The sky darkened gradually.
The cold temperature and gathering clouds hastened the arrival of night.
"Found it!"
The massive half-blood giant Hagrid, with his face full of scraggly beard, lit the lantern in his hand and led a group of bustling little wizards towards the Black Lake.
"What's with those two people over there?"
"Are they new students enrolling this year too? Why didn't they take the train with us?"
"Maybe they live near Hogwarts."
...
Ian and Aurora, who were playing with water in front of the Black Lake, immediately caught the attention of many little wizards, who chattered quietly as they followed Hagrid.
"You two are the children Dumbledore mentioned, right?" Hagrid, with a pink umbrella in his other hand, formed a stark contrast against his burly figure.
"If there's no one else here, then he must be talking about us," Aurora had to tilt her head back to see Hagrid's beard-covered face.
"Professor, you finally came. We've been waiting so long," Ian hurriedly grabbed his suitcase and walked toward the group of new students with Aurora.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, got delayed looking for a lost student," Hagrid laughed heartily, his beard shaking as he ruffled Ian's hair with a large hand, "Just call me Hagrid, I'm only the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Don't call me the wrong thing, you little fellow, you're quite adorable."
Clearly.
Calling him professor really touched Hagrid's heart.
"All the same, all the same."
Ian felt like the big hand could almost cover his entire head.
"Everyone's here, hurry up and get in the boats, time's almost up."
Hagrid, always easy to win over, saw the scrawny Ian and even tucked the little pink umbrella into his belt, freeing a hand to help Ian and Aurora with their luggage effortlessly.
"Thank you, Professor Hagrid, you're a good person."
Ian followed cheerfully behind Hagrid, while Aurora seemed to understand something thoughtfully. The two joined the group of little wizards following Hagrid.
However.
No one spoke to them.
The first friendships.
Almost all began on the Hogwarts Express, where serendipitous encounters in the compartments largely determined the little wizards' initial circles.
The group quickly arrived at the docking point of the boats in Black Lake.
"Four per boat, don't scramble, don't push, it's for your safety." Hagrid called out loudly to the eager little wizards.
Immediately.
He tossed Ian and Aurora's suitcases into the boat in front of them—Ian and Aurora naturally had no choice but to climb into that small boat.
"You! Yes, you! No crowding ten people into one boat!"
Hagrid ran off towards the other little wizards.
At this time.
Two girls, coming separately, climbed into the boat with Ian and Aurora. Not being particularly familiar, they sat across from Ian and Aurora with a considerable gap.
"Hello."
One of the girls greeted Ian and Aurora warmly.
Aurora nodded slightly.
Ian let out a long breath.
"I thought I'd have to take the boat to school with big Hagrid."
He felt relieved to be on the boat with others like himself.
"You just called him professor and said he was nice, now you say you don't want to take the boat with him?" Aurora glanced at Ian in slight surprise.
"It's not a matter of wanting or not."
Ian declared confidently, "Of course, I think he's a nice person, but what's that got to do with the possible capsizing event we might encounter?"
Such a reasonable argument.
The girl across, who greeted them warmly, couldn't help nodding.
At that moment.
"Everyone sit tight, we're leaving." Hagrid found a boat for himself. With his shout, all the small boats started moving automatically across the lake's mirror-like surface.
"This is not scientific!"
Ian looked at how Hagrid's boat sank no deeper than the others and was a bit astonished, then softly muttered with realization.
"But it's certainly very magical."
Hagrid's weight couldn't possibly only equal that of four little wizards. The ferries for bringing little wizards to Hogwarts were clearly some kind of alchemy creation with various abilities.
Feeling the automatic navigation of the boat.
Ian began to look forward to learning about alchemy.
"Your eyes are really beautiful."
The enthusiastic girl noticed Aurora's eyes.
"Thank you."
Aurora responded flatly.
"My name is Qiu Zhang, hope we can become friends." The enthusiastic girl across from them extended her hand to Aurora. Aurora hesitated but then gently shook it.
However.
She did not introduce herself.
"She's autistic, doesn't like talking."
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Ian hurriedly smoothed things over for his partner. However, this excuse made Aurora glance at him several times.
"I see."
The girl named Qiu Zhang didn't seem sure whether to believe it or not.
"Just call me Ian. I'm not like her, I love talking."
Ian extended his hand warmly and shook with Qiu Zhang. Looking at Harry Potter's first crush before him, she indeed had the delicate features of a typical Asian girl.
"Fluorescent Flickering!"
As the sky grew darker, the aloof girl who had remained silent suddenly drew her magic wand and cast a spell, a soft white light hung at the tip of her wand.
This person seemed genuinely disinclined to speak, having no interaction with the trio of Ian and the others.
"Fluorescent Flickering!"
"Fluorescent Flickering!"
...
Apart from their boat,
White lights began to appear on the other small boats, too.
On the lake surface,
All the boats floated orderly toward the Hogwarts Castle, leaving winding trails on the endless night, drawing trajectories like a painting.
"It's said that the four founders of Hogwarts arrived by boat to create the place over there." Qiu Zhang had an apparently very outgoing personality.
She gazed at the outline of Hogwarts Castle in the distance, exhibiting a curiosity that would eventually lead her to Ravenclaw, "I remember someone once told me a story about little wizards being blessed by the four founders when crossing the lake, that the founders' legacy would baptize a wizard's magic power."
The slow words invigorated Ian.
A moment later,
"Rumor! Definitely a rumor!"
Checking his personal stats, Ian sighed disappointedly.
Women may deceive him,
But the personal stats would not.
"I said it was just a story, not necessarily true." Qiu Zhang laughed lightly, brushing her hair, not minding why Ian refuted her.
"I don't mind you guys chatting."
At that moment.
The aloof girl holding the glowing magic wand suddenly spoke, "I just suggest that instead of discussing vague legends, perhaps you should pay more attention to the current crisis."
Her sudden remark made Ian and the others pause.
Crisis?
What crisis could there be at Hogwarts?