Ron was so scared that he had to adopt the sloth's tree-hugging roll to dodge, unfortunately, Angelina didn't see it. In fact, she seemed unable to see anything; they all didn't know what the others were doing.
The wind grew fiercer, and on the Quidditch pitch, you could even hear the distant sound of rain pattering on the lake's surface.
After practicing for a little over an hour, Angelina finally announced the end of practice.
She took the team, who were shivering from the cold wind and grumbling, back to the locker room, insisting that this practice was not a waste of time, although there was little confidence in her tone.
"At least we didn't get soaked, right?" she comforted everyone.
"Hey, Captain!" Alicia turned her head and shouted, "If only we could avoid the wind while we're at it."
Fred and George were especially aggrieved; both had turned bow-legged, grimacing with every step.
"Mine might be broken in a few places," Fred said with a muffled voice.
"Mine isn't yet," George said through gritted teeth, "but it's really swollen—seems like it's even bigger—"
Harry looked puzzled—
I suspect you're talking dirty, but I have no evidence.
"Thanks to you, Harry," Fred sniffed, "if it weren't for your method, we'd probably be lying in Madam Pomfrey's hospital all covered in blankets now."
"Maybe even drinking a bit of Madam Pomfrey's specially made cold potion," George said, rubbing his rear, "But now we don't need to—how about we go toast by the fireplace later?"
"Sure," Harry nodded in agreement.
As he entered the castle, Harry found Annie quietly standing there reading, with Sebastian beside her looking unimpressed.
"Annie! Seber!" Harry raised a hand in greeting.
Upon hearing Harry's voice, Sebastian angrily floated up, then dove at Harry like a Stuka, aiming a punch at his face—
But he missed completely.
Without saying anything, Sebastian spat at Harry before floating back to the ground.
Harry was left utterly bewildered.
Aren't you acting a bit too rashly?
What are you doing?
Apologetically, Annie stepped forward, "Harry, don't worry, he might be in a bad mood—How do you feel? A bit chilly? Why don't we go to the Hogwarts kitchen for some warm drinks, pumpkin juice perhaps?"
"Sounds good," Harry hesitated to refuse Annie; he knew the young girl had been waiting for him here.
Then he realized why Sebastian was so angry.
Oh, so it's because Annie's been waiting here for me...
Well, this is awkward.
"I'll go to the Hogwarts kitchen with Annie first," Harry turned to everyone and said, "Anyone want to join us?"
"You go ahead," Fred and George grinned mischievously, "We won't be third-wheeling—enjoy yourselves."
Saying this, the twins also dragged Ron off, who wanted to go to the Hogwarts kitchen for some chicken drumsticks, seriously telling him, "No, you don't want to."
Right, why go to the kitchen? Just to be a lightbulb?
Speaking of which, Harry is indeed brave...
See, he has ambiguous ties with Miss Grindelwald and Miss Malfoy, and now another Miss Saru...
Wait, are you naturally attracting Slytherins or what?
Once everyone left, Harry smiled at Annie and said, "Let's go to the kitchen together."
Having drunk two cups of pumpkin juice in the kitchen, Harry finally felt his hands warm up.
Even with the existence of magic spells, flying so high in the sky, with such great wind and rain, is an unbearable chill for any ordinary person.
Almost an hour later, he returned to the Gryffindor common room satisfied.
By now, the common room was almost empty.
In such weather, everyone prefers returning to their dormitories, lying in warm beds, comfortably sleeping, rather than staying out in the misery.
But Ron was sitting reluctantly in the corner, next to Hermione who was eyeing him with her magic wand, Jack perched on her shoulder, constantly using his mouth to groom Hermione's hair.
"Not going to sleep?" Harry asked as he walked over.
"Still writing my essay," Ron said drearily, "Transformation class essay. Hermione insists I finish it quickly now, won't let me sleep unless it's done..."
"Someone keeping tabs on you is a good thing," Harry patted Ron's shoulder, "Since that's the case, I won't delay your essay writing here— Hermione, remember to be strict in your supervision; it's responsible of you."
Growling, Ron raised his head; he was trembling as he held the pen, clinging to a last hope:
"Aren't you going to help me say a few words?"
"Oh, no," Harry waved his hand, "If I say something for you now, I'd just be harming you—"
Ron glared at Harry, his teeth gritted.
Harry patted Ron's shoulder, laughed heartily, and left the common room.
Until Harry fell asleep, Ron hadn't returned.
Conversely, after finally finishing his essay and returning to the dormitory, the first thing Ron did was wake Harry.
"Harry, Harry!"
Harry opened his eyes hazily, looked outside, and saw it was still dark.
He immediately sat up: "What's going on? Did something happen?"
"Oh, nothing." Ron patted his shoulder, saying, "I just thought your sleeping posture earlier wasn't good, so I woke you up to correct it."
Harry took a deep breath.
You've got to be kidding...
Never mind, never mind.
He rolled his eyes, flipped over, and lay back down on his bed.
The next day's lessons weren't early or packed; Harry's assignments had been given to Annie to write, so he was relatively relaxed compared to other students.
As for O.W.L.s?
Harry remembered he had already taken the O.W.L.s exams a century ago, earning twelve "O"s with excellent results.
Since he's already taken it, he doesn't think he needs to take it again.
"Sometimes I really envy you," Hermione said, seated on a bench, looking enviously at Harry eating heartily.
"Envy me for what?" Harry continued his feast of sausages and mashed potatoes.
"Envy you for getting twelve "O"s!" Hermione's voice was quite low.
Of course, she didn't actually need to lower her voice, no one noticed their conversation, the hall was lively enough to drown out their voices.
Harry chuckled. As he lifted his head to drink pumpkin juice, he noticed Annie watching him.
"What's up?" Harry turned his head to ask.
"Nothing," Annie smiled at Harry, "Just remembered a little something."
"Oh, you do need to take the O.W.L.s," Harry put down his pumpkin juice, saying, "I remember you especially wanted to return to school to attend classes; taking the O.W.L.s was your dream, right?"
"Yes," Annie recalled those painful days, realizing that upon looking back, there was no longer the torment of the past but rather the relief of having moved on.
When climbing over a mountain, looking back reveals that the mountain was nothing significant; even the wind and snow endured during the climb are inconsequential.
"Alas—"
Lee Jordan suddenly approached, whispering to everyone, "Did you hear? Yesterday Lady Swedding and Umbridge got into a fight!"
"Huh?" Fred put down his fork, surprised, "Lady Swedding and Umbridge fought? Over what... wait, how did you find out about this?"
"Of course, Umbridge herself said so," Lee Jordan chuckled mysteriously, "Yesterday she wrote to the Ministry of Magic, fiercely criticizing our board Lady Swedding's lack of cooperation..."