"At last, I'm on this train," Solim said to himself, looking out the window at the hurried young wizards outside with mixed feelings. "Compared to that life threatening school, Hogwarts is much more comfortable."
Although he knew that Hogwarts would have incidents every year for the next few years, it was still far better than staying at that other school where he had to endure the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse once every month.
Solim could not help recalling the bits and pieces of the eleven years he had lived through.
According to the grandfather of this body, Solim had been cut out of his poor mother's belly after she was struck by the Killing Curse. At the time, the incident had caused a massive stir in certain circles. Solim had somehow still been alive then. Normally, even if two adults were holding hands and one of them was struck by the Killing Curse, the other would also die. Yet Solim survived.
But Solim himself knew the truth. The real Solim had already died.
And he, aside from inheriting this body, had also inherited quite a few troubles.
Solim Ogilbahir Selwyn.
Originally, he had no right to use the surname Selwyn. According to rumors, Solim was an illegitimate child. He was born to the current head of the Selwyn family and another witch. Until now, aside from knowing that his mother was also a witch, Solim could not find any other information about her. Everyone he knew had no impression of her at all.
The reason Solim was allowed to carry the Selwyn surname was because of his grandfather, an old man who valued the continuation of the family bloodline immensely.
To be honest, Solim had never planned to avenge the biological mother of this body.
But even though he had no intention of revenge, he still felt grateful to her. After all, without her there would be no present Solim.
Not wanting revenge did not mean he had no interest in uncovering the truth.
A pregnant woman about to give birth was murdered, and inside her womb was the illegitimate child of a major pure blood family's head. Solim felt that even the chair beneath him could guess who had the greatest motive.
He never imagined such a melodramatic situation would happen to him.
Solim had two older brothers and one younger sister. They were all children of the legitimate Lady Selwyn.
The eldest brother, Dax, was a young man filled with violent temperament. The second brother, Sabientis, was gloomy and lifeless, like a walking corpse. As for the youngest sister, Silna, it was basically certain that she was a Squib.
In pure blood families, if a child had not shown magical outbursts by the age of nine, they were almost always a Squib.
The emphasis pure blood wizards placed on bloodline purity was not without reason. Solim had been in contact with the wizarding world for eleven years now. He knew how much the timing of a magical outburst could influence a wizard's future.
Just think about Neville Longbottom in the original story. At eight years old he still had not shown any magical outburst. His uncle even thought he was a Squib and panicked so much that he threw Neville out of a window.
As for Solim's little sister, she was intelligent, kind, adorable, and considerate. Among Lady Selwyn's children, she was the only one who had a good relationship with Solim.
Just look at his two older brothers. One was a violent lunatic who resorted to fists whenever he disagreed with someone. The other was so silent that even three slaps would not make him say a word.
But Solim knew it was not entirely their fault.
Before Solim came to Hogwarts, the three brothers had all attended the same school.
In pure blood families like theirs, talented children would be sent to that so called school named Sculer within a week after their magical outburst. Then starting at the age of seven, they would endure the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse once every month.
The ones casting the spells were great wizards unknown to the outside world, and the power used was always the minimum that young wizards could withstand.
Still, think about it. Every young wizard above the age of seven in that school had to endure two forms of torture every month. Anyone who grew up under such conditions could hardly remain normal.
And as they grew older, the power of the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse would increase. Any young wizard who failed to break free from the Imperius Curse within the allotted time, or failed to recover from the Cruciatus Curse quickly enough, would face additional punishment.
All the students of Sculer knew why they had to endure such suffering. They knew the controlled torture in the school was beneficial to them. It was preparation for the future work and careers awaiting those qualified to attend that school.
Solim knew this as well.
But he neither wanted nor intended to pursue that kind of work in the future.
Besides, his so called qualification had been given to him by his grandfather. He was not considered a direct descendant of the Selwyn family, even though he carried the Selwyn name.
That was why Solim had the chance to leave that school.
Of course, he knew leaving meant losing access to many magical secrets that were never taught outside.
But compared to the dark and oppressive atmosphere of Sculer, the sunshine and vitality of Hogwarts was far more appealing.
And besides…
Solim raised his eyes slightly and glanced at the trunk on the luggage rack.
If nobody teaches me, I can teach myself.
"Sol... Solim, I... I…"
A chubby boy appeared at the door of the compartment. One hand dragged a heavy trunk, while the other tightly gripped a toad.
"Alright Neville, since you're here just sit down. Put your trunk up first."
Solim pointed lazily at the luggage rack.
"And relax a little. I'm not going to eat you. If you keep squeezing like that, your toad is going to die."
Solim rolled his eyes helplessly.
It was not strange that Solim knew Neville.
They were relatives.
Solim's grandmother and the wife of Neville's grandfather's brother were sisters.
When Solim first learned that the chubby boy in front of him was technically his cousin, he could not help thinking that if he really traced all the relationships, he probably had countless relatives at Hogwarts.
As Neville squeezed into the compartment with his trunk, Solim noticed the thing behind him.
A mass of seaweed.
Well, actually hair.
A messy head of brown hair and a small face dotted with freckles.
"Hurry up Neville. There's someone behind you."
Solim and the girl at the door both watched as Neville stood there awkwardly, holding the trunk with one hand and the toad with the other.
"Sol... Solim, could you…"
Neville's face turned red as he struggled to finish his sentence before being interrupted.
"No. I only touch disgusting things like that when I'm preparing potion ingredients."
Solim looked at the toad in Neville's hand with obvious disgust.
"But I can help you with the trunk."
"Oh my god, how did you do that?"
The girl standing at the door stared at Solim's right hand in disbelief. There was no wand in it, yet Neville's trunk was already floating neatly onto the luggage rack.
"A Levitation Charm. I read about it in a book. But I didn't think young wizards could do that without a wand."
The freckled girl looked extremely shocked.
"Need help with yours too, Miss Easily Astonished?"
Solim looked at Neville, who still stood there like someone whose head had just been smashed by a troll's club.
"And Neville, your trunk is already up there. Why are you still standing there like a statue? Sit down and stop blocking the doorway."
Then he repeated the same trick and lifted the girl's trunk onto the rack.
"Alright, sit down. Miss Easily Astonished, aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
Solim waved his hand and shut the compartment door.
"Let me start. I'm Solim Selwyn. The one next to you is Neville Longbottom."
He lifted his chin slightly, signaling that it was her turn.
"I'm not Miss Easily Astonished. My name is Hermione Granger."
The girl wrinkled her nose, clearly unhappy with the nickname.
Hermione Granger.
Not a difficult guess.
"Fine. I apologize," Solim said with absolutely no sincerity.
"How did you do that? Books say wandless magic is very advanced."
Hermione spoke exactly like Hermione.
"Magic power. Time."
Solim opened the thick book that had been sitting on the table.
"What?"
Hermione clearly did not understand.
"Sufficient magic power and enough practice time. Different for everyone."
Solim flipped another page.
"Oh, Neville. I need to talk to you about something later."
"Huh? What?"
Neville had clearly been daydreaming and nearly jumped out of his seat.
Solim rolled his eyes again.
Neville was a good kid. That was undeniable.
He just appeared timid because of what happened to his parents and the immense pressure from his grandmother. But once he broke free from those chains, the courage buried deep in his heart would erupt.
Solim intended to help him.
He quite liked this silly little chubby boy.
Hermione hesitated for a moment.
"Is it something you don't want me to hear? I can go take a walk."
"You're overthinking it, Miss Granger."
Solim lifted his eyes from the book.
"When I said I wanted to talk to Neville later, I didn't mean you had to leave. I just don't like being interrupted when I'm talking."
He paused, then closed the book and looked toward the corridor through the glass.
"Because a spoiled young master is about to show up."
Just as he finished speaking, the compartment door slid open.
Although there were only three people outside, it somehow felt like the entire corridor was blocked.
"Ah, Solim. Let me see who else is here…"
A pale faced boy with pale blond hair appeared at the door.
"Draco."
Solim remained seated, staring at the boy with a warning in his eyes.
Hermione immediately realized that this must be the spoiled young master Solim had mentioned.
"Alright, alright."
Draco clearly understood the warning.
"I'm going to find Potter. Want to come?"
"I'm not going, and you don't need to either."
Solim reopened his book.
"Potter is in a compartment with the red haired one. Walk forward and you'll find them. With your personality, you'll definitely end up arguing with them."
"What? A Weasley?"
Draco instantly became excited.
"You mean Potter is with a Weasley?"
He laughed loudly.
"I'll make Harry Potter realize what a mistake it is to be friends with that kind of trash. Come on."
With the three of them gone, the corridor brightened again.
"So... that was…"
Hermione stood up to close the door.
"That's right. Draco Malfoy. A spoiled young master."
Solim stopped her.
"Leave the door open. It'll be opened again soon anyway."
He shrugged.
"By the way, he hasn't bullied you again, right Neville?"
Solim supported his chin with one hand while reading.
"N... no."
Neville looked exactly like someone used to being bullied.
"I'm serious. With that attitude you still want to get into Gryffindor? Hufflepuff sounds more suitable."
"Gryffindor? I know that. It's the best house."
Hermione immediately became excited.
"The best? There is no best house. Only the house that suits you."
Solim decided to give Neville a little guidance.
"But Dumbledore is from Gryffindor. He's the greatest wizard."
Hermione protested.
"Alright, Miss I Believe Everything I Hear."
Solim changed her nickname again.
"Putting Headmaster Dumbledore aside, how much do you know about Hogwarts classes?"
"Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts. The professors teach all four houses the same classes. How much you learn depends on you, not the house."
Hermione bit her lip, unable to find a rebuttal.
Finally she said, "I told you my name is Hermione Granger. Stop giving me nicknames."
Just then, angry shouting could be heard from the corridor.
"Damn it! Damn it Potter! Damn it Weasley! I'm telling my father!"
Solim rolled his eyes and looked toward the door.
Sure enough, Draco was already standing there.
Good thing the door had not been closed earlier.
Otherwise the furious Draco might have broken it.
"Merlin, Solim. You wouldn't believe what just happened. That Potter actually…"
"Alright, alright."
Solim quickly interrupted him.
"I told you earlier there was no need to go. You should return to your compartment and calm down. If you want to deal with the Weasleys, you'll have plenty of chances once school starts."
"Right… you're right."
Draco took a few deep breaths.
"Getting angry over a Weasley isn't worth it. You two, follow me."
After catching his breath for a moment, Draco returned to his own compartment with his two nearly invisible followers.
"Finally some peace."
Solim closed the door, took out his wand, pulled down the curtain, and cast a locking charm.
After confirming the compartment was completely sealed, he turned to Neville.
"Now then, Neville."
"Let's have a proper talk."