How Do You Know Such Difficult Magic?

After boarding the boat.

Neville sat with his cheeks tense, both hands gripping the seat, not daring to go anywhere near the edge.

The other two new students got aboard as well.

Once the boat was filled with four people, no one rowed, yet the little boat began moving on its own.

Dylan glanced down.

He actually saw an enormous Giant Squid, its two suckers pressed tightly against the bottom of the boat.

The squid swam silently beneath the surface, leading the boat onward beneath the cliffs and through curtains of ivy.

At last, the boat slowly docked.

The squid dove straight to the bottom of the lake and vanished.

"I wonder if squid like this would taste good stir-fried after being chopped up."

Dylan smacked his lips twice.

Neville shakily climbed out of the boat, then hurriedly ran all the way from the dock to the shore.

"Phew..."

Neville let out a breath of relief.

Dylan walked over at that moment and reminded him, "Don't run so fast. You might leave something behind on the boat."

"Huh?" Neville suddenly froze.

He hurriedly felt around inside his robes and pockets.

Apparently failing to find what he was looking for, his eyes widened as if he had been startled.

"Oh no! Trevor's gone again!"

"What? Again?"

Dylan raised an eyebrow.

He only remembered that Neville seemed to have lost his toad once when he had first boarded the train.

Hermione had helped him search everywhere, and that was how she had met Harry and Ron.

At the time, Dylan had wondered why Hermione had not come to his compartment looking for the toad. It now seemed she must have found it halfway through.

Only...

"I remember that I didn't notice any toad or other living creature on you earlier. So did you lose Trevor again when you got off the train?"

Dylan had mastered the Parasitic Possession Curse, allowing him to sense the presence of external lifeforms to a certain extent.

Although he had not deliberately paid attention along the way, thinking back on it now, he did not seem to have sensed a second living creature besides Neville.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Neville's forehead from anxiety.

He scratched the back of his head and tried his best to think, but could not recall any useful clues.

Dylan said, "It might have fallen somewhere along the way, or it might have been left on the train. I'm more inclined toward the latter."

Thinking carefully now, the chubby kid who had been standing in front of him earlier seemed to have been Neville.

And he had not seen any sign of a toad along the way.

"If it's on the train, the House-elves will send him back to the school."

"But..." Neville paused.

"No buts. Even if it fell somewhere on the way here, we can't go back to look for it now. We can only wait until tomorrow."

"Is that our only option..." Neville looked miserable. "I heard Hogwarts is dangerous everywhere. I'm scared something might happen to Trevor."

Looking at the chubby boy's expression.

Dylan felt rather helpless as well.

"How about this? I'll try Accio. If he's nearby, I can bring him over. But if you really left him on the train or somewhere along the road, there's nothing I can do."

"What? Dylan, you can actually use Accio?"

Neville froze at first, then his face lit up. "Then please, I'm counting on you!"

"Don't get your hopes up too high."

Dylan waved the wand in his hand.

"Accio Trevor!"

Magic surged from his wand.

It rushed with uncanny precision toward a small boat.

Whoosh!

A very fat-looking toad flew out of it.

Before it could reach him, Dylan cut off the spell.

"Ribbit~"

Trevor landed on the ground and croaked.

Neville hurried over and picked Trevor up from the ground.

Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Dylan, you're amazing! You even know such difficult magic. Thank you so much! I bet Trevor fell behind somewhere and chased after me all the way!"

Neville sniffed.

By now, quite a few Young Wizards had already gone far ahead.

Dylan shook his head. "All right, let's hurry. Otherwise, we'll lose the group."

He took the lead toward the front, and Neville immediately trotted after him.

At the same time, he poked the fat toad in his arms with a finger.

"Don't run off again next time!"

"Ribbit~"

Dylan gave the toad a glance.

Fat, pudgy, and ugly.

Why would anyone keep a toad as a pet?

Was it so they could raise it up, kill it, and harvest Magical Ingredients from it?

"Little Shadow is still prettier."

It looked like an ominous black cat and even mooed when it cried, but so what?

Didn't Professor McGonagall turn into a cat too?

By that logic, Coal Ball was Professor McGonagall!

Besides, Shadow Crow was not really a cat. Shadow Crow was a species in itself!

After Dylan and Neville caught up with the group.

The group crossed a cobblestone path.

Then they arrived before a large gate.

Bang! Bang!

Hagrid knocked on the door several times, producing a thunderous sound.

Soon, someone pushed the gate open from within. It was Professor McGonagall.

She wore a vivid emerald-green robe, its fabric smooth and its folds falling naturally. Her iron-gray hair was tightly combed into a sleek bun without a stray strand.

She looked at the Young Wizards outside with a stern expression and sharp eyes, wearing a pointed hat bearing the emblem of the magical academy.

Professor McGonagall looked difficult to approach at this moment, completely different from the gentleness she had shown while taking him around Diagon Alley.

"Professor McGonagall, these are all the First Year students," Hagrid said in a booming voice.

"Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid. Leave them to me," Professor McGonagall said with a nod.

She pulled the gate open wider once more.

Only after Hagrid walked straight inside did she lead the First Year students into the Entrance Hall.

"Follow me."

Dylan blended into the crowd, with Neville and him almost at the very back.

As he followed those ahead, he also surveyed Hogwarts's interior.

There were many ancient relief sculptures on the walls lining the corridor.

The reliefs held braziers that cast out light.

Dylan noticed that the sculptures depicted the representative animals of the Four Houses, all with wings growing from their backs.

They looked lifelike, as though they were looking down upon the new students.

"Interesting!"

The moment he stepped into Hogwarts, the weight of years washed over him.

"This is way more exciting than watching it in 3D!"

He could no longer remember which 3D installment he had watched back then, but at the beginning, a group of Dementors would float around. He had been young at the time, and those Dementors had scared him badly.

"Beyond these doors is the Great Hall. You'll be able to have dinner shortly. But before that, allow me to welcome you Young Wizards to Hogwarts."

Professor McGonagall led them to the doors of the Great Hall, turned around, and said, "Before you officially enroll, you must first undergo the Sorting Ceremony."