Chapter 053

As the train ride wore on, Harry found himself actually relaxing his guard around the two girls he shared a compartment with. He had even been willing to tell them more about himself than he would have normally been comfortable with; like his martial arts, his love of learning new things, and most importantly, his friend Lisa.

It was a great surprise to Harry when he actually began telling the two about his non-magical friend. While Harry wouldn't call himself introverted, he wasn't extroverted either, but more of a mix of the two. He would speak with anybody and everybody, and could be outgoing when required, but he tended to be a private person when it came to his personal life.

This presented Harry with a great mystery. Why was he being so forthcoming? Was it because they were both magical like him? Because they were both girls? He would admit to being more comfortable around females, but was that enough to make him comfortable about personal information with two people he'd just met?

Or could it be due to how the two reminded him of Lisa? Sure, neither of them was exactly like Lisa. No two people could ever be the same, not even identical twins, but that didn't change the fact that he saw bits and pieces of his best friend in these two—Hannah with her outgoing demeanor, and Susan with her shy personality.

Admittedly, Hannah reminded him more of Lisa than Susan. His non-magical friend rarely ever showed such shyness as the red-haired girl. But there were instances, quite a few in fact, where his friend would act inexplicably demure.

Whatever the case, he could not deny that he enjoyed speaking with Hannah and Susan.

It eventually began to darken outside, and the three realized they would arriving at Hogwarts soon. After putting his robe on over his normal clothes, Harry left the compartment and stood with his back to the glass window, allowing the girls some privacy to change.

As he waited outside, the train began slowing down and a voice echoed through the hall: "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to Hogwarts separately."

A minute after the voice had spoken, Hannah and Susan stepped out, and not long after that the train slowed to a halt. Harry and his two new acquaintances moved with the throng of people as they stepped into the cold night air.

He shivered for a moment as the cold air seeped into his bones. However, the coolness didn't last long before his own magic surged forth to counteract the weathers effects, warming his body until it matched his standard temperature of 98 degrees.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

A loud voice called out into the din. Harry turned with the other first years to see the largest man he'd ever laid eyes on. Easily standing over seven feet tall, the man towered above the frightened first years. The giant, for that was all Harry could think to call him, had long messy hair, a just as messy beard and mustache combination, and black beady eyes that peered at them from in between scraggly locks of hair. Despite his imposing and downright terrifying figure, the large man possessed a friendly air that belied his size.

Harry frowned as a brief memory played in his head. The image was blurry, almost like something had been interfering with his sight, but he distinctly remembered this man soaring over London on a flying motorcycle shortly after his parents death.

"C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Harry moved with the others, following the man down a dark, narrow path. The only thing visible beyond the lantern the giant of a man held was the barely visible outline of trees on either side. So dark was it that it took Harry a moment to realize that neither Hannah nor Susan were with him anymore. He wondered when they had gotten separated.

"Ye'all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," he called over his shoulder. "Jus' round this bend here."

The narrow path soon opened onto the edge of a great black lake that Harry could only guess the depths of. Several boats lined the shore, obviously their transport to Hogwarts. And there, sitting perched atop a high mountain, was the school they would be going to.

While Harry was not among those who let out a loud "ooooh!" at the sight, he would never deny to being impressed. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was an enormous castle that appeared to have been taken right out of the first century; tall and imposing, it seemed like a veritable fortress that could and had withstood numerous sieges in the past. Its many turrets and towers reached up as if to grasp the heavens, and the windows he could make out sparkled in the moonlit night.

It was not the castle itself that got Harry's attention, however. No, while the school was imposing and grand enough that Harry felt as if he had gone back in time during King Arthur's rein, it was not the outward appearance that truly held his intrigue.

It was the feeling of power the castle gave off; the way the hairs raised on the back of his neck, as if some kind of mystical energy permeated the atmosphere; the way his blood surged through his veins at an increased rate, like some foreign energy had invaded his body and was being pumped into his bloodstream and nervous system, heightening his awareness to levels previously unperceived by man. More than that, it was the joyous singing that rang inside of his mind, as if a thousand voices were calling out in union. More lively than the feeling Diagon Alley gave off, more hallowed then the reverence given off at Ollivanders, more powerful than both of those places combined, Hogwarts felt alive.

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