Ancient Runes lessons were dull and tedious. Professor Babbling spared no effort in funneling the knowledge in her head into the young wizards' minds.
After class, Su Er shook his knowledge-stuffed head, stood up, and waited for Hermione to gather the densely written notes on her desk before heading down the West Tower with her toward the Great Hall.
Soon, the two reached the Entrance Hall near the Great Hall, hand in hand. A large, noisy crowd had gathered there.
"What happened?" Hermione asked in confusion, discreetly slipping her hand free.
"I've been looking forward to a good chat with my old friend Snape! Come on, boy..." A roar came from the crowd just as Hermione finished speaking. The crowd parted of its own accord, and Professor Alastor Moody emerged, limping, his blue eye spinning wildly.
He had a deathly pale Draco Malfoy in his grasp.
Su Er and Hermione both stepped aside. Moody marched furiously toward the dungeon classrooms without a sideways glance.
It was then that Su Er spotted Professor McGonagall in the crowd. She watched Malfoy and Moody's retreating figures with some concern, a trace of suspicion in her eyes.
Only after the two had disappeared did she point her wand at the books that had fallen to the floor, sending them back into her arms in a stack.
"How strange," Professor McGonagall murmured too quietly for anyone to hear. She glanced at Su Er. "Alastor didn't stop when he saw Su Er? He couldn't possibly not know..."
With nothing left to watch, the crowd naturally had no reason to linger in the Entrance Hall.
After they found a few seats at random and sat down, Hermione eagerly asked what had just happened, and Harry fairly
"What? You insulted his mother?" Su Er looked at Harry in