George, Luna, Colin, and Ginny

"The history of Basilisks goes back too far. The Ministry of Magic banned their breeding long ago, so few books mention them. But that doesn't mean they don't exist.

"Just like Horned Beasts. Wizards don't believe that magical creature exists, but my father was fortunate enough to see one in Sweden once."

The girl answered with her head tilted.

"What's a Horned Beast?"

Colin's face was full of curiosity.

The girl explained:

"It's a magical creature with special horns that cannot fly."

"Well, that should be an Erumpent."

By then, George had already figured out the girl's identity: Luna Lovegood.

Her father was Xenophilius Lovegood, editor-in-chief of The Quibbler, while her mother was Pandora Lovegood, who had died in an accident during a spell experiment when Luna was nine.

It was clear that without a sufficient foundation in Magical Theory, creating new spells was an extremely dangerous thing.

Given her well-educated family background, what Luna had said about Eagle Owls might be true. But as for Horned Beasts, he knew Xenophilius had made them up to amuse his daughter.

The so-called Horned Beast was actually an Erumpent, whose unusual horn could also explode.

"There's still a seat here. I'll help you put your luggage on the rack."

Wanting to learn more from Luna about knowledge not found in books, George stood and moved the luggage from her trolley onto the overhead rack.

"Thank you. I'm Luna Lovegood."

Luna was also very interested in Eagle Owls, so she did not refuse. But seeing the skinny, frail-looking George lift her luggage onto the high rack so easily, she could not help letting out an exclamation.

"You're really strong!"

After Luna sat down, the three of them started chatting again.

However, it was mainly Colin, curious as a child, asking questions while Luna answered. George listened quietly, only asking something when the topic interested him.

"Whooo!"

A long whistle sounded. The train was about to depart.

Just then, the compartment's sliding door was suddenly pulled open, and a girl with thick, long fiery red hair, bright brown eyes, and a delicate, doll-like face walked in.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

She pointed at the seat beside Luna.

"Everywhere else is full."

"No, you can sit beside me."

Luna smiled gently.

The girl visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Because her brothers had been so forgetful and careless—of course, she would never admit that she herself had nearly forgotten that magical notebook—she had been among the last to board the train.

"Little Ginny, we're here to help you."

At that moment, a pair of identical red-haired twin boys entered.

Laughing and joking, they helped their sister put away her luggage, then left playfully fighting after being chased off by their annoyed sister.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

After driving away her troublesome brothers, Ginny sat beside Luna and introduced herself openly. She was not the shy sort, except when she was around Harry.

"Luna Lovegood."

"Colin Creevey."

"George."

The three of them introduced themselves in turn.

"George, you have the same name as one of my brothers—the two who were just here. He's also called George, George Weasley.

"By the way, what's your surname?"

"Just call me George."

George smiled and did not explain further.

His George and George Weasley's George sounded the same, but they were fundamentally different.

George Weasley's surname was Weasley and his given name was George. But his surname was actually Qiao, and his given name was Zhi, as in governing. His father had hoped he would become an official and govern a region in the future, which was why he had given him that name.

So technically, by the naming conventions here, he should have been called Ji Qiao.

But he thought that sounded far too awkward, so he simply told people to call him George.

"Ginny, how many brothers do you have?"

At that moment, kind-hearted Colin suddenly changed the subject. He felt that, as an orphan, George probably did not want others to know his surname.

Ginny did not think much of it. She held up both hands and bent four fingers.

"Six. Bill is a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts in Egypt. Charlie is a dragon tamer in Romania. Percy is in sixth year. George and Fred are in fourth year—you just saw them—and Ron."

"That many!"

Hearing Ginny's answer, both Colin and Luna looked shocked. So many children were rare not only in wizarding families, but even in Muggle families.

Listening to the three chat, George shifted his gaze away from Ginny's suitcase and sighed inwardly.

If every wizarding family could have children as efficiently as the Weasley family, wizards probably would have ruled the world long ago, leaving no place for Muggles.

As the four chatted, the train began moving, leaving King's Cross Station and speeding through fields filled with cattle and sheep toward Scotland.

It was everyone's first time leaving home on a long journey, and they were headed to the famous Hogwarts. Even Luna, the quietest among them, was somewhat excited.

So the three of them never stopped talking.

Since much of what they talked about afterward had little to do with magic and was instead about their childhood experiences and family situations, George gradually withdrew from the conversation and began reading.

At around twelve-thirty, a smiling witch with dimples pushed open the compartment door and asked:

"Dear children, would you like to buy some food from the trolley?

"We have Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chewable Bubbles, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, and Licorice Wands."

Faced with the trolley full of magical snacks and the witch's question, the three of them shook their heads at the same time.

As someone from a Muggle family, Colin naturally did not have much money. All the money he had left had been spent on his Magical Camera.

Although Ginny had been born into a pure-blood family, her father had long been disowned by the family for associating with Muggles and liking Muggle objects. All of the household's expenses came from his salary at the Ministry of Magic.

With so many children attending school, and with several of her brothers' Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks being especially expensive that year, many of her school supplies had even been bought secondhand. Where would she get pocket money for snacks?

As for Luna, she was not short of pocket money, but she did not seem particularly fond of snacks.

"One of each, please. Thank you!"

Knowing the circumstances of the young wizards, George got up and spent twelve Sickles and five bronze Knuts to buy one of every snack, placing them on the table.

"Ginny, you just said you know a jinx called the Bat-Bogey Hex. Could you teach it to me sometime when you're free?"

He pushed one quarter of the snacks toward Ginny. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded.

"Of course! It's the spell I'm best at. Even George and Fred have been hit by it."

"Luna, I'd like to ask you about some magical creatures."

George pushed another quarter of the snacks toward Luna.

Luna smiled and nodded without refusing.

Finally, George set aside his own share and pushed the remaining quarter toward Colin.

"Could you take a magical photo of me sometime? I'd like to keep it as a memento."