The Start-of-Term Feast

Steam billowed from the chimneys like white clouds as the bright red express Express Train departed, heading towards Hogwarts along a hidden railway.

After setting off, the little wizards occasionally wandered through the aisles of the carriages. Having not seen each other for a summer, they visited each other's homes, sharing their joy at reuniting and their holiday experiences.

"Long time no see! Loren, and Hermione too, and you too!"

"Seamus and Dean said in unison, their arms linked, hopping past the cubicle. Before the other could answer, they were already in the next cubicle, like two happy little lions."

The other young wizards were also fairly outgoing and loved visiting each other's homes. Only the first-year students mostly sat in the carriages, chatting with their new friends.

Loren and Hermione stayed in the carriage, occasionally greeting passersby.

Just then, a special guest arrived outside the glass partition.

She was a very peculiar girl with messy, dirty, waist-length dark golden-brown hair, very light-colored eyebrows, and a pair of bright, silver eyes that were blinking curiously at him.

She wore a pair of owl-rimmed glasses on her forehead and a necklace made of half a string of Butterbeer corks around her neck. The necklace looked like it was unfinished; the other half of the cork seemed to be missing, so it was empty.

Hermione felt there was something strange about this outfit.

"Hello, is there any space left in this cubicle?" Luna Lovegood asked in a light and cheerful voice.

She didn't care at all about her unusual attire; her calm expression conveyed the feeling that this was normal clothing. The little girl looked at Loren, her gaze focused on his blue eyes.

Loren recognized Luna at a glance. Each compartment could seat four people. He nodded first, then asked curiously, "The freshmen's carriages are at the back, there should be enough space. Didn't you find a compartment?"

"My dad and I were a little late on the way here, and we couldn't find an empty cubicle. The cubicles that were already occupied didn't want me to sit next to them." Luna casually climbed into a seat next to Hermione, as if she were talking about something trivial.

Loren didn't ask any further questions and introduced himself, "I am Loren Morgan, and this is Hermione Granger. We are both from Gryffindor."

"Hello." Hermione was still looking at the necklace of unfinished Butterbeer corks.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Luna Lovegood." Luna kept looking Loren in the eyes.

The feeling of being stared at was quite strange. Thinking of Luna's story, Loren couldn't help but ask, "Why are you staring at me? Do I have Nargles on my head?"

He didn't think Luna was a crazy girl; perhaps, like his Magic Sight, she could see things that others couldn't.

Luna's eyes lit up, a dazzling light flashing in her silver eyes. "You know about Nargles too?"

"What is Nargles?" Hermione asked.

"They're invisible, they'll buzz into your ears and mess with your brain." Luna always seemed to speak like this, light and calm, her voice without any inflection.

She turned to look into Loren's blue eyes. "But you don't have Nargles on your head, it's a butterfly with blue wings."

"A butterfly?" Loren touched his eyes in surprise, still feeling the soft texture of his eyelids.

But Luna immediately noticed the unusual feature in his eyes, which is hard to call a coincidence.

"Yes, a butterfly with blue wings and beautiful patterns, it's protecting your eyes with its wings," Luna said as she observed.

Hermione knew that Loren's eyes were different, and she didn't doubt Luna's words. She stared intently into Loren's eyes, trying to find the trace of a butterfly there.

Of course, they didn't see anything.

Loren couldn't see his own eyes, but he had an idea. "I can't see them, but perhaps I can try to see the reflection in your eyes."

Luna tilted her head and thought for a moment, her bright silver eyes sparkling. "That's a great idea, I've never thought of it before."

The two leaned on the table, their heads slowly moving closer, one wanting to observe the butterfly closely, the other wanting to see it. Their eyes met, their gazes intense and focused.

Hermione looked at this strange scene, glancing left at Loren and right at Luna, and felt that something was wrong.

Half a minute later, unable to bear the strange feeling any longer, she got up and sat opposite him, pulling Loren back to his seat. Her reason was perfectly valid. "This might be a special ability, not something seen through optical vision."

"Perhaps." Luna looked at Hermione, who seemed to have just sensed Nargles on the girl's head.

Loren turned to look at Hermione, whose cheeks were slightly flushed. Hermione's eyes darted around nervously, occasionally meeting Loren's gaze before quickly looking away.

For some reason, Loren suddenly felt happy, as sweet as if he had eaten Fizzing Whizbees.

Skipping this little interlude, the three continued their conversation in a subtle way as they drove toward the magic school.

Do you know of any other unusual creatures?

"Oh, what I most want to find is the Crumple-Horned Snorkack..."

What is that?

The new students had to cross the lake in small boats. After Luna got off the bus, she heard Hagrid calling her and followed the rest of the new students as they walked away.

Loren and Hermione followed the older students, crossing a flat road and boarding a dark gray carriage parked by the street. It was a carriage because they couldn't see any horses pulling it; the reins were empty, and there was nothing in the place for the tow bar.

Having already completed their academic year, they naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to ask what powers the vehicle. Having already passed a year, they knew more or less about the existence of Thestrals.

Only those who have witnessed death and accepted it can see the Thestrals. Loren didn't know if he had ever seen death, but he certainly could.

It was a black creature that resembled a horse, with a pair of broad, black, featherless wings like a bat. The black fur clung tightly to the skeleton, making every bone clearly visible.

Their heads resembled those of dragons. Their entire eyes were silver-white, without any distinction between pupil and sclera, appearing somewhat empty, yet with a hint of divinity within that emptiness.

Perhaps because of their association with death, a group of Thestrals stood quietly and eerily in the darkening night.

"You can see Thestrals?" Hermione's eyes flashed with worry; witnessing death was never a good thing.

"They are my eyes. Thestrals are also Magical Creatures," Loren said.

Hermione was clearly envious. "What are they like? Are they really black? Do they have scales?"

Seeing her genuine curiosity, Loren pulled her a few steps forward to the vicinity of the shaft, and led her hand to touch the mane on the Thestrals's neck.

To touch the warmth of a creature's fur in a place where there was nothing was, frankly, a little unsettling. Hermione's hand stiffened as she was guided to stroke the Thestrals, and it took her a while to adjust.

In Loren's view, Thestrals were squinting, thoroughly enjoying this ticklish, soothing sensation. They would even arch their necks and rub against their hands.

"Although I can't see it, I can sense that it's a gentle animal, not at all the ominous creature of legend." Hermione stroked it gently, responding to Thestrals's kindness.

"I think I can feel bones. Are they very thin?"

"Extremely thin, you can see the outline of the skeleton directly."

"Perhaps we should suggest to Hagrid that he feed them more food."

Loren sighed. Hermione was at it again.

After boarding the carriage, Hermione worried the entire way about whether the Thestrals were malnourished or not getting enough food. Even after entering the Great Hall and sitting at the Gryffindor table, she was still concerned about this, chattering on and on.

Countless candles, taller than a person, hovered in mid-air, illuminating the Great Hall brightly and brilliantly, while stars shone brilliantly on the dome.

Last year, they were still anxious freshmen next door, spreading rumors about the division of departments.

"Do they really have enough food?"

Loren slammed Hermione back into her seat and said earnestly, "Hagrid loves these little cuties the most. He won't let the animals go hungry, don't worry!"

Hermione then calmed down.

"Hey, what a loving couple!" George and Fred switched seats with someone and sat next to Loren, a remark that made Hermione blush with embarrassment.

Did you see our dear younger brother on your honeymoon?

"And Harry, we haven't seen them since we got on the train."

Harry and Ron!

Flying Car!

The Whomping Willow "!

Loren's eyes widened suddenly. He remembered everything. Dobby had used magic to block Platform Nine and Three-Quarters to prevent Harry from returning to school. In desperation, the two chose to drive their Flying Car back to school, violating the Statute of Secrecy, and ultimately crashed into the Whomping Willow.

He jumped up, then sat back down... Oh well, it's already this late, the car has probably already been released into the Forbidden Forest.

"What's wrong?" George asked hurriedly.

"No, we didn't see them either." Loren shook his head. Anyway, they wouldn't be fired, so they might as well treat it as an adventure.

George was immediately disappointed when he didn't get a useful answer, "Tsk, I knew it."

Fred nodded, and the two walked away together, spitting in unison, "Infatuated with beauty."

Loren and Hermione were both blushing furiously, having not noticed their two friends were missing the whole way, especially Loren, who didn't even remember the plot. It was indeed a bit...

In the High Table, where faculty and staff were seated, Lockhart, dressed in a blue and gold gown with silver trim, stood out Dumbledore. He always displayed a perfect smile from every angle, his white teeth even reflecting the candlelight.

Sitting next to Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout smiled sarcastically, "What an outstanding Ravenclaw graduate! Bestselling author, adventurer, traveler, and now a professor at Hogwarts."

Poor Professor Flitwick was already short, and when he sat in his seat, only his head was visible. After hearing Professor Sprout's words, he even shrank his head and could no longer be seen.

"I really don't know why Dumbledore hired him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." A helpless sob came from under the table.

Although they had only known each other for a few days, talent, like pregnancy, cannot be hidden or faked. Any professor who had a brief conversation with Lockhart would have discovered the true nature hidden beneath his glamorous exterior.

What's shameful is that this good-for-nothing graduated from Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick is the Head of House of Ravenclaw.

It wasn't until long after the Sorting Ceremony had begun that Harry and Ron finally appeared at the door, peeking tentatively into the Great Hall.

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived the Chosen One, violated the Statute of Secrecy by driving an illegally modified Muggle vehicle. The crime occurred in the morning, and several fast-reacting evening papers published the news that same day.

Once Hogwarts ' sovereignty was established, such matters were left to the school to handle. After the Aurors resolved their memory issues, the Ministry of Magic directly transferred the documents to the school.

It's fair to say that before Harry and Ron even arrived at school, his criminal record and the consequences of his actions were already established. From a certain perspective, the administrative efficiency of the wizarding world is quite high.

Professor McGonagall's face darkened, but she couldn't leave to sort the freshmen into their respective colleges, so she could only keep calling out the freshmen's names with a stern expression.

Looking at the disheveled Harry and Ron, Dumbledore smiled and said, "What a courageous age. I couldn't have done something like this when I was their age."

Lockhart smiled brightly and echoed the praise, "Yes, just like me back then. You can do something extraordinary without even realizing it. Your abilities and talents are like a ray of light that cannot be hidden!"

"Hmph, foolish, ignorance breeds fearlessness." Snape's deep voice was completely flat, and it was unclear who he was referring to.

Lockhart certainly didn't think it was about him, so he turned to Professor Flitwick and continued talking about how he had his name engraved in 20-foot-long letters on the Quidditch Pitch.

Professor Flitwick's beard trembled incessantly; he had never felt such intense shame about his Ravenclaw heritage.

"Don't be so harsh on the students. Minerva is busy, Severus, go and comfort the two children," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Snape's lips curled into a slight smile as he reluctantly accepted the task, though it's unclear whether he was secretly laughing inside.

He went around through the side door next to the High Table and led Harry and Ron away.

Loren watched Professor Snape walk away, silently praying for the two of them, hoping the Whomping Willow was alright, otherwise Professor Sprout would also be furious.

"Luna Lovegood," Professor McGonagall's voice rang out once again.

Luna, who skipped and hopped forward, had changed out of her strange outfit and was now wearing a Hogwarts robe. Her ethereal aura, combined with her long hair and beautiful face, made her look like a moon elf.

The Sorting Hat was as worn as ever, but strangely it suited Luna's personality perfectly. Her lips parted slightly, indicating she was talking to the Sorting Hat. Ultimately, she was sorted into Ravenclaw House.

Percy and the Twins were relieved to see Ron taken away by Snape; no matter what mistakes he had made, he was safe. When Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor, the stadium erupted in the loudest cheers and screams.

During the school song segment at the end of the dinner, George and Fred performed steadily, and when they sang the final high note, their feet were on the table, and they almost leaned back into Lee Jordan's arms.