A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 43 Devil's Web

At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, William and the other Ravenclaw students hurried down the steps to the field in front of the gate, ready for their first flying lesson.

It was a sunny, breezy day, and as they walked briskly down the sloping grass towards a flat lawn on the opposite side of the field, the grass rippled gently beneath their feet.

Hufflepuff's students were already there, along with dozens of flying brooms, neatly arranged on the ground.

William had heard Fred and George complain about the flying brooms at school, and now he saw that it was true.

Each one was tattered and worn, like an antique that had been used for decades. Leaving aside the safety features, the overall impression was terrible.

Does Hogwarts lack money?

They definitely don't lack money.

William strongly suspects that someone has taken kickbacks!

Mrs. Hooch walked over quickly. She had short gray hair and yellow eyes, like those of an eagle.

"Alright, what are you all waiting for?" she said sternly. "Everyone stand next to a flying broom."

Hurry, hurry, let's get going!

William found a flying broom that didn't look too broken and started communicating with it through his eyes.

William had never dealt with such things before and just hoped the other party would give him some face.

"Stretch out your right hands and place them above the broom handles," Mrs. Hodge called from the front, "and say, 'Get up!'"

"Get up!" everyone shouted.

William's broom wobbled as it climbed upwards, as if struggling to ascend a mountain.

William raised his voice again, but the broom only moved a little faster.

Autumn's broom was instantly in her hand. She raised an eyebrow and gave William a smug look.

This was the first time she had surpassed William in a class.

When everyone had their brooms, Mrs. Hodge demonstrated how to ride on a broom without slipping off her head.

Riding on the flying broomstick wasn't as uncomfortable as I'd imagined; there was some kind of invisible support, as if it were cushioning my bottom.

Madame Hooch walked back and forth in the procession, correcting how they held their hands.

"Alright, when I whistle, you all push off the ground with your legs, push hard," said Madam Huoqi.

Hold the broom firmly, rise a few feet, then lean forward slightly and fall vertically back to the ground.

Listen to my whistle—three—two—

However, Shabby of Hufflepuff seemed too nervous; before the whistle could even touch Madam Hodge's lips, he pushed off and flew up.

"Come back, child!" Mrs. Hooch called out, but Xia Bi flew away into the distance like a rocket.

Fred and George said the broom was slow, but William thought it was fast; in just a short while, Shabby had disappeared.

Even the Nimbus 1700 isn't that fast, is it?

A little further away from the greenhouse, they found Shapi.

He was very lucky.

Not far away is a special fertilizer used to irrigate various medicinal plants.

—The excrement of magical creatures.

Although there was a layer of magical protection outside the septic tank, at that sprinting speed, there was no guarantee that Shabi wouldn't break through the defenses and plunge in.

He was also unfortunate.

Shabi fell from a great height but was not injured because she landed in a clump of vines.

The flying broom was still moving violently, which awakened the plant. Numerous tentacle-like branches surged from the ground and snapped the old broom in two with a single whip.

Shabi jumped up and struggled to move toward a damp wall, but the plant stretched out snake-like tendrils, wrapped around his ankles, and lifted him up.

He struggled desperately to tear off the vines, but the more he struggled, the faster and tighter they wrapped around him.

When William and his men arrived, Shabby had already been wrapped up like a dumpling and was hanging from the eaves like a Calabash Brother.

"Help!!" Shabi trembled, swaying unsteadily, looking like a green caterpillar from a distance.

But no one dared to go up. Tentacles, several meters long, swung in mid-air and slammed into the ground, creating a large crater.

That effect is like ten Illaoi unleashing their ultimate abilities at once!

Everyone looked at Mrs. Fokke.

Madam Huo Qi's expression also changed slightly. She recognized the name of the plant in front of her—Devil's Web!

You can recognize it at a glance, not because she is very knowledgeable or has unique expertise in herbalism... but because Robert, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, died because of this plant a few months ago!

Robert's fate was truly tragic. He got drunk during the day, was gored by a wild boar and seriously injured, and then happened to fall into the devil's web and get entangled. In the end, he could not get medical treatment and bled to death.

Mrs. Hodge knew, of course, that Professor Sprout had transplanted the Devil's Web, but she hadn't expected that the plant would be transplanted near the septic tank.

Why did this flying broom have to fly over here of all times?

Okay, other places are pretty dangerous too. There are tall walls to the west and north, Black Lake to the south, a forbidden forest further east, and not far away, there's an even more dangerous "Hit-and-Beat Willow"...

Hogwarts is a dangerous place.

As for Lady Hooch, the Quidditch teacher...

Although she is an adult wizard and a teacher, she is not familiar with the Devil's Web!

You can't expect a physical education teacher to answer your calculus questions or calculate the probability of being a red-green colorblind person, can you?

You can't expect a Quidditch teacher to remember the weaknesses of the Devil's Web.

Even if she used to know it, she has long since forgotten it all over the years.

"You all wait here, I'll go get Pomona..."

Mrs. Huo Qi panicked and prepared to call for help, but before she could finish speaking, the Devil's Net opened again.

Disturbed by so many people, the Devil's Web was in a bad mood, and a large number of vines rose up on the ground, causing destruction everywhere.

Everyone retreated, and Shabi was thrown high into the air, the vine carrying him towards the cesspool.

The young wizards exclaimed in surprise, as if they were about to see Shabby doing freestyle inside.

Qiu grabbed the broom, seemingly wanting to sit on it to save Shabi.

"Are you crazy?" William said. "Before you even get close, you'll be caught in the devil's web."

"What should we do then?" Qiu asked loudly, gripping the stick.

"I've heard Hagrid say that the Devil's Web thrives in dark, damp places—"

"But we have no fire!" Qiu shouted, twisting her hands anxiously.

William asked in surprise, "Are you a witch or not?"

He drew his wand, waved it, and chanted a spell. A blue bellflower-like flame shot out from the tip of the wand.

He pushed through the crowd and slowly walked towards the Devil's Web, flames hanging from his wand like blue lanterns.

Everyone stared at William, and many of the young wizards covered their eyes.

But despite the countless vines baring their claws, none dared to approach William; they all hid in the shadows.

Within seconds, Shabi felt the vines loosen their grip on him.

The plant twisted and twitched, automatically untying the tendrils wrapped around him, and he finally broke free completely.

Shabi breathed a sigh of relief.

So he fell from mid-air.

"Ahhh! Help!!"

……

……

(Third update complete)

(End of this chapter)