Chapter 9: Harry: ?

While Ron was busy causing a commotion elsewhere, Professor McGonagall had already arrived with the class schedules for the Gryffindor students.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." Hermione accepted the schedule with both hands and gave the professor a sweet smile.

Professor McGonagall returned the smile and nodded at the young girl before turning to Glenn. To his slight surprise, though not entirely unexpected, Professor McGonagall pulled out a Slytherin schedule that had been tucked into the Gryffindor stack and handed it to him.

Glenn accepted it with both hands as well, politely thanking the old tabby cat.

"Look, our first class is Herbology! What about you, Glenn… Oh, great! We're in the same class!" Before Glenn could properly examine his schedule, Hermione had snatched it from his hands.

(Note: In the original book, Gryffindor takes Herbology with Hufflepuff, but for the sake of the plot, I'll follow the movie's version where Gryffindor and Slytherin share classes. The same applies to other major courses. Thanks for understanding.)

Hermione carefully compared their schedules and let out a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, there were only one or two short classes where Gryffindor and Slytherin weren't together. Otherwise, she would have been worried about Glenn spending too much time with those Slytherins.

It wasn't Glenn she didn't trust—it was those Slytherins who seemed even more fanatical about him after not seeing him for an entire holiday!

After a satisfying breakfast—though it was just milk for Glenn—he and Hermione leisurely strolled out of the Great Hall, heading toward the greenhouses at a relaxed pace.

"Look, Glenn, it's the Whomping Willow!" Hermione pointed at the tall tree in the distance. However, it seemed to be in poor condition, with many of its branches broken—some scattered sparsely on the ground, others hanging by a thread like Nearly Headless Nick's neck. The entire tree was wrapped in bandages. "It looks so pitiful."

Hermione twitched her lips. She had heard yesterday that Harry and Ron had crashed the flying Ford Anglia into the Whomping Willow upon arriving at Hogwarts.

The Whomping Willow was a rare and valuable plant, usually tended to with great care by Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff. After what Harry and Ron had done, Professor Sprout was likely furious—if not outright ready to cry.

The two chatted in hushed tones, exchanging whispers, until the rest of the students arrived. Draco was the first to reach the greenhouse, while Neville, who had probably finished his meal long ago, had been stuck waiting for his dawdling dormmates.

"Morning, Glenn, Hermione. Did you see the Whomping Willow over there?" Draco waved at the pair, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "That was Potter and Weasley's doing. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Causing such a mess—I thought for sure we wouldn't see them this morning. But no, they had the audacity to show up at breakfast as if nothing had happened. If you ask me, they should've been expelled."

Glenn remained silent, while Hermione hesitated, debating whether to nod in agreement. In the end, she decided against it. After all, they were classmates—just kids. It wasn't worth holding a grudge.

"Ah, speak of the devil—here comes Potter!" Draco's voice rang out as Harry and Ron came into view, entering his range of mockery. The young Malfoy lit up with excitement, rallying the crowd's attention. "Come on, everyone, take a look at our famous Potter and his loyal sidekick, Weasley! Look at their incredible feat over there." He pointed dramatically at the bandaged Whomping Willow. "Not only did they return to school in the most unexpected—and safe—way, but they also graciously gave the Whomping Willow a makeover! Truly, Potter and Weasley—always a bit more peculiar than the rest of us."

Snickers rippled through the crowd, and even Hermione couldn't help but stifle a laugh, hiding her mouth behind her hand as she giggled from behind Glenn.

It seemed that Draco had leveled up during the break, becoming even more sharp-tongued. His sarcastic remarks left everyone struggling to hold back their laughter. Even some Gryffindors couldn't keep a straight face, resorting to pinching their thighs or biting their lips to suppress their chuckles, their expressions contorting in the process.

Harry and Ron's faces turned various shades of red and white. After a long pause, Ron's face flushed an even deeper red than it had been earlier from his Howler-induced embarrassment—almost as if blood would start spilling out.

"Shut up, Malfoy! You have no idea what happened." Ron quickly and forcefully pulled out his wand, which he had hastily taped back together that morning. It was almost like a dramatic wand-drawing scene from a Western.

But his old wand, already weakened from the crash with the Whomping Willow, couldn't withstand the strain.

Creak—(high-quality sound effect)

The fragile wand slowly bent at the taped joint, drooping into a "V" shape.

As the wand sagged, Ron's face grew paler and paler.

The sudden turn of events left even Draco momentarily stunned. But soon, the crowd outside the greenhouse erupted into laughter.

"Hahaha… ha… oh, yuck! Cough, cough! Weasley—you trying to kill me with laughter so you can inherit my pocket money? Or are you planning to cast some powerful spell with that broken wand of yours?" Draco laughed so hard he nearly choked on his own spit, his voice dripping with mockery. "Only a Weasley could have a wand that's a bit more… unique than everyone else's!"

The crowd burst into laughter once more, filling the air outside the greenhouse with a lively energy.

Fortunately, Professor Sprout arrived just in time to defuse the situation.

She strode across the lawn with a grim expression, carrying a bundle of bandages—likely having just finished tending to the Whomping Willow.

Trailing behind her was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart. No wonder Professor Sprout looked so displeased; running into Lockhart first thing in the morning was bound to ruin anyone's day.

"Oh! Good morning, everyone!" Lockhart greeted the group with his trademark exuberance. "I just demonstrated to Professor Sprout how to treat the Whomping Willow! But don't get the wrong idea—I wouldn't want you to think I'm more skilled in Herbology than she is! I just happened to encounter a few of these rare trees during my travels."

Glenn silently evaluated Lockhart in his mind. The Whomping Willow was an exceptionally rare plant, with only a handful existing worldwide. For Lockhart to claim he'd seen several during his travels suggested he must've journeyed far and wide…

After witnessing Lockhart's behavior at Flourish and Blotts and again last night, Glenn had begun to question the man's true capabilities. While Lockhart's boasting seemed endless, the accuracy and rigor of the content in his books couldn't be denied. This left Glenn uncertain.

Was Lockhart a genuinely talented wizard with an eccentric personality, or was he merely a fraud hiding his weakness behind exaggerated tales? Glenn remained intrigued.

Lockhart's facial expressions were impeccably managed, and his recounting of his experiences showed no signs of physiological anomalies, such as irregular blood circulation. Glenn couldn't discern anything definitive for now, which only piqued his interest further.

Either Lockhart was a truly great and powerful wizard—or he was a seasoned con artist with exceptional acting skills.

As Glenn pondered, Lockhart seemed ready to ramble on, but Professor Sprout cut him off with a curt remark.

"Today's class will be in Greenhouse Three!" Professor Sprout shot Lockhart a displeased glance before leading the students toward the greenhouse.

"Oh, Greenhouse Three! The plants inside are more fascinating—and more dangerous!" Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement. She had heard of Greenhouse Three before and had already forgotten the earlier drama, eager to dive into the lesson.

Professor Sprout pulled out a large key from her belt and unlocked the door.

A rich, earthy smell of damp soil and fertilizer wafted out, mingling with the intense floral scents of certain plants. Glenn silently identified the sources of the various aromas.

One by one, the students filed into Greenhouse Three. Just as they were about to begin, Lockhart darted forward and grabbed Harry by the shoulder.

"Harry! I've been meaning to talk to you—Professor Sprout, you won't mind if he's two minutes late, will you?"

Hermione glanced at Professor Sprout, whose stern expression made it clear she very much minded.

"Oh, you agree? Splendid!" Lockhart didn't even give Professor Sprout a chance to respond before shutting the door behind him.

Before it closed completely, the students caught a glimpse of Harry's desperate, pleading eyes as they sought help from everyone inside the greenhouse.

Save me!

"Poor kid," Hermione muttered, shaking her head as she began arranging her supplies for class.

Draco, seated across from Glenn and Hermione, smirked. "But as long as Potter keeps him occupied, we won't have to deal with Lockhart's nonsense, right?" he declared confidently. "I bet this idle fool would have followed us into the greenhouse if not for Potter's distraction. The whole class would've been ruined."

Neville, who had chosen a seat beside Glenn, nodded in agreement, though he looked worried. Sitting next to him were his dormmates, while Ron had positioned himself as far away from Draco as possible.

"Professor Sprout doesn't seem to be in a good mood," Neville said anxiously. Professor Sprout was his favorite teacher, and Herbology was his favorite subject. He didn't want Lockhart to ruin the class. Though he felt sorry for Harry, Neville silently thanked him for taking the brunt of Lockhart's attention.

"Focus on the lesson. Class is about to start," Glenn reminded the three daydreamers around him.

"Okay~" Hermione drawled, shaking her head to clear away her wandering thoughts as she replied to Glenn.

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