Harry and Ron had not been expelled.
When Su Er woke up and went to the Hogwarts Great Hall to eat, he saw a crowd of young Gryffindors gathered around Harry and Ron. Ron, his face flushed, was loudly recounting how he and Harry had driven across half of England to reach Hogwarts.
Ron seemed to be thoroughly enjoying being the center of attention.
Many people were listening intently to Ron recount his adventure with Harry. Percy alone, the Gryffindor Prefect, sat off to one side with a stern face, stuffing mashed potatoes into his mouth.
Hermione was there too, but she looked very angry, her expression even grimmer than Percy's.
She seemed badly in need of someone to comfort her.
Su Er did just that.
He sat down beside Hermione and patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"At least the good news is that nothing happened to them." Su Er glanced at Harry and Ron in the middle of the crowd. "Not a scratch on either of them."
"Cause for celebration."
Hermione glared at him. "I can only be thankful that term hasn't started yet, so Professor McGonagall couldn't take points from Gryffindor."
"I don't think there's anything to be proud of, either."
"True, true." Su Er nodded. "There'll be quite a show in a moment."
Just as Su Er picked up a bowl of porridge and began adding sugar, a sudden commotion broke out overhead.
Over a hundred owls streamed in, circling above the Great Hall and dropping envelopes and packages into the crowd. One large, dusty-gray owl crash-landed headfirst in the milk jug beside Hermione.
Su Er lifted the poor owl out by his feet, revealing a red letter.
"Good heavens, Errol!" Ron exclaimed, then spotted the red envelope in Errol's beak.
"Oh-no-" Ron looked utterly terrified.
"It's all