"That's amazing! How did they do that?" Vizette was very curious about this. "It can't be just simple magic, right? How did they determine where we live?"
"This is a bit complicated… perhaps it's some kind of magical creature?" Cho Chang tilted her head in thought. "Based on our guess, it's probably house-elves helping us carry our luggage."
Vizette heard a new term, "house-elves?"
"Hmm…" Cho Chang stretched, "Their height and appearance are very similar to goblins, but house-elves seem much friendlier."
"They usually live in ancient wizarding households, doing housework every day and unconditionally fulfilling all the demands of their wizard masters."
"A qualified house-elf is very difficult for a wizard to detect, so I've never seen what they actually look like."
As the train gradually slowed down, another commotion broke out in the carriage, accompanied by screams of agony.
Many students changed into their school robes and rushed to the back of the carriage after hearing the sound.
"It looks like Harry Potter is fighting with someone..."
"Harry Potter? That boy who survived? He's finally enrolled!"
"Go and see! It looks like someone from the Malfoy family is fighting him!"
...
Vizette stepped into the corridor and found it packed with students, all pushing and shoving to the back. "It's insane, like a fan meeting..."
As night fell, the Hogwarts Express finally came to a stop at a small, uneven platform.
There were no lights or torches around the platform, and a cold wind was blowing, causing many students who were getting off the train to sneeze.
"We'll take our leave for now." Cho Chang waved to Vizette. "You new students need to follow tradition and enter Hogwarts from another place."
"Following tradition? Is it the Sorting Ceremony?" Vizette asked.
"No!" Cho Chang breathed on her palms and rubbed them vigorously. "It's about retracing the path the four founders took to discover the castle. Anyway, that path was quite rugged."
"First-year students! First-year students, this way!" A thunderous voice rang out, "Watch your step! Be careful! Come to me quickly!"
Vizette turned his head and saw a huge lantern in the distance, and the person holding the lantern was Hagrid.
"Hey! Vizette! I've finally found you!" Hagrid spotted him too, waving his big hand and calling out, "Come here! Come to my side!"
Hagrid, taking advantage of his height of over three meters, jumped over several people and pulled Vizette to his side.
He said cheerfully, "It's so good to see you. Have you been harassed lately? The Daily Prophet has been much quieter, I don't think they've been bothering you, right?"
"After all, Harry's enrolled, and the news is all about him. He's incredibly famous in the wizarding world! Let me introduce you to him... Harry, where are you?"
Hagrid's height was such a huge advantage that he was like a claw machine, easily grabbing Harry.
Harry had bright green eyes, messy black hair, and looked somewhat thin.
He was pulled over, and another familiar face squeezed out of the crowd and came to Vizette's side.
Ron waved and said, "We've met before! It was during the Floo Network incident, do you remember me?"
Vizette nodded. "Of course I remember. It was a pleasure to meet you all."
Ron then said to Harry, "This is Vizette, the one I told you about in the car!"
Harry looked enlightened. "It was you! Hagrid often talked about you when he took me to Diagon Alley, saying you helped him a lot."
"It was nothing," Vizette explained. "I was forced to do it at the time."
Hagrid interjected, "That was no small favor. You not only helped me, but you also helped Headmaster Dumbledore!"
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Vizette looked puzzled.
"Oh...it's nothing!" Hagrid realized something and awkwardly changed the subject. "We should get going! We still have a long way to go!"
The road to Hogwarts was difficult to walk on, with potholes everywhere. Without the light of a lantern, it would be easy to trip and fall into a pothole.
Such accidents happened frequently, and Hagrid often had to stop and pick up the children who had fallen.
The children didn't cry or fuss, though tears could be seen in their eyes, given Hagrid's astonishing size.
Ron remarked, "Luckily I managed to squeeze to the front; there are still many challenges ahead today!"
"What other tests are there?" Harry asked quickly.
Ron said with feigned seriousness, "Anyway, Fred and the others said that the Sorting Ceremony is terrifying, and we might have to fight giants!"
"Giants?" Harry looked up at Hagrid. "Even taller?"
Ron shook his head. "I don't know, but he's taller than Hagrid!"
Hermione's voice sounded somewhat abrupt, "Real giants are at least twenty feet tall, and those short people are discriminated against."
"Oh…" Ron groaned, then suddenly fell silent.
Harry reacted similarly to him, and the two of them shut their mouths at the same time.
Just as Hermione was about to say something more, Hagrid roared again.
"Hang in there a little longer, and you'll see Hogwarts after you turn this corner!"
Not long after, a black lake appeared before Vizette's eyes.
On the opposite shore of the vast lake stood a high hillside, where a magnificent castle with numerous spires rose.
This was a castle with a strong Gothic style, where warm light shone through the windows, making it look like twinkling stars in the night sky.
Vizette let out a long breath. Although he had seen many magnificent buildings on television in his previous life, only by being there in person could he truly feel their magnificence.
Especially under the Eye of Magic, the majestic castle glowed, its silver-blue magic as dazzling as the sun, making him dare not look directly at it.
The castle contained immense ancient magical power, which, like a treasure sealed in a box, drew him to explore it.
A flood of information rushed into Vizette's mind, making him feel dizzy and lightheaded.
He quickly practiced the "Guardian Meditation Method," and the dizziness subsided and disappeared.
Just then, the Wizarding Manual suddenly opened in his mind, and a map appeared on the notebook—the map of Hogwarts.
The map was shrouded in fog, and the castle and lake could only be barely discerned.
Only one route was clearly visible: the rugged path from the station to the lake.
Clearly, to dispel the fog on the map, he would need to explore the area surrounding Hogwarts.
"It looks like life won't be boring from now on!" Vizette smiled.
Hagrid pointed to the rows of small boats and said, "Let's get on the boats in order! We'll be crossing the lake by boat, and each boat can hold a maximum of four people."
Vizette boarded the small boat, accompanied by Hermione, Ron, and Harry.
At Hagrid's command, the small boat started moving on its own and headed towards the opposite shore at a considerable speed.
"Trevor! Don't run away!" With Neville's scream, the pet toad broke free from its owner's arms again and jumped into the water.
Ron looked at the toad Trevor who had fallen into the water and murmured, "At least Scabbers isn't that rebellious; he wouldn't think about running away..."
Vizette drew his wand, "Toad Trevor, come here!"
With the help of the Guardian Meditation Technique, his casting speed was even faster this time.
As soon as the toad touched the lake water, it was pulled by magic and suddenly flew backward out of the lake, creating a splash.
Amid the children's gasps of amazement, Trevor the toad traced a half-arc in the air before tumbling into Neville's arms.
Harry and Ron stared wide-eyed. "What kind of magic is that?!"
...
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