[PS: Wishing everyone a happy New Year in 2026, and may all your wishes come true!
Also, asking for votes and followers at the beginning of the year, thank you all readers!]
Night, 7:15 PM.
Hogwarts curfew was at nine o'clock.
Normally, on a school night, there should be a steady stream of students coming and going between the library and their house common rooms in the castle just after seven.
But this was, after all, the first day of school. Even the most diligent young wizards wouldn't treat themselves so harshly.
Moreover, including today, the events of the past few days had been so interesting and thrilling.
Students who loved novelty were more than willing to "waste" their time discussing these interesting events.
And the empty castle further deepened the fear in the hearts of the Gryffindor wizards who were "burdened with a mission"!
Behind Nick, Ron's pale face hadn't recovered in the slightest. His eyes were vacant, like a puppet, letting Harry support him as they walked downstairs.
Of course, to be honest, Harry's condition wasn't much better than Ron's.
After leaving the tensely heated Gryffindor common room and being stimulated by the chill rising and lingering from the walls of the ancient castle as night fell, Harry's thoughts became clearer.
A sense of absurdity rising from the bottom of his heart made him constantly ask himself... was he doing something completely foolish?!
While at the Dursleys' throughout August, Harry had fantasized a lot about his life at magic school, including some wild fantasies. But he had to admit, even though his imagination was rich enough, he still hadn't expected that on the first day of official school, he would join a... riot!
Yes, it was practically a riot.
But if he turned back and told Professor Delfino that he quit because of cowardice...
Leaving aside the fact that he really hoped first-years could also play with broomsticks and "Protect the Captain," just the label of "deserter" was something he absolutely refused to bear.
Otherwise, he...
How could he continue to hang out in Gryffindor House in the future?!
When people are nervous, their senses are always particularly keen.
While walking downstairs with stiff steps, Harry noticed a phenomenon he hadn't noticed in the past few days—although the figures in the portraits on the staircase walls were doing all sorts of strange things in their frames, Harry could be sure that when he and Ron passed in front of their frames, these fake figures were indeed looking at him and Ron with subtle gazes!
This was truly terrifying!
If not for Professor Delfino's warning, Harry thought that even if he graduated from this school, he would never have realized that these portrait figures could be the teachers' eyes and ears!
So—
Enduring these even more tormenting prying eyes, Harry and Ron were led by Nick to a door in the Entrance Hall, to the left of the Great Hall, leading to the dungeons.
After descending a dark staircase, they came to a corridor. The walls here were lined with bright torches, creating a warmth that made Harry feel a bit more comfortable.
But the good times didn't last long. After a few turns, those warm torches disappeared, and the corridor displayed before them became eerie and treacherous. Even the torches spaced far apart emitted a strange fluorescent glow.
Slytherin students were actually willing to live in such a damp and cold ghostly place?
Harry couldn't help but be a little surprised... Of course, these details were insignificant compared to the situation he and Ron were currently facing.
"Wait here, I'll go call someone for you."
The ghost Nick still spoke in a cheerful tone. He turned to Harry and Ron, then disappeared straight through the wall.
Harry stopped, looking at the stone wall beside him, which showed nothing special, with a mix of surprise and curiosity.
"Harry—"
There were no portraits here, and Ron, who had been silent all the way, finally spoke. He turned his head, aiming a mournful face at Harry.
"Do you know what my dad would do to me if he knew what I did today?"
"What would he do?"
Harry's throat tightened, worried for his friend.
"He wouldn't be able to do anything—"
Ron smiled as if all hope was lost.
"Because before that, my mum would have already chopped me into eight pieces and buried me in our back garden to fertilize the soil!"
"I'm not sure what the Dursleys would say—"
Harry actually felt fortunate about his family background.
"But I think if I were expelled, they would definitely gloat."
"Just gloat?"
Ron said with a desperate sob.
"In that case, those Muggles seem pretty nice."
Harry was about to say something, but suddenly a crack appeared in the middle of the wall beside them, and three people walked out one after another.
Harry tensed his face, and Ron immediately put away his mournful expression, looking uneasy and gloomy.
"That silly headless ghost told me you were looking for me, didn't he, Potter, Weasley?"
Appearing before them was Draco Malfoy, and of course, his two close followers, Crabbe and Goyle.
"Tell me, what is it?"
Aside from undisguised disgust and hostility, Malfoy's gaze at Harry and Ron was also full of vigilance...
Harry wasn't surprised at all by this boy's expression. If their positions were swapped, the face he would show wouldn't be much better than Malfoy's.
However, what worried Harry and Ron more now were the two chubby boys, Crabbe and Goyle... Before they could even speak, these two stood behind Malfoy with arrogant expressions, making some comical bodybuilding poses.
In another place, Harry guaranteed he would laugh out loud at Crabbe and Goyle's silly looks, but in this situation—
Harry took a breath, forcing himself not to look at Crabbe and Goyle, and focused on Malfoy—he undoubtedly disliked this boy, but he also didn't think actively provoking him was a wise move.
"@@##—"
Ron tightened his lips and spoke bracingly.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Weasley?!"
Malfoy frowned.
"@@#%%^^&."
Ron spoke again.
"What's wrong with you?"
Malfoy frowned even deeper.
"He said—rookie."
Harry glanced at Ron, knowing he couldn't clearly say what Professor Delfino had instructed him to.
He looked at Malfoy. Although his heart was pounding in his chest, he tried his best to maintain a calm face.
"You were beaten to a pulp in the Protect the Captain match."
"Oh, I understand completely now—"
In an instant, in the corridor where the eerie wind howled, Draco Malfoy's face darkened. His pale grey eyes glared viciously at Harry and Ron, his pale cheeks flushed, and he gritted his teeth in anger.
"You two are here to die!"