05: Reaching Hogwarts

After the two of them left, it was some time after the train started that they returned.

"John, you absolutely won't believe who I saw," exclaimed Neville, still a bit incoherent upon his return, leaving John puzzled.

It was Hermione, raising her voice and speaking clearly, who told John, "Harry Potter, the savior from the story, he's on the train too."

Recalling the plain-looking savior he had seen, Hermione proudly raised her little head and said, "The savior isn't that impressive."

Neville retorted, "But my grandmother said Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord and saved the wizarding world."

The two began to argue.

Only then did John realize what he had missed.

The epic meeting of the trio happened right in the carriage.

John felt a bit regretful for having forgotten about this.

The train traveled for several hours and arrived at the station after nightfall.

Prompted by Hermione, John put on his school uniform robe, and with his good looks, the robe gave him an even more mysterious aura.

Before getting off the train, John saw Hagrid's massive figure through the glass window.

Hagrid was holding a lantern, which was quite conspicuous in the dark.

The young wizards got off the train, marveling at Hagrid's size. The older students, led by prefects, left in an orderly manner.

John noticed a red-haired boy next to Harry; it was hard not to recognize a Weasley with that distinctive hair.

The group of new students followed Hagrid to Hogwarts.

On the boat across the Black Lake, John reminded Neville, "Neville, have you found your toad?"

Neville's round face froze; he had forgotten all about his toad after seeing Harry.

But now that they were on the boat, with no sign of Trevor, Neville was almost in tears.

As the one who had caused all this, John wasn't worried at all. He remembered that Neville's toad would eventually appear at the gates of Hogwarts.

When watching the movie, he had always been curious about where Neville's toad had gone.

It disappeared on the train but showed up at Hogwarts. Could it have the blood of magical creatures?

Magical creatures are beings in the wizarding world, and they are one of the factors that make this world so vibrant.

...

"Watch your heads!" Hagrid's booming voice rang out, scaring Hermione and Neville into ducking quickly, while John did not duck.

Only after the boat passed did they realize there was no need to duck, or rather, only someone of Hagrid's size would need to.

Crossing the Black Lake, the young wizards officially stepped into Hogwarts.

This thousand-year-old magical school, looking like a castle, was filled with mystery in the night.

The young wizards walked up the historic steps.

At the entrance, a stern-faced Professor McGonagall was already waiting.

Unlike the last time John had seen her at the Wick's Residence, Professor McGonagall was wearing a black pointed witch's hat this time, adding to her already imposing presence.

Nodding slightly to Hagrid, the unsmiling Professor McGonagall said, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

[Ding! The first stage mission at Hogwarts has been activated: survive your first year as a magic apprentice. Mission rewards: +1 to magic point, +2 to attribute points]

(Note: Completing related tasks will grant mission rewards.)

[A/N: Magic Point will be added to his Magic stat in the panel below and the Attribute/Skill points are to increase the level of a skill.]

As Professor McGonagall spoke, John received a system notification.

John let his mind go blank, his gaze unfocused as if daydreaming.

In front of him, a transparent panel appeared, as if written on glass.

The panel was very simple, with only four sections.

...

[Magic: Level 1 (0/100)]

[Spells: Alohomora (Level 3)]

[Skills: Short Weapon Mastery (Level 7), Polearm Mastery (Level 6), Heavy Weapon Mastery (Level 3), Firearm Mastery (Level 1)]

[Blessings: Physical Fitness, Quick Attack, Precision]

...

John blinked his dry eyes.

After returning home from Diagon Alley, he spent a month studying magic, during which he advanced the Unlocking Charm (Alohomora) to Level 3 and gained a new spell attribute.

At Level 1, Alohomora could only unlock simple door latches. At Level 2, it could unlock doors, and at Level 3, it had already opened the safe his father had secretly hidden from his mother.

Thanks to this, he also handled the handgun in the safe, adding a Level 1 skill in firearms.

Professor McGonagall was still introducing the four houses.

John already knew all of this and didn't pay much attention.

Neville saw Trevor on the steps and, delighted, rushed over, causing many young wizards to snicker, making Neville return to the group embarrassed and timid.

After McGonagall turned around to prepare for the Sorting Ceremony.

The young Draco Malfoy with his slicked-backcombed platinum blonde hair, began to fall in love with the savior Harry Potter at first sight—no, I mean, their mutual antagonism.

"It seems what they said on the train was true, Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

With his two steadfast followers, Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy stood proudly on the steps and introduced himself to Harry Potter, "Draco Malfoy."

That was his character—arrogant and conceited, as befitting a pure-blood aristocrat.

These traits were exactly what the Weasleys disliked, so Ron laughed scornfully at Malfoy's peacock display.

The sound was quiet, but just enough for Malfoy to hear.

Malfoy turned to scrutinize Ron. Your worst enemy often knows you best.

Recognizing that Ron was from the Weasley family, Malfoy sneered disdainfully, "Red hair, hand-me-down robes, there's no doubt, you must be a Weasley."

Ron felt very aggrieved at being hit where it hurt.

The Weasley family was too large, with seven children. To save money, Ron had to use the things his brothers left behind.

After mocking the Weasleys, Malfoy extended an olive branch to Harry.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others. Potter, no one wants to be friends with the wrong sort. I can help you."

It was a sign of Malfoy's genuine desire to be friends with Harry that he, despite his pride, extended a hand.

John frowned at this speech. While he had previously thought Malfoy was merely arrogant, hearing it firsthand made him quite annoyed.

Malfoy's words demeaned all non-pure-blood wizards, making John want to punch that proud face.

Malfoy had clearly forgotten one thing: Harry was friends with the Weasleys, and no one likes their friends being insulted.

"I think I can tell who's right and wrong for myself, thanks," Harry firmly rejected Malfoy's offer, leaving Malfoy embarrassed.

When the two looked at each other affectionately (?), John couldn't help shaking his head.

'Little Malfoy, that's not how you make friends,' John thought as he discreetly moved forward to stand beside Neville, with Hermione following him.

Hermione thought John was angry at Malfoy's words and feared he might start a fight on the first day, which would be bad, wizarding school or not.

 However, her worries were unnecessary. Not long after Malfoy finished speaking, Professor McGonagall came back and led them in a line into the great hall for the Sorting Ceremony.

The ceiling of the Hogwarts Great Hall was enchanted to look like the night sky, with hundreds of candles floating above to light the hall.

Four long tables filled with students, each with robes trimmed in different colors representing their houses.

Red and gold for Gryffindor.

Blue and silver for Ravenclaw.

Green and silver for Slytherin.

Yellow and black for Hufflepuff.

In the Great Hall, four large hourglasses represented the house points.

Upper-year students watched the new arrivals, while walking beside John, Hermione chattered on about "Hogwarts: A History," giving John a headache.

No wonder the other two-thirds of the trio initially didn't like Hermione; at this age, everyone's pride was strong, and having a friend constantly flaunting superior knowledge could indeed be annoying.

Fortunately, John was not a child and didn't dislike Hermione.

His attention was more focused on the kindly old man with the white beard. This was not just the headmaster of Hogwarts.

He was also the top combatant in the magical world, feared by two successive Dark Lords, the anchor of the magical world, and the only one capable of summoning a phoenix.

The White Wizard of the magical world, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

 John's curious eyes caught Dumbledore's attention. The old man never lacked patience with students, and he even winked at John playfully.

...