Unlike Bellatrix and Sophie's sneaking away, no one seemed to care about Ariana's 'sneaking away'.
Ariana has a fragile, glass-like quality. Although she is always smiling and her face is bright and beautiful, you always feel that she might cry at any moment.
With her easy-going demeanor, beautiful and elegant features, and tragic fate, everyone witnessed her birth into the world, making her the darling of the group.
Even Hermione is one of them.
"What's wrong?"
"Why do you look so listless?"
Even though Ariana was older, Hermione looked at her with concern, like an older sister.
Hermione's enthusiasm for Phoebe stemmed from her knowledge and understanding stemming from Fleur's status as a disciple of Nick Flume.
As for Ariana, she was completely concerned.
Her eyes pierced Basil like knives. "You bullied Anna?"
Basil shrugged.
Ariana stammered, "No, it has nothing to do with Bucky."
Seeing her poke her index fingers together, her chest hunched and her eyes lowered, Hermione couldn't help but reveal suspicion in her eyes.
Ariana felt like her head was about to explode.
Even though she posted the screenshot in the group, indicating that she, Phoebe, Hermione were all in the same carriage, Basil couldn't possibly be that bold.
But nobody believed it.
In reality, Hermione is the same.
After all, Ariana looked so pitiful that even they, as men, couldn't help but bully her, let alone Basil.
And Hermione and Phoebe were also there as appetizers to accompany the drinks.
Fortunately, after Basil hinted at Hermione's age, the group members stopped having doubts.
In reality, Basil pointed at her and said righteously, "It was you who was chatting with Phoebe and neglecting Anna, what does that have to do with me?"
His fingertips glowed, and the stunned Ariana suddenly felt a downward force on her chin, then downward, and downward again.
To others, it looked like she was nodding repeatedly in agreement.
Hermione, feeling guilty, took Ariana's hand and, before Ariana could explain, began chatting about everyday things.
The fields rushing past the car window now appeared even more desolate; the once neat farmland had vanished.
What followed was a forest, a winding river, and dark green hills.
In another carriage.
Harry looked out the window and sighed, "Time is passing so slowly."
Ron handed a piece of cake to Goyle, who was huddled in the corner, and licked his fingers. "Yeah."
He looked around. "Have we forgotten something?"
Draco slapped his thigh. "I remember what I forgot! I've completely mastered tattoo magic! Before, I could only summon a head!"
On the roof of the carriage, Zhu Weiqiong, inside a cage, made a gurgling sound in dissatisfaction.
Harry looked up.
It was a gray owl, only the size of a tennis ball.
It was a gift from Sirius to Ron to make up for Ron's loss of his pet.
It was left to Ginny.
"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, as if waking from a dream.
Ron frowned in displeasure. "Why are you suddenly calling my sister's name? She's still a child. She doesn't like you anymore."
"Your sister?" Draco's eyes lit up with gossip. "Potter, you got a girlfriend?"
Lupin, and even Crabbe and Goyle, who were huddled in the corner, craned their necks forward with interest.
Ron's ears turned red. "No way! You stupid Malfoy!"
"Ginny likes Granger! Basil Granger! Harry, my sister wouldn't even consider him!"
Harry, feeling embarrassed after being scolded, hesitated whether to lower his outstretched hand or extend it further.
"Basil Granger." Draco narrowed his eyes.
In an instant, he recalled his tragic past.
The red light that split into three sent them flying but cleverly avoided harming him, Crabbe, and Goyle's Stunning Spell.
And that handsome face that even he had to admire.
A comfort before the Forbidden Forest.
A strange, fatherly smile.
All of this left him unsure whether he hated or loved Basil.
Harry quickly interrupted Draco's thoughts.
"That's not the point! The point is, Ginny ran out of the carriage!"
"Huh?" Ron turned his head. "Ginny's right here—"
His finger stopped in front of Draco's nose.
Ginny is gone!
Whoosh!
"What is our little brother saying?"
"Ginny's not here?"
Fred and George opened the car door, their faces full of teasing.
"You didn't notice?"
"His own sister ran out of the train carriage?"
"We need to tell Mom!" x2
Crabbe and Goyle stood up as the door opened.
So much so that Lupin's figure was blocked by their two long bodies, both vertically and horizontally.
Otherwise, Fred and George wouldn't have ridiculed Ron before seeing Lupin, who was likely a professor and an adult wizard.
Ron retorted, "This is none of your business! What are you doing here?"
Harry noticed the blind spot. "Do you know where Ginny is?"
Fred and George nodded helplessly.
Then he added, "We didn't come to see you."
"I heard there's a fire dragon here."
Hearing that it was someone looking for him, Draco straightened his back.
His movement exposed Lupin's gray-haired head behind him.
Fred and George quickly stepped back.
"An adult wizard!"
If I'm not mistaken—
"You are—"
"Our Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
"We are good students."
"I'm sorry to have introduced you to our mediocre and irritable younger brother."
"Yes, not every Weasley is like him."
"You should have met Ginny; she's excellent."
Ron gritted his teeth, "Hey!"
He clenched his fists and tried to get up, but Harry grabbed him around the waist.
"How could you all assume I'd embarrass myself?"
Lupin stepped forward and said something fair, "Ron is also excellent. He knows a lot of strange and wonderful things."
"They even know the color and style of the shorts worn by the Confused Giant of Wales in 1934."
Fred, George shrugged.
"Then let's say that."
"Sorry, we have to go now."
"Since we can't see the fire dragon."
"Bye-bye, little Ronnie."
The two then withdrew their beams from the carriage and closed the door.
"What do you mean by 'consider'?" Ron muttered.
Draco was halfway through taking off his clothes, exclaimed, "How come there's no dragon? I haven't even finished taking my clothes off yet!"
Harry was speechless. "We haven't even asked Ginny where she went yet! And Malfoy, seeing a man staring at him so eagerly, frantically taking off his clothes, anyone would want to run away."
He glanced outside.
Before I knew it, it had gotten dark.
He saw mountains and forests under a deep purple sky.
The train seemed to have slowed down.
"It seems that it's not that time is passing slowly, but rather that the sun is setting late today."
"We're about to get off the train."
Harry stood up.
"Huh?" Draco quickly put his robe back on.
Crabbe and Goyle eagerly opened the car door.
"Draco, we're leaving now."
"We need to change our clothes."
Listen to the footsteps outside, the meows of countless cats, and the cooing of a few owls.
Ron stroked his chin. "In that case, Ginny should be back by now."
"Her things are still with us."
"Harry, why are you looking at me like that?"
Harry rubbed his forehead; he could feel a throbbing pain in his scar again.
But this time it was out of anger.
"How am I supposed to change my clothes if you don't get up?"
"My suitcase is under your seat."
"Ah, ah—" Ron quickly got up. "I should change my clothes too. Before Ginny comes back."
Hermione and the others, who were with Basil, didn't have to be so flustered.
He simply flicked his finger lightly in the air.
Everyone in the carriage changed into Hogwarts school uniforms.
"This isn't Transfiguration. I simply swapped your clothes from earlier with the school robes in your boxes."
"Alright, girls, it's time for us to go."
"Get to the train door early and wait."
Hermione, Ariana, and Phoebe didn't ask why.
They all saw the frenzied reaction of the others when Basil was in the crowd.
Basil secretly rejoiced.
If it weren't for Voldemort's Echo adding both charm and intimidation, they might have seen a horde of people rushing forward as if they were zombies seeing living beings.
Ten minutes later.
The car has stopped.
Basil was the first to walk towards the train, heading towards the dark platform.
Hermione and the others, along with the rest of the group whose eyes were practically glued to Basil's retreating figure, followed closely behind.
"First graders, come here!" a familiar voice called out.
That was Hagrid, waving to the new students in the crowd drawn by Basil.
He was going to lead them on a traditional journey across the lake.
"And you! Dumbledore specifically showed me your picture!"
In the Chat Group.
Madison: "I wish I could take a boat to Hogwarts."
Basil: "Of course."
"But remember to use the [Dream Mark]."
"This way, we don't need to spend points."
"I can also transform you into the size of first-year students, and you won't attract anyone's attention."
Madison: "I've arrived. When will Transfiguration?"
Zoe: "Same as above."
Sophie: "? Since we won't be noticed, why should we become a new body type?"
Basil: "Ah, you don't need to."
Sophie: "What do you mean?"
Beatrix: "Fools have no hope. Because of the size of the ship. It can't accommodate an adult."
"And you don't need to breathe because you're no different from an 11-year-old child."
Sophie: "I have a C too! Pshaw! I mean, if Rubeus Hagrid, that Half-giant, can have one, why can't I?"
Basil: "The number of ships docked at the shore is determined by the number of newborns."
"There are an unusually large number of students enrolling this year."
"Many of them come from other countries."
"Although Ariana and Phoebe are in fifth grade, they are also freshmen."
"You also have to take a boat to cross the lake."
"But if you want to be comfortable in a small boat, it's best for each adult to have their own boat."
"The same applies to fifth-grade students who are about the same size as adults."
"Including them, Hogwarts only has one ship left."
Ariana: "I'm not taking the small boat. Bucky, you've got a plan, right? Hagrid's keeping a close eye on me."
Basil: "Of course, I noticed it a long time ago. Didn't you notice that Hagrid didn't respond after calling your name?"
"He wasn't looking at you, he was looking at those first-year students who insisted on following me."
Madison: "Aside from Ariana and Sweetheart, there are 4 people left in the group."
"If I were to become a first-grader, that would be just right."
Beatrix: "I never said I had to come."
Sophie: "Aren't you coming? (smiley face. jpg)"
Beatrix: "I didn't say I wasn't coming."
Zoe, now resembling a first-grader, asked with a serious expression, "Many of them come from other countries?"
"No wonder so many first-year students follow you."
"Even if it's because of Bucky's charm, he should know which way to go when he hears the big oaf calling him."
"It's all for the Philosopher's Stone?"
Basil: "Yes. Many wizarding families in other countries send their eligible members to enroll."
In reality, Maddie Xu, who also turned into an 11-year-old female ghost, was on a small boat, squinting and looking around.
Then she said in the group, "I noticed that only Ariana and Phoebe look like adults."
Basil: "Of course, Dumbledore wasn't stupid. He refused all foreign students who were over 11 years old."
"The Accepting Quill and the Book of Admission will also record foreign wizards under the age of 17 who enter the country."
"But it didn't say that the principal couldn't refuse."
"Alright, I'm almost at Hogwarts Castle."
"The Thestral is indeed much faster."
"You also remember to leave before you meet Dumbledore."
"It's still quite difficult to conceal myself from an Archmage using only the concealment magic I left behind."
The chat panel is detached from the retina.
Inside the carriage, Basil listened with a smile as Ariana, like a little adult, explained the knowledge of Thestral to Hermione.
The carriage passed through a gate flanked by sculptures of winged wild boars and traveled along a wide driveway.
Hogwarts was getting closer, and many lit windows shone faintly behind the thin mist of night.
Their carriage stopped at the foot of the stone steps in front of two oak gates.
Basil jumped down from the carriage.
"Ariana, you can wait here for a while."
"Wait for Hagrid and the others."
"Otherwise, Dumbledore would blame Hagrid. He had assured Dumbledore that he would take you on the boat."
"You've also been enchanted; others will instinctively stay away from you."
"It will disappear within ten seconds of Hagrid's arrival."
Ariana nodded obediently.
Hermione reluctantly let go of Ariana's hand.
Following Basil up the stone steps, we entered the cave-like, deep Entrance Hall.
Torches were lit in the Entrance Hall, and the Marble Staircase was magnificent.
Walk through the Entrance Hall and through the two double doors on the right.
Everything seemed to be the same as before.
The Great Hall was still as magnificent and grand as ever, and it had been specially decorated for the banquet at the start of the new semester.
Hundreds of candles floated above the table, Winky the gold plates and goblets.
There were already a few students around the four long college tables.
I came in first while Basil and the others were chatting.
At the top of the Great Hall was a fifth table, where faculty members sat one on each side, facing their students.
However, unlike in the past, the Great Hall space seems to have been expanded.
The four college desks also became much longer.
At first glance, you just can't see the difference.