Chapter 75: Lead
Arthur and his group followed the older students out of the station and soon saw hundreds of carriages lined up on the side of the road.
What made these carriages different from ordinary ones was that there were no horses in front of them.
However, Arthur could see a skeletal, dragon-headed, black-winged horse called a Thestral in front of each carriage.
It is said that only those who have witnessed death can see them.
Whether it was Professor Quirrell's death last semester or the dark wizard killed during the Battle of Knockturn Alley, these experiences were enough for Arthur to see them.
Hermione was a bit puzzled, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
A self-driven carriage in the wizarding world was not something surprising.
She was currently more concerned about whether Harry would arrive safely at the school and what punishment he would receive.
Cho, on the other hand, had seen these things many times before. Last year, she had taken these carriages.
Just then, a howl sounded in the distance, and the sound of feet rapidly approached.
"Celestia!" Arthur saw the figure of a young unicorn running towards him from a distance.
In the moonlight, its whole body emitted a soft glow, especially its horn, which seemed to be surrounded by a nebula.
Celestia quickly ran up to Arthur, happily circling around him and sometimes making joyful sounds.
Arthur was also happy to see her.
After not seeing her for a summer, Celestia had grown taller, and her limbs had become slender and powerful.
He stopped the excited unicorn and carefully checked to see if she had been injured in the Forbidden Forest.
Although Arthur had asked Hagrid to take care of Celestia, there were still dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest, such as the Acromantulas.
While Hagrid had a good relationship with the Acromantulas, they sometimes couldn't control their hunting instincts.
According to George and Fred, they never dared to get close to the Acromantula territory whenever they went deep into the Forbidden Forest, as magical creatures often went missing.
Feeling Arthur's concern, the young unicorn affectionately nuzzled his cheek and let out a soft sound.
"Are you saying you'll be in charge of pulling our carriage?" Arthur understood her meaning.
Celestia nodded, her large watery eyes set on Arthur.
So, in the middle of the envious gazes of other young wizards, Arthur and the others boarded the carriage pulled by the unicorn.
They couldn't understand why Arthur's carriage was pulled by a unicorn while they didn't have the same treatment.
However, some of the Ravenclaw witches had heard from Cho that Arthur had tamed a young unicorn last semester, so they weren't too surprised.
Soon, the news spread among the crowd, and unconsciously, Arthur once again became the topic of a new legend among the students.
Hermione and Cho were also very happy. They liked Celestia a lot, and the carriage curtains were never pulled down.
The two girls sometimes fed Celestia some snacks.
Although it was Celestia's first time pulling a carriage, she was very stable.
They moved slowly along Hogwarts Lane.
Arthur had not walked this road last semester, so he was curious and looked around, but the tall adults surrounding the road blocked his view.
Within half an hour, the carriage stopped at the oak gate. After getting off the carriage, Arthur patted Celestia's head, praised her, and then let her return to the Forbidden Forest.
The little unicorn felt a bit reluctant, but when Arthur assured her that he would visit her in a few days, she left, turning back to look three times.
...
As they walked back to the castle, the place they had called home for nearly a year, Arthur felt a sense of joy.
When they reached the castle gate, they encountered Professor McGonagall.
Hermione suddenly remembered Harry and Ron and hurriedly ran over to inform Professor McGonagall.
At first, Professor McGonagall didn't believe it, but after Arthur stepped forward as a witness, she realized it wasn't a joke.
"Don't they know that they can send an owl letter?" Professor McGonagall was on the verge of tears due to the foolishness of her lion cubs.
She couldn't care less about the young wizards who needed to enter the school and went straight to find Dumbledore.
She asked Arthur to help keep things in order before she left. He was supposed to take the young wizards to the Sorting Ceremony if she didn't come back.
Arthur opened his mouth to say refuse, but Professor McGonagall walked away before he could say anything.
Feeling frustrated, he slowly took on this task.
Seeing Arthur's helpless expression, Hermione and Cho covered their mouths and laughed quietly.
They mentioned that Professor McGonagall didn't ask them to stay and help, so they had to leave first.
Arthur decided to get his revenge when he saw that the two girls were enjoying his situation.
As for the group of young wizards, after the cold Professor McGonagall left, they were left with a student who was only slightly older than them to manage them.
Then, all of a sudden, they got more fearless, and they talked about what might happen at the Sorting Ceremony. Some said they would have to cast a spell, while others said they would have to fight a dragon.
A few young witches even approached Arthur, enchanted by his handsome appearance, and asked for his name.
Arthur felt the pressure.
"Silence!"
Arthur shouted, but nothing happened. The group of new students kept talking and making noise.
"Silence!"
He pulled out his wand and used a Sonorus charm on himself. His voice suddenly drowned out all the other noise and even shook some dust off the ceiling.
When they finally stopped talking, the new students looked scared at Arthur.
When Arthur looked at them, he saw Astoria, who he had met on the train. This young witch stood there quietly, which made him feel better.
He nodded friendly at her, but it made her blush.
When the older student recognized Astoria, some new students gathered around and started asking questions, which left Astoria feeling a little tired.
...
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