The students of Hogwarts, cowed by the pressure, stood frozen in place in utter terror. The intense sensory stimulation almost made them forget to breathe. They could not speak, their bodies had no strength, and their brains had lost the ability to command their movements. They stood there like blocks of wood, eyes blank, staring stupidly at the giant dragon.
Unlike the others, Katie Bell, who had already become a devoted believer of Ravenclaw, recognized the giant dragon the moment it surfaced. So excited that she clenched both fists, she instinctively made a gesture of prayer and supplication. But before she could tell her companions the dragon's identity, the pressure brought by its approach left her unable to utter a word.
Those who, like Katie, had received Ravenclaw's grace were thrilled inside, yet they likewise could not put their thoughts into words. But unlike the trembling expressions of the other wizards, their fervent, worshipful gazes fixed on the giant dragon, awaiting its approach.
"Run... We should run..." Unable to endure the dragon's pressure, Ben Bulstrode, one of the weaker Pureblood school governors in terms of strength, could no longer restrain the panic in his heart after being cowed. Lost and flustered, his face had changed with fright, the muscles in his cheeks hanging slack, and the only thought circling through his mind was escape. His limbs felt weak and powerless, and with all his strength, he barely forced out those two sentences.
Hogwarts's Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn, could no longer care about hiding to one side and reducing his presence in the eyes of Harris and the Pureblood school governors. He only breathed in short, spasmodic gasps, his face deathly pale. In that instant, his whole body went as tense as stone, his heart sank as though filled with cold