Don’t look at her; she was only eleven and about to turn twelve, but she could run a kilometer in four minutes without getting too out of breath.
And *she* was weak?
“Canberra, what kind of creature’s Little Cub are you comparing me to?” Thinking of something, Hermione narrowed her eyes at Canberra.
She… couldn’t be comparing herself to the Little Cub of some Kaiju, could she?
“Kong,” Canberra said as a matter of course, waving a tentacle to help her express herself, “Look, you humans evolved from apes, right?
The Kong race and your kind should be quite closely related.” “Considering you’re a human Little Cub, I’ve already greatly, greatly softened the standard.” Hearing Canberra say “greatly, greatly,” Hermione almost laughed in exasperation.
She playfully and somewhat angrily tapped Canberra’s little head.
It was sort of returning the tap she’d received from the tentacle earlier.
“You can’t compare it like that; the difference is too great.
Among girls my age, my body is already considered very good.” Hermione crossed her arms, humming twice with a touch of pride.
Canberra scratched her hair with a tentacle.
“Alright, then eat a bit more, grow taller?” “That works.” Hermione nodded in satisfaction.
After lunch, Canberra and Hermione leaned together, chatting about all sorts of topics.
From noon until evening, the two girls’ mouths barely stopped moving.
Neville, sitting opposite them, listened openly and with great interest.
It wasn’t until night fell and the Hogwarts Express slowly pulled into the station that Canberra ended her conversation with Hermione.
She stood up with her and walked out of the compartment, preparing to disembark.
Stepping off the train, they were greeted by the dark night.
In the darkness, a tall man held up an oil lamp.
“First-years!
First-years over here!” “Hagrid!” “Oh!
Harry, how have you been?
Those Muggles haven’t bothered you again, have they?” Canberra turned to look at the tall man talking to Harry.
She had just heard Harry call him Hagrid.
That height… Canberra scanned Hagrid’s physique up and down.
It didn’t look like a human could reach that size.
“First-years seem to be gathering there; let’s go quickly!” Hermione eagerly pulled Canberra towards Hagrid.
Canberra quickly followed her, walking and speaking as they went.
“It’s quite dark, Hermione, slow down, watch your step.” It wasn’t until Canberra, Hermione, and the first-years gathered around Hagrid that he raised his oil lamp a little higher.
“Any more first-years?
Is everyone here?” No one answered.
The new students were all whispering among themselves.
“If everyone’s here, follow me.” Hagrid nodded gently, a big smile under his thick beard.
He led the way, holding the oil lamp, with the new students following behind him.
The path they walked was incredibly dark, without a single light.
Many Little Wizards nearly stumbled more than once, but Canberra walked as if on level ground.
Her green eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, allowing her to see everything clearly.
After all, this environment was much brighter than the bottom of the sea.
Turning to look at Hermione, who was struggling a bit like the other new students, Canberra didn’t hesitate at all and simply picked Hermione up in her arms.
Having no human concept of shyness, she simply and directly felt that if the Little Cub was uncomfortable walking now, she should help.
Suddenly picked up by Canberra, Hermione couldn’t help but exclaim, wrapping her arms around her neck.
An inexplicable heat rushed to her cheeks, and Hermione looked at Canberra, who was holding her, with a red face.
“Canberra… why did you suddenly pick me up?” “It’s too dark, Little Cub can’t see clearly walking by herself.
It’s not safe.” Canberra lowered her head to explain to Hermione, but her steps didn’t slow down at all.
“Oh.” Hermione shyly lowered her head.
The surrounding new students couldn’t help but look at her and Canberra.
Although it was pitch black, basic human shapes could still be seen.
Combined with Hermione’s words just now, they could still tell that one new student had picked up another.
And it was just because it was too dark and the path was difficult… Many new students covered their mouths, letting out several silent gasps.
Even if the voices sounded like two girls, what did it matter!
They thought it was shippable!
Walking all the way to a large lake, Canberra finally set Hermione down.
Hermione, placed on the ground, felt the friendly yet somewhat envious gazes of the surrounding new students and couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands, trying to cool it down.
“Four people to a boat, everyone get on quickly.” Canberra pulled the still-dazed Hermione and directly boarded one of the boats docked by the Black Lake.
They recognized the two people already on the boat: Harry and Ron, whom they had greeted earlier on the train.
It wasn’t until they were seated in the boat that Hermione fully came to her senses.
She cleared her throat and sat up straight.
Canberra also withdrew her attention from Hermione, sensing the life forces in the Black Lake below, the Forbidden Forest nearby, and even Hogwarts Castle.
At the same time, the Giant Squid and Merpeople in the Black Lake, the Unicorns and Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, and other creatures all simultaneously ceased all activity, frozen stiff in place.
A heavy sense of oppression enveloped them, as if declaring that they could become food at any moment.
The Unicorns were fine; they only paused briefly before being able to move normally again.
Their leader even bowed its head towards the direction of the Black Lake from afar.
The Giant Squid and Merpeople also only stiffened for a moment before heading towards the bottom of the Black Lake, waiting for Canberra above to cross the Black Lake.
But the Acromantulas, led by Aragog, were different.
They were directly and severely pressed to the ground by this pressure, unable to move.
If they tried to move even slightly, their exoskeletons and bones would emit loud cracking sounds.
Canberra also seemed to notice something.
She looked up towards the distant Forbidden Forest, her eyes narrowing slightly, green eyes flashing with a hint of ferocity.
“What’s wrong?” Hermione had never seen Canberra show such an expression and look before, and she asked with concern.
“Nothing,” Canberra slowly withdrew her gaze.
“I sensed something.
It seems to be the offspring of some creature I don’t like.”