Why Didn't We Ever Think of Driving a Car?

Ivan and Hermione ran back to the castle and met Professor McGonagall, who was welcoming the new students.

"What? You're saying that Potter and Mr. Weasley are flying to school in a Muggle car?" Professor McGonagall was so shocked that she thought Hermione was joking.

As far as she knew, Muggle cars could not fly!

However, seeing the genuine concern on Hermione's face, Professor McGonagall immediately understood the gravity of the situation.

"I think Harry may have been in so much trouble that he missed the train and drove over in a Muggle car," Ivan added.

"That won't do either. If they missed the train, they could have sent a letter for us to pick them up. How could they do such a dangerous thing?" Professor McGonagall scolded angrily, her lips trembling.

What if Harry and Ron's Muggle car went wrong or crashed?

Professor McGonagall spoke urgently.

"I'm going to go to your headmaster, Albus, and ask him if he has any ideas."

"As for the rest of you, get in the hall and don't go anywhere!" Professor McGonagall warned them as she hurried away.

Hermione made a vague attempt to follow him, but Ivan stopped her; they were in no condition to help.

As they entered the Great Hall, Ivan pulled Hermione to a seat and looked at the teachers' table. Snape and Professor McGonagall's seats were empty, and Lockhart's seat, which had previously been taken by Professor McGonagall, was empty.

There was also no sign of Dumbledore.

As the time approached, the Sorting Hat kept asking when it would start, and it could not resist singing its new lyrics.

The new students became more and more nervous.

Several professors at the teachers' table discussed who would preside over the new students' Sorting.

"Listen to me, all of you. I'm afraid there's no one in the wizarding world who knows the Sorting better than I do!" Lockhart stood up and declared confidently.

As the professors stared at him in confusion, Lockhart tried to sell himself for the opportunity to be Sorted into the new school, and repeatedly stressed that he had presided over similar Sorting sessions at Muggle schools.

Even Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, two of Europe's largest magic schools, invited him to the Welcoming Ceremony.

Unfortunately, the other professors clearly did not trust him, and Professor Flitwick, the most prestigious of them all, jumped out of his chair, left his seat, and walked towards the stage.

The Sorting Hat was finally able to sing, and although it didn't have a great voice, it sounded surprisingly good to the beat.

Then, the new students walked to the front desk one by one and sat on the small chairs to begin the Sorting.

Professor Flitwick soon discovered that he was not cut out for the job, and as a goblin, he was able to hold his Sorting Hat so that he could not reach the top of the students' heads on his toes.

Just as Flitwick was about to lower the students' chairs with a charm, Lockhart, being clever, moved a stool over and encouraged Professor Flitwick not to be self-conscious about being small, as standing on a stool could make you very tall!

His actions embarrassed Professor Flitwick, but Lockhart, oblivious to this, kindly patted Flitwick on the shoulder, telling him not to thank him…

Professor Flitwick strongly suspected that this fellow was doing this on purpose, but no evidence has ever been found…

Ivan was enjoying the little play on stage when he felt a tug on his shirt and turned to see Hermione.

"It's Harry!" The young witch was looking at the door to the hall.

Yvonne turned to see Harry and Ron trying to sneak through the door.

The boys might have assumed that no one would notice them while they were being sorted, but they forgot to look behind them. Snape had been waiting for them.

"Harry and Ron aren't going to be fired for this, are they?" Hermione asked worriedly as Snape led them away.

"Don't worry, they won't!" Ivan assured her.

Dumbledore would never fire anyone, even if they were driving a magic car and crashing into a Whomping Willow.

Time passed slowly, and Dumbledore arrived at the end of the Sorting ceremony, looking as calm as if nothing had happened.

He gave a concise speech, arranged dinner for everyone with his wand, and left.

Ivan speculated that Dumbledore might have gone to clean up after Harry and Ron, as they were seen driving a flying car to school.

The Ministry of Magic presumably had to dispatch a large force to erase the Muggles' memories.

After all the trouble they've caused, the Ministry would have come after them if Dumbledore hadn't been there to protect them…

This had nothing to do with Ivan, however, as he helped himself to a rich dinner, while thinking about what he should be doing this term.

The first, of course, was to find the missing pages of The Origin of Blood and find a way to fuse multiple bloodlines.

Second, one could not slack off in their daily studies. Accumulating student points and raising one's skill level was the foundation of strength.

There was also the study of Animagus, which Ivan did not forget his promise to Professor McGonagall at the end of term.

What gave Ivan a slight headache was how to obtain Legendary Points, which required five points to be useful. He only had three points, and even if he completed the mission, he would only have four points.

After dinner, Ivan returned to the common room with the other Gryffindor students.

On the way back to the dormitory, Ivan was surprised to hear many wizards discussing the disappearance of Harry and Ron, and it was clear that he and Hermione were not the only ones who saw the Muggle car on the train.

George couldn't help but turn around and speak to Fred after talking to a senior Gryffindor.

"This is so cool. Why didn't we think of driving that car to school?"

Fred nodded, equally surprised. He and George had never had the nerve to do such a thing, as his mother would kill him if she found out!

It never occurred to them that their brother Ron would have the courage to do so.

It seems they've underestimated Ron…

Ivan listened, speechless at their logic.

However, George was not the only one who thought so, as many young Gryffindor wizards found the idea of travelling exciting,

As such, when Harry and Ron returned to the dormitory, they were greeted with a round of applause, and many young wizards gathered around to ask them about their drive to school.

For a time, they were treated like heroes, as if they had done something extraordinary.

Harry and Ron were embarrassed at first, but gradually forgot about their near-death experience and talked about the thrill of the day with Neville in the dormitory…

Ivan yawned and went back to bed, hoping with all his heart that they would still be laughing tomorrow…