He not only didn't slow down, but reached out to pull a lever next to him, stomped on the accelerator, and with both hands, in a near-spasm movement, jerked the massive steering wheel sharply to the left!
Just within a fraction of an inch before rushing into the gap, the body of the Knight Bus let out a tooth-clenching metal groan and crunch, and immediately after, the whole bus seemed to squeeze flat at lightning speed; the people inside looked stretched out.
"Oh, folks." Said the head hanging beside the driver, "You really should see your faces, it's truly amusing."
After completing the compression, the Knight Bus swiftly shot out of the predicament, and then "pop", the body instantly returned to its original shape.
"I've changed my mind," Ron said, pale-faced, clutching his chest and still shaken, "I'm never riding it again."
The Knight Bus jumped from the Birmingham road onto a quiet country lane, full of dangerous bends.
When the car swerved left and right, the hedges on the roadside jumped out of the way.
They then drove onto a busy high street, over a mountain bridge, followed by a chilly wind-swept street between tall buildings, each time accompanied by a loud "bang".
"Attention, the next stop is Hogwarts." Sampark said cheerfully, staggering back over, "We need to let Mrs. Marsh off first, she's a bit unwell—then it's your turn."
After stopping outside a small pub, the bus immediately drove on to Hogwarts, followed by a beautiful tail spin, and stopped at the bridge beside the Hogwarts Castle.
"We're here." Sampark said leisurely, "Enjoy the journey, everyone, be careful when you get off—"
They walked along the icy road towards the castle, with the biting cold wind slashing against their faces like knives.
"Good thing there's no Quidditch match in January." Ron said with some relief, "It's painful enough to walk on the ground with the wind whipping your face, I can't imagine how painful it would be to race through the sky on a broom."
In the Great Hall, most of the students had already gathered, some in groups of three or five, others lying motionless on the long tables, occasionally a sigh could be heard.
It's the classic manifestation of holiday syndrome.
"The two of us will go maintain order first." Ron said to Harry, "Hermione and I together, you know—we need to do this job."
"Go ahead." Harry smiled, as he sat with Annie at the Gryffindor long table.
The Gryffindors were the ones showing the most obvious signs of holiday syndrome, the crazier they played during the holiday, the harder it was when school started.
"I feel utterly drained." Abekrombi lay on the long table in the hall, lamenting to the person next to him.
"Hey, little first-year." Ron passed by him, "If you're feeling drained, go ask Hagrid for a rock cake, I guarantee a bite will keep you lively all day."
"Wow, really?" Abekrombi lifted his head.
"Not recommended to try, young one." Hermione tugged at Ron, shaking her head at the young first-year, "We've all tried rock cakes, that teeth-cracking feeling does indeed perk you up, but at the cost of your poor teeth."
Abekrombi thought about it, and decided to pass.
Feeling drained is just feeling drained, it's uncomfortable being away from home and at Hogwarts, it's not anything physical.
Moreover, he didn't want to attend the Defense Against the Dark Arts class—he thought it shouldn't be taught so by the book, but instead practice some drills.
Old student: Hey, that's because you haven't attended Professor Quirrell's class.
"Any news from the holiday?" The twins sat smiling at the long table, looking at the surrounding classmates and especially asking Lee Jordan.
Jordan didn't say anything, he pulled out a huge bottle from his pocket—nobody knew how he managed to fit the bottle in his pocket, but it appeared full and pristine as it was pulled out.
The crowd around him leaned in and gasped in amazement.
"I dare say," Fred looked mesmerized at the bottle and said, "it's the biggest spider I've ever seen...except, of course, for the Eight-eyed Giant Spider, I mean the non-magical variety."
"We should show it to our 'Big Head Boy'." George said gleefully, casting a malicious glance at Ron's back, "Imagine what our 'Big Head Boy' would do if he saw this spider, would he jump up and hit the chandelier hanging from the ceiling?"
"Probably not." Fred solemnly analyzed, "He would just be scared stiff, I bet a Sickle."
The crowd watching burst into laughter.
Ron fearing spiders is no secret at Hogwarts, it's the spider-phobia aspect.
The so-called 'Big Head Boy' is a nickname the Weasley Twins gave to the Class Prefect...of course, they don't target prefects, but it's adapted from Percy.
Especially after Percy stepped down, and Ron became a prefect, the nickname became even more fascinating to them.
"Every one of our family members is a prefect!"
Upon learning Ron became a prefect, Mrs. Weasley happily announced.
"Then who are we? The neighbors next door?" The twins asked grinning.
This sentence also became a tool for Ron to counter his two brothers, whenever the twins called him 'Big Head Boy', Ron would retort and call them 'neighbors next door.'
Only brothers can go to such lengths.
"Hey, Big Head Boy." Fred called Ron with a teasing grin when Ron passed by.
Ron turned and saw Fred presenting the large spider to him.
"Merlin's flying spiral pasta!" He shouted in horror, leaping backward, drawing his magic wand aimed at the spider.
"Relax, Big Head Boy." Fred returned the spider behind his back, pulling out a silver coin and handing it to George, "You win, George, he didn't stand still."
"Hey!" Ron was infuriated, "You two! How dare you bet on your own brother!"
"Oh, buddy." George spread his hands, "Precisely because you're our own brother."
Ron looked at George, then at Fred.
"Gryffindor loses one point!" He almost hissed through his teeth, "Intimidating the Class Prefect!"
The twins laughed even harder, they didn't care about house points at all—after all, Gryffindor always receives hundreds of points at the end of the year, deduct as much as you want! Go ahead and deduct! All points will be billed to Harry!
The new Class Prefect deducts points, while the former Gryffindor Class Prefect faces the biggest challenge of his career.
Let's say, the pink toad—Senior Investigator Lady Umbridge—didn't like Percy...no, truthfully she didn't like any of the Weasleys.
Whether it's those two troublemakers in school, or the freckled kid, or the red-haired girl, she didn't like them.
And in the Ministry of Magic, working Arthur, and Percy with glasses, she wasn't fond of either.
And Percy, now the Minister of Magic Fudge's secretary, making Umbridge very displeased.
"I think, Minister." Umbridge wasn't at Hogwarts, she's currently at the Minister's office using her standard sugary voice talking to Fudge: "You need to watch your secretary Weasley, I don't quite trust him."
Fudge quite liked Percy, this young man was clever and capable, most importantly, he knew how to get along, quite pleasing him.