Neville was the first to give in. Hugging Trevor, he slumped over on the seat and fell asleep.
Altair was feeling bored as well. He yawned, closed his eyes, and decided to doze for a while.
Hermione stared out the window, lost in thought about something. After about ten minutes, she too drifted off into sleep.
A whistle startled Hermione awake.
When she opened her eyes, she found that she had been leaning against Altair's shoulder, while one of Altair's hands was resting at her waist. Her cheeks immediately grew warm, and she quickly sat upright.
Hermione carefully lifted her head and saw that Altair was rubbing his eyes as well, as though he had just woken up.
"My shoulder's sore."
Altair muttered to himself and rubbed it.
Hermione felt a little embarrassed and said softly, "Sorry, I fell asleep."
Altair stretched a little and smiled.
"Why are you apologizing? Honestly, I was hoping you'd sleep a little longer."
"You... what are you saying?!"
Hermione's face turned even redder. Realizing Altair had said it on purpose, she glared at him. Then she thought of something and looked across from them.
Neville was already gone.
That made her quietly let out a breath of relief.
"Neville went to the toilet. I think we should hurry too. We're almost at Hogwarts."
Altair said that and stood up, beginning to take off his clothes.
"You... you..."
Hermione was so startled she could barely speak.
"Oh, we need to change into our robes."
Altair set his suit jacket aside, took out his wizarding robes from the trunk, and put them on. Then he packed the suit away into the trunk.
Hermione said nothing. She slowly took off her coat, changed into her robes, and then sat back down beside Altair.
"Your hat."
After a while, Hermione finally could not hold back any longer.
"Sorry, I forgot about it."
Altair took off the cap. Hermione seemed to catch a cold gleam at the edge of the brim, and she jumped a little in surprise.
"There seems to be something on your hat."
Altair replied casually, "Mm. There are two razor blades sewn into the brim. It's a tradition in our family."
"What a strange tradition."
Hermione muttered that under her breath, clearly not understanding it.
At that moment, the compartment door opened, and Neville came back.
"They said we're almost at Hogwarts."
Neville looked excited. Seeing that Altair and Hermione had already changed into their robes, he quickly started changing too.
"Where's your toad?"
Altair glanced around and did not see Trevor in Neville's arms.
Neville, who was still changing, froze.
Then he sped up, finished putting on his robes, and bolted out of the compartment.
"Oh no, I left him in the bathroom!"
"Can his memory really remember any spells?"
Hermione sounded deeply doubtful.
Altair gave a small shrug to show that he had no idea.
Fortunately, Altair had reminded him in time. When Neville rushed over, Trevor had not wandered very far. By the time Neville brought him back, the train was already pulling into the station.
The platform was dark and small. No one knew who had designed such a place.
The three of them stepped off the train. Hermione pulled her trunk with one hand, then pressed her lips together and lightly caught hold of Altair's sleeve with the other.
She looked around. It was pitch black, and only the station itself had a little light.
"First years! First years over here!"
A lantern lit up in the darkness.
Altair saw Hagrid, the Hogwarts Keeper of Keys and Grounds, the giant-blooded gamekeeper.
"Hagrid!"
A delighted voice called out from ahead.
It was Harry Potter.
A smile appeared on Hagrid's big, bearded face. He waved to Harry, then kept calling out,
"First years this way!"
"My God, he has to be at least three meters tall!"
Hermione had gotten a clear look at Hagrid too, and let out a gasp. Her hand tightened even more on Altair's sleeve.
The first years followed after Hagrid, heading into the darkness in the distance.
They walked along a narrow path with woods on either side, dark and shadowy.
Altair had originally been thinking of casting Lumos, but Hermione seemed a little frightened. She kept clinging tightly to him, staying close at his side, so Altair decided not to light the way after all.
They walked like that for more than ten minutes before Hagrid's voice came from the front.
"Round that bend, and we'll see Hogwarts!"
Everyone quickened their pace.
As soon as they turned the corner, cries of amazement broke out all around them.
Before them lay a huge lake.
Perhaps because it was night, the entire lake looked black as ink. On the far shore rose a hillside, and on that hillside stood a towering, magnificent castle.
In the distance, it shone with warm lights beneath the stars, breathtakingly beautiful.
"So that's Hogwarts?"
Hermione asked in a small voice.
"Mm. Relax a little."
Altair nodded and kept walking forward with Hermione.
"No more than four to a boat. That's a rule handed down from long ago. First years have to cross the Black Lake by boat, because that's how the four great witches and wizards who founded Hogwarts once did it..."
Hagrid explained as they walked.
No one said a word. One by one, they climbed into the boats.
Altair's boat carried him, Hermione, Neville, and a little girl he did not know, though she looked oddly familiar.
Hermione asked her name and learned that she was Lavender Brown.
The boats had been enchanted and moved on their own.
They spent about twenty minutes on the lake, gliding beneath a curtain of ivy and through a dark underground tunnel, until at last they arrived at an entrance beneath the castle.