Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

In the middle of the Black Lake, Ron and Harry, feeling the heavy rain and the swaying boat, hugged each other in terror.

"Th-Th-This..." Harry's face was pale with fright, and he couldn't help but turn to Ron, stammering, "What's happening?! I feel like this boat is going to capsize!!"

Ron, hearing Harry's words, his face equally pale, had his features all scrunched together.

He said to Harry with some fear, "Fred told me... when Hogwarts welcomes new students every year... the Grindylows in this lake desperately try to rock the boats!! If you don't want the boat to be destroyed and people to die... you have to throw a few new students down to feed the Grindylows!!..."

Speaking to this point, there was already a hint of crying in Ron's voice. He sobbed and continued, "Th-This, I originally didn't believe!!"

Hearing Ron's words, Harry, who was already flustered by the undulating, surging lake waves, completely lost it and simply hugged Ron even tighter.

"Ahhhhh!" they both screamed, their voices trembling hearts.

Although Harry didn't actually know what a so-called Grindylow was... it didn't stop him from feeling terrified.

On the other side, Draco's performance wasn't very calm either.

He furrowed his eyebrows, and amidst the bumping, one hand desperately held a book in his arms, while the other barely grabbed the edge of the boat.

Then, gritting his teeth, he issued orders to Goyle and Crabbe, who were protecting him in the center.

"Hurry! Crabbe, come over here a bit!"

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

The entire boat was filled with exclamations and shouts, accompanied by occasional sobbing, as it slowly floated towards Hogwarts on the opposite shore.

Only Filch stood steadily at the bow of the boat, his entire person like a part of the boat, his legs firmly planted on it, rising and falling with the boat's swaying.

He held up the lantern in his hand, his gaze calm, looking distantly at the hazy Hogwarts Castle in the thin rain and mist, his mouth pursed as if he was thinking about something.

From beginning to end, he was like this... forming a sharp contrast with the group of little wizards behind him who were scared out of their wits.

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

"Hmph..."

Filch's gaze moved, he slightly turned his head, glancing at the ugly appearances of the group behind him, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, revealing a bit of a smile, but immediately, when he saw Draco on the boat, with his blond hair and holding a large book, it seemed to trigger a strange switch, and the memory he least wanted to recall was triggered again.

His smile instantly disappeared, and he even shivered unconsciously. He hurriedly retracted his gaze and looked again at the increasingly clear Hogwarts Castle not far away.

Finally, accompanied by continuous, rising and falling screams, the boat began to gradually stabilize. And the heavy rain that had been pouring down suddenly disappeared the moment the boat docked, the dark clouds receded in the sky, revealing the obscured night moon and starlight, although there were only a few scattered ones, they still seemed dazzling at this moment...

"..." Ron and Harry opened their eyes in lingering fear, maintaining their tightly embracing posture, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva in unison.

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

"Yeah... didn't go to feed the Grindylows," Ron sniffled, nodding as he spoke, while reaching out to touch the raindrops or tears on his cheeks.

"Then... who went down?" Only now did the light in Harry's eyes finally return. He turned his head, looking back and forth, as if trying to determine who had disappeared.

"Maybe it's Malfoy and his two trolls," Ron said casually, but immediately, thinking that this was actually possible, a certain hope immediately appeared in his eyes, and he quickly turned his head, staring straight at the position where Draco and the others had been.

When he saw that all three of them were present, that hope turned into a deep disappointment, and he slowly retracted his gaze.

This boat wasn't very big, its size only barely enough to fit a group of new students. In addition, Ron didn't particularly lower his voice when he said these words, so his words easily reached Draco's ears.

Draco carefully took out the notebook from his arms, and only after seeing that there were no problems, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hmph!"

Then he turned his head to look at Ron, snorted coldly, and mocked, "Only a fool like you would actually believe that—"

"Grindylows definitely exist!"

Ron heard Draco's words, and although the aftereffects of being lectured by the other party were still there, at this moment, he still mustered his courage and retorted angrily.

"??????"

Draco's handsome eyebrows furrowed, and at the same time, he narrowed his eyes, looking at Ron with an expression that seemed hard to describe.

After pausing for a long time, he finally said sincerely, "Your little brain is truly amazing."

Then he shook his head, retracted his gaze, and refocused his attention on his precious notebook. No longer paying attention to Ron.

Ron saw that Draco was no longer looking at him, and also retracted his gaze, then looked at Harry beside him with a happy expression, smiling very happily.

"Harry! Did you hear that? Malfoy just praised me... Do you think this is his way of showing weakness to me?"

"Uh..." Harry looked at the happy Ron, and then looked at Draco, at a loss for words for a moment, but he didn't dismantle Ron's beautiful misunderstanding, only nodding vaguely.

"I think... maybe."

Harry looked elsewhere, then subconsciously reached out and touched the bridge of his nose, saying somewhat uncertainly.

"Ha! I knew it!" Ron straightened his back, his eyes sparkling, looking forward, seeing the majestic Hogwarts clearly visible, for a moment, his chest was filled with pride and ambition.

Harry's gaze also followed, looking at that castle of unknown height, his small mouth couldn't help but open slightly.

A breath of fresh air after the rain, carrying a hint of coolness, was inhaled into his lungs, and Harry's spirits were lifted.

"Alright! Now, new students, go put your luggage in the designated location, and then go to the Great Hall to attend the opening ceremony," Filch shouted, jumping down from the bow of the boat.