Evening came, and Hermione told us what had happened with Ron and Harry. Apparently, Platform 9 ¾ hadn't opened for them, and in their panic, they'd taken their father's flying car.
It's understandable to panic, but they went way too far. Plus, Arthur Weasley wasn't authorized to modify the car to make it fly.
The next morning, I received Dumbledore's reply regarding my request for an exemption from Defense Against the Dark Arts with Marie.
I just needed to explain the situation. So, I explained that the teacher didn't know how to conduct a class, preferred to boast about his irrelevant awards, and finally, mentioned the test, which was simply a way to see if we'd read his book, filled with questions completely unrelated to the subject.
I tried to explain without getting upset, and he listened with his eyes closed.
"I think I could grant you both an exemption, but you'll need to pass a test first to ensure you're capable of qualifying for this exemption. Then you'll only need to pass the final exam. But understand that this is exceptional, and it won't apply to other classes."
"Don't worry, it's mainly because we can't stand the teacher, and the class might make us less intelligent than we already are."
The test will take place next week.
The weekend arrived, and Marie and I planned to visit Hagrid.
Hermione was going to watch Harry's training session with Ron.
On the way to Hagrid's cabin, we talked about Lockhart's class, particularly the incident with the second years.
According to Hermione, he'd asked them to face a Cornish pixie, first scaring them by suggesting they'd have to deal with a dangerous creature. But when he released the pixies, they caused chaos throughout the room, and the worst part was that he did nothing about it, even letting his wand get taken.
Neville ended up hanging from the chandelier, and it was up to the students to handle the situation while he ran out of the classroom.
What irritated us most was Hermione defending him when he did more harm than good, showing he had never actually done the things he wrote about in his book.
"Hagrid, are you there?"
"Wait two minutes, I'm coming."
He made noise as he moved; with his large build, it was hard to move without making a sound.
"Oh, hello, Evelyn and Marie. You're well?"
"Yes, and you?"
I'm sure Marie wanted us to answer in sync.
"Come in, would you like some tea, some cookies?"
"If you don't mind, I'll take some."
He let us in, and I glanced at the pumpkins in the garden.
"These pumpkins seem smaller than usual."
"Indeed, the slugs devoured them. Fortunately, I was able to save them in time before they were completely lost."
"I hate slugs. They shouldn't even exist."
As usual, Marie was blunt with her opinion.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Were you expecting a visitor?"
"No, wait two minutes; I'll go check."
He opened the door, and a few seconds later, he let in the unexpected visitors—it was the famous trio.
Harry and Hermione were supporting Ron who was obviously not well before he started vomiting a slug?
"Oh, that's fucking disgusting."
I could only agree with Mary.