With a month left before the start of term, Ethan returned home and immediately drew up a schedule for himself, covering several of Hogwarts’ important compulsory courses.
“[Transfiguration] is both complex and dangerous, making it unsuitable for self-study.
A teacher needs to be there to watch and correct mistakes at all times; it’s best not to jump ahead on my own to avoid building a flawed foundation…” Ethan scheduled *A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration* for early morning, grouping it with some foreign language textbooks.
He planned to engrave the entire book word-for-word into his mind, but without diving too deep before school started.
“*One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi* is completely safe—pure memorization.
I can spend two hours a day committing it to memory.” “*Fantastic Beasts* and *A History of Magic* can serve as bedtime reading.
*Magical Drafts and Potions* and *The Standard Book of Spells* are both subjects that require heavy memorization and comprehension.” Ethan quickly categorized his subjects.
He relegated the less critical ones to his downtime, while major core subjects like Potions, Charms, and Herbology occupied his prime hours every day.
Slapping his cheeks to focus, he opened *One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi*, took a soft breath, and began reading aloud.
“Essence of Dittany is a powerful healing and restorative herb that can heal shallow wounds when consumed raw, though its effects are even more outstanding when extracted as an essence.” “Alihotsy is a magical tree, also known as the Hyena Tree.
Its leaves can cause hysteria and uncontrollable laughter…” “Aconite is sometimes referred to as monkshood or wolfsbane.
The reason it is called wolfsbane…” [Exchange Experience: +3] Time slipped quietly by, and a full, rewarding month passed in this manner.
Over the course of the month, he earned a total of 3 free potential points.
Without hesitation, he dumped them all into [Magic Power].
[Ethan White] [Magic Power: 5] September first.
Outside King’s Cross Station.
Ethan hugged his mother and father in turn.
With a wave and a touch of reluctance, he dragged his large leather suitcase into the station by himself, quickly locating Platforms Nine and Ten.
He stared at them for a moment, in no hurry to ram himself into the wall.
After all, there were two sides; what if he crashed into the wrong one?
Before long, a father and daughter approached, chatting away.
The man wore a bright yellow robe so long it nearly dragged on the ground, revealing a pair of equally bold, scarlet bloomers underneath.
His cotton-candy white hair was loose, thick, and fluffy, cascading down like a cloud from his head.
The girl beside him was smaller and slighter, with smooth, pale blonde hair falling over her shoulders like moonlight and a pair of light, silvery eyes that gave her a highly ethereal look.
“Remember what I told you about those Wrackspurts?
They particularly love to crowd around anxious first-years, buzzing and causing confusion.” “I’ll keep my glasses on, Daddy.
They help me block out those really big, purple-spotted Wrackspurts.” Talking all the while, the two pushed their trolley and plunged right through the barrier.
Ethan watched the scene thoughtfully.
It seemed to be Luna and her eccentric father.
With someone having shown him the way, Ethan hesitated no longer.
Gripping the handle of his suitcase, he broke into a light jog and charged into the barrier.
The world went momentarily dark.
When his surroundings cleared, he saw a scarlet steam engine sitting beside a sign that read: *Hogwarts Express*.
The platform was packed with people.
Thick smoke from the steam engine billowed overhead.
Cats of every color and pattern weaved through the crowd’s legs.
Hearing the faint rumble of wheels behind him, Ethan didn’t stay to gawk.
He quickly stepped aside, squeezed through the bustling crowd, and boarded the train.
He stowed his luggage in a compartment near the back, settled into his seat, and finally found the leisure to look out the window.
He spotted Luna and her father, who had entered before him.
The two were still talking on the platform, and Luna’s eccentric father was pulling a shiny, turnip-shaped earring from his pocket.
Nearby was a chubby, round-faced boy who looked rather dazed.
Clinging to the hand of an elderly woman in a tall hat, he was saying something with a miserable expression.
For no reason, Ethan felt a sudden wave of trance.
In his past life, he had watched all of this on a computer screen; in this life, he was sitting on the train, gazing through a small window at scenes so real yet so dreamlike.
Rubbing his temples, he stopped staring outside, pulled out a thick textbook, and buried his face in it.
He had no idea how much time had passed when a long, loud whistle jarred him awake.
Looking up blankly, Ethan realized the platform was long gone, replaced by a landscape of rolling hills.
[Exchange Experience: +1] “Are you reading a Herbology textbook?” A slightly high-pitched but clearly enunciated girl’s voice reached his ears.
Startled, Ethan looked up and found that two kids his age had joined his compartment.
Beside him sat the distracted, round-faced boy, while across from him sat a girl with bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.
She had her chin tilted up; the question had come from her.
Ethan blinked, waved the textbook slightly, and nodded.
“It’s a good read.” The girl raised her eyebrows, her lips curling upward as she spoke in a rapid-fire rush.
“I read *Herbology* over the holidays too, and I’ve got it all off by heart.
In fact, I’ve memorized all our set books.
But I’m more interested in *Potions* and *Transfiguration*—those two are terribly difficult, and I hear even the school professors can’t guarantee we’ll master them perfectly!
Have you looked into those two?” She wasn’t very old, but she spoke with an air of authority, like a proud little peacock.
Ethan had a pretty good guess as to who she was.
Keeping his composure, he said: “I actually have the opposite view.
As you said, those two subjects are very difficult.
Trying them on your own without a professor’s guidance is not only dangerous, but it also makes it easy to pick up bad habits.
That’s why I haven’t looked into them too closely.” “Oh, really?
Perhaps you’re just being a bit timid.” She lifted her chin with a smug look.
“I’ve tried a few simple spells at home just for practice, and they’ve all worked!
I didn’t run into any danger at all.
No one in my family is magical, of course, but as long as you’re careful enough, I’m sure a bit of practice is perfectly fine.” “Right, that’s very impressive.” Ethan gave a small smile and turned his head back down to his book.
*Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear on its own.* Even though he had memorized the whole thing, every time he reread it, he managed to spot details he had previously overlooked.
Seeing him go straight back to reading just as she was about to introduce herself, the girl puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
She turned to the other boy and said in a friendly, outgoing tone, “I’m Hermione Granger, and you?” The boy seemed very shy.
“Neville Longbottom,” he mumbled timidly.
“Pleasure!
And what about this book-loving gentleman here?” Realizing he wasn’t going to get any quiet reading done, Ethan closed his textbook.
“I’m Ethan White.
Nice to meet you, Miss Granger, Mr.
Longbottom.” Hermione asked, “That’s a very common surname.
Are you from a wizarding family?” Ethan shook his head, while Neville nodded.
Hermione looked at Ethan in surprise, a flicker of delight appearing on her face.
“I’m not from a wizarding family either!
My parents are both dentists.” Neville kept his head down, looking quite despondent.
“They used to be Aurors.
Now they’re staying in the hospital.” Ethan looked at him, then at Hermione, who seemed at a loss for words.
“My family runs a tiny bakery,” he said.
“If you don’t mind…” He took out three small, bowl-sized cardboard boxes.
Inside were cream rolls topped with strawberries.
“These are strawberry cream rolls.
My mum made them.” Hermione and Neville’s eyes widened.
Each took a box, holding it carefully.
Hermione said in realization, “No wonder I kept smelling sweet cream…
Oh, it’s so sweet and smooth, and the cake roll is wonderfully light and fluffy…” Beside her, Neville was just stuffing his face, his mouth covered in cream.
Ethan suddenly noticed something hop out of the compartment.
After a brief thought, he spoke up to warn him: “Mr.
Longbottom, I think your pet just escaped.” Neville stared at him blankly, then looked down to search.
He immediately let out a tragic wail.
“Trevor?” Clutching his cream roll, he dashed frantically out of the compartment.
Hermione quickly polished off her cake, then ran after him, calling back, “That was delicious!
I’ll buy you a treat once we get to school.
But for now, I’d better help Longbottom find his pet…
Oh, by the way, you should probably change into your robes.
We’re almost there.” Only then did Ethan notice that the young witch had already changed into her brand-new, plain black work robes.