Neville, holding up the lantern, shifted awkwardly in the scattered light.
To him, Hermione at the bow and Vincent at the stern both seemed to have sparks flying from their eyes.
If they started fighting, he felt there was a good chance this little boat would capsize.
"Um—"
"This—"
"We've arrived."
To save his own life, Neville pointed toward the tunnel exit in the distance.
Hermione turned her little head away and stopped staring at the stern.
Vincent raised his gaze and discovered what looked like a dock built beneath the castle.
Back when Hogwarts' four founders built the school, they had probably constructed the boathouse first, then used magic to pile the castle on top of it.
"Hurry up, follow me—"
Hagrid stepped off the rickety little boat and onto the ground.
He held the lantern high, illuminating a winding path upward.
After climbing the dark rocks and passing through a tunnel that Hagrid could barely fit through, the magnificent castle on the flat lawn came into view.
Below it lay a long flight of stone steps.
Vincent looked perfectly at ease.
When it came to physical fitness, he dared to call himself the strongest among this year's freshmen.
Hermione and Neville behind him saw that he was neither flushed nor out of breath, and they could not help quickening their pace to follow.
"Hmph, what good are well-developed limbs..."
In her impression, most students of this type were poor students who ranked first in everything except academics.
Like fighting,
or being naughty and causing trouble.
The Daily Prophet must have taken hush money to claim, just before school started, that their source had been mistaken and the Wayne family of three was completely clean.
Surrounded by the young wizards in front of an oak door, Vincent had no