The train stopped at the station. Following the instructions from a voice over the loudspeaker, the new students changed into their robes, took their magic wands, and, without carrying luggage, got off the train directly. They followed the tall Hagrid away from the station and walked towards the lake.
The path was relatively flat, but as the sky had darkened and the area near the lake was very humid, the young wizards were cold. Shivering, they lined up and arrived at the dock.
Standing in the crowd, Sean could clearly see Millicent mixing with Malfoy and Pansy. These young people were all from pure-blood families and were supporters of pure-blood supremacy. Sharing similar views, it wasn't strange for them to stand together. However, just as Sean was looking at them, Malfoy and the others also turned to look at Sean. Seeing that Sean was also observing them, Malfoy sneered. Although he didn't speak, the meaning was clear.
After slightly stretching his body, Sean prepared to quietly wait for the boats to arrive.
The number of new students at Hogwarts was not large, and it didn't take long before it was Sean's turn to board the boat.
"Everyone, pay attention. Each boat can hold a maximum of four people. Once there are enough people, don't get on, or it won't be good if you fall into the lake and get frozen."
Sean was the first to get on the boat. As soon as he sat down, a gasp suddenly sounded behind him, followed by a head hitting Sean's back. The impact made Sean stumble, almost knocking him into the lake.
Just as Sean was about to see who the person behind him was, Hagrid's rough voice immediately rang out, saying, "Harry, how are you? Are you alright?"
The person who bumped into Sean straightened up, nodded apologetically to Sean, and then said to Hagrid, "I'm fine, Hagrid. I accidentally tripped just now. I'm okay."
"Harry, be careful. Don't fall into the water."
"Okay, Hagrid, I understand."
Harry rubbed his head, turned to look at Sean, and said apologetically, "Sorry, I tripped just now and accidentally bumped into you. Are you, are you alright?"
Looking at Harry, who was apologising to him, and then at Ron, who ran onto the boat, Sean was still wondering when he would meet the destiny's child of this world. He didn't expect to meet him so soon.
Gently shaking his head, Sean said, "I'm fine, it was just a bump, it's nothing. On the contrary, you two be careful not to fall into the water."
"Thank you... um, it's nice to meet you. I'm Harry, what's your name?"
Harry Potter, who had just entered the Magic World, was still very pure and kind. Although he had met pure-blood little jerks like Malfoy, when he saw the friendly Sean and was in the same boat, he wanted to get to know him.
"You can call me Sean."
Sean had no intention of becoming close friends with Harry. During his years at Hogwarts, that period was likely the time with the most accidents in Hogwarts' history, spanning decades or even a century. Becoming close friends with him would inevitably drag him into extremely dangerous situations. Sean felt that being a nodding acquaintance was good enough.
"I'm Ron. I saw Malfoy glaring at you just now. Did you provoke him?"
The Weasley family and the Malfoy family were both pure-blood families, but their stances were vastly different. Naturally, Ron and Malfoy, being the same age, also intensely disliked each other. When Ron saw Malfoy showing hostility towards Sean earlier, he wanted to ask about it.
"I don't know either. Maybe he looks down on me because he thinks my parents are Squibs."
Ron looked surprised. Seeing Sean so calm and not looking around like others, he thought his parents were wizards.
Looking at Ron's surprised expression, Harry looked at Sean with some confusion and asked, "Sean, what's a Squib?"
After thinking for a moment, Sean said, "Well, a Squib is what they call someone born into a wizarding family who can't do magic. It's kind of a rude term, really. Most wizards act like it's normal, but honestly, there's a bit of looking down their noses at Squibs—even if they don't say it out loud."
Only a minority of wizards in the magic world could truly look at people without magic with equal eyes. In reality, most wizards genuinely felt that they, being able to wield magic, were superior to those without magic. While many might not be as hostile towards people without magic as the pure-bloods, it was true that they more or less looked down on them.
Sean looked at the thoughtful Harry and the clearly surprised Ron and didn't say anything more. Instead, he sat quietly in the small boat that had already set sail, heading towards Hogwarts Castle.
Small boats with oil lamps hung on them successively docked at the pier by the lake below Hogwarts. The new students, led by Hagrid, disembarked onto the pier, passed through the small boathouse, climbed up the somewhat slippery stairs, went through the entrance hall, and arrived in the waiting hall for the Sorting Ceremony.
Here, they saw a serious witch standing on the steps, just like the most serious teacher in every school. She instantly made the chattering new students quiet down, waiting silently for the witch to speak.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. You can call me Professor McGonagall. There will be a feast soon, and before the start of the opening feast, you will be assigned to four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." At this point, Professor McGonagall looked at the somewhat dishevelled students, paused briefly, and then continued, "Before the Sorting Ceremony, you have time here to tidy yourselves up a bit."
Professor McGonagall was clearly not a talkative person. She only explained the main points and then turned to prepare for the Sorting Ceremony. The young wizards waiting there also started chattering again.
Sean stood next to Harry and Ron, listening to the noisy Ron, and glanced at Neville, who was holding a toad nearby. He vaguely remembered that when Professor McGonagall was speaking earlier, Neville was supposed to have found his lost pet toad, but that hadn't happened just now, and the toad was currently in Neville's arms.
Did my presence as a new student at Hogwarts cause some changes?
Some things had changed, while others still happened.
What changed was Neville's toad. What still happened was Harry's first conflict with Malfoy, except this time, Sean, the bystander, was also included in Malfoy's range of ridicule.
***********
✨ 300 gems = 1 bonus chapter
✨ 500 gems = another bonus chapter
Get access to advanced chapters at my P@treon.
[email protected]/meowthtl