The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

"Oh my God!"

Hagrid stepped forward and examined the four enormous "summoned beasts".

Look at these little cuties.

He looked at Golza with shining eyes, clearly having a special fondness for it.

"Oh, how are you, beautiful little one!"

As he spoke, he reached out and touched Golza's ferocious head with his large hand.

Scott turned around and, sure enough, saw the indescribable expressions on the faces of the others.

“Oh, Scott.”

Hagrid stared intently at Scott, rubbing his hands together.

"Where did you find these adorable little creatures?"

“I’m sorry, Professor Hagrid, they are all products of Transfiguration.”

Scott ruthlessly revealed the truth.

As he spoke, he turned around, waved his wand to restore the "summoned beasts" to their original size, and put them back into his pocket.

At that moment, Hagrid's round, dark eyes became dull, and he too lost his dreams.

Scott held Golzato, which had shrunk to the size of his index finger, in his palm.

"Of course, it is a real animal."

He told Hagrid.

"The Komodo dragon, also known as the Komodo monitor lizard, can reach a length of 10 feet and is mainly distributed in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia..."

As he spoke, Hagrid's eyes lit up again.

“Of course, they are not magical creatures,” Scott emphasized again.

But Hagrid clearly didn't care about that; he was already captivated by the Komodo dragon's appearance and kept muttering about how to get one.

Scott ignored him and turned back to the crowd.

“Oh, they’re here,” said George, standing on tiptoe.

The crowd parted to make way.

Professor Slughorn led the four expelled students over.

Young Malfoy still had an arrogant air about him, his thin chin held high.

But his excessively pale face and shifty eyes betrayed his inner unease.

Pansy Parkinson kept her head down and stayed close to him.

She tried to grab Malfoy's arm several times, but he shook her off each time.

Gore and Crabbe, each carrying two large suitcases, stumbled along behind Malfoy and Parkinson.

Their chubby faces were filled with fear.

The group walked through the crowd, and they walked faster and faster despite the unfriendly stares from the people.

Like a frightened bird, they were terrified of being beaten up.

Finally, they arrived at the front gate.

Professor Slughorn stopped in his tracks.

The professor, who looked like a walrus, usually interacted with his students in a friendly manner, but at this moment he looked very serious.

"To be honest, I feel a little guilty."

He spoke to the four expelled students in a low voice.

"Although I have only been in charge of Slytherin House for less than a year, I am still your Headmaster."

“I will not deny that I bear some responsibility for what happened.”

"But I hope you remember that this was your own choice."

"In addition, I hope that you will learn to think independently in the future and not be easily influenced by your surroundings."

"I hope you can understand what true excellence really is..."

His words were earnest and meaningful, but they didn't seem to have much effect.

Malfoy remained stubbornly upright, clearly unmoved.

Parkinson kept her head down, and no one knew what she was thinking.

As for Gore and Crabbe, judging from their blank expressions, it was clear they hadn't understood at all.

"Let's go."

Professor Slughorn waved his hand somewhat listlessly.

"This is the best I can do for you."

"Humph."

Malfoy snorted, glanced back at the crowd, and then turned and walked towards the door.

"Wait for me, Draco."

Parkinson quickly followed, trying to grab Malfoy's arm, but was violently shaken off.

Gore and Crabbe also picked up their suitcases and walked out the door.

"and many more!"

Suddenly, Harry burst out of the crowd and ran to the front door.

“You can’t go out, Potter.”

Professor Slughorn reached out and stopped him.

"Wait, Malfoy!"

Harry shouted.

Malfoy stopped and turned to glare fiercely at Harry.

"What, are you mocking me, Scarface!"

He scoffed.

“I can tell you, I don’t care! Hogwarts was never my only option; my dad always wanted me to go to Durmstrang!”

He spoke a string of words loudly, but he seemed somewhat all bark and no bite.

"You've never realized your mistakes, have you, Malfoy?"

Harry said angrily.

"Think about it carefully. Since you came to Hogwarts, have you done even one good deed?"

"I'm not you!"

Draco Malfoy said in a sarcastic tone.

"You righteous 'savior,' superstar of the magical world, put away your disgusting sense of justice! Don't try to lecture me!"

"You're beyond saving, Malfoy!"

Harry clenched his fists tightly.

"Go ahead and give it a try, see if Durmstrang will take your admission! I bet they definitely won't!"

After saying that, he immediately turned around and walked back inside the gate.

Young Malfoy watched his retreating figure, his face ashen as if he had swallowed a fly.

"Let's go, Draco."

Parkinson tugged at his sleeve.

Malfoy abruptly pulled his hand away, turned around, and strode forward.

Watching the four disappear into the night, Professor Slughorn sighed and turned to walk towards the castle.

"Everyone, disperse and go back now."

Hagrid waved to the crowd and closed the door again.

On the way back, Scott overheard Ron complaining to Harry.

"what do you want to say in the end?"

He clearly didn't understand Harry's behavior.

“We all know that guy is a bastard, what’s the point of talking to him?”

"I do not know."

Harry was also somewhat confused.

“He is indeed very annoying, the most annoying guy I’ve ever met at Hogwarts, oh, second only to Snape.”

"What's wrong? Are you reluctant to part with your enemy, Harry?"

George chimed in with a grin.

"I have to say, without a worthy adversary, there would be a lot less fun."

That's not the case.

Harry denied George's claim, then thought about it again.

"Perhaps it's because... he was the first young wizard my age that I met after entering the magical world. Although my first impression of him was terrible, and it was impossible for us to become friends, but..."

At this point, he hesitated, unsure how to express his complex emotions.

"Oh! Harry! The first person your age you met wasn't me!"

Ron yelled, his attention seemingly a little off.

“I know what you’re thinking, Harry.”