They kept flying north, checking the direction of the train every once in a while, and each time they descended they could see a different picture. London was soon left far behind, replaced by flat green fields, then vast purple swamps, villages with churches like children's toys, then a busy metropolis with countless vehicles like densely packed coloured ants.

However, after a few hours, Harry had to admit that some of the fun was fading. Toffee makes them thirsty with -40-, and they have no water to drink. He and Ron both took off their blouses, but Harry's shirt was wet against the back of the chair, and his glasses kept slipping up the tip of his nose. He had no desire to admire the fantastical shapes of the clouds, but to the train dozens of miles away, where the fat witch pushed the cart and sold chilled pumpkin juice.

"It shouldn't be far off." Augustus looked at the dense ant-like houses under the sky. The sun began to sink beneath the clouds, staining the sea of clouds pink. "Would you like to go down and take a look at the train?" Turning to Ron, he said.

The train was still below them, winding its way around a snow-covered mountain. Below the clouds, it was much darker.

Ron stepped on the gas pedal and went up again, but the engine began to whine.

"Maybe it's just tired," Ron said, "and it's never come this far"

As the sky grew darker and the wails grew louder, they all pretended not to pay attention. The stars lit up in the night, and Harry put on his smock and tried not to see the windshield wipers swaying weakly, as if in protest.

Augustus drew his silver wand and applied a restoration to the old car, most of the parts that had been overwhelmed by the work were repaired in an instant, and the whole car suddenly had some vitality again.

"Not far off," Ron said more to the car than to Harry, "not far off now." He patted the dashboard nervously. After a while, they flew under the clouds again, squinting in the darkness for a familiar ground target. "There!" Harry shouted, startling both Ron and Hedwig, "Right ahead!" On the dark horizon, on top of a high cliff across the lake, towers the silhouettes of Hogwarts Castle's corner towers and towers.

Augustus saw that the majestic Hogwarts Castle was getting closer and closer, and he was about to reach it, and he hoped that nothing would go wrong before then.

Sadly, the car began to tremble and gradually slow down.

"Help," Ron coaxed with kind words and shook the steering wheel slightly, "It's almost there, help—"

The engine was silver, and puffs of steam erupted from under the hood. As they flew towards the lake, Harry clenched the edge of his chair.

The car shook violently. Harry glanced out the window and saw the calm, dark, mirror-smooth water a mile below. Ron's knuckles as he held the steering wheel turned white. The car shook again.

"Help." Ron muttered.

They flew over the lake, and the castle was just in front of them, and Ron stepped on the gas.

There was a clang, then a crackle, and the engine stalled completely.

"Oops." Ron said in silence.

The car tilted downwards and they began to fall, getting faster and faster, heading straight for the castle walls.

Augustus got up from his seat and cast a spell on the front of the rapidly falling car, which began to slow down and descend as if it had encountered layers of soft cushions in the air.

The car turned in a big arc, brushed the wall, flew over the dark greenhouse, the vegetable patch, and flew above the black lawn outside, all the while falling.

Ron simply let go of the steering wheel and pulled his wand out of his back pocket.

"Stop! Stop!" He flapped the dashboard and windshield and shouted, but they were still falling fast, and the ground was rushing towards them, "Watch out for that tree!" Harry yelled, lunging to grab the steering wheel, but it was too late—click-la-la-

There was a loud thud of metal against the trees, and they slammed into the thick trunks of the trees and fell to the ground, and the cars slammed. Billowing steam rises from under the deformed hood; Hedwig was screaming in terror; Harry's head hit the windshield, bulging out a lump the size of a golf ball; Ron whispered desperately to his right.

"You're all right." Harry turned his head and looked at Augustus, who was a little embarrassed, and Ron, who had a dead gray face.

"My wand," Ron said with a trembling voice, "look at my wand." ”

It was almost broken in two, the top of which was pulled down, with only a few pieces of wood attached.

Harry had just thought that the school would be able to fix it, but before he could say anything, something hit his side of the body. The force was as great as a lunging bull, knocking him down on Ron, and the roof was hit with the same blow.

"Something!" Ron gasped and stared at the windshield; Harry turned his head and saw a branch as thick as a python hit the glass. It was the tree that the car hit that was attacking them. Its trunk was bent into a bow, and its knotted branches slammed into every piece of the car it could reach.

"Ah——!h Ron shouted, and another twisted twig smashed his door into a large hole, and countless knuckle-thick twigs slammed into the windshield with a hail of thunder, and a branch as thick as a battering ram was frantically pounding the roof of the car, which seemed to be denting in.

"Sit in your seat and don't move!" Augustus picked up his silver wand and turned to Ron and Harry as he commanded, then pointed to the huge willow tree, clusters of electric sparks dancing around the wand. The willow tree seemed to be wrapped in some invisible cover, and in a moment, dark blue lightning formed in mid-air, and the lightning staggered around the huge willow tree, and countless forked lightning formed in the air began to attack the willow tree, and the willow tree let out a wail, and was whipped on the body by the lightning that marked the dark night around it, and the scorched black body was revealed, but after a while, the whole tree stopped dancing and fell completely silent.

Harry and Ron stared blankly at the scene in front of them, "Is it dead?" Harry asked, somewhat unproductively. Who knows what the way is? Maybe. Augustus replied with the same tediousness, "What a pitiful." Ron looked at the wilting willow tree and thought about the countless huge lightning bolts in the sky just now, and couldn't help but shudder. Let's go, maybe the sorting ceremony isn't over yet, and we may still have time for dinner. Wiping his sleek silver wand, Augustus reminded Ron and Harry. The three jumped out of the car and walked towards the castle.