Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 12 Arrival at the Destination!

Loren swallowed the candy in his mouth; the chocolate and lemon filling tasted really good.

Hermione recovered, wiped her eyes, and silently chanted: Magical snacks, magical snacks...

Neville pushed open the door, intending to reprimand Loren. But at the last second, he chickened out and froze in place. The two people inside the cubicle also saw the chubby boy push the door open and enter.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Loren asked.

Neville stammered for a moment, "I... I thought you were bullying the freshmen, but it doesn't seem like that."

Hermione blushed slightly, but still managed to explain, "I was startled by that fun candy."

Neville paused for a moment, then looked at the box on the table.

Loren invited, "Want some cockroaches?" He had a good impression of this chubby boy who, despite being timid, still stepped forward.

Neville quickly waved his hand: "No, no." Even among wizards, only a portion of them would like a pile of cockroaches.

Loren extended his hand. "Let's get acquainted. My name is Loren Morgan, a freshman."

Neville shook hands in response, "My name is Neville Longbottom, and I'm also a newcomer."

Hermione spoke up: "I am Hermione Granger."

After the three got to know each other, they sat down and started chatting and eating snacks.

Hermione was very curious about Neville, who came from a wizarding family, but Neville was a little shy and not good at talking. Loren helped to ease the tension, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

After a while, Loren felt something was off; he remembered the plot. He looked up at Neville, who was completely oblivious to his pet and happily munching on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Loren waited a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "What were you looking for just now?"

Neville slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "I forgot my pet is lost! I was just looking for my pet!"

Hermione was still processing the meaning of that sentence when Loren said, "Let's look for it together."

The three of them started looking for toads in the carriage. They had no other choice but to ask in each compartment one by one.

Some of the cubicles Neville had already visited, and during this time his expression grew increasingly dejected. His earlier cheerful snacking seemed to have made Neville feel even more guilty and remorseful.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville lost a toad." Hermione spoke abruptly, pushing the door open. She was already somewhat anxious, and Neville's condition seemed to have affected her mood, making her tone less than friendly.

Harry and Ron were sitting in the cubicle. Harry had black hair, green eyes, and wore slightly worn glasses; the person next to him had red hair and some freckles on his face, whom Loren recognized immediately.

"We've already told him we didn't see anything," Ron said impatiently, as he held up his wand, intending to dye something yellow.

Hermione saw it too. "Oh. Are you casting a spell? Then let us see." She then sat down.

Ron was stunned. "Oh... okay." He mechanically shook his wand and began to cast a spell.

Daisies, sweet cream, and sunshine turned this silly, fat mouse yellow.

Nothing happened; the fat gray rat was fast asleep.

Loren's gaze also fell on the gray rat.

No one noticed that the color of his blue pupils gradually lightened, and shadows flickered within his eyes. Loren saw a layer of dark black and blood-red light floating around the rat; this was Peter Pettigrew.

For some reason, Loren thought of that line, "Me, the little mouse..."

The eerie vision quickly dissipated; the others certainly couldn't have seen it.

Loren noticed something strange about his eyes, but he didn't know what it was and decided to wait until they got to Hogwarts.

Inside the cubicle, Hermione had calmed down, fixed Harry's glasses, and introduced herself and Loren.

They were almost at their destination. She reminded them to change into their robes, and was about to say goodbye to Harry and Ron before heading off to find Neville's toad.

Loren couldn't remember where Neville's toad in the movie was found, but he had other plans. He dragged the two of them directly to the older students for help.

The three of them hadn't gone far when they saw a boy with platinum blonde hair and a pale face leading two boys who were a little taller than him. The group headed towards the compartment where Harry was.

Hermione continued her conversation in the cubicle, speculating about which house she would be sorted into. She wanted Gryffindor, Ravenclaw was also good, but Slytherin was the least desirable.

Neville said his grandmother hoped he would be sorted into Gryffindor and become a brave man. But he thought he would probably go to Hufflepuff.

The three walked towards the next carriage and finally spotted their target. This person also had red hair and a gleaming silver letter "P" pinned to his chest.

Loren stepped forward to greet them, "Hello, we are freshmen this year. Are you the prefect?"

The red-haired boy looked somewhat smug, his eyebrows raised high, as if being recognized as a prefect by a freshman was something to be proud of. However, he quickly restrained himself and replied, "Yes, I am Prefect Percy Weasley. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Hermione's clear voice rang out: "This is Neville. His pet toad is missing. Can you help us look for it?"

Neville's face turned red.

Percy Weasley relaxed. It was just finding a pet. "Of course, it's not a difficult task for a prefect."

He took out his wand and waved it once, then pointed it again.

Flying around

As the incantation was recited, an ugly toad flew out of Neville's pocket and landed on the ground where the wand was pointing.

"Oh! I put it in my pocket, I forgot!" Neville exclaimed, blushing.

Hermione exclaimed in surprise, "Is that a Summoning Charm?"

Percy's smile grew even warmer with the praise. "You'll learn that too."

The three bid farewell to the prefect and returned to their respective cells. Loren changed into a robe, and shared the unfinished candy on the table with Hermione.

"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, and we will deliver it to the school for you." The announcement echoed on the train.

"What kind of magic is this? Is the sound loud?" Hermione asked, the little witch full of enthusiasm and curiosity about everything in the magical world.

As they talked, the group surged towards the train door. The entire carriage was packed with people trying to get off, pushing and shoving. Neville was separated from the group, but Loren pulled Hermione through the throng.

After getting off the train, following Hagrid's directions, we stumbled along a path, emerged from the woods, and arrived at a lake.

On the high hillside across the lake stands a magnificent castle, its spires towering and its windows shimmering with beautiful light, like stars.

There were four people on the boat. Loren and Hermione boarded first, Neville followed, and then a boy with light brown hair came on board.

At first, Loren didn't pay much attention, but when the boy introduced himself as Seamus Finigan, Loren's eyes widened. "It's you! The demolition genius!"

The fleet of boats sailed across the calm lake, passing through vines, the reflections on the water rippling and sparkling, the stars shimmering in the water.

Loren felt a unique mix of emotions as he witnessed this scene.

While Hermione was still discussing the Sorting House issue on the small boat, Loren blurted out, "I've heard that there's a test for admission, and those who fail are expelled from Hogwarts."

Hermione turned pale with fright and began to mutter to herself, "What am I going to do? I still have so much to learn, I haven't finished memorizing the textbook, I'm sure Professor McGonagall will kick me out..."

Neville and Seamus, standing nearby, also began to panic. At this moment, Loren revealed a sly expression: "Hehehe, I made this up to scare you. Hogwarts hasn't expelled a student in many years."

Hermione relaxed immediately and gave Loren a hard whack on the thigh. Loren clutched his leg and started groaning and pretending to be funny. Hermione felt a little guilty seeing him like this and was about to speak when Loren cheekily said, "Hehehe, I was just pretending."

Hermione was furious and ignored him. Neville and Seamus then started discussing some terrifying rumors about the Sorting Houses, putting pressure on each other.

The small boat landed on the shore, passed through a tunnel, walked across a meadow, and arrived at the castle gate, where Professor McGonagall was already waiting.

(End of this chapter)