Hogwarts and the Holy Grail War

"He is really a good kid. He is gentle and polite, but also decisive when it comes to the key moments, just like you. Not only that, his thinking is as active as yours. In fact, he has mentioned all those bizarre ideas you had before to me."

"You just mentioned that wizards choose magical animals as their Animagus forms. He also told me about this, and like you, it was in the fourth grade."

"But what he didn't tell me is that he has already implemented this idea in private, and his idea is more radical than yours. The Animagus form he chose is..."

Professor McGonagall paused, her eyes growing limp.

"... Fire Dragon."

"Hiss—" Ethan took a breath, a little scared, "So his transformation failed?"

You know, at most he only dared to dream of becoming a unicorn or a night star. Is this big guy so tough? What is he thinking? Or is he thinking nothing?

I can only say that it's a good thing that I wrote this idea into my paper, so that Professor McGonagall discovered my problem. If I had kept it to myself and just thought about it, I'm afraid I would have turned into some kind of beast and disappeared in the Forbidden Forest.

Professor McGonagall shook her head and said.

"No, he succeeded. He retained his human sanity after the transformation, and he transformed back into a human smoothly."

"I was both happy and scared when I learned about this. What he did undoubtedly proved single-handedly that it was possible to transform into an Animagus. It is no exaggeration to say that he was a pioneer in this field."

"But doing so was undoubtedly very reckless. If something unexpected had happened, he would never have been able to turn back into a human. So when I found out, I gave him a good scolding."

"The matter should have ended here. Transfiguration has opened up a whole new field, and he has also been recognized by the professors because of this. Everyone should be happy."

"But we all underestimated the power of the Fire Dragon's mind. The aftereffects of its influence on human thinking are immeasurable. At first, no abnormality was noticed, and he was still a well-educated and gentle child. But slowly, his personality and behavior began to change."

"He became more aggressive, often getting into conflicts with classmates over trivial matters. He also had a strong sense of territory. His former good friend was knocked to the ground by him with a full-body binding spell simply because he accidentally knocked over his textbook. He also showed an obsession with money, becoming greedy and liking to hoard valuable gold items..."

"What's even more terrifying is that he began to like eating raw meat. He would steal some raw beef and mutton from the Hogwarts kitchen and hide in his dormitory to slowly tear it apart... All of this indicates one thing: his mind is transforming from that of a human to that of a dragon."

"Finally, after a conflict, he suddenly spewed dragon fire from his mouth and burned his friend. Although his friend was easily healed by Madam Pomfrey and she forgave him, he still regretted it."

"So, one night, he left a farewell letter, performed his final Animagus transformation, flapped his wings and left Hogwarts Castle, and no trace of him was found since then."

"What a good child! He is willing to give up his human identity just because he is afraid of hurting his friends again..."

When Professor McGonagall said this, tears welled up in her eyes. She took off her glasses, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and continued.

"So, Mr. Ethan, you should understand why I asked you to give up this idea? It's still too early for humans to do this. Don't think it's just because the dragon is too powerful or because he's unlucky. We should be in awe of all the unknown things."

Ethan nodded silently, pursed his lips, and said, "I understand, professor. I won't have such dangerous thoughts again."

"Well, I hope his failure can serve as a warning to you." Professor McGonagall put on her glasses and nodded.

"But professor, is there really no way to change him back to his original appearance? I mean, with the help of others?" Ethan thought for a moment and asked again.

"The transformation was so fast that no one could react. It was less than a month from the time he first transformed into an Animagus to the time he left." Professor McGonagall sighed, "We were able to infer this conclusion from his previous behavior only after he disappeared."

"A month?" Ethan rested his chin on his hand and fell into deep thought.

How did he succeed? This was not something that could be achieved simply by talent. If it was just an ordinary magical animal, it would be fine, but a dragon...

Could this guy know some ancient magic or something?

"Okay, you must be a little tired of listening to an old woman like me rambling on for so long, right?" Professor McGonagall smiled kindly and said, "The next Defense Against the Dark Arts class will start soon, so go quickly."

"Okay, Professor."

Ethan bowed slightly, picked up his book and turned to walk out of the classroom. When he reached the classroom door, he suddenly turned around and said to Professor McGonagall, "Professor, there is an old Chinese saying that goes, 'A blessing in disguise.' Maybe one day in the future, he will be able to successfully control this power and return to Hogwarts."

Chapter 91 Life is full of ups and downs

Flying class is a course offered by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry only for first-year students, which specializes in learning how to use a flying broom.

Of course, if senior students are willing to come to attend classes when they don't have classes, Madam Huo Qi won't chase you away, provided that you don't affect the normal class order of first-year students.

After all, according to "Hogwarts, A History of the School", there was once a fifth-year student who lacked great virtue and went to the freshmen's flying class to take a free ride. During the class, he kept making sarcastic remarks to several freshmen who could not lift their broomsticks, which made the students cry in frustration.

However, this person was also deducted a large number of points by Mrs. Furukawa, the flight class professor at that time, and was put in solitary confinement for a week. Since then, this new rule has been added to the school rules.

This is also a classic example of changing school rules by one's own efforts.

When Ethan arrived at the flying class lawn carrying his brand new Nimbus 2000, the first-year students from Slytherin and Gryffindor were already there. Next to them, there were more than twenty flying brooms neatly arranged on the grass.

Ethan recognized Harry's back, tiptoed up behind him, and put his chin on Harry's shoulder: "Long time no see, Harry. Did you miss me?"

"Ethan?" Harry turned around, very surprised, "We were just discussing about you."

"What's the matter?" Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head.

"It's your class schedule..." Ron interrupted. His eyes caught sight of the Nimbus 2000 that Ethan was holding between his ribs, and he immediately exclaimed, "Ethan, that broom of yours is... a Nimbus 2000? Am I seeing that right?"

"Yes, it's the Nimbus 2000." Ethan took the Nimbus 2000 in his hand, spun it twice like dancing with a long stick, and then handed it to Harry and the others. "I bought it when I went to Hogsmeade the day before yesterday. Do you want to see it?"

"Bloody hell!" Ron took the Nimbus 2000 that Ethan casually held with trembling hands and examined it carefully in his hands. "This thing is not cheap. You bought it without blinking an eye!"

"I've also seen it in Diagon Alley. It's said to be the fastest flying broom model in the world." Harry also moved closer, looked at the brand new broom carefully, and exclaimed in amazement.

"And it's also the most comfortable." Ron said bitterly, surrounded by a group of curious freshmen.

"Alright, alright," Ethan took the Nimbus 2000 from Ron, held it high above his head, and said to the freshmen, "Get ready for class first, and I'll let you try riding it later."

"That's great." Ron sighed as he looked at the tattered public flying brooms in the school. "Fred and George Weasley complained about the flying brooms in the school. They said that some brooms would tremble when you flew too high, and some always tilted slightly to the left. In short, they were not convenient to use."

"Okay, everybody, stop gathering together. Everybody stand next to a broomstick, quick!"

Madam Hooch, who taught them flying lessons, came and looked at the scattered students, put her hands on her hips and shouted sternly.

Rolanda Hooch, the flying professor at Hogwarts, is arguably the best person in the school at this level. In addition to teaching flying lessons, she also serves as the referee for Hogwarts Quidditch matches, and has always done so except in special circumstances. As a referee and Quidditch enthusiast, Madam Hooch wants to see an excellent and fair game. She cannot tolerate cheating and injustice, and she will not hesitate to give a penalty if a foul is committed.

Of course, most of the time the penalty kicks were aimed at the Slytherin team. It wasn't that she had a problem with Slytherin, but Slytherin always used some cunning tricks in Quidditch games, and could be called a little Korean team.

"Today I will teach you the correct way to ride a broomstick, starting from the basics." Madam Hooch walked between the students who were standing in two neat rows, stopped in front of a broomstick at the end of the row, turned around and looked at the students, "Maybe some of you have learned some riding methods of a broomstick under the guidance of your family, but here you will have to learn from scratch. Don't forget that a broomstick is essentially still a means of transportation, so you must pay attention to safety, and don't be complacent just because you have some experience and ignore safety. Do you understand, students?"

"Got it, Madam Hooch." The students answered in unison.

"Very good." Madam Hooch nodded with satisfaction and stretched out her right hand to demonstrate. "First, you must learn to make the broom fly to your hand automatically. Like me, stretch out your right hand, hover above the broom handle, and then say 'Get up!'"

"Get up!" everyone shouted in a scattered manner.

"Get up!" Ethan shouted casually, and the Nimbus 2000 obediently rose to his palm. He weighed the broom in his hand and looked at Harry, who also succeeded in one try, and they smiled knowingly at each other.

But the other brooms were not as obedient as the one in their hands.

"Get up→, get up↗, get up↘↗, get up↘." The broom beside Hermione didn't move, so she began to try to recite the command in different tones, but her shouting only made the broom roll on the ground.

Ron gloated at Hermione, who was rarely defeated, and then pretended to be calm and shouted, "Get up!"

At his command, the tail of the broom quickly lifted up and hit Ron hard in the face.

"Ouch!" Ron screamed in pain. He covered his red right cheek and looked at Harry and Ethan who were gloating. He was also amused by his own actions. "Don't laugh, Harry, Ethan."

Soon, all the flying brooms were in the hands of the students. Madam Hooch nodded with satisfaction and said.

"Okay, now step onto the broom and raise it so it rests at the base of your thighs. Sit firmly with your full weight on the broom handle."

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off their heads, walking up and down the line and correcting their grip on the broom handles.

"Don't use that fancy side-sitting position in class. Just cross your legs over the sides of the broom. Otherwise, any gust of wind from the sky can blow you down!" Madam Hooch scolded a Slytherin girl in dissatisfaction. The girl pouted, reluctantly crossed one leg over the broom and sat up straight.

"Okay, when I blow the whistle, you push off the ground with both feet, rise a few feet in the sky, and hover for a while. When you need to descend, just lean your body forward slightly, and you can land vertically back to the ground." Madam Hooch sat on a broom, holding the broom handle in one hand and the whistle hanging around her neck in the other hand. "Remember to push off the ground with both feet at the same time. Listen to my whistle, one, two..."

Before Madam Hooch blew her whistle, Neville's broom flew up unsteadily, swinging back and forth a few centimeters above the ground.

"Mrs. Hooch, what should I do..." Neville shouted in panic, his face pale, holding the broom handle tightly with both hands.

"Don't panic, Mr. Longbottom." Madam Hooch came to Neville quickly, gently opened her hands, and soothed him, "Calm down and lean forward slightly."

At this time, you must not touch his flying broom, otherwise the already unstable flying broom will fly in an unknown direction due to the sudden external force. You can only try to calm the rider down and control the broom to return to the ground.

"Okay, I'll just..." Neville tried to calm himself down and leaned forward slightly as Madam Hooch instructed.

But maybe he was too nervous, plus it was his first time riding a broomstick. Neville's body suddenly tilted to the side when he leaned forward, and the broomstick spun and took Neville flying into the sky, flying higher and higher.

"Mr. Longbottom!" Madam Hooch quickly mounted her broom and flew off to chase Neville.

Neville was spinning in circles in the air with a pale face and gasping for breath with his mouth open. His hands finally failed to hold the broom, and when Madam Hooch was about to catch him, his body slipped from the side of the broom and fell straight to the lawn below.

Chapter 92 If You Want It, Come and Get It Yourself

"Shock reduction and speed stop!"

Ethan decisively pulled out the wand from his sleeve and pointed it at Neville.

Neville's body, which was falling headfirst, slowed down instantly and floated in the air, slowly drifting to the ground.

"Come here." Ethan shouted at the broom that was flying farther and farther away with his wand.

The broom, which had already flown over the castle and flew over the Forbidden Forest, quickly flew back under Ethan's spell and fell into Ethan's hands.

"Well done, Mr. Ethan." Madam Hooch landed on the ground and nodded approvingly at Ethan. "Decisive decision. Five points for Gryffindor."

After that, Madam Hooch turned and ran quickly to Neville, who was sitting on the lawn in a daze, and helped him up. "Are you okay, Mr. Longbottom?"

Neville blinked dazedly, and when he came to his senses he said to Madam Hooch, "I'm fine, Madam Hooch."

"Okay, can we continue with the lesson?"

"No problem." Neville nodded decisively.

"Then return to the team. There may be something wrong with your broomstick. Try another one."

Neville changed his broom and stood in the team again.

"Okay, now listen to my whistle: one, two, three... beep!"

After hearing the whistle, everyone pushed off the ground with their feet and successfully rose into the air, floating left and right.

"What? This is quite simple. I must have been too nervous just now." Neville hovered steadily in the air with a comfortable smile on his face.

"Neville, what's that in your pocket? It's about to fall out." Harry asked when he saw half of something sticking out of Neville's pocket.

"It should be my memory ball. I'll put it away now." Neville said, and was about to put the memory ball back into his pocket.

However, his action caused the memory ball to slip out of his pocket and fall directly to the ground below.

"Hey, my memory ball!" Neville saw that his things were about to fall to the ground, and hurriedly controlled the flying broom to dive towards the memory ball.

When Neville got the memory ball, he was less than two meters from the ground.

In desperation, Neville quickly pulled up the handle of his broom, successfully changing the trajectory of the broom and avoiding the fate of crashing to the ground.

But this also made him lose his balance in the air, and the broom became out of control again, carrying Neville in the air.

It all happened so fast that no one, including Madam Hooch, could react. They could only watch Neville being carried by the broom and crashing into the outer wall of Hogwarts Castle.

"Oh." The students watching in the air all gasped, as if it was not only Neville who was hitting the wall, but them as well.

"That must be very painful." Ron swallowed and said to Harry beside him with lingering fear.

"Isn't it?" Ethan floated to Ron's side, his eyes following Neville who was still dangling in the air and running around, and he curled his lips.

In this situation, he couldn't rashly use any spells on Neville. The broomstick was originally cast with a flying spell. If it was hit by other spells, he had no idea where the out-of-control broomstick would take Neville.

Moreover, he couldn't use ancient magic in public.

I can only hope that Neville gets thrown off his broom sooner rather than later.

The out-of-control broom carried Neville into the wall several times, then turned an angle and rushed towards the piles of students floating in the air.

"Everybody, get out of the way!" In order to avoid hitting the classmates who were flying, Neville suddenly pulled up the handle of the broom again in desperation.

The flying broom became even more violent, climbing up past the students, carrying Neville dancing in the air, and finally dived down heavily and crashed into the lawn.

"Neville/Mr. Longbottom!" The students and Madam Hooch quickly landed on the ground and ran to Neville's side.

Neville lay on his back on the grass, holding his right wrist, curled up and breathing heavily.

Madam Hooch squatted down and carefully examined Neville's condition. Her face was as pale as Neville's.

"My wrist is broken," she whispered. "All right, child—you are very brave. It's all right. Get up."

She turned to the rest of the class and said, "I'm taking Longbottom to the hospital wing. You all put your broomsticks back where they belong and stay on the ground! If I see anyone flying up on a broom without permission, they'll be kicked out of Hogwarts before they even have a chance to play Quidditch! Let's go, dear."

Madam Hooch put her arm around Neville and slowly helped him up. Neville gritted his teeth to hold back his tears. He grabbed his wrist, gasped for air, and limped away with Madam Hooch.

Ethan looked at their backs as they left, pursed his lips, and felt a little helpless.

I thought I had just saved Neville and could avoid losing his hand in the flying lesson. But I didn't expect that you can't escape the fate.

Should we say that this is the end of the world line?

As soon as they were out of earshot, Malfoy laughed. "Did you see that tough-guy face of his, the big idiot?"

The other Slytherin students also laughed and echoed.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Parvati scolded, "Neville put himself in danger just to avoid hurting us. Who are you to laugh at him?"