After retrieving Neville's Remembrall, Harley casually drew her wand and pointed it at the ground.
Crabbe and Goyle, who were still brawling with Ron, Dean, and the others, had their feet instantly frozen to the spot before being shoved to the ground.
Seeing this, the other Slytherins prepared to retaliate to regain their lost face, but a voice suddenly rang out:
"Stop! Everyone, stop at once!"
Professor McGonagall strode over, her face a mixture of shock and fury.
Professor McGonagall came to a halt and demanded loudly, "What do you think you are doing!
If I am not mistaken, this period should be Madam Hooch's flying lesson! I could see you fighting all the way from my office!
And Miss Potter—"
Professor McGonagall stared into Harley's eyes, "How dare you be so reckless?
If I recall correctly, this is your first time on a broomstick! You could have broken your neck!"
Harley didn't hesitate to recite the excuse she had already prepared:
"But Professor, Malfoy insulted Gryffindor! He tarnished the honor of Gryffindor and bullied a fellow Gryffindor student!"
As she spoke, Harley recounted the events with almost no embellishment. Naturally, her own ulterior motives remained hidden; after all, no one knew her true intentions.
The Gryffindor students nodded repeatedly as they listened to Harley's description.
The Slytherin students wanted to retort, but everything Harley said was the truth.
Moreover, since Professor McGonagall had witnessed part of the incident herself, the Slytherins couldn't argue and could only nod in admission.
After hearing Harley's words, Professor McGonagall's anger subsided slightly. Although she was always fair, she still favored Gryffindor in her heart.
Hearing that one of her most admired students had broken school rules only to protect the honor of Gryffindor and a fellow student, Professor McGonagall felt quite pleased.
However, admiration was one thing, but the necessary punishment could not be avoided.
A silver light shot from the tip of Professor McGonagall's wand, flying toward the castle.
Then, Professor McGonagall looked at the group: "I do not have the authority to decide the punishment for Slytherin students, so I have already notified Professor Snape.
Fifty points from Gryffindor! Everyone involved in the fight will serve a month of detention! I will have Filch assign you your tasks!
Miss Potter, you will not go—"
Professor McGonagall turned to look at Harley, "—you will not go to Filch; I will arrange your detention personally!"
Harley breathed a silent sigh of relief.
It is better to suffer from inequality than from scarcity; if she hadn't been punished this time, it would have caused a negative impact.
This was an influence Harley did not want to see, as it might shake her "anchor" in the future.
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall remained as strict and impartial as ever, punishing even her favorite student.
"Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall scanned the silent crowd once more before looking at Harley, "please come with me."
Professor McGonagall strode toward the castle, and Harley followed behind, waving at the Gryffindor students and offering them a reassuring smile.
Harley was in a very good mood; the more severe Professor McGonagall's punishment was, the more the Gryffindor students would respect and support her.
However, Harley seemed to have guessed wrong; Professor McGonagall wasn't there to punish her, but had instead summoned the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
And so, Harley found herself inexplicably invited to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
This seemed like a good thing, though, as Quidditch was the most highly regarded major sport in the wizarding world and the most popular competition.
Harley naturally accepted with pleasure.
"Your father would be proud of you," Professor McGonagall said, a smile blooming on her face as she looked at Harley, "he was an excellent Quidditch player himself."
By the time Harley left Professor McGonagall's office, it was quite late, so she skipped the dormitory and headed straight for the Great Hall.
As soon as Harley entered the hall, she felt that the atmosphere was off. The joy and sorrow in the room were clearly divided.
The atmosphere around the Slytherin table was oppressive; many were silent, their faces grim.
Upon learning that the incident had been sparked by Malfoy's provocation, Professor Snape had mercilessly docked fifty points from Malfoy alone, and another ten from the rest of the Slytherins.
To the older Slytherin students, this was deeply humiliating. Not only had they lost points, but they had also lost to Gryffindor—Slytherin's reputation was in tatters!
But the area around the Gryffindor table was a scene of pure joy, with everyone beaming.
Even though, like the Slytherins, many of them had to serve detention and had been docked a full fifty points by Professor McGonagall.
But this point deduction had been traded for a massive victory for Gryffindor over Slytherin!
"Well done, Potter!" "Harley, you were amazing!"...
Many students crowded around, including older students who weren't particularly close to Harley.
Angelina, who had introduced Harley to the professors at the opening feast, slapped Harley hard on the shoulder and gave her a warm hug: "That was a beautiful victory, Harley!"
Even Percy, who usually cared deeply about points and school rules, strode over to Harley to offer his personal congratulations:
"Good work, Harley! Although we lost quite a few points, don't worry, we'll earn them back!"
"As long as we slapped those annoying Slytherins in the face, these points deducted were worth it!"
Harley nodded without a hint of shyness, thanking the others for their enthusiasm while modestly stating that she had only fought for the honor of Gryffindor.
Consequently, the atmosphere around the Gryffindor table reached a climax once again. Even many of the older students began to acknowledge in their hearts that Harley was the Queen of Gryffindor!
Perhaps the only person in all of Gryffindor who wasn't happy was Hermione.
She sat beside Harley, repeatedly nagging her about how she shouldn't have broken school rules and cost Gryffindor points, all while constantly calculating how long it would take for her to earn those points back.
Harley wasn't angry; after all, she knew her best friend's personality very well.
However, the other Gryffindor students around them were not pleased. Constrained by Harley's presence, they didn't say anything explicitly, but their expressions were far from pleasant.
Harley noticed this, but could only sigh silently. She feared that she was the only one who could tolerate a personality as stubborn and upright as Hermione's, even more so than those Arbiters.
That night, an extra celebration was held in the Gryffindor common room.
After crowdfunding, the Weasley twins brought back a huge pile of sweets and drinks, and they also mysteriously hauled in two large bags.
Harley was very curious about how they had managed it and decided she would definitely find out when she had the chance.
After the celebratory party had been going on for a long time, Fred opened one of the bags, which contained a large quantity of streamer crackers.
And so, a rain of streamers began to drift down from the ceiling of the Gryffindor common room.
Amidst the atmosphere of falling streamers, George pulled a large bouquet of roses (the national flower of England) from the other bag, knelt on one knee before Harley, and said dramatically:
"Great Lion Queen, please accept this bouquet symbolizing England, and lead Gryffindor to defeat Slytherin forever!"
Harley had been chatting with senior Alicia Spinnet about the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and suddenly, she became the center of attention once again.
Harley's mouth twitched; she felt that something about this scene was a bit off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
Hello? 999? There's a pervert here!
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