You have to hand it to him—Tom's wild ideas always manage to work out in the strangest possible ways. This time was no exception.
At first, things went terribly. No matter how hard he tried, the eagle owl absolutely refused to take off with him. But in the end… he still managed it.
He simply stuffed all his school supplies—plus himself—into one large bundle. And somehow, that huge owl actually lifted a package several times heavier than itself and flew all the way back to the Lovegood home.
Tom's expression had been complicated, to say the least.
An owl carrying a package heavier than itself, flying to a place it had never even seen? Only in the wizarding world. Absolutely magical in the most literal sense.
As for the experience of traveling via owl…
(╯｀□′)╯︵┻━┻ If anyone dares say the Knight Bus is the worst transportation in the wizarding world again, I swear I'll fight them!
---
Once shopping was finished, Tom's life returned to peaceful bliss. He slept until he woke naturally, napped in sunny spots all afternoon, and occasionally kept Luna company while she read her Hogwarts textbooks. It was a lovely, comfortable routine.
If it weren't for the occasional letter he had to answer from the endlessly curious Hannah, he might've forgotten he was even enrolled in school.
But the robe embroidered with "Tom Lovegood", the wand that belonged to him, and Hannah's constant stream of letters all reminded him:
He was officially a soon-to-be Hogwarts student.
Time slipped by quietly, and before he knew it, September 1st arrived—the day to report to Hogwarts.
Tom politely declined the Lovegoods' offer to take him to King's Cross Station. Instead, he used the same ability he'd used to reach Diagon Alley, directly teleporting himself onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
(－‸ლ) A smart cat doesn't go smashing headfirst into a wall—even if the wall isn't really there!
Honestly, he'd wanted to teleport straight to Hogwarts just to test whether the school's anti-Apparition wards would block his power. But without knowing Hogwarts' exact coordinates, he had to give up on that idea.
Technically, he did have another option: he could ask George to "deliver" him to school.
But considering how far Hogwarts was, and considering the "comfort level" of owl travel, he rejected the thought immediately.
For the record, George was the name he'd given the eagle owl—named after the cowardly cousin he'd never see again.
He did think about calling the owl Jerry, but that sounded like he missed that awful rat. No way was he doing that.
Just like last time, when the ability activated, something outside his view grabbed what looked like a curtain of darkness and pulled it over his eyes. And when the light returned—
He was standing on a very crowded platform.
A deep red steam engine sat waiting, its sign reading "The Hogwarts Express."
The platform was packed with people, and the narrow space made it even louder than usual.
Shouting, chatting, cat meows, owl hoots—everything blended together. With Tom's sensitive hearing, it felt like his head was vibrating.
(;ﾟДﾟ) If I stay here any longer, my ears are going to explode!
He immediately darted up into the train, found an empty compartment, and slipped inside. As for the luggage—he tossed it into that strange extra-dimensional space he could always pull items from.
The moment the compartment door shut, blessed silence returned. Tom let out a long exhale. He'd honestly feared his first day at Hogwarts would start off in the school infirmary.
Relaxing at last, he curled up on the table, enjoying the sunlight streaming through the window.
Waiting always feels like forever. Maybe he'd arrived too early, because even though it felt like ages had passed, the train still hadn't moved.
Warm sunlight on fur is a natural sedative. Tom yawned lazily, eyes drooping—and soon drifted into a peaceful nap.
He had no idea how long he slept. But when he woke, the train was already moving.
Clearly, he'd completely missed the famous "Savior's First Appearance."
(￣▽￣) Eh, whatever~
Tom had never cared about the so-called "Chosen One." No matter what the original story said, to him Harry Potter was still just a regular wizard—one who couldn't do anything without his wand.
If it hadn't been for Dumbledore's guidance, and if that "plug-in board spirit"(the other Tom) hadn't believed so hard in prophecy, would Harry really have been the one to defeat Voldemort? Tom doubted it.
Still… why is it so quiet in here? Did no one come into this compartment the whole time I was asleep?
He blinked sleepily and looked around. As Hogwarts' first-ever non-human student, he doubted other kids would react calmly when seeing him—much like at the platform earlier.
Even amid the noise, he'd felt plenty of curious or amazed stares, especially from the students who had seen his sudden appearance.
But the moment he looked beside him, confusion turned into resignation.
[Hannah, maybe you could take your hand off my head now? What do you think?]
Yes. Sitting right next to him was Hannah Abbott—his first friend in the wizarding world aside from the Lovegoods.
And she was currently kneading his head like a stress ball.
"Ah! Tom, you're awake!"
She reluctantly pulled her hand back, wearing a please praise me expression.
"When I came in, you were sleeping so soundly. I didn't want anyone to come in and disturb you, so I locked the door! See? I'm super thoughtful! So about all that… maybe I could—"
Before she could finish, Tom cut her off.
[Good intentions are one thing. But taking advantage of me while I sleep is another. Those aren't the same thing at all!]
"Ehhh? But—but…"
Hannah pouted dramatically, looking crushed.
(´;ω;`) Ugh, I should've brought a cute pet with me… maybe I could've traded pet-petting privileges for Tom-petting privileges…)
If Tom knew what she was thinking, he'd probably explode on the spot.
He'd said it a hundred times—he did NOT like housecats!
After sulking for a bit, Hannah lowered her voice and asked:
"…So what do you want me to do?"