After getting up and leaving the compartment, William was squeezed out of the train by the flow of people, without having to move himself at all throughout the process.
Getting off the train and looking at the desolate and eerie surroundings, he thought that if he hadn’t known the situation, he might have mistaken Hogwarts for some gloomy and terrifying villain’s headquarters.
Even though it was the arrival of new students, the eerie environment felt like a bizarre survival game.
Just then, a cold wind carrying the chill of September in Britain blew over, making him shiver involuntarily.
Looking around, the upper-year students were heading towards the carriages in the distance in groups, while new students like him…
“First-years, this way, don’t be shy, come on over.”
That iconic tall build and that loud voice—no mistake, the person coming was Hagrid.
Only under the dim light of the lantern, Hagrid’s massive frame, combined with his long black hair and beard covering most of his face, looked incredibly frightening.
See, except for a few brave Young wizards who walked over, the others were too scared to step forward.
“First-years!
First-years over here!
Oh, Harry, I see you, come over here, how are you?” Hagrid shouted, casually helping Harry over by picking him up.
Instantly, Harry’s presence became the center of attention.
“I think at this moment, Harry probably wishes there was a crack in the ground he could crawl into,” William thought as he also walked over quickly.
Of course, he didn’t stay too far in front, to avoid being pulled forward like Harry and stared at by everyone.
He had planned well, but the number of first-year students was really not many, and combined with his Oriental face that differed from the others, he was soon spotted by Hagrid.
“William, long time no see.” Hagrid was very happy, and then, just like he did with Harry, he picked him up and brought him to the front.
After seeing William, Harry’s awkwardness finally eased; as long as he wasn’t the only one being stared at by so many people, it was fine.
Fortunately, at this time, the first-year students had all gathered, and with Hagrid’s shout of “Forward!”, he finally didn’t have to suffer anymore.
While walking, Harry pulled Ron over and introduced him to William.
“Hello, nice to meet you.
Can I call you Ron?” William said with a smile.
At this moment, Ron finally understood why Harry said William was a very good person.
However, he felt Harry might have missed a word; the other person was a very good-looking person.
Appearance is justice, and for those who value looks, this was a critical hit.
“Of course.”
Before they could continue, a figure came to the side of the three and said, “Finally found you.
William, why didn’t I see you on the train?
Even though they were words of concern, Hermione’s expression still carried that haughty tone.
“Oh, don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss coming to Hogwarts.
I was on the train the whole time, discussing some questions with two Hufflepuff seniors.”
William said this while looking at Harry and Ron’s expressions, then continued with a somewhat mysterious tone, “I wanted to introduce you, but from your expressions, I think you must have met already.”
“Yes.”
As for the process of the three meeting on the train, none of them spoke to explain; after all, it wasn’t exactly pleasant.
Seeing this, William changed the subject and spoke about the things inside Hogwarts Castle that he had learned from Cedric.
This indeed attracted the attention of the three, and even other Young wizards nearby curiously leaned in.
But before William could speak for long, Hagrid’s voice came from ahead.
“Ye’ll get yer first sight o’ Hogwarts in a moment, just round this bend,” Hagrid shouted back.
These words successfully grabbed the Young wizards’ attention, and then, at the end of the narrow path, a black lake suddenly opened up.
On the hillside on the opposite shore, a towering Castle stood, with many turrets and towers, and windows flickering under the starry sky.
“Wow—”
The gasps of the Young wizards were surprisingly in unison.
But before everyone could appreciate the beautiful scenery for long, Hagrid’s loud voice brought them back to their senses.
“No more’n four to a boat!” Hagrid shouted, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
In the next second, the Young wizards grabbed the friends they had just met and immediately scattered to find boats with empty seats.
Before Harry could even speak, William was pulled away by Hermione.
In the end, he, Hermione, and the future Sword Saint, Neville Longbottom, boarded a boat.
Luckily, the boat in front of theirs was Harry and Ron’s, so they weren’t separated by much.
As for the other people on the two boats, obviously, William didn’t know a single one of them.
Hagrid stood on his own boat and shouted, “Everyone in?
Right then—FORWARD!”
With a light tap of his umbrella on the hull, the fleet of little boats immediately cut through the mirror-like surface of the lake and sailed forward.
The Young wizards were entranced as they gazed at the Castle, the lake, and the stars.
“It is said that the path we are taking now is the same one the Four Founders of Hogwarts took when they first arrived at Hogwarts Castle.
I read about it in Hogwarts: A History,” Hermione said in the small boat.
“I haven’t read that one, I’ve been previewing the textbooks,” William said.
Neville and another Young wizard on the same boat couldn’t help but shiver upon hearing this; they hadn’t read anything at all during the holidays.
Hermione didn’t reply, her gaze intoxicated by the scenery of Hogwarts Castle.
“Heads down!” Hagrid shouted as the first boats reached the cliff. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Everyone ducked their heads, and as the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that covered a wide opening in the cliff face, they realized that the only person who actually needed to duck was Hagrid.
Then they came to a hidden, open entrance, following a dark tunnel that seemed to lead to the Castle’s underground, finally reaching a place like an underground harbor.
“Alright, out of the boats!
Next, we just climb the stone steps and we’ll be there,” Hagrid said loudly, and everyone cheered up upon hearing this.
“Hermione, I suggest you look at the number of stone steps before you get happy.
And Neville, you left your toad on the boat,” William reminded the two.
Hermione looked up at the number of steps, and the smile on her face instantly vanished, while Neville hurriedly caught his toad while thanking him.
No matter how reluctant they were, everyone still climbed the stone steps under Hagrid’s lead.
There’s a saying that a mountain looks close but is far; it applied quite well here.
After all, there were really a lot of steps, and they were only eleven-year-old Young wizards.
Especially those who hadn’t eaten well on the train; by this time, they were probably so hungry they couldn’t climb.
Seeing that the few people he knew didn’t look like they were too hungry to climb, William dismissed the idea of taking out his food supplies to support them.
After all, truth be told, he was actually quite protective of his food.
In this way, after an exhausting climb, everyone finally reached the end.
At this moment, the smiles on everyone’s faces were weary.
As Hagrid knocked on the door with a “thud, thud, thud,” it opened quickly.
A tall Witch in emerald-green robes stepped out with a serious expression.
This was the guide William was familiar with, the Dean of Gryffindor—Professor McGonagall.
“The first-years, Professor McGonagall.”
Professor McGonagall looked at the group of Young wizards, a small smile appearing at the corners of her mouth before she resumed her serious expression, saying, “Thank you, Hagrid.
I will take them from here.”
“Alright.”
With that, Hagrid left.
Under Professor McGonagall’s “homeroom teacher’s stare,” everyone soon didn’t dare to make a sound or move.
Seeing this, Professor McGonagall finally spoke, “Welcome to Hogwarts.
Now, follow me.”
Turning around, Professor McGonagall led everyone inside.
With Professor McGonagall’s authority, everyone was incredibly well-behaved along the way, though even without it, everyone was now too tired to cause trouble.