Chapter 67

Harry immediately became nervous and asked, "Will we receive any additional punishment?"

Percy shook his head and said, "I'm not clear on the details, but judging from the final decision, your punishment should be a bit heavier than others'; someone will inform you later."

"Thanks, I understand," Harry said, a little dejected.

"This is already the best outcome Professor McGonagall could secure. You don't know that in Dengbulido's office she argued on her own, standing her ground; I've never seen her like that, fighting red‑faced for a few students," Percy said.

"So don't be discouraged; at least from Professor McGonagall's reaction, she's on our side, and you shouldn't resent her."

"Thanks, Percy, we understand," Dali said.

Professor McGonagall being able to do this for them is already remarkable.

That's also because Slytherin acted first this time; otherwise Professor McGonagall would probably punish them even more severely than Ma Er Fu's father.

Percy nodded, turned, and left.

"I hope our punishment isn't too outrageous," Harry said.

"Hogwarts' punishments, no matter how strict, won't be that severe; don't worry."

Dali said.

He wasn't worried at all about Hogwarts' punishment.

In fact, he even felt a slight anticipation.

Compared with the outcome of this incident, Dali's accelerated digestion of the barbarian Extraordinary Trait was negligible.

However, since this incident caused such a stir, Dali didn't dare to do it again anytime soon.

Moreover, this time he most likely rode on his younger brother's reputation; otherwise, someone else would probably have been expelled.

The fight was over like that.

In the time that followed, Dali didn't cause any more trouble and attended classes with Harry and the others in an orderly manner.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was isolated by the first‑year Gryffindor newcomers.

Her behavior on the field that day was truly unacceptable to many classmates; even though they knew Hermione wasn't at fault, they still kept their distance in their hearts.

For example, no one initiated conversation with Hermione anymore; even when they met her on the hallway, they treated her like air.

Hermione herself felt very sad about it.

She couldn't understand why, despite caring so much for Gryffindor and working hard to earn points for it, everyone still didn't like her.

Dali, on his side, didn't think much of it; he was the same as always and would chat with Hermione proactively, though he didn't deliberately bring up certain matters. Hermione needs to understand herself what the problem is in order to possibly turn the situation around; others can't help with that.

Harry and Luoen, influenced by Dali, also didn't reject Hermione, but it was clear they only maintained a normal friendship with her and had little other interaction.

During that week's classes, Dali didn't see Ma Er Fu again; it was said he was still lying in the infirmary, and even though his body had healed, he still refused to leave.

The other Slytherin students, when attending classes with Gryffindor, became much more cautious. First, because Ma Er Fu, the troublemaker, wasn't there; second, they were indeed scared after being beaten.

As for students from other houses, after learning of Gryffindor's glorious deeds, they were utterly impressed by the new students.

Everyone made it clear: don't provoke Gryffindor students, because they truly possess abundant martial virtue.

Especially that guy called Dali De Si Li, who is ruthless and not talkative; he usually appears courteous, like a gentleman, but when he actually acts, he's hardly human.

Within the first two weeks of term, Ma Er Fu had been beaten twice; this time he was knocked so hard that he stayed in the infirmary for a week.

More importantly, he was fine, still attending classes normally, and many people often saw him wandering around the school unscathed.

This sparked many speculations; after all, many know Ma Er Fu's background, and few can continue attending school after being brutally beaten.

However, the only connection they could find was that Dali is Harry's cousin; beyond that, they couldn't locate any background information on Dali.

Friday afternoon, after classes ended.

"Are you going to wander around the castle again?"

Luoen saw Dali preparing to leave and asked immediately.

"Well, I like strolling around the castle."

Dali said.

"Frederick asked me to remind you not to roam the castle recklessly during this period; otherwise trouble could arise."

Luoen lowered his voice and said.

"What's wrong?"

Dali asked.

Harry also moved closer.

"They said you beat those Slytherin freshmen, and a few senior Slytherin students can't stand it and want revenge, so they advised you not to wander and to head back to the Gryffindor common room after class," Luoen whispered.

Harry, hearing this, his face immediately grew a little nervous, "Their advice is right; you shouldn't wander, come back with us to the Gryffindor common room."

However, they noticed that Dali's face showed not only no panic.

Instead, there was a hint of excitement.

For a moment, they thought they had seen incorrectly.

But on closer look, Dali's face indeed bore a smile, even a bit unabashed.

"Is that so? That's really great."

Dali said.

Luoen and Harry exchanged glances, both thinking Dali might be crazy.

Those were senior students wielding magic they could barely imagine, and in both height and build they far outmatched the eleven‑year‑old kids; even if Dali were skilled, he couldn't defeat them.

"What are you going to do?"

Harry had an ominous feeling.

"Nothing. If they dare to cause trouble, I'll definitely let them see how strong I am," Dali said with a light laugh.

He was fretting that his digestion of the barbarian Extraordinary Trait was a bit slow, and someone was about to come knocking on his door.

That's perfect; he finally has a chance to play the barbarian again.

"Dali, Professor McGonagall has already warned us; we can't keep breaking school rules, or we might really be expelled."

Harry quickly reminded Dali.

They've been at the school for less than three weeks and have already broken many rules; at this rate, no one can keep them safe.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on; nothing will go wrong."

"Besides, rules are meant to be broken, aren't they?"

Dali let out a light laugh, turned and left, his steps light and brisk.

Leaving Harry and Luoen both disheveled in the wind.