The House War, Starting Early (Physical Version)?

Old grudges and new, plus the discovery that Malfoy was currently "isolated and helpless" (Crabbe and Goyle were absent) and "not much of a fighter," sent Ron's courage soaring to its peak!

Like a young lion thoroughly enraged, he let out a roar, shoved his wand into his belt, and lunged forward with his whole body!

A completely unadorned, solid right hook whistled through the air and smashed viciously toward Malfoy's pale, astonished face!

"Physical attacks are sometimes more useful than lousy spells, Malfoy!"

Malfoy was completely stunned! The "wizard dueling" education he had received since childhood had never included "smearing someone's face with your fist"!

He screamed and instinctively raised an arm to block.

Thud!

Ron's fist slammed into Malfoy's forearm, making him bare his teeth in pain. His wand nearly slipped from his hand again.

The anger in Harry's heart was thoroughly ignited at that moment too!

Ten years of abuse from the Dursley family, Madara's cold indifference when they had first met in Diagon Alley, the humiliation of having his dignity trampled in the compartment just now, and Malfoy's vicious mockery as he kicked him while he was down...

All the emotions he had been holding in erupted like a volcano!

To hell with wizard etiquette!

To hell with school rules!

Seeing Malfoy being beaten into a fluster by Ron, wide open and defenseless, Harry hesitated no longer!

While Malfoy's attention was entirely on Ron, a flash of resolve appeared in Harry's green eyes.

He took a step forward, clenched his right fist, drew back his arm, poured all his strength into the punch, and smashed it hard into Malfoy's high nose bridge!

Crack! (Maybe it was just his imagination, but the sound was very crisp.)

"Aaargh—!!!" Malfoy let out a shriek so miserable it changed pitch. Two streams of bright red blood instantly poured from his nose, while tears burst out uncontrollably!

Clutching his face, he staggered backward. His wand fell onto the corridor carpet with a clatter.

"You... you dare hit me... you filthy... ah!" Malfoy tried to curse them, but the agony and dizziness left him incoherent.

Harry's second punch arrived!

This time, it was a heavy left hook that drove viciously into Malfoy's stomach!

"This one's for Ron!"

"Urgh!" Malfoy doubled over like a cooked shrimp, his stomach churning as he nearly threw up his breakfast.

He looked in terror at the two boys before him, like enraged lions, then glanced at Madara's compartment door tightly shut in the distance and the empty corridor (Crabbe and Goyle were absent). Unprecedented panic swallowed him whole.

He regretted it—regretted staying behind alone to mock them, regretted underestimating their anger and... savagery!

Ron's eyes caught sight of a not-too-thick wooden board in the corridor passage, used to secure the small folding tables.

He rushed over, grabbed the board, and raised it over his head.

"Try this, Malfoy! A Weasley-exclusive 'physical disarming'!"

With that, he swung it viciously down at the back of Malfoy's head, exposed as he bent over!

"Get down!"

Malfoy was terrified out of his wits. Forgetting all about appearances, he rolled to the side on the spot and dodged the powerful blow.

The board slammed into the carpet with a dull thud.

"You still dare dodge!" Ron picked up the board, planted one foot on Draco's school robe, and prepared to strike again.

At that critical moment—

Petrificus Totalus!

A calm, swift shout rang out from the other end of the corridor!

A solid grayish-white beam arrived after the shout yet struck first, accurately hitting Ron Weasley, who was raising the board to pursue the attack, and Draco Malfoy, who had just grabbed his wand and had not yet fully finished his spell!

Thump! Thump!

Ron and Malfoy stiffened at the same time, anger still frozen on Ron's face and terror on Malfoy's. Then they fell backward rigidly onto the carpet like two puppets whose strings had suddenly been cut.

The wooden board slipped from Ron's stiff hand.

Immediately afterward, several more swift Petrification Spell beams flew over, aimed directly at Harry Potter, who was about to rush in to help, and Hermione Granger, who was trying to smash Malfoy with her schoolbag (which, in her view, was slightly better than fighting with magic on the train?).

Harry and Hermione were instantly frozen in place as well, caught in the poses of charging forward and raising a hand. They could not move at all, save for their eyes, which darted about with shock and resentment.

The one who had acted was Percy Weasley, the Gryffindor prefect and a fifth-year student who had rushed over after hearing the commotion.

His face was livid, the prefect badge on his chest gleaming. His wand remained pointed at the petrified students, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

His gaze swept across the wrecked scene, the terrified first-year students, and the large circle of stunned onlookers surrounding them.

"This is utter nonsense! Completely lawless!" Percy's voice trembled slightly with anger.

He strode over, first shooting a fierce glare at the petrified Ron, his eyes clearly saying, Just you wait, before looking at Neville, who could barely move—Neville had been scared senseless and was huddled in the corner clutching Trevor—and at Harry and Hermione, whose eyes were darting around wildly.

"Fighting in a public corridor while the train is moving! Using magic to attack fellow students! And mixing physical attacks with magic!" With every sentence Percy spoke, his expression darkened further.

"Look at yourselves! Do you want detention on your very first day of school?!"

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He first waved his wand and lifted the Petrification Spell on Harry and Hermione. Ron and Malfoy, however, would have to remain on the floor for the time being.

Then he said sternly, "Since you are first-years and have not officially enrolled yet, I will not report this to the professors."

His gaze settled particularly on Ron and Malfoy, who were still lying there. "But I will put this incident on record! If there is a next time, no matter who starts it, I will tell the prefects, and you will be sent straight to detention! Do you understand?!"

Harry and Hermione nodded stiffly. Harry's face felt burning hot, partly from the excitement of moments ago and partly from making such a fool of himself in front of Percy.

Hermione lowered her head in shame. She had always taken pride in following rules, yet today she had been dragged into such a violent conflict.

Percy's gaze passed over Harry's pale face and the hand still instinctively covering his forehead, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He seemed as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he decided to deal with the mess before him first.

He waved his wand, cleaned up the blood on the floor, then cast the counterspell on Ron and Malfoy, who were still lying there.

Ron and Malfoy coughed almost simultaneously as they struggled to climb to their feet.

Ron's face was bright red, and he did not dare look Percy in the eye.

Malfoy clutched his still-painful nose and stomach, his pale face flushed with anger.

He shot Harry and Ron a vicious glare, but under Percy's stern gaze, he did not dare say another word. He merely wiped his nosebleed haphazardly with his sleeve, picked up his wand, and slunk off toward the Slytherin compartments, his retreating figure utterly bedraggled.

"Now," Percy said to the remaining four, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Go back to your own compartment immediately. Until we arrive at Hogwarts, you are not to come out and cause trouble again! Neville, take your toad with you!"

Under Percy's watchful gaze, Harry, Ron, and Hermione supported Neville, whose legs had gone weak—mostly from fright—and silently shuffled back to their ordinary third-class compartment with their heads hanging.

The crowd of spectators in the corridor gradually dispersed, but the whispers lingered for a long time like buzzing flies.

They returned to the cramped, crowded compartment and closed the door, cutting off most of the stares.

The four looked at one another. For a moment, no one spoke.