The carriage slowly rolled toward Hogwarts Castle through the evening mist.
Hermione and Dudley barely spoke the entire way, both remaining silent as they contemplated their own thoughts.
Before long, the carriage stopped outside the towering gates of Hogwarts Castle.
Dudley and Hermione climbed down from their transport. Looking at the magnificent castle so close at hand and the warm yellow light emanating from its countless windows, both couldn't help but relax considerably.
Here, those troublesome matters from the outside world seemed to fade away significantly.
Hogwarts Castle was like a protective sanctuary. As long as they returned here, they were simply students again. No matter what happened, there was still a group of capable teachers above them to handle serious situations.
"I wonder how Harry and Ron are doing," Hermione said, looking around but not seeing the two missing boys anywhere. Her expression showed obvious disappointment and worry.
Previously, she had always felt that when Harry and Ron were around, they were far too noisy. The two were constantly chattering, seeming to have endless topics to discuss, preventing her from reading in peaceful quiet.
However, after the two weren't by her side, she suddenly found the surroundings somewhat too quiet and empty.
Although Dudley would also converse with her, the feeling was completely different. He was too composed and mature. Sometimes he didn't seem like a twelve-year-old child but rather like an elegant gentleman, which created a sense of emotional distance.
"From what I can sense, they might have already entered the castle. Come on, maybe we can see them in the Great Hall," Dudley said with a slight smile, walking toward the castle entrance.
Hearing this reassurance, Hermione quickly followed behind him.
"How do you sense these things? Why don't I feel anything at all? Is it because you and Harry are brothers?" Hermione enquired with obvious curiosity.
She had always been fascinated by Dudley's so-called "intuitive feelings".
Although Dudley's perceptions were consistently accurate, the word "feeling" itself was full of subjective judgement and lacked logical foundation, which made Hermione, who always preferred logical and analytical thinking, feel very uncomfortable and unable to understand.
"Feelings are extremely difficult to describe in words," Dudley said after considering the question carefully.
"You don't need to pay too much attention to this kind of perception. Everyone's way of understanding the world is different. For me, intuitive feelings are a very important tool, but this method isn't necessarily suitable for you. Do you understand what I mean?"
Hermione seemed to grasp his meaning partially but not completely. However, she could tell that Dudley was advising her not to worry too much about these things and to recognise the world in her own analytical way.
The two soon arrived at the Great Hall.
Brilliant light poured out from the entrance, illuminating the stone corridor, and cheerful sounds dispelled the lingering worries from their journey.
They quickened their pace and entered the brightly lit hall.
"See, I told you they might already be here," Dudley said, his eyes flashing as he quickly located Harry and Ron beside the Gryffindor table.
They looked reasonably well, just somewhat haggard, with robes stained with mud and looking rather dishevelled, but overall nothing too serious.
"That's wonderful," Hermione said with visible relief, hurrying over to join them.
"What on earth happened to you two?" Hermione asked immediately.
"Don't even mention it. We were incredibly unlucky," Ron said with a pale, exhausted face.
"Dudley, we encountered some serious problems," Harry said. Before Dudley could even sit down properly, Harry rapidly recounted everything that had happened like rapid gunfire.
Dudley listened carefully until he pieced together a complete picture from Harry and Ron's chaotic accounts.
"So you're saying that the barrier to Platform 9¾ was somehow sealed, then you drove Mr. Weasley's car following the Hogwarts Express all the way to school, and then got attacked by an aggressive tree?" Dudley summarised concisely.
"Exactly right," Harry and Ron nodded immediately with obvious agreement.
"Forgive my bluntness, but didn't you think of having Hedwig send a letter to the school explaining your situation?" Dudley asked pointedly.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and froze completely in place.
Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. She was genuinely worried about her two friends' decision-making abilities.
"We completely forgot," Harry admitted with a slightly reddened face.
Thinking about it now, their best course of action would have been to wait where they were and send an urgent letter to the school administration.
"Forget it. I doubt it would have worked even if you had sent a letter," Dudley said, shaking his head.
Although sending a letter was the most logical approach, since Platform 9¾ had been mysteriously sealed, any correspondence probably wouldn't have gotten through either.
This situation reminded Dudley of the previous letter interception incident during the summer.
"What was the purpose of doing this? To prevent Harry from coming to school? But even Malfoy wouldn't use such a crude and childish method of obstruction," Dudley thought to himself.
On the staff table, the annual Sorting Ceremony had already begun, but Dudley and the others weren't in the mood to pay much attention to the proceedings.
They only noticed that Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor house.
Besides that, Dudley also observed that Luna was sorted into Ravenclaw.
This matched Dudley's expectations perfectly. Although that peculiar little girl seemed somewhat eccentric, she was quite intelligent. For sorting purposes, it would most likely be Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.
"Look, there's an empty seat at the staff table. Professor Snape's usual position," Ron suddenly observed.
"Maybe he's sick?" Hermione suggested hopefully.
"Maybe he left the school entirely, because Professor Dumbledore would rather have Gilderoy Lockhart as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher than let Snape teach that subject," Harry said with obvious excitement.
"Fired? That's absolutely brilliant! This is the best news I've heard today. Everyone completely hates..." Ron also said enthusiastically.
Dudley wanted to stop them, but it was already too late.
These two were talking far too quickly and loudly.
"Perhaps," a cold, low voice appeared directly behind them, "he's standing right behind you, waiting to hear why you two didn't take the school train as required."
"Ahhhh!" Harry and Ron were genuinely startled. When they turned around, they found Snape had appeared behind them at some point, his long hooked nose almost touching their faces. They could even smell the unpleasant greasy scent from his unwashed hair.
"P-Professor Snape," Harry and Ron called out in obvious panic.
"You two, come with me immediately," Snape commanded, ignoring the curious stares from surrounding students and speaking coldly to Harry and Ron.
Dudley stood up, wanting to follow and provide support.
"Can't you understand what I'm saying, or do you really think of yourself as their personal babysitter?" Snape's icy gaze turned to Dudley with obvious irritation.
"Hmph." With a dismissive cold snort, Snape turned and left, his black robes billowing dramatically behind him.
Harry and Ron didn't dare say anything in response. After giving Dudley a desperate, pleading look, they reluctantly followed in Snape's intimidating footsteps.
"They won't be expelled again, will they?" Hermione asked with obvious nervousness.
"Probably not," Dudley replied, glancing at the staff table, where Professor Dumbledore was still conversing quietly with Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall's expression appeared somewhat grave and concerned, but Dumbledore seemed relatively relaxed and untroubled.
Judging from this observation, expulsion was highly unlikely, but some form of punishment was definitely inevitable.