Chapter 6

Wizard Sean Green saw chocolate frog cards for the first time, and so did the young witches and wizards in compartment two.

Naturally, the conversation turned again to the cards.

“Whoa! Devant Simpson!”

“Do you know him?”

“I don’t know him, but I deeply admire what he did.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows and took the card from Jia Jia Siting.

“Devant Simpson,

survived eating an entire toxic tentacle as a bet, but his body is still purple.”

As Hermione finished reading, she turned her head and glared at Jia Jia Siting.

“Idiot.”

“Alright, you’re right.”

Jia Jia Siting offered no argument; their gazes settled on Hermione’s card.

“Godric Gryffindor,”

Hermione lifted her chin, a broad smile curving her lips,

“one of the founders of Hogwarts, after whom one of the houses is named.”

“That’s amazing—I read about him in *Hogwarts: A History*. It says he left a sword somewhere in the castle.”

Jia Jia Siting spoke with genuine admiration; Hermione narrowed her eyes, clearly pleased.

While they talked, the train had already left London, racing across pastures dotted with sheep and cattle.

For a moment, neither spoke, watching the vast fields and rolling hills blur past, occasionally spotting riders on galloping horses, clad in white riding attire, like white flowers in a painting.

“I mean, he’s really quiet.”

Hermione didn’t name him, but Jia Jia Siting knew exactly who she meant.

“Not necessarily.”

Jia Jia Siting laughed, his dimples deepening, radiating warmth.

“Wizard Sean, please deal with this pumpkin pie. Help me out.”

Then, a slender hand flickered out of sight.

“Thanks.”

Several seconds passed before the voice came from behind the thick, brownish book.

Jia Jia Siting’s dimples deepened further.

“My mother told me that truly capable people are often quiet,

even if a mountain fell before them, it wouldn’t frighten them—but they’re often unlucky…”

Jia Jia Siting’s gaze landed on Wizard Sean’s frayed coat and his focused face, implying more than he said.

“Mother said I always needed friends like this.

Her advice helped me find friends at Samfield School,

and it turned out she was right—I think we’ll be lifelong friends.

We promised each other that even if we went to different schools, we’d never lose touch.

Oh, if you’re interested, I’d be happy to share our letters with you.”

As Jia Jia Siting spoke, he opened his suitcase.

Aside from the items on the school list, the most striking were the neatly stacked letters.

Beside them lay scattered photographs—group pictures of Jia Jia Siting with his friends.

As Hermione looked on in surprise, a voice filled with tears suddenly rang out:

“Toad! Where are you?”

A round-faced boy squeezed into the compartment, hesitantly asking,

“Sorry, have you seen my toad?”

The train had now traveled two-thirds of its route.

Wizard Sean was pulled from his focus by the train’s warm, dim yellow lights.

He rubbed his eyes—the compartment was empty except for him.

Glancing at the darkening sky, he prepared to change into his wizard’s robe,

but as he closed *One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi*, he found a note inside.

It read:

【Wizard Sean, we’re helping a boy named Neville find his toad. If you want to join us, look for us in the corridor.】

Wizard Sean thought for a moment, then wrote on the back of the note:

【The train’s arriving soon. Don’t forget to change.】

After writing, Wizard Sean picked up his school robe and opened the compartment door.

The corridor was noisy—far louder than before, likely because the young witches and wizards had grown familiar with each other and now spoke louder.

As Wizard Sean passed one compartment, he caught the argument inside.

“Daisies, sweet cream, and sunlight—turn this silly fat rat yellow.”

A childish male voice.

“Are you sure that’s even a real spell?”

A girl asked.

“It doesn’t seem to work, does it?

I tried a few simple spells at home just for practice—and they all worked.

So what I mean is,

watch this:

Reparo.”

Wizard Sean understood what was happening. He started to walk over, then saw a platinum-haired boy stride into the compartment, flanked by two bodyguard-like young wizards.

Wizard Sean knew instantly what was coming.

Sure enough, a mocking voice soon rang out:

“If I were you, Potter, I’d be very careful.

You should be more polite, or you’ll end up on the same path as your parents.

They didn’t know any better, and if you hang around people like the Weasleys or Hagrid, you’ll be corrupted.”

What a cruel mouth.

Wizard Sean silently judged, turned away, and headed for the cloakroom.

In the now-silent compartment, a shout soon followed.

Wizard Sean could guess—it was Scabbers biting Gao Er to help Harry out.

If he remembered right, this was the only time Peter Pettigrew ever helped Harry?

When compartment two filled again with young witches and wizards, the train’s rumbling reached its peak, then the crimson steam engine slowed to a crawl.

Outside the windows,

beneath a deep purple sky, only endless mountains and forests could be seen.

Hermione and Jia Jia Siting’s eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement.

One by one, they stepped off the Hogwarts Express onto a small, dark platform.

Far ahead stood a giant holding a lantern—his silhouette looked like a monster from a fairy tale.

The night’s chill bit at them.

This time, Wizard Sean did not shiver—his clothes were no longer the donated, patched, pilled garments he’d worn before.

They were the plain Hogwarts robes and lining,

warm and comfortable.

Following Hagrid through the forest, the young witches and wizards all gasped in unison as they saw Hogwarts Castle:

“Woo—”

Jia Jia Siting shouted the loudest, earning frequent glares from Hermione.

“Forgive me, Hermione, Eton isn’t easy to give up,

but I made the right choice—look at this castle, the floating lanterns, the moving statues…

If my mother saw this—I think she’d be proud of me.”

Rowing across the Black Black Lake, entering the boathouse, climbing the cliffside stairs,

the young witches and wizards halted at the entrance hall of the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall began explaining the Sorting.