Just then, a smiling woman pushed open the compartment door: “Dear, would you like to buy any food from the trolley?”
Seeing the lunchbox in front of Will, she looked somewhat surprised: “Oh, your family really loves you.”
The other three besides Will instinctively reached into their pockets at the first moment.
Will thought for a moment and also paid to buy some Chocolate Frogs; he planned to take them to Hogwarts to eat later.
Although he wasn’t an Old Bee like Dumbledore, sometimes he needed sweets to lift his mood.
As it turned out, food cheered people up, and the atmosphere in the compartment quickly became pleasant; Neville’s speech wasn’t even stuttering as much.
Will finished his lunch quickly, waved his wand, and cast a Scourgify.
[You have used spells multiple times, you have become more proficient with a certain spell, Charms experience + 1]
Ah, nice!
Grinded a bit more experience.
However, this added a bit more pressure to Hermione…
Childhood friendships were simple.
The few of them were already familiar with each other, sitting together chewing snacks and chatting while Will prepared to rest for a while before continuing to read.
“Oh, I got one.” Neville chewed on a Chocolate Frog and pulled out a card, “It’s Hengist, doesn’t this mean I should go to Hufflep—oops—”
Before Neville could finish his sentence, a Chocolate Frog leg gave him a fierce kick inside his mouth.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to let Trevor out for some fresh air again.” Only then did Neville remember his pet toad.
He reached into his pocket, but very quickly, his expression became uglier than crying.
“It’s gone again! I lost it again! It always wants to leave me.”
Hermione seemed unable to bear watching Neville like this: “I’ll go look for it with you; it should be right on the train.”
“Thank you, Hermione.” Neville was so moved he was almost on the verge of tears.
“Actually, Accio should be able to retrieve Trevor,” Will reminded.
Some people said that Accio had restrictions on summoning living creatures; but in reality, Accio could summon living creatures.
In the original Goblet of Fire, Harry had used Trevor as a prop during practice for the first task; and in the seventh book, there was even a scene where a Wizard used Accio to catch fish.
“Does that mean you’ve already learned Accio, Will?” Amidst Neville’s hopeful gaze, Will nodded.
“I can help you summon Trevor, but it might not succeed, and you must first describe Trevor’s appearance to me in detail.”
“No problem, Trevor is grayish-black, and its back is covered in warts…” What Neville described was completely the appearance of an ordinary toad, and Will could only try his best.
“Accio Trevor!” Waving his wand, he waited for a short while, but there was no effect at all.
The atmosphere in the compartment became somewhat awkward.
Will waved his wand again while recalling the image of Trevor he had seen in the movie before.
In fact, he couldn’t remember those images clearly anymore; after all, that was something he had seen in his “past life”.
But this time the spellcasting did have an effect.
A gray toad flew across the corridor, leaving the few Young Wizards dumbfounded, thinking they had witnessed a magical creature.
With a “squelch!” sound, the people in the compartment understood that something had crashed into the compartment door.
“Trevor!” Neville opened the door.
Poor Trevor had been knocked unconscious and was lying on its back in the carriage corridor.
Neville hurriedly grabbed Trevor up.
Will keenly noticed that when Neville brought Trevor in, both Sylvia and Hermione leaned backward in unison.
“Thank you, Will, thank you for helping me find Trevor.” Neville shoved the fainted Trevor into his pocket and thanked Will profusely.
“When you get to Hogwarts, you can study Accio well; it will be a huge help to you in finding Trevor,” Will exhorted Neville.
“I will definitely learn Accio!”
After retrieving Trevor, the few of them chatted for a bit, and Will continued reading his book.
Just kidding, he was here to grind experience.
[You have acquired new knowledge of curseology, curseology experience + 1]
[You have acquired new knowledge of curseology, curseology experience + 1]
…
Outside the window, the continuous mountains and grasslands slowly moved backward, and the sun began to tilt westward as time passed.
Will was immersed in the joy of knowledge and experience when suddenly a fair palm intruded before his eyes and waved.
Will raised his head, somewhat puzzled.
“Would this reserve Ravenclaw gentleman please step outside for a moment? The ladies need to change their robes,” Sylvia said, staring into Will’s eyes.
Only then did Will notice that the sky had grown dim, and supposing they were about to arrive at Hogwarts, he retreated into the corridor together with Neville.
About ten minutes later, the two of them were let back in.
Sylvia and Hermione had already put on their Wizard robes, transforming from British maidens into Young Wizards at this moment; next, it was Will and Neville’s turn to change clothes.
Will changed his casual wear into a black satin-textured outer jacket before layering the Wizard robe over it; although some Wizards would wear robes directly without pants, Will couldn’t stand that.
Two minutes later, Will opened the compartment door and let a slightly surprised Sylvia and Hermione back in.
Soon, the driver’s voice echoed through the train.
“In another five minutes, the train will arrive at Hogwarts. Please leave your luggage on the train; we will have it delivered to the school for you.”
The train slowed down and finally came to a stop; the few of them had just stood up when they were stopped by Will.
“Let them squeeze down first; we’ll leave last. Rest assured, are you afraid the train will send us back?”
Thus, the four of them watched as the passengers shoved and pushed, crowding toward the carriage doors and stepping down onto a dark, tiny platform.
Will couldn’t help but feel that Hogwarts was truly a bit too careless in certain aspects.
The temperature in the Scottish Highlands was always relatively low.
Even though it was now September, the temperature here was less than ten degrees.
Will could even see the white vapor he exhaled, thankful that he was dressed warmly enough.
“First-years! First-years over here! Harry, over here, how are you doing?” shouted Hagrid, holding a lantern and sporting a thick beard, before leading the students down a pitch-black path.
“Come on, follow me, any more first-years? Watch your step, alright! First-years follow me!” The Young Wizards followed Hagrid, sliding and stumbling, walking downhill along a steep and narrow path.
Pitch darkness flanked both sides of the path.
Will could sense that both Sylvia and Hermione were secretly leaning closer to his side; Neville, on the other hand, did not—he followed closely behind Will step for step, trailing by about half a body length, and even almost stepped on Will’s shoes several times.
In the pitch-black night, none of the Young Wizards spoke until they turned a corner.
“Whoa…!” At the end of the narrow path, a black lake suddenly unfolded.
High on the opposite slope of the lake stood a majestic castle, its spires clustered densely, windows twinkling beneath the starry sky.
Hogwarts, we have arrived.