Harry Potter: Charlie and the Candy Factory

In the black lake, Ron and Harry felt the heavy rain and the rocking boat, and for a moment they hugged each other in fear.

"This, this, this..." Harry's face turned pale with fright. He couldn't help turning his head to look at Ron and asked stammeringly.

"How could this happen?! I feel like this boat is going to capsize!!"

Ron listened to Harry's words, and the expression on his face, which was also too pale, wrinkled together.

With some fear, he said to Harry

"Fred told me... when Hogwarts opens new students every year... the water monsters in this lake will try their best to rock the boat in the water!! If you don't want the boat to be destroyed and people... you have to throw it away...

A few freshmen, fed to the horse-shaped water monster!!..."

Speaking of this, Ron's voice already had a hint of crying. He whimpered and continued.

“This, I didn’t believe this at first!!”

Upon hearing Ron's words, Harry, who was already a little flustered by the ups and downs and turbulent waves of the lake, couldn't hold back at all and simply hugged Ron a little tighter.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!" both of them shouted in a heart-shaking voice.

Although Harry actually had no idea what the so-called horse-shaped water monster was...but that didn't stop him from being afraid of it.

On the other side, Draco's performance was not very calm.

He raised his eyebrows, holding the book firmly in his arms with one hand during the bumps, and barely holding on to the edge of the boat with the other hand.

Then he gritted his teeth and issued an order to Goyle and Crabbe, who were protecting him on both sides.

"Hurry up! Crabbe, come here!"

"Goyle, come this way, raise your hands! Hurry up! My book is going to get wet!!!!"

The whole boat was filled with exclamations and shouts, accompanied by sobbing from time to time, as it slowly floated towards Hogwarts on the other side.

But Filch was the only one standing firmly on the bow of the boat, as if he were part of the boat, with his legs firmly planted on it, and he was undulating along with the floating of the boat.

He held the lantern in his hand high, his eyes calm, looking far away at the hazy Hogwarts Castle in the thin rain and fog, his mouth pursed, as if he was thinking about something.

He was like this from beginning to end... in stark contrast to the frightened little wizards behind him.

His thin figure and half-bald hair were given a different kind of tragic color at this moment, like a standing statue or a hero holding hope.

"Hmph..."

Filch's eyes moved. He turned his head slightly and looked at the ugly people behind him. He couldn't help but curl up the corner of his mouth and showed a bit of a smile. But then, when he saw the end of the boat,

When Draco, who had blond hair and held a big book, seemed to have touched an inexplicable switch, the memory that he least wanted to recall was triggered again.

His smile disappeared immediately, and he shuddered unconsciously. He quickly withdrew his gaze and looked back at the increasingly clear Hogwarts Castle not far away.

Finally, with the continuous screams one after another, the boat began to gradually stabilize. And the heavy rain that was still pouring suddenly dissipated the moment the boat docked, and the dark clouds faded in the sky.

The covered night moon and starlight were revealed, although there were only a few scattered ones, but at this time, they still looked dazzling...

"..." Ron and Harry opened their eyes in shock, kept holding each other tightly, and swallowed their saliva together.

"We... survived?" Harry asked cautiously, his voice still mixed with gasps.

"Hmm... I didn't feed the horse-shaped water monster." Russell sniffed, nodded, and reached out his hand to touch the rainwater or tears on his cheeks.

"Then... who went down?" At this moment, the look in Harry's eyes finally returned. He turned his head and looked back and forth, as if he wanted to confirm who had disappeared.

"Maybe it's Malfoy and his two trolls." Russell said casually, but then, when he thought about it, it was really possible, some hope immediately appeared in his eyes, and he quickly turned his head and looked straight.

He cast his gaze towards where Draco and the others were.

When he saw that one of the three people was still alive, his hope turned into deep disappointment, and he slowly withdrew his gaze.

This small boat is not very big, and can barely fit a group of freshmen in it. In addition, when Ron said this, he did not lower his voice, so his words could easily pass through.

into Draco's ears.

Draco carefully took out the notebook from his arms and finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was nothing wrong with it.

"snort!"

Then he turned to look at Ron, snorted coldly, and said mockingly

"Only a fool like you would really believe this -"

"The horse-shaped water monster is obviously real!"

Ron heard Draco's words, and although the aftereffects of being taught a lesson by him were still there, at this moment, he still mustered up the courage and glared back.

"???????"

Draco's handsome brows wrinkled, and he narrowed his eyes at the same time, looking at Ron with an expression on his face that seemed difficult to express.

After a long pause, he finally said sincerely

"Your little brain is really amazing."

Then he shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and focused on his precious notebook again. He ignored Ron.

When Ron saw Draco no longer looking at him, he also withdrew his gaze, and then looked at Harry beside him with a surprised look on his face, smiling happily.

"Harry! Did you hear that? Malfoy just praised me... Do you think this meant he was showing weakness to me?"

"Uh..." Harry looked at Ron, who looked happy, and then at Draco. He was speechless for a moment, but he did not dispel Ron's beautiful misunderstanding, and just nodded vaguely.

"I think...probably."

Harry looked away, then subconsciously reached out and touched the bridge of his nose, and said with some uncertainty.

"Ha! That's what I'm saying!" Ron straightened his waist, looked forward with twinkling eyes, and saw that the majesty of Hogwarts was clearly visible. For a moment, his chest was full of pride and pride.

Harry also looked at the castle that didn't know how high it was, and his little mouth couldn't help but open slightly.

A breath of fresh air after the rain was breathed into his lungs with a hint of coolness, and Harry's spirit was lifted.

"Okay! Now, the freshmen will put their luggage in the designated place and then go to the auditorium to attend the opening ceremony."

Filch jumped out of the boat and shouted.