville to see Professor McGonagall. As she suspected, Malfoy had only been pretending. McGonagall didn't want to discuss Harry, only telling them that he had already returned to the dormitory.
"At least they won't be expelled," Hermione said, breathing a sigh of relief as she rushed toward the dorm.
"What happened to you two? Everyone's talking about you, and Malfoy's made up all sorts of lies. He says you got expelled, drove the flying car into a hill, and even fell into the lake! Dumbledore himself had to save you!"
Hermione ran up to find Harry and Ron blocked at the dormitory entrance—they didn't know the password to get through the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Malfoy's talking nonsense. We didn't crash into a hill or fall into a lake," Ron said, gritting his teeth. Listening to Malfoy's stories, he was furious.
"We won't get expelled," Harry reassured Hermione gently. Seeing her worried face embarrassed him a little.
"So… you really did take the flying car? And got caught?" Hermione's tone was severe. "You can't just call a teacher to come get you. Where did you even get a car?"
"Stop nagging! We just had training from the teachers. What's the password?" Ron said impatiently. Who wanted this kind of trouble? Who wanted to get caught? Today was unlucky—Fred had flown many times without incident. They not only missed the train, they crashed into a willow, and then Snape happened to catch them. Just rotten luck.
"The password is 'melodybird,'" Neville whispered. He only needed to see Harry safe. Hermione's scolding was a little too harsh.
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