The following days passed by like flowing water, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day school started.
During this time, Vera’s Magic Circuit successfully upgraded to [Awakening Advanced], her mana reserve upper limit reached 90 points, and her recovery rate increased to 19.5/hour.
Through practice, she had mastered all the basic spells listed in “The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1”, and could proficiently apply the basic skills of [Multi-casting].
The Potion sent by Snape was indeed much better than St. Mungos’s, at least sparing her from enduring that agonizing pain, and making her usual movements much easier.
Kreacher supervised her taking medicine on time every day, and prepared various nutrient-rich meals to ensure her physical condition could cope with the upcoming school life.
Finally, on September 1st, morning sunlight poured into the room through the gaps in the curtains.
Vera sat in her wheelchair, the sunlight streaming through the stained-glass window onto her silver-gray long hair, reflecting a faint rainbow glow.
“Miss,” Kreacher’s voice sounded outside the door, “Are you ready to leave?”
“Yeah.” Vera snapped back to reality and pushed her wheelchair to the door.
Everything had been checked off; not only the necessary books, but also some… magical items that would come in handy later, she had brought them all.
“Does Miss really not need Kreacher to accompany her?” The House-elf pushed her to the fireplace, his eyes filled with worry.
“I can take care of myself already,” Vera replied calmly, “And the house will need you more.”
Kreacher sniffed: “Young Master Regulus said the same thing when he first went to Hogwarts…”
Vera did not interrupt the House-elf’s nagging.
Ever since receiving the admission letter, Kreacher frequently fell into such memories.
She just quietly adjusted her collar, looking at the pale girl in the mirror—silver-gray long hair draped over her shoulders, her pitch-Black eyes hiding an indifference that did not belong to this age.
“Is the luggage all ready?” She asked softly.
Kreacher immediately straightened his stooped back: “It’s all placed in the wheelchair space cast with an Undetectable Extension Charm!”
Vera raised her head and saw Nox leap down from the beam, landing lightly on her knees, the silver hair at the tip of its tail brushing across her wrist.
Afterwards, with almost no effort, Vera traveled alone via the floo network to King’s Cross Station.
When Vera passed alone through the magical barrier of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, arriving in front of the steam-wreathed hogwarts express, she found that many students and parents had already gathered here.
She pushed her wheelchair slowly forward alone, her gaze sweeping over the excited first-years and reluctant parents on the platform.
Nox poked its head out from her knees, also curiously surveying everything around it.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind: “Vera! I’m over here!”
Turning her head at the sound, she saw sunlight piercing through the bustling crowd as a somewhat untidy head of Black hair abruptly popped out. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Harry Potter was waving frantically at her, her green eyes behind her glasses shining brightly.
She dragged a trunk that was obviously bigger than herself, with a bulging backpack on her back, making her look somewhat teetering.
Vera subconsciously pushed her wheelchair closer to her by a few inches, and Nox also excitedly wagged its tail on her knees.
“You’re finally here!” Harry ran up to her, panting, her little face flushed from running.
“I started waiting half an hour early, and I almost thought you weren’t coming!”
Vera raised an eyebrow slightly.
“We didn’t arrange to ride together.”
“But I said I’d see you at the start of term!” Harry said righteously, fumbling to adjust her sliding glasses.
“And we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Before Vera could respond, Harry had already started pushing her wheelchair on her own.
“I’ll push you in! This platform is too crowded; I just saw a few upperclassmen almost crash into people. It’s so dangerous!”
The moment she felt the pushing force, Vera instinctively tightened her grip on the armrests, but she immediately sensed the difference between Harry and Kreacher.
The force from the girl behind her was a bit clumsy, but unexpectedly steady, not causing her that familiar sense of discomfort.
“Where’s your luggage?” Harry asked, pushing her through the crowd while looking around curiously.
“In the wheelchair’s expanded space,” Vera answered briefly.
Harry’s green eyes widened immediately.
“Wow! That’s so cool!”
She bent down, leaning close to examine the wheelchair’s armrest, her nose nearly touching the metal parts.
“This looks so much more convenient than an ordinary trunk.”
Vera subtly leaned to the side, increasing the distance a little.
“Just some small tricks.”
“They’re not just small tricks!” Harry straightened up, pushing her forward.
“I bet you’re the only person on the whole platform who thought of this idea!”
Vera raised her head slightly, looking at Harry’s sparkling eyes, momentarily lost in thought.
The girl seemed filled with novelty and enthusiasm for everything in the magical world, like a dry sponge greedily absorbing all the water.
From the perspective of the plot, this was very good; curiosity made one more suited for adventure.
Harry struggled to shove the luggage into the compartment, then turned back, hesitating for a moment as she looked at Vera, and asked in a blushing, quiet voice, “Do you need me to carry you up?”
Vera shook her head and drew her wand from the wheelchair armrest.
“I’ll do it myself.”
She softly chanted the Levitation Charm, her body lifted lightly by the magic into the compartment, landing steadily on the seat.
Nox nimbly jumped onto the seat and turned back to meow at Harry.
Harry’s eyes widened even further, and she quickly sat down beside Vera.
“That’s amazing! You can use magic before classes have even officially started?”
Vera withdrew her wand back into her sleeve.
“Just basic spells.”
“That’s still incredible!” Harry said excitedly.
“You have no idea, when I was at my aunt’s house, I couldn’t even mention the word ‘magic’.”
Her voice suddenly dropped, and her fingers unconsciously rubbed the tape on her old glasses frame.
“They always said I was a freak… said my parents died in a drunk driving car accident…”
Vera’s gaze fell upon Harry’s slender, skinny wrists, the result of long-term malnutrition.
Unconsciously, for the first time, she began to seriously ponder what kind of childhood the savior of this world had truly lived.
“Now you know,” Vera said softly.
“They are heroes.”
Harry raised her head, clear light sparkling in her green eyes.
She turned her hand over to clasp Vera’s, nodding firmly.
“Yeah! Thank you, Vera!”
Vera froze for a fraction of a second, quietly wanting to withdraw her hand.
But she couldn’t pull it away.
The savior’s strength… was actually quite considerable.
Watching the increasingly sparse crowd on the platform, Vera thought silently.