The Return to Hogwarts

"Oh, maybe you're right--"

Hermione jerked the ship around in a panic, nearly throwing both herself and Harry out of the cabin.

"Let me do it, Hermione, you're not very good at this!"

Taking advantage of the ship's inertia and drifting, Harry quickly climbed to the bow, while Hermione, without trying to be brave, stepped aside and climbed directly to the stern. With her delicate eyebrows furrowed, she imitated Harry's earlier actions, placing her hands on the two wooden balls on the ship's side!

"All right."

After dodging a water jet with his head tilted to the side, the magical barrier activated again. Harry gripped the helm, took a deep breath, and said...

"Looks like a flying broomstick on the water. I can handle this. Buckle up, Hermione!"

As it turns out, Harry, as the youngest Quidditch Seeker in a century, was not just a name without substance. He had an exceptional talent for driving fast vehicles. At the same speed, Hermione couldn't shake off the Heracles, but Harry, with just a few agile turns and the obstruction of vision by the surrounding clouds, quickly left the magical fish behind, completely disoriented.

But now, their oak boat was very close to the orange orb of light in the clouds that Hermione had tried to approach earlier. Guessing that a Hinkpunk might be dwelling there, Harry instinctively felt uneasy. He quickly turned the rudder, wanting to get further away from that area. Just then, from another direction, a much larger oak boat suddenly crashed through the clouds and appeared abruptly in front of Harry and Hermione.

Chapter 202 The Game (Part 3)

The oak boat that came into view was about twice the size of Harry and Hermione's small boat, a special arrangement made by Professor Blaine to accommodate the large size of the two young wizards on board.

Crabbe and Goyle of Slytherin!

Because Professor Blaine had previously stated that this was a race, Draco Malfoy ruthlessly abandoned his two loyal henchmen and chose Miss Pansy Parkinson instead.

Upon seeing the two, Harry's face immediately darkened. He turned the helm, intending to change direction and sail away, but Hermione called out to him before he could do so.

“Wait, Harry, look at their expressions,”

Hermione blinked, watching Crabbe and Goyle slowly drifting towards the orange orb of light, and quickly realized what was happening.

"They seem to have been misled by Hinkpunk!"

Indeed, it was true. Even though their oak boat was twice the size of the others', Crabbe and Goyle, their eyes glazed over and looking dazed, stared blankly at the orange light, oblivious to Harry and Hermione not far away, and simply steered their small boat slowly toward that spot.

"That must have been really tough for those two big, clumsy guys."

Harry looked on with a mocking expression.

"I bet they were in a real frenzy figuring out how to get the ship moving, and that's what gave Hinkpunk the opportunity to take control of their minds."

"Don't say that, Harry."

Hermione spoke in a slightly reproachful tone, then looked worriedly at Crabbe and Goyle, who were slowly but steadily sliding towards the vortex in the fog.

"Do you think we should remind them, Harry?"

"Are you crazy, Hermione?"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

"Those two big oafs won't appreciate our kindness, and Professor Blaine won't really put the young wizards in danger, just make them suffer a little. Malfoy framed Hagrid in such a despicable way and lied to avoid playing against the Gryffindor team. In my opinion, it's just right to send them to take a bath!"

After frowning and thinking for a moment, Hermione hesitated before nodding.

"Okay, you said it—"

Wow!

Just as the two were about to stop meddling and continue exploring in another direction, a monster with horns, green teeth, and long fingers suddenly leaped out from the light green silt beneath the calm surface of the water. The monster grabbed the gunwale of the small boat with one hand and reached straight for Crabbe's collar with the other, seemingly intending to drag them both into the water and drown them!

"Relax the force and dissipate the energy!"

Seeing this, Hermione didn't have time to think. Instinct made her act. She took out her wand and aimed it at the Grindylow. After a clear shout, a faint stream of air leaped sixty feet in the blink of an eye and accurately struck the claw with long, thin fingers that was gripping the ship's side!

puff!

Greendylow fell into the water with a splash, and once it discovered who had ruined its hunt, it immediately bared its teeth and made strange chirping noises at Harry and Hermione.

"Well, it seems Professor Blaine has prepared an early final exam for Defense Against the Dark Arts class—"

Harry raised an eyebrow, quickly pulled his wand from his pocket, and held it alertly in front of him. His nonchalant attitude made Hermione a little embarrassed.

“Let me handle this, Harry. This is the trouble I got into. I have a spell that I hope will scare it away.”

Seeing Grindelwald surge like a shark, creating two white waves, Hermione went to Harry's side, nervously swallowed, and then gently twisted her slender wrist, whispering...

"Canridy Leviosa!"

Clang!

Not far away, on a charred tree, a withered branch that was about to fall emitted a sharp, ringing sound. Under Hermione's control, the withered branch swiftly sliced ​​through the water's surface, emitting a shrill scream. In an instant, the calm water surface was rippled, and a wall of water about ten feet high surged up, directly knocking out the rapidly charging Grindylow.

Amosta, who had been watching Ron and Parvati desperately dodging the water arrows from the Heracles in the mud, turned his surprised gaze to Hermione while floating in mid-air and chuckled softly.

“It looks quite good, Miss Granger--”

"Professor Blaine's artifact manipulation spell?!"

Harry's blue eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in shock. He stared at Hermione and exclaimed in astonishment, "When did you learn this?!"

"Just something that happened recently--"

Hermione pursed her lips and smiled shyly, but she seemed pleased by Harry's respectful attitude.

"Porter--"

Just as Harry and Hermione were marveling at the power and applicability of the spell, the water wall created by the Object Manipulation Charm rolled down, and the cascading waves caught up with Crabbe and Goyle's small boat, directly waking the two dazed individuals.

Inside the oak cabin, the two large, dim-witted men, their minds now clear, looked at themselves, soaked to the bone, and struggled to figure out what had happened. Then, their attention was drawn to Harry Potter not far away.

After a joyful exchange of glances, Goyle pointed at Harry with a silly grin.

"You're in trouble, Potter. Draco told us—"

"Malfoy?"

Harry, standing sixty feet away, became wary. He stared at the two large, dim-witted men who had escaped unscathed thanks to Hermione's kindness and demanded sharply,

What did Malfoy instruct you on?

However, Crabbe and Goyle were surprisingly more clever than Harry had imagined. They exchanged a mischievous glance, and the next second, one lunged at the bow and the other at the stern.

"Damn it!"

Hermione hadn't quite grasped what was going on, but Harry, quick-witted as ever, immediately understood what Malfoy had told those vile Slytherins to do.

"Get to the stern, Hermione!"

Harry yelled, "I bet Malfoy gave them orders to attack as soon as they see our ship!"

“But Harry!” Hermione stumbled back to the stern, channeling magic to make the oak boat move. “Professor Blaine clearly said that we are not allowed to attack each other!”

"Professor Blaine only said that we are not allowed to use our wands to attack each other, Hermione!"

Since being tricked by Professor Blaine in dealing with the 'Infernal' last school year, Harry has learned to read voices!

Just as Harry said, Crabbe and Goyle steered their boat straight into us, which was no laughing matter. Their boats were twice the size of normal boats, and given their superior mass, Harry and Hermione's small boat had no chance of surviving the collision.

Clang!

The slightest collision caused Hermione to scream, and their small boat began to rock violently from side to side. Had Harry and Hermione not been mentally prepared, they might have been thrown out of the cabin.

"I thought their ship would be slow!"

Harry said through gritted teeth.

“Professor Blaine must have cast a spell on this ship, ignoring the weight and only taking our magic into account!” Hermione screamed.

During their escape from the Heracles, Harry and Hermione had both used up a lot of their magic. In contrast, Crabbe and Goyle, though not the brightest, still had enough magic to keep up with the average level of a young wizard. They continued to drive towards the trap in a daze, and their magic was still plentiful.

Because of their excessive speed, Crabbe and Goyle's boat made a huge arc as it turned on the water. Taking advantage of this moment, Harry and Goyle managed to stabilize the boat and run in another direction. However, Crabbe and Goyle chased after them with sneers, seemingly oblivious to everything else.

"Those two big oafs have probably never experienced such a glorious moment in their lives!"

Harry thought angrily, feeling like he was riding a Nimbus 2000 and racing against it, being crushed in a straight line and only able to escape Crabbe and Goyle's repeated collisions by constantly and nimbly turning around.

"Take out what you were holding earlier, Hermione, or we'll be swimming fish food."

"Oh no, Harry!"

Hermione, her cheeks glistening with sweat, stubbornly called out.

"You yourself said that Professor Blaine forbids us from using magic to attack each other!"

Two hundred chapters! Hooray!!!

Chapter 203 The Game (Part 4)

Sometimes, Hermione's stubbornness really gives Harry and Ron a headache. Take Scabbers, for example. There was so much solid evidence in front of them, but she just insisted that Scabbers' death had nothing to do with Crookshanks, even though she herself couldn't come up with any evidence to prove Crookshanks' innocence.

"Okay, let me see if there's any other way—"

Harry was panting, his eyes darting around, hoping to find a Gryffindor classmate who could help them, or perhaps something that could help them.

"Hmm!" Suddenly, Harry's eyes lit up. "Phew, I have an idea, Hermione! We can make Malfoy's two lackeys suffer!"

By this time, Hermione's face, glistening with sweat, was a little pale. The magic she had used and Harry's rapid maneuvers in controlling the small boat at the last second had left her head spinning. When she heard Harry say that he had found a way to get rid of Crabbe and Goyle, she couldn't even manage a happy expression. She just nodded, suppressing her nausea.

"Hey, you two!"