Herman stood by, watching the scene unfold, silently calculating the consequences in his mind.
Deducting ten points, Draco will probably forget about it as soon as she turns her head, and given Snape's style in Potions Class, he'll probably get those ten points back in less than a class. Maybe Harry will get ten points because she stepped into the classroom with her left foot first.
As for Harry, she didn't lose any points from beginning to end, which is as if nothing happened, and she didn't seem to care about losing points.
Draco was clearly satisfied with the result. She stood to the side with her hands behind her back and a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth. Although she didn't laugh out loud, her expression said it all.
Professor McGonagall remained silent for a few seconds, probably thinking there was no point in arguing any further. She glanced at Snape, then turned and left the office.
Seeing that McGonagall had also left, Madam Hooch reluctantly turned around and followed her.
Once their footsteps faded at the end of the corridor, Snape put down his quill, glanced at Draco, and said, "Don't let this happen again. Go back to class."
His tone was a bit colder than before, but unlike the gentle perfunctory tone he had given McGonagall, this "don't do it again" carried a hint of seriousness.
Draco stopped smiling and nodded.
As Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch took the three away, Madam Hooch reminded the students that they could practice summoning brooms, but they must not take to the air.
At first, the students were obedient, but George and Fred tried flying brooms nearby. After watching the whole thing, and seeing that the teacher had left, they simply flew over to continue watching the excitement, or to create it.
The flying broomsticks the two were riding had clearly been modified; the silver components shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, like scales covering the front half of the broomstick handle.
They fly extremely fast and turn at sharp angles, like two nimble swallows.
After circling once in the air, they hovered above Neville and his companions. George shouted, "See that? They've added silver aerodynamic components! The technique Professor Malin taught us makes us at least 30% faster!"
Neville was very supportive. "It's really very good."
Fred then changed the subject, giving the Slytherin students a gloating smile, "Oh, Slytherin kids, I heard a few of you got taken away for talking back to your teacher?"
George chimed in, "I've seen people sent to the Hospital Wing after their first Flying Class, but to be taken away by the headmaster and have points deducted on your very first Flying Class —that's quite a Slytherin record."
The faces of the Slytherin students nearby immediately darkened, and some of them gripped the broom handles tightly.
George seemed completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere, or perhaps he noticed but didn't care, and added, "Since it's all Flying Class, why don't we take to the air and have a competition?"
This sentence was like a spark thrown into a haystack.
The Slytherin boys immediately mounted their brooms and took to the air. The Gryffindor were not to be outdone; George and Fred took the lead, Neville hesitated for a moment before climbing up, and Hugo pushed up her glasses and followed.
The aerial melee quickly spiraled out of control.
At first, it was a normal aerial chase, but before long, someone from the Slytherin side started shoving the Gryffindor student next to them. George dodged to the side and slapped the other person's broomstick with his other hand, causing the broomstick to tilt violently and almost throwing the Slytherin student off the ground.
At this point, the situation wasn't completely out of control. After all, they were just kids and it wasn't too violent. George and Fred, as professional Quidditch players, were also in control, and their occasional collisions were just playful pranks.
But an unexpected event soon occurred: a loud bang suddenly came from the sky.
Seamus, Gryffindor student, didn't know how it happened, but his flying broom suddenly exploded, as if he were riding a firecracker instead of a flying broom.
After a series of explosions, the flying broomstick, trailing black smoke, hurtled through the sky. Soon after spitting out flames and making another sound, the broomstick drew an irregular arc in mid-air before crashing straight into the side of Goyle's broom.
Goyle's muscular body suddenly lurched to the side, and he flew off the broom like a bowling ball, crashing into two Slytherin students beside him. The three of them tumbled together and spun as they fell to the ground.
Fortunately, it wasn't from a great height. After landing on the grass, it quickly rolled into a ball. Its robe was covered in grass clippings and mud, and its eyes were still closed, too afraid to open them, but at least it showed no signs of injury.
The smoking broom was still spinning in the air, Seamus was gripping the broom handle tightly, screaming. The broom was making a sound like it was leaking air.
Seeing this, the Gryffindor students, as if they had found someone to learn from, began to barge directly into the Slytherin students' ranks.
The Slytherin students, not to be outdone, launched a coordinated attack.
The scene escalated, turning into a true free-for-all.
Among the Gryffindor students, Neville was exceptionally agile in the air.
Not only was he able to keep his own balance, but he was also aware of his surroundings. When he saw that Hugo's broom had been knocked off course by a Slytherin student, he quickly swooped down and kicked the other student's broom back off course, while simultaneously guiding Hugo's broom back onto the right track.
Before Hugo could even say thank you, Ron crashed straight into her from behind. The two collided in mid-air, and Hugo finally lost her balance, tumbling off the broom. The two of them fell onto the grass together.
Ron was on top of Hugo, and apart from being a little dazed, she was fine.
Hugo let out a scream, then clutched her arm and wailed repeatedly, clearly her arm was broken.
The aerial battle continued for about ten minutes before being stopped by Professor McGonagall, who had returned.
Her voice was like an invisible knife, cleaving through the noise above the playground. Everyone froze in mid-air, but the flying brooms weren't so obedient, or rather, the little guys weren't skilled enough to control them, and they continued to fly around erratically.
At this moment, McGonagall raised her wand, and invisible magic spread out in all directions. As if receiving a command, all the flying brooms obediently flew back to the ground and lined up neatly in front of McGonagall.
Herman and his two companions also returned, only to witness the final glory of this chaotic battle from afar.
Looking at the Gryffindor and Slytherin students hovering on the ground, their clothes askew and hair disheveled, and then glancing at Madam Hooch was kneeling in front of Hugo examining her injuries, Herman thought regretfully: It seems I've missed a good show.
Professor McGonagall, her face ashen, announced, " Gryffindor loses fifty points, Slytherin loses fifty points, and everyone else must write a self-criticism. Now get off your flying broomsticks!"