River God Horatio

King's Cross Station in London.

A little boy pushed a trolley through the station.

"Old Deng actually dared to dump me at the station alone. If I don't crank things up for him, wouldn't my talent for Alchemy have been wasted?" Horatio muttered viciously. The resentment radiating from him sent chills down the backs of the surrounding travelers.

He arrived before the third pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten.

"This should be it." Horatio adjusted his angle and charged at the pillar. "Ura!"

Bang! Amid a chaotic flurry of cats leaping, owls flying, and crows cawing, Horatio got to his feet expressionlessly and dusted himself off under the puzzled gazes of the people around him.

"I no longer have the heart to distinguish right from wrong. Since I have already lost all face, this world has no reason to exist either. Heaven and Earth Live Together." Horatio reached for the pouch at his waist, intending to pull something out.

"Oh, child, you took the wrong route. It should be the third pillar counting from back to front, not front to back." A woman's voice interrupted him.

"You're a new student of Hogwarts too, right?" A beautiful woman pulled Horatio closer and spoke quietly to him.

"My daughter is starting school this year as well. She just went through that pillar." She pointed at another pillar. "Go on, then. If you meet my daughter at school, please take care of her for me. Oh, right, my daughter's name is Hermione Granger."

On the Hogwarts Express train, a Little Girl dragged her heavy luggage to a compartment and opened the door. Inside, a little boy sat by the window.

He wore a black coat embroidered with red clouds. His left hand stroked a beautiful black cat on his lap, while an owl and a raven perched on his shoulders. With his right hand, he turned the pages of an open book on the table.

Sunlight streamed through the window onto his thick black hair and brows. His azure eyes gleamed with intelligence, and everything about him seemed so elegant.

The Little Girl at the door stared in a daze. After a while, she came back to herself and nervously pointed at the seat across from the little boy. "Hello, is anyone sitting here?"

"No. Help yourself," the little boy replied without looking up, continuing to read.

After putting away her luggage, the Little Girl sat across from him. "Hello, my name is Hannah Abbott. May I get to know you?"

The little boy across from her raised his head and studied the Little Girl. Then he swiftly closed his book, took out a sheet of paper and a pen, and said, "Lord Iron Throne, could you sign this paper for me? And write, 'This Book is Certified by the Iron Throne,' while you're at it."

Although Hannah Abbott did not understand what he meant, she did as he asked.

Horatio carefully put away the paper, then extended a hand to Hannah Abbott. "My name is Horatio Quibble. Nice to meet you."

Just as Horatio and Hannah Abbott were discussing how to run a bar, the compartment door suddenly opened.

"Have you seen a toad named Trevor?"

"Wow! Hannah, look, a beaver rat has become a spirit! Is the magical world really this amazing?"

A vein popped on Hermione Granger's forehead. With a Beaver Charge, she rushed before Horatio and drove an uppercut into his stomach.

"Pfft! This young little witch has no martial virtue, launching a sneak attack on a little boy like me." Horatio clutched his stomach and curled up painfully in his seat.

It took Horatio quite a while to recover. "Why are you looking for a toad? Do you want to kiss it and turn it into your prince charming?"

Just as Hermione was about to give Horatio another two slaps, a timid male voice sounded from the doorway. "Um, Trevor is my pet. He got lost, and Hermione is helping me look for him."

Horatio looked up and saw a round-faced boy standing in the compartment doorway with his head lowered.

"Isis, look. Isn't that your elder cousin who disappeared years ago?"

"Cough, cough. Just kidding." Horatio coughed, patted his coat, and amid a ripple of transformation, his black coat turned into white robes.

Horatio walked over to Neville. "Young wizard, did you lose this golden toad?" With a flip of his right hand, a toad made of gold appeared in it.

"Or this silver toad?" With a flip of his left hand, a toad made of silver appeared in it.

"Or perhaps this completely ordinary gold-backed toad?" A gold-backed toad floated over from some corner.

"Trevor! Thank you! This one is my toad." Neville hurriedly hugged the gold-backed toad.

"Ohoho, young wizard, you are truly honest. You can have all of these." In his River God Limited Skin, Horatio stuffed the golden and silver toads into Neville's arms, then pushed him out of the compartment before he could refuse.

"Hey! How did you do that? Are you from a Wizarding family?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"Heh, Uncle Huo is pleased that you asked Uncle Huo a question, but Uncle Huo doesn't like what you called him."

Seeing Hermione already rolling her wrists, Horatio hurriedly said, "Calm down, calm down. It's a long story. That day, I was eating hotpot and singing at the orphanage when an Old Deng suddenly appeared before me..."

"Get to the point!!!"

"Before school started, Dumbledore abducted me and brought me before an Old Deng named Nicolas Flamel. I worked as his house-elf for a month and learned a few tricks from him."

Hermione clutched her head and shouted, "This isn't fair! Why could all of you learn such powerful magic before enrollment while I could only study by reading books myself?"

Hannah weakly raised her hand from the corner of the compartment. "Um, I can't do magic either. My family didn't teach me."

Hermione stormed out of the compartment, then suddenly turned back and asked, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Horatio Quibble."

"My name is Hermione Granger. I'll remember you. Once we get to school, I'll definitely surpass you."

Horatio waved his paw dismissively, indicating that she could do as she pleased.

"Humph!!!"

As the train continued onward, the sky gradually darkened. At last, the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station.

Horatio and Hannah changed into their school uniforms and stepped off the train. A towering figure held up a lantern and called out, "First-year new students, come over here."

When Horatio saw Hagrid, his eyes lit up. In a flash, he appeared beside Hagrid and tugged at his clothes. "You're Hagrid, right? I heard Professor Dumbledore mention you."

Hagrid lowered his head to look at Horatio. "And you are?"

"Oh, my name is Horatio Quibble. You're really tall. Are you a giant?"

"No, I'm a half-giant. My father was a wizard, and my mother was a giant."

A question mark appeared over Horatio's head. This... was hard to judge. All he could say was that true Champions dared to challenge the deepest caves.

"Haha, I know an elegant female giant. I'll introduce you to her someday."

"Really? I'm looking forward to it."