He was already used to taking trains to school in other cities; he was very skilled at it, and it was a private car, so he didn't have to worry about missing his stop. There was nothing to be nervous about.
With a "woo-woo-woo" whistle, the train slowly pulled into a simple station. It wasn't large, and the facilities looked a bit old, but it was very clean.
The green plants and streetlights along the railway track adorned the station, making it cozy and lovely, which alleviated some of the new students' nervousness.
Under the glow of the streetlights, Chu Yang saw the giant Hagrid walking towards them from the train window.
The darkness made him appear even more imposing!
The giant, almost as tall as the train, also carried a lantern in his hand and loudly reminded the new students to get off the train, "First-year students, come this way, hurry up, don't be shy! Tonight's feast is waiting for you!"
Upon hearing this, the new students immediately got off the train. All of their luggage was left on the train; someone would deliver it to the school later.
Harry and Ron got off the train and immediately walked up to Hagrid, greeted him, and then followed closely behind him. Chu Yang lagged a few steps behind, disappearing into the crowd.
His encounter with Harry Potter was accidental.
Chu Yang did not intend to continue this accidental connection.
He didn't want to participate in the conflict between the protagonist group and Voldemort, because it was a troublesome matter, very time-consuming, and wouldn't yield any benefits.
I ask you, in reality, who would eagerly do such a thankless task?
With that effort, Chu Yang might as well find a place to peacefully research magic.
Anyway, Harry Potter, as the protagonist, would definitely defeat Voldemort in the end, so Chu Yang's help or lack thereof wouldn't make much difference.
He must seize the time to improve his abilities so that he can help his other "selves" the next time he enters the Soul Palace.
After all, freeloading is enough once; any more would be a bit impolite.
Just as Chu Yang thought he would gradually drift away from them, a little tail followed behind him.
"Chu Yang, can you tell me, what grade level content have you actually self-studied up to?" Hermione, like a little squirrel, stared at Chu Yang with her big, round eyes.
The surrounding crowd surged, and to avoid getting separated, Hermione held onto Chu Yang's sleeve with one hand.
Chu Yang was quite helpless.
Hermione's self-esteem was really strong. In the past, at home, she would always show off the knowledge she had learned to others at the first opportunity.
But this time, in terms of knowledge, Chu Yang completely overwhelmed her.
With her personality, she wouldn't just give up like that.
Chu Yang calmly told a lie, "Actually, I haven't read as many books as you imagine. Besides the first-year textbooks, the rest are all books related to Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"You already know about my family situation. Even if I wanted to read more, I couldn't afford extra books. Even my tuition was paid by Hogwarts."
After mentioning his family situation, Hermione indeed stopped pressing the matter. Instead, she comforted Chu Yang, saying, "Chu Yang, you don't have to worry about books. Professor McGonagall told me that the Hogwarts library has a very rich collection of books. You can borrow many books there."
Chu Yang smiled, "Thank you for your reminder, Miss Granger."
Hermione waved her hand and replied with a smile, "Don't be so polite, just call me Hermione."
As soon as they finished speaking, the group had already reached the lake. Hagrid, standing on the shore, kept waving his arms, signaling the students to board the boats.
"A maximum of 3 to 4 people per boat. Watch out, if you're heavy, pick a boat with fewer people!"
The new students began to board the boats, but the waves caused the boats to sway from side to side, making it quite difficult for a group of 11-year-olds to get on.
Hermione looked at the swaying small boat and immediately hesitated, until Chu Yang firmly held the bow of the boat, making the small boat as if nailed to the surface of the lake.
"Wow, you're so strong!" Hermione looked at Chu Yang in surprise, then tentatively put her foot into the small boat, braced herself with both hands on the side of the boat, and carefully climbed over.
Another rather large boy stood awkwardly on the shore. It seemed that others were not very welcoming to him, thinking he was taking up too much space.
The boy smiled awkwardly at Chu Yang.
"Come on up, the three of us are just right." Chu Yang tilted his head, signaling the boy to get on the boat, and the latter, relieved, sat down.
After Chu Yang was the last to board, the small boat started moving without any apparent force, obviously having been enchanted beforehand.
"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger." Hermione generously introduced herself to the quiet boy.
"H-hello, my name is... Neville Longbottom." The chubby boy named Neville was so nervous he started to stutter.
The small boat moved further and further away from the shore, and the surrounding light became dimmer and dimmer.
The pitch-Black Lake surface was eerily silent under the moonlight, and a silent fear rippled like water.
Hagrid's lantern alone could not dispel the fear of a group of 11-year-old children.
Out of fear, Hermione clung tightly to Chu Yang's side, clutching his robe and not letting go.
Out of kindness, Chu Yang had no choice but to remind her, "If you hold onto me like this, if I fall into the lake, you'll be dragged into the water with me."
Hermione shook her head decisively, "You're so smart, the chance of you falling into the water is very small. It's safer to hold onto you."
Chu Yang: "..."
From a nearby boat, constant complaints drifted over, "I really don't understand why we can't take carriages like the older students. We have to cross the lake by boat. What if something unexpected happens?"
Hagrid, at the very front, heard the complaints and turned back helplessly, saying, "Don't worry, everyone, taking the boat is very safe. In all these years at Hogwarts, not a single student has died while taking the boat."
Hagrid's explanation did not gain the children's understanding; instead, the complaints grew louder.
Hermione, who had been very scared just now, immediately perked up and explained in a loud voice, "Crossing the lake by boat is a tradition for new Hogwarts students. This is to imitate the scene of the four great wizards who founded the school arriving here for the first time."
"The meaning of doing this is to remind future generations not to forget their original intentions and to remember the hardships under which Hogwarts was built."
As Hermione explained, the new students' complaints abruptly stopped, and their chuunibyou blood burned intensely!
Requesting data!!! I'm about to drop off the list, brothers!! Many thanks!!!! Recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, comments, all are support, brothers!
Chapter 28: The Monster in the Black Lake
"So, we are following in the footsteps of those great pioneers?"
"Wow, oh my god, that's so cool!"
The excited young wizards chattered incessantly, breaking the fear brought by the darkness.
Hermione proudly lifted her head and winked at Chu Yang, subtly showing off.
To make her settle down, Chu Yang was about to praise her a bit, but an ill-timed voice suddenly rang out.
"Look! That little Muggle from a Muggle family is teaching history of Hogwarts to real wizards?!"
"What a laughingstock!"
A small boat drifted over from the side. Three boys sat on it; the two boys on either side were tall and much sturdier than Neville.
In the middle sat a blond teenager who was quite handsome, but his eyes were sinister, and he looked like trouble.
The blond teenager said in a low voice, "You mudbloods from lowly Muggle families are not worthy of speaking of those four great wizards, especially the great Salazar Slytherin."
"None of your business!" Hermione trembled with rage. After entering the wizarding world, the thing she hated most was people saying her parents were Muggles.
"How can you say such vicious words?"
The quiet and timid Neville, uncharacteristically, angrily pointed at the blond teenager and rebuked him.
"What does 'mudblood' mean?" Hermione was stunned for a moment, instinctively feeling it was a bad word.
Neville hesitated, then whispered a few words into Hermione's ear, whereupon Hermione's face suddenly changed dramatically, and her eyes immediately turned red.
Chu Yang narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at the blond teenager. Among the new students, there was only one person who could say such vicious words: Draco Malfoy!
Ordinary young wizards might not be aware of the new student information for Hogwarts, but Draco Malfoy was different.
His family was a very reputable family in Hogwarts history, and his father, Lucius Malfoy, was one of Hogwarts' school governors. Obtaining the new student list in advance and finding ways to befriend and win over reputable wizarding families on the list was a common tactic for the Malfoy family.
When Lucius Malfoy saw that there were two new students from Muggle families on the list, he threw a big tantrum in front of Draco Malfoy.
Every member of the Malfoy family graduated from Slytherin House at Hogwarts, and they highly praised the blood purity theory of the house founder, Salazar Slytherin.
They all believed that only pure-blood wizards were qualified to learn and use magic.
Chu Yang found this very amusing.
According to their thinking, the first wizard in the world to discover and use magic was not qualified to use magic at all.
Because his parents were both Muggles...
Without the first batch of Muggle-born wizards to pave the way for magic, interact, and combine, where would wizarding families come from?
This is completely different from the chicken-or-egg question.
Muggle-born wizards and pure-blood families, it must have been the former first.
Malfoy, who was forcefully retorted by Hermione, could not contain his anger and began to incessantly utter vicious words, cursing the other party.
"Is this the etiquette of a pure-blood wizard? Insulting others with unbearable language at the slightest disagreement?" Chu Yang sneered, "Similar behavior, I've only seen it on ruffians in London. Your upbringing is truly concerning."
Draco Malfoy's face immediately turned red, and he stood up excitedly, shouting, "I only show etiquette to wizards, you lowly—"
Malfoy hadn't finished speaking when the small boat suddenly swayed violently. He almost fell off the boat, luckily Goyle, who was beside him, quickly pulled him back.
At this moment, gnarled trees were continuously breaking through the soil from the bottom of the lake.
Under the Gekko, the branches emerging from the lake surface were slowly wrapping around Malfoy's small boat, causing the boat's speed to slow down, gradually stopping on the lake, and then shaking violently.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on? Didn't they say this lake was completely safe?" Malfoy desperately clutched the side of the boat, screaming hysterically, scared out of his wits.
The range of entangled branches grew wider and wider. In the blink of an eye, the three people on the boat lost their footing.
Hagrid, at the very front, finally noticed the abnormality behind him, his eyes wide as he yelled, "My goodness, what in the world is that?"
The pitch-Black Lake surface was very hazy under the Gekko.
To Hagrid, the branches and vines on the small boat looked more like the tentacles of some kind of monster, constantly shaking the boat, trying to get Malfoy and the other two off the boat.
"Damn it, what should I do? I didn't bring my wand!" Hagrid was a bit flustered. When he left today, he hadn't brought his "broken umbrella"-shaped wand, after all, he was just picking up students, so there was no need.
But now that an emergency was happening right before his eyes, he had no solution at all.
Just as Hagrid was still regretting not bringing his wand, Malfoy and the other two on the other side finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell into the water like dumplings.
Plop ~ Plop ~ Plop ~
Malfoy desperately tried to grab the small boat but was entangled by the branches in the lake and pulled down hard.
Gurgle ~ Gurgle ~ Gurgle ~