Prefects were supposed to check the compartments again after all the students had left.
But since the professors would check again afterward, nobody paid much attention to it. Generally, only the new fifth-year prefects obediently went through them.
Hermione and Ron last year, for instance.
This year, neither of them went back to check.
Even so, Hermione did not share a carriage with Harry and the others. The reason was simple: Qiu had come over.
Harry and Qiu shared a carriage with Ron and Lavender.
Although they could technically have squeezed another person into the carriage, Hermione had absolutely no desire to sit around watching the couples being lovey-dovey. So after greeting Hagrid, she found another carriage with Neville and Ginny, running into a rather dazed Luna as well.
The four of them climbed into the carriage and headed toward the Castle.
When they got off the train, Harry had pulled Hermione, Qiu, and the others aside to tell them again what he had heard from Draco, so they were a little late boarding their carriage. It actually turned out to be one of the last few.
As they entered the Castle grounds, Harry noticed Professor Flitwick waiting at the entrance, with a large pile of luggage beside him.
What was that about?
After the Thestral-drawn carriage passed him, Harry deliberately leaned out to look back. He saw Professor Flitwick casting spells into the air. One glance was enough for Harry to recognize that Professor Flitwick was reinforcing the defensive magical barrier around the Castle grounds.
Did they usually do that? Harry thought about it and decided they probably did not.
He and Ron had arrived by speeding car in their second year. If the barrier had been reinforced back then, the two of them probably would not have been