The Return to Hogwarts

Malfoy opened his mouth, glancing at Longbottom and Porter, who were struggling to maintain their balance in the water, his expression one of astonishment. He had never expected that Pansy would dare to do such a thing without his orders.

"Don't stand there, Draco—"

Pansy seemed completely oblivious to how egregious her actions were; before her hand even touched the hemisphere, she urged Malfoy to take the helm.

"That monster will teach those two idiots, Potter and Longbottom, a lesson for us. We'd better get out of here quickly to avoid getting caught in the crossfire!"

Malfoy pursed his lips, his astonishment vanished, replaced by a cold rage in his grey eyes. He shifted his gaze from Pansy to Potter, who was helping Longbottom to his feet in the water. After a brief hesitation, he knelt down and offered his hand.

His actions confused Harry and Neville. What was going on with Slytherin? Pansy Parkinson did something lewd by pushing them into the water, and Malfoy actually tried to pull them onto the boat.

"Don't get me wrong, Potter, I'm just returning the favor I owed you for Professor Blaine's practical lesson last time!"

Seeing Harry's puzzled look, Malfoy, his face flushed, said...

Chapter 208 The Final Victor (The End)

What was the favor Professor Blaine did for his last practical lesson?

Harry hurriedly helped Neville up. While struggling to pull his foot out of the mud, he picked up his wand, ready to strike first. Since Pansy Parkinson had committed such a despicable act of 'unsportsmanship', Harry felt that he no longer needed to abide by Professor Blaine's rules.

However, Harry was a little taken aback when Malfoy leaned over the ship's railing and offered his hand. He stood there for two or three seconds before he realized what Malfoy was talking about, which made his expression strange.

It's ridiculous that Malfoy is actually a person with principles and a sense of gratitude!

"Are you crazy, Draco?"

Seeing this, Pansy stared in disbelief and shrieked, "That's Potter! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Shut up, Pansy, I don't need you to tell me what to do!"

Draco turned and glared at Pansy, then looked at Harry, his tone becoming very irritated, "Hurry up, Potter, get on the ship before I change my mind!"

Harry looked suspicious; he couldn't believe Malfoy was really being kind. But Hinkpunk, emerging from the mist, wouldn't wait for them to explain themselves. Quietly, it had already arrived twenty feet behind Harry and Neville.

Sa!

On the island of Avalon, among a host of powerful undead creatures, Hinkpunk could only serve as bait for deception, but in the outside world, corrupted by dark magic, it was a truly dangerous creature.

On the river, shrouded in a thin mist, Hinkpunk, wading through the water on a single, strong leg, let out a mournful screech. Then, his body, billowing with black smoke, vanished instantly, only to reappear behind Harry with five-inch claws raised!

Before the wind even rose, Harry could feel a chill rising from his tailbone and instantly spreading to the back of his head.

Time seemed to be slowed down at that moment. Harry saw Malfoy's face gradually contort with fear, so close to him, and saw Parkinson's hand slowly loosen its grip on the wheel as he lunged toward the power unit at the stern!

At the classroom door, the young wizards, caught off guard by the series of unexpected events, were stunned. Hermione unconsciously grabbed Ron's arm, her pure yellow eyes filled with despair, while Ron, whose arm was already bruised and purple from being pinched, forgot to cry out in pain. He stood there with his mouth agape, unable to react to the tragedy unfolding before his eyes.

Amostella raised an eyebrow, preparing to immediately activate the restrictive magic previously imprinted on the Hinkpunk's body. However, what happened next made Amostella hesitate for a moment, deciding to assess the situation first.

"Get out of the way, Harry!"

In the nick of time, it was Neville who reacted first, clumsily yelling and suddenly shoving Harry into the water.

Malfoy instinctively stumbled backward and fell into the cabin. Pansy, lunging towards the stern, placed one hand on the engine and the other on her wand, controlling the rudder. Ignoring Malfoy's warnings, the small boat nimbly turned and sped off towards the left-hand track.

Claws swept across Neville's back, a few strands of silk floating in the air, the atmosphere thick with an indescribable oppression.

"Neville!"

Harry, who had been pushed into the water, sprang up the instant he touched the bottom. He let out a scream, wrapped his left arm around Neville's neck and dragged him backward, and swung his wand with his right hand. The red light of the Disarming Charm shot out towards the Hinkpunk's outstretched claws. However, the Hinkpunk was incredibly agile. In the blink of an eye, it twisted and dodged Harry's Disarming Charm, and appeared in another direction in the blink of an eye.

"I'm fine, Harry."

Completely soaked, Neville staggered to his feet. His face was covered in water droplets, making it impossible to distinguish between river water and sweat. He touched his back and, after finding no injuries, spoke in a still-shaken tone.

"All right--"

Harry's heart, which had been pounding in his throat, settled back down. He looked at Malfoy and Parkinson as they fled, his eyes filled with anger once more.

Sure enough, those despicable Slytherins are completely untrustworthy!

"What should we do now, Harry? Will Professor Blaine come to our rescue?"

Neville also frantically pulled out his wand, but the thin stick in his hand offered him little sense of security.

"It's hard to say, Neville—"

Harry's gaze pierced through the misty racetrack, and he could vaguely make out Professor Blaine standing by the riverbank.

“I don’t think Professor Blaine will stand by and watch his monster kill people in front of him, but he probably won’t make a move until we’ve suffered enough.”

It must be said that Harry had a very clear understanding of Amos Tower. Professor Amos Tower's teaching philosophy for Defense Against the Dark Arts was to recreate realistic dangerous scenarios as much as possible, forcing young wizards to break through their own limits when facing life and death.

Regardless, fighting such a nimble monster in the water is extremely difficult, and Harry used the Freezing Charm again—a spell that Hermione had taught him to use, which she had used last year against the Cornish elves that Gilderoy Lockhart had released in class.

Harry and Neville helped each other climb onto the ice, their faces tense as they faced the little elf who was plotting how to disembowel them. Both of them were racking their brains to figure out what spells they had that could defeat it.

"Weapon to eliminate you!"

The oppressive feeling emanating from this dark creature was so intense that Harry, who didn't know much about luring or feinting, unleashed the strongest attack spell he possessed.

The dazzling red light illuminated the dim room, looking quite imposing, but as expected, it missed its target. The spell hit the water, and with a bang, the splashing water drenched them both.

"Everyone, everyone's petrified!"

Neville hurriedly added a spell, the Petrify Charm, which was probably the only offensive spell he could use. Hermione had also taught him to use this spell, and as for the process of learning the spell, there was nothing faster than experiencing it firsthand!

To be honest, for a young wizard, this Hinkpunk, corrupted by darkness, is much more difficult to deal with than an Infernal.

The threat posed by the rare Inferi mainly stems from the fact that they are corpses. If you can put aside your fear of them, Inferi are actually just monsters that are quite strong but move extremely slowly. Even a first-year wizard can deal with them using the Fire Charm they have mastered. Moreover, apart from biting, Inferi don't have any special attack methods.

But this Hinkpunk was a different story. It possessed a certain level of intelligence, and its dodging agility far exceeded the limits of wizards. Harry and Neville, who didn't know how to coordinate, couldn't hit it with their spells at all.

boom!

A void spell stirred up water again. Neville, whose gaze had been following the ghostly Hinkpunk and who was completely disoriented, slipped and fell hard on the wet ice, crying out in pain.

Panting heavily, Harry quickly bent down to help Neville, but this was undoubtedly a terrible mistake. Hinkpunk, who had been waiting for an opportunity, stomped his foot on the water and, like an arrow released from a bow, reappeared behind Harry, opening his hideous maw to strike at Harry's neck.

"Watch out, Harry!"

Neville, exhausted of both physical strength and magic, shoved Harry aside. Before he could even pull his hand away, the monster's claws slashed across his arm, splattering blood droplets into the air. The intense pain contorted Neville's round face.

Amosta, far away on the embankment, frowned. He glanced at Malfoy and Parkinson, who had gotten stuck in another channel because they had rushed too fast, and then looked at Potter and Longbottom, who were exhausted from the ordeal. He pursed his lips helplessly. The next second, he raised his right foot, ready to pull the men back. But just then, Neville, who had an injured arm, roared and, to Amosta's surprise, suddenly grabbed the thick leg of Hinkpunk and flipped it over!

"Hurry up, Harry!"

Neville flipped over and landed on Hinkpunk's back, pressing his hands against the monster's hideous head. Even though the wisps of black smoke made him dizzy, he didn't let go, but instead shouted anxiously at Harry.

Neville's 'fierce outburst' left Harry speechless, but Harry immediately realized this was a golden opportunity. To make sure his spells didn't miss, he scrambled around like a first-year student dealing with a troll, and shoved his wand hard into Hinkpunk's narrow nostril!

Roar!

Hinkpunk cried out in pain, his violent struggle sending Neville flying. But Harry, already on the verge of defeat, wouldn't waste this opportunity. In an instant, a flurry of spells flashed through his mind, and Professor Blaine's advice flashed back. Taking a deep breath, Harry roared...

"The flames are blazing!"

Words cannot describe the brilliance of that moment. The violent explosion was swallowed by a suddenly appearing black hole before it could spread, but the shockwave from the nearby roar still caused Harry, who was standing right next to it, to faint.

"You two—"

Amos Tower instantly appeared behind Harry, picked him up, and looked at Harry's charred face and Neville floating on the water with his eyes rolling back. Amos Tower shrugged, his face darkening.

"You're addicted to hand-to-hand combat, aren't you?"

Chapter 209 Cherish

Click!

In an instant, the blinding lightning, like a gleaming sword cleaving through the sky, tore apart the darkness that shrouded the world.

As the gale swept through, the surging waves roared and crashed against the cliffs, the earth shook, and even Hogwarts Castle, standing high on the cliff, trembled slightly.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid, clutching his little red umbrella, braved the howling wind and rushed into the dark forest. In such terrible weather, not only the centaurs, but also the Aragog tribe and magical creatures like unicorns might need his help.

"Oh, how terrible! I haven't seen a storm like this in years!"

In the castle foyer, Professor Sprout tightly covered his tattered hat with his hand and resolutely rushed into the thunderstorm.

She went there to prevent the storm from destroying her greenhouse.

The world may be shrouded in turmoil, but Hogwarts Castle remains steadfast.

Thanks to Professor Blaine's outstanding performance, the university hospital was once again overflowing with patients.

“I don’t recall ever offending you, Amosta!”

Mrs. Pomfrey roughly smeared white pigment on Ron's back, then hurried towards the girls' section separated by curtains. Halfway there, she glanced at Amostella, who was wandering around like a spectator, and said angrily,

"You're exaggerating, Madam—"

Amosta touched his nose somewhat awkwardly and said that he wanted to explain his behavior, but Mrs. Pomfrey, who was in a hurry to apply medicine to the students, had no time for small talk and directly lifted the curtain and rushed into the girls' area.

Upon receiving the news, Oliver Wood stood before Harry's bedside (who had already woken up), looking at Harry, whose face was wrapped in gauze, with a look of despair on his face.

"Is it possible, Professor?"

Wood turned to Professor Blaine and began to weep.

"Since Malfoy can use his arm as an excuse, Professor, is it possible to reschedule the Gryffindor team's game?"