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George, who was standing nearby, caught him just in time, preventing him from hitting the back of his head on the ground.
Upon seeing this, Maurice was taken aback.
He was just joking to lighten the mood, how did this guy faint?
Do wizards also fear spiders?
George sighed helplessly, laid Ron flat on the ground, and explained, "Don't worry about him, Morris. This guy has been terrified of spiders since he was a kid. When we were kids... well, we just teased him a little, and he's got a phobia of them."
"What did you do?" Maurice asked curiously.
"Just a little prank," Fred grinned. "When Ron was little, he had a favorite toy flying broom that he would sleep with all the time. One day, we turned it into a big spider."
"But that was our magical rampage," George shrugged. "We couldn't control it."
Poor Ron, Morrison felt a little sorry for him at one point.
Having two older brothers like that is truly a disaster.
Sometimes, the shadows of childhood take a lifetime to heal.
Harry looked at the unconscious Ron and asked helplessly, "So what should we do now?"
"Leave it to us."
Fred and George carried Ron on their shoulders and said, "When we get back to the common room, we'll give him some energizing potions, and he'll wake up right away."
Harry nodded and let out a long sigh of relief.
It was truly a disastrous day—especially for Ron.
"There's one more thing," Fred said, looking at Harry seriously, "Don't tell anyone about this."
"Okay, I won't tell," Harry replied.
He never intended to tell anyone about it, or rather, he didn't have any friends to talk to about it.
Except for Ron.
"Cough cough."
Suddenly, a coughing sound rang out abruptly in the corridor.
The four of them turned their heads at the same time and saw a very short figure, even shorter than Morris, a first-year student.
"Professor Frivi?" Fred asked in surprise.
"I think curfew is almost here, Fred, and George," the short professor named Flitwick said sternly, taking a few steps toward them. "You should return to your respective dormitories as soon as possible…"
"Wait... what happened to that student?"
Professor Flitwick's sharp gaze fell on Ron, who was being supported by the twins and was unconscious.
Fred forced a smile and said in a relaxed tone, "It's nothing, Professor. Ron just saw a little spider and fainted. We're just about to take it back to its dorm to rest. Goodbye."
"Oh, just because of that? Kids these days, really..."
Professor Flitwick shook his head, seemingly both amused and exasperated, but then his gaze returned to Ron's pale, tightly closed face, as well as the bloodstains and bandages on his legs.
Something's not right!
He frowned, glancing at the eight-eyed giant spider hatchling in Maurice's hand.
"Wait!" he pointed at the spider and shrieked, "This is the little spider you were talking about?"
The Weasley brothers and Maurice nodded stiffly.
They have an exceptional tacit understanding.
Professor Flitwick stepped forward and waved his wand at the spider.
The spider in Morris's hand immediately floated up and flew in front of him.
"..."
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
"And it's an eight-eyed giant spider?" Professor Flitwick looked furious, his mustache bristling. "Whose is this?"
Before Morris could explain, Fred subtly tugged at his sleeve and spoke first: "Professor, George and I found them by accident... uh, at the edge of the woods."
"I think you should recognize this prohibited creature," Professor Flitwick said disapprovingly. "Why didn't you hand it over to the professor immediately?"
"I'm sorry, Professor." Fred lowered his head, his tone sincere, but he was still observing Professor Flitwick's expression out of the corner of his eye. "We didn't mean to."
George quickly nodded in apology.
Morris assumed that they were used to making this kind of apology, given the practiced manner of the action.
Professor Flitwick strode quickly over to Ron, carefully examined his injuries, and then breathed a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, it's not serious. It was treated properly, so we shouldn't need to trouble Mrs. Pomfrey any further."
Then he turned to Maurice and Harry, "So, the three of you were attacked by this spider, is that right?"
His gaze seemed to linger on Harry for a little longer.
Harry and Maurice nodded obediently at the same time.
"Get the injured people back to their dorms to rest first," Professor Flitwick said to the group, then turned to the Weasley brothers, his expression turning serious again. "Fred, George, you two, come to my office later. We need to have a serious talk about this spider and everything you've done tonight."
His tone left no room for argument.
The twins exchanged a helpless look, knowing there was no escaping it this time, and could only nod in agreement.
Anyway, they've gotten used to it.
Fred whispered in a voice only Morris could hear, "It's alright, Morris, don't worry, we won't betray you. Professor Flitwick won't make things difficult for us, at most he'll deduct a few points and put you in solitary confinement for a few days, the same old thing."
George winked at Maurice, signaling him not to worry.
"Thank you," Morris said softly.
Although the twins were the ones who caused the trouble, he also bears some responsibility for capturing the giant eight-eyed spider.
Since the twins are willing to handle it this way, then accepting their kindness is the best outcome.
Although the twins are a bit unreliable, they're not bad people.
Making a friend seems like a good idea.
So Morris went back to his dormitory alone.
Although the curfew had passed, it was harmless.
As for the spider—Professor Flitwick didn't return it to him, so he probably won't get it back.
Speaking of which, that professor named Flitwick was indeed short, and his facial features were a bit strange.
Is it dwarfism? Or is there some special bloodline?
Morris was slightly curious.
And he seemed to have seen him on the timetable; this was his Charms professor.
I wonder just how good this professor's spells are.
...
Chapter 37 History of Magic
The following day, Tuesday.
Today is Maurice's third day at Hogwarts.
The first class in the morning is the history of magic.
This is the course he is most interested in.
It wasn't because he was interested in history, but because he had heard that the professor who was giving the lectures was a ghost.
Cuthbert Bins, Professor Bins.
A living ghost!
For someone as obsessed with ghosts as Maurice, this was an irresistible temptation.
After breakfast, he went straight to the History of Magic classroom, wanting to meet the ghost professor who was rumored to have been there since the school's founding.
This is a very large classroom, large enough to accommodate four colleges together.
However, because they arrived too early, the place was empty, and Professor Binns had not yet appeared.
Morris had no choice but to choose a seat near the front, set out his notebook and textbooks, and wait patiently.
The textbook for the history of magic is a book called "The History of Magic," written by Bathilda Bagshot. It's incredibly thick and reportedly covers all the major events in the magical world from ancient times to the twentieth century.
He had already skimmed through them all during the summer vacation.
It must be said that the above content is very detailed and comprehensive.
It's just a bit boring.
While waiting, Morris glanced through a few pages, then closed his eyes and began to meditate.
He is very skilled at meditation and can even enter a meditative state anytime, anywhere.
As his breathing became steady, his consciousness began to sink inward, as if sliding into a tranquil lake.
This feeling is addictive every time.
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