Crossing the Lake

In truth, children living in the wizarding world were usually quite bored. The Burrow of the Weasley Family stood among the hills and trees south of Ottery St Catchpole, yet most Muggles had never even noticed there was a house there.

There were only four wizarding households nearby. The Diggory family lived closest to them, but they were still several miles away.

The only way to visit each other was by broomstick or some other means. In fact, the children of the four families barely interacted at all.

The Weasley children rarely went to Ottery St Catchpole, much less played with ordinary Muggles.

However, the twins said their brother had a Muggle friend, a pretty girl.

"Most Muggles are hard to get along with. They always think we're weird, so we usually can't play together. Besides... my home is quite far from town."

Lee Jordan had it even worse. He was the only child in his family, so sometimes he could not even find someone to play with.

Albert had it much better than them. He had a younger sister and a pile of books, and occasionally played ball with others. Usually, though, he did not play with a bunch of little brats. It was too boring, after all.

Although he did not have any real close friends, Albert was quite popular at school. After all, he had excellent grades, was good at everything, was fairly easygoing, and knew how to maintain relationships.

Albert had asked the three of them whether children in the wizarding world attended Muggle schools.

It was hard to imagine a family like the Malfoys allowing their children to attend a Muggle school.

Obviously not.

Of course, some wizards were exceptions.

The twins had never gone, either. Their basic education had all come from their family.

"By the way, is there a wizarding family called Smith?" Albert asked. His grandfather's original family name had been Smith. Later, when he went to live with his Muggle relatives, he had casually changed his name as well.

It was clear just how much he had hated the person who had abandoned him.

"Never heard of them. How about you, George?" Fred looked at his twin brother.

"I haven't heard of them either." Lee Jordan shook his head. "Why?"

"Nothing. I just don't know where I heard that surname before." Albert turned his gaze toward the window. Visibility was poor, and the sky was gradually darkening.

Come to think of it, he had never realized Lee Jordan was such a chatterbox. The guy loved talking nonstop.

The other three did not find it annoying. The compartment was boring anyway, and listening to him ramble was practically hypnotic.

Albert opened his eyes again. He felt that the train seemed to be slowing down.

"In five minutes, the train will arrive at Hogwarts. Please leave your luggage on the train. We will deliver it to the school for you." A voice echoed through the train over the loudspeakers.

"Merlin's beard, we're finally here." Fred lazily stretched. After sitting on the train for so long, he was not feeling very lively.

George helped gather up the snacks from the table and put them into Albert's suitcase.

The train finally stopped. The four of them left the compartment and were swept along with the jostling crowd in the corridor toward the doors.

Getting off the train was truly chaotic. They stepped down onto a small, dark platform. Cold rain poured down, and the chill of the night made Albert shudder.

"I hate rain," Albert muttered. He pulled out his wand and cast a spell on his pointed hat. "Water-repelling Charm."

"First-years! First-years, over here!" A booming voice shouted from the platform. He held a lantern high above the crowd and waved it around to catch the new students' attention.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and follow." Fred reached out and gave him a tug.

"Wait a moment." Albert cast the Water-repelling Charm on his robes as well. He did not know whether the spell would work, but having something was better than having nothing.

"Hurry up, Albert," Lee Jordan urged.

"Don't rush, I'm coming. Lumos." Albert held up his wand and headed toward Hagrid. He was a truly huge man with a long beard, and from a distance, he looked rather frightening.

If one did not know better, one might have thought he was some dangerous fellow. He really did look intimidating.

"Any more first-years? If everyone's here, we'll be off!" Hagrid led them away from the platform. Once they lost the platform's shelter, icy rain beat down on them, raising goosebumps all over the new students.

"Watch your step," Hagrid shouted, but it was no use. The rain had turned the path into a muddy mess, and quite a few people fell several times along the way.

Albert tugged his pointed hat and robes closer, wrapping himself up more tightly. Fortunately, the Water-repelling Charm had worked, so he did not end up drenched like the others.

Why didn't I learn how to conjure an umbrella with my wand? No, Albert remembered that he had a folding umbrella in his suitcase.

He was a little annoyed with himself.

Albert decided to find time to learn that useful magic. Then he would not have to worry about getting caught in the rain without an umbrella again.

"You all right?" Another unlucky person had fallen right in front of him.

"Thank you. This journey has been awful," the girl he helped up said gratefully.

"Let's go." Albert released her hand, used his wand to feel out the path, and slowly moved forward.

This was definitely the unluckiest group of first-years. Many people had fallen and were covered in mud.

He also heard Lee Jordan, not far away, cursing under his breath. He had just been knocked down by someone beside him.

Albert suddenly felt that staying at the back had been a wise decision. At least he would not be knocked over by anyone.

"Be careful, it slopes downward ahead," Hagrid shouted from the front. After going down himself, he waited nearby to stop any students from slipping on the steep slope.

The decision proved to be wise. Three unlucky students nearly fell, but fortunately Hagrid caught them in time.

"Watch out, we'll be at the lake soon."

Once everyone had gone down the slope, Hagrid took the lead again. They stumbled around a bend and finally reached a black lake.

On the hillside across the lake stood a castle. That was Hogwarts Castle.

Lights gleamed in the castle windows, especially conspicuous beneath the rainy curtain of the night.

"No more than four to a boat. Remember, no more than four!" Hagrid shouted at the new students, pointing toward the small boats by the shore.

"Albert, over here." One of the twins waved at him. Lee Jordan was there too. They were both splattered with mud and looked utterly bedraggled.

"You lot all right?" Albert could not help but laugh as he climbed into the boat.

"Not at all. I fell once and got knocked down twice."

"Get in the boats!" Hagrid shouted. Holding his lantern, he made sure no boat was overloaded, then took a boat by himself. "Good, then... forward."

The boats moved without oars, gliding across the lake.

Albert looked up at the castle ahead, feeling a vague, inexplicable excitement. Hogwarts, here I come.