The Return to Hogwarts

Millison, much more robust than Harry, looked down at him and said dismissively, "Anyway, you've already lost this contest. When this school year ends, you'll see Slytherin lift the Quidditch trophy for the eighth consecutive time. Potter, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of expression you'll have on your face then."

Harry was about to retort, but Neville's words first left the group stranded on the track looking surprised.

“We didn’t lose.”

Neville's round little face showed determination. Harry was stunned because it seemed to be the first time he had seen Neville face the arrogant gaze of the pure-blood Slytherins without backing down.

“We didn’t lose, Harry.”

Neville emphasized it again, his wet hair falling in clumps across his forehead, looking quite comical, but now no one could ignore the determination in Neville's eyes.

"Are you stupid from the crash, Longbottom?"

Daphne chuckled.

"Or perhaps you've suffered such a severe blow that you've gone insane. Can't you see our current situation? The rest of us are stuck in a quagmire and can't get out, but Slaterlin, Draco, and Pansy, and you..."

Neville didn't wait for Daphne to finish her sarcastic remarks before he took action. He turned around and resolutely lunged at the stern hemisphere, letting out a low growl before slapping it down.

The ship shuddered violently, as if trying to surge forward, but then, to Slatrin and the others' astonishment, it came to a complete stop, remaining motionless.

“If you were trying to fool us,” Daphne patted her chest, feigning shock, “you succeeded, Longbottom. You gave us quite a fright!”

Amidst the cheerful laughter of the remaining three Slytherins, Daphne glared at the comical Neville, her tone filled with deep disgust.

"Look at you, you idiot, Longbottom! You're a disgrace to your blood! I know something interesting, I've heard about your foolish parents..."

"You are not allowed to insult my parents!"

Just as the Slytherins began to mock Neville, Harry's wand, which had been hanging limply at his sides, was already pointing upwards. He hesitated, unsure whether to disobey Professor Blaine's orders. But when Daphne mentioned Neville's parents, Harry's wand was already above his head. The fire in his eyes had extinguished his fear of punishment; he was now ready to teach these Slytherin vipers a lesson, no matter what. But then, Neville roared.

The ear-piercing shrill sound and the sudden movement of the cabin made Harry forget about punishing the insolent Slytherin. He stared in surprise at the stern—Neville, his head soaked with water, was steaming with white smoke rising from it, veins bulging on his forehead. He let out a lion-like roar, and for a moment Harry even thought he had mistaken Neville for someone else!

It moved! The ship really moved!

Neville actually managed to break free from the magical restraint of the Ramora fish lurking in the mud with a burst of magic!

Boom!

After a deafening crash, there were several unexpected splashes as Harry and Neville sped off into the water. The Slytherins, who had struggled to their feet, were stunned and speechless, staring at the far-off Harry and Neville.

"Yo ho!"

"Well done!!!"

The sudden burst of cheers from the young Gryffindor wizards nearly shook the roof off, especially when they saw the Slytherins beside them with expressions of utter disbelief, their joy almost bursting forth.

"But how exactly did they do it!"

Previously, some young Gryffindor wizards had tried similar methods when they got stuck in the mud, but they couldn't even get the ship to shake off its shackles, let alone free it!

This is called 'bursting into a new form' --

Amosta leaned back in his chair and answered the question with a smile.

Harry was completely baffled by Neville's astonishing performance. He didn't know how Neville had managed it, but now was clearly not the time to dwell on that. Now that Gryffindor had another chance to win the game, Harry's eyes gleamed as he made up his mind to seize the opportunity no matter what!

When Harry and Neville finally managed to get rid of Blaise's gang and reach the halfway point of the race, Malfoy and Pansy were already approaching the fork in the 'Y'-shaped track. In other words, with just one correct choice, they could easily claim the glory.

"What exactly is going on with that Longbottom?"

Malfoy understood the simple truth that only by winning could he better humiliate Porter. He and Pansy had been focused on getting there, trying to defeat Gryffindor as soon as possible. However, there was no reason why Malfoy and Pansy hadn't noticed the commotion that had occurred in the first half of the race.

As Milison and Daphne rammed Potter's boat into the mud, Malfoy and Parkinson, relying on the inertia of their oak boat, were trying to regain some strength. Seeing this, they relaxed and thought the situation was settled. However, what happened next made them feel the urgency again.

Even from half a mile away, Malfoy could feel the ship speeding towards him, its white waves crashing against the shore, carrying with it an unwavering determination.

"Speed ​​up, Pansy!"

Malfoy immediately became alert and loudly commanded Pansy to use up the little magic he had left.

"But Draco—"

Pansy Parkinson's usually sharp and sarcastic face softened considerably when facing Draco, almost appearing as a refined lady. She brushed aside her sweat-dampened bangs that had been obscuring her eyes, and despite her hands twitching slightly, she didn't utter a single complaint. She turned her head to look at the fork in the road.

Which way should we go?

Both forks in the road were shrouded in a hazy, indistinct mist. In the mist on the left, there were about five or six flickering orange lights, while on the right there was only one.

This is clearly unreasonable, and anyone with a clear mind should immediately realize that something fishy is going on.

But the moment his gaze fell upon the brighter orange light in the mist on his right, Malfoy's breath caught in his throat.

The world blurred into a hazy light and shadow in his eyes in an instant. Malfoy felt extremely dizzy. He realized something was wrong and instinctively wanted to turn the rudder to the left. However, it seemed that some inexplicable force controlled his body and replaced his choice. After letting out a silent whimper, Malfoy, with a blank expression, suddenly trembled and swung the rudder to the right. Thus, he rushed into the cloud wall and disappeared without a trace.

P.S.: Sorry everyone, I'm not ready for Chapter 2 yet. I'm still writing it. I'll update it tomorrow during the day.

Chapter 207 The Final Victor (Part 2)

Malfoy and Parkinson veered onto the right side of the track. Did they find the right path?

Seeing this, Harry felt a pang of unease. He glanced at Neville, whose back was completely soaked with sweat but who was stubbornly persevering, and his eyes showed pity.

“Neville, Bosde and Greengrass have been left behind. Let me go. My magic has almost recovered!”

"No, I can still hold on—we're just a little bit more away."

Neville wiped the sweat from his face and, panting, refused Harry's request.

Finally, thanks to Neville's tireless efforts, twenty seconds after Malfoy's ship disappeared from everyone's sight, Gryffindor's ship was about to reach the intersection of the 'Y'-shaped track. From a distance of several dozen feet, Harry could vaguely see the difference between the two sides.

As the two biggest rivals at Hogwarts, since Malfoy chose the right, Harry will not hesitate to steer the ship to the left.

Such a choice is not purely based on impulse.

Harry believed that if the right-hand track led to the finish line, then Malfoy, who made the correct choice first, would undoubtedly win. Even if they followed behind and finished the whole race, they would still be unable to escape being mocked by Malfoy and having their owlhouses cleaned. Therefore, it was better to bet that Malfoy had chosen the wrong side and that the left-hand track led to the finish line.

As Harry thought this, he gritted his teeth and focused his gaze on the track to his left, which was flashing several orange lights. Just as he was about to make his move, the track to his right, shrouded in mist, appeared behind him.

Click!

A loud, sharp crack made Harry's hand tremble violently, the oak boat swayed sideways, and Neville, startled by the noise, also shuddered, unconsciously withdrawing his hand and swaying as he stood up.

Neville blinked and hesitated for a moment. He glanced at the ship beneath his feet and then looked into Harry's eyes. Their eyes met in mid-air, and they both realized that the other had the same guess.

"What's going on, Harry?"

Neville asked uneasily, "That sound just now... did it sound like a ship being smashed?"

"Help!!!"

"Ah, a monster!!!"

Harry didn't have time to speak because his words were interrupted by two almost simultaneous screams filled with panic and fear. Then, to Harry and Neville's sudden, terrified gaze, the wall of fog on the right side of the track began to churn. Immediately afterward, two indistinct figures frantically splashed through the water and swam toward Harry and Neville. Needless to say, it was Malfoy and Parkinson.

In a split second, Harry and Neville looked at each other in bewilderment and recalled the terrifying attempt that had occurred during their practical Defense Against the Dark Arts class earlier in the year. Uncontrollable, Harry instinctively pulled out his wand and was already silently reciting the Fire Charm in his mind.

"Help me, Potter!"

The moment Malfoy emerged from the mist, completely submerged in water, the first figure he saw was a person. With his life threatened, all his petty conflicts were forgotten. He shouted for help, only to swallow a mouthful of river water.

"There's something in there, Malfoy, is it an Infernal?"

Although Harry hated Slytherin's underhanded tactics to win the match, reason told him he should leave immediately because a menacing figure was about to emerge. But seeing Malfoy and Parkinson rushing towards him recklessly, Harry, with a furrowed brow, felt his feet were rooted to the spot and he couldn't move.

"It's not an infernal, Potter, help me!"

"It's a monster! It wants to kill us!" Malfoy cried out in terror, and Pansy Penkinson also cried out.

Harry instinctively wanted to rebuke them, but when he thought of Professor Blaine's flamboyant style, he was somewhat inclined to believe their 'nonsense'.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the monster emerged from the mist, stepping onto the water's surface. The instant they saw its clear face, Harry and Neville, who had been wavering, gasped in shock, their scalps tingling with fear.

So far, Harry has seen three of the most terrifying monsters: Hagrid's three-headed dog in his first year, Professor Blaine's infernal corpse in his second year, and the Dementors he saw on the Hogwarts Express at the start of his third year. Now, there is another creature that terrifies him.

A deathly, sinister gaze; grotesque claws and teeth.

It was frightening enough, but not what scared Harry. What terrified him was the black aura surrounding the creature, its pure malice, its death-like power.

Clapping clapping

Harry, whose body was frozen stiff, heard a strange sound. After a brief moment of thought, Harry realized that it was Neville's teeth chattering.

The Hinkpunk, brought from Avalon Island by Amosta and corrupted by dark magic, trembled its orange-glowing antennae. It bared its teeth and spewed out plumes of foul-smelling black smoke, just like the eight-eyed spider that Amosta had imprisoned under the dormitory floor for several years. This Hinkpunk, which had lived in a glass bottle for half a year, could not suppress its bloodlust; it wanted to kill.

wow-

Malfoy and Parkinson scrambled onto Harry's small boat. The cabin, which was originally just big enough for two people, became incredibly crowded after accommodating four young wizards, and they could only stand side by side with each other.

"What are you standing there for, Potter?!" Malfoy roared. "Are you waiting for that monster to tear us all to shreds? Get the ship moving!"

“If you can’t show the gratitude you deserve, Malfoy,”

Harry blinked, snapping back to reality. Faced with Malfoy's almost commanding words, his expression turned cold. "Then please leave me and Neville—ouch!"

Plop, plop!

The world tilted abruptly in their field of vision, and it wasn't until their faces made intimate contact with the cool water that Harry and Neville realized what had happened—Pansy Parkinson had pushed them into the water!

"Set sail, Malfoy! We know which way is right now!"

Pansy happily stepped to the stern, and as she passed Malfoy, who was staring at her in disbelief, she gently pushed him toward the bow!

"Who told you to do this, Pansy?"