Iris was so nervous that she closed her eyes.
She waited for a long time, but did not feel the cold lake water envelop her body.
She cautiously opened one eye.
To her surprise, she found herself floating above the water's surface.
It felt as though an invisible cushion of air beneath her was holding her up.
Before she could fully take it in,
Luna, who had frozen before snapping out of it, grabbed Iris by the calf and pulled her back onto the boat.
"Phew~"
Luna tried to calm her racing nerves.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Cypher! You didn't use a wand just now?!"
"Huh?"
Iris, who had still looked like she had narrowly escaped death, was equally astonished.
Last time in Diagon Alley, everything had happened too suddenly.
Iris had not noticed whether Cypher had used magic at all, much less a wand.
"That's right. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to take out my wand. Besides, my spells... Forget it. I can't cast spells."
Remembering that his spells had a chance of producing the effects of a Blasting Curse during the holidays, Cypher promptly changed his words.
The reason young wizards only started school at eleven was because their magic became relatively stable at that age.
They could cast spells through a wand with relative ease.
Of course, the price was that from then on, it became difficult for young wizards to cast magic without a wand.
"Cypher, can you cast that magic whenever you want?"
When Cypher nodded, Luna quickly pressed on.
"Can you cast it on both of us again?"
Though he did not understand why, this simple magic he called Mage Hand was effortless for him to cast.
Thus, Iris and Luna slowly floated upward.
"Iris, can you feel it?"
"Mm. At first, I thought it was the Levitation Charm. Before I could examine the feeling closely, you pulled me back."
Luna rolled her eyes irritably and said that she should have let Iris experience a cold-water bath.
The Levitation Charm removed an object's own gravity, causing it to slowly rise into the air.
That was why the Levitation Charm was difficult to use on wizards. A wizard's own magic could disrupt that strange balance, unless the caster was highly skilled.
As for the magic Cypher called Mage Hand,
it felt as if an invisible current of air were pressing against her body, while she remained subject to gravity.
"Alright, Cypher. When we get back, Iris and I will look through the records properly. We don't understand the principles behind your spell."
"Cypher? Cypher?!"
Cypher was staring blankly beyond the two girls.
When they turned around, they saw only Hogwarts Castle, revealed amid flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.
They raised their voices and called to him, asking him to lower them.
Cypher finally came back to his senses.
The two girls landed safely in the boat as well.
"What's wrong? What are you looking at?"
Iris went to Cypher's side and followed his gaze, but saw nothing.
"I saw a translucent wall. Professor Rood has already passed through it. It doesn't seem to have any effect."
"Huh?"
Iris was shocked. From her point of view, there was nothing in front of them.
Luna stroked her hair. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Iris, didn't you complain that we clearly lived at Hogwarts, yet still had to go to the station and take a train to school?"
"Do you remember how Hogwarts: A History mentioned that before the express train existed, new students also had to walk a long way before entering the school?"
The clever Iris immediately understood.
"You mean this is the Little Wizard Protection Ritual vaguely mentioned in the school history?"
"That's right!"
Seeing Cypher's confused expression, Iris explained.
"Ritual Magic is a general term for magic cast by relying on external objects and following certain procedures. The Little Wizard Protection Ritual is only vaguely mentioned in the books. Through this magic, not a single young wizard who enrolls will die in the castle."
Cypher nodded to show that he understood.
It seemed that although young wizards no longer had to trek all the way to Hogwarts, the necessary steps could not be omitted.
Suddenly, Cypher's eyes widened.
He discovered that as long as he did not make the motion to activate Mage Hand,
the glowing wall before him disappeared.
He quickly told the two girls about his discovery.
"I don't know. That's beyond our level of knowledge."
After hesitating for a moment, Iris suddenly gave him a warning.
"Cypher, you can tell Professor Dumbledore about this at most. You absolutely must not mention it to anyone else."
"Including your grandfather?"
After a moment of silence,
"Including him!"
Cypher did not ask why. Professor Dumbledore seemed like a wizard on the side of justice, but what was going on with Professor Fergus? Were a granddaughter and grandfather having a spat?
Without thinking too much about it, Cypher remembered the matter, then put it out of his mind.
At last, the boat reached the far shore of the lake.
Cypher stepped off first and helped the two girls ashore.
"We have to climb up there?"
Pointing at the winding stone path before them with one hand, Cypher raised an eyebrow and asked.
The two girls straightened their clothes and nodded.
Fine, fine. It looked like this was another part of the Ritual Magic process.
Cypher, who kept up with his training, dragged the two girls up to the mountaintop, yet he was left panting from exhaustion as well.
The two girls apologized, saying that their physical condition was indeed quite poor.
Mr. Rood, who had long since vanished from sight, was now waiting at the castle entrance.
Seeing that the three of them had arrived first, he nodded with satisfaction.
The three walked over and greeted Mr. Rood.
Afterward, the tired Cypher lost the polite restraint he had shown when they first met.
The three leaned together and recovered their strength.
Cold, hunger, exhaustion...
Those negative effects made Cypher shudder.
The two girls felt it.
In silent understanding, they moved closer to Cypher.
Time passed second by second.
Cypher felt that any new student who could endure such harsh weather and reach the castle was a qualified student.
However, he had underestimated the Magical World's young wizards' longing for a true magical school life.
Before long, large groups of new students arrived at the finish line, supporting and encouraging one another.
Only one group stood completely apart from them. They seemed to have a strict hierarchy, and those behind never stepped ahead of those in front.
"Everyone, be quiet! Line up in front of the door!"
Seeing that no one else was coming up from the exit,
the burly Professor Rood shouted loudly.
No one argued at that moment, or rather, no one had the strength to argue.
Even the unruly pureblood descendants stood in neat rows.
Professor Rood quickly counted the students. Good, not one was missing.
He nodded in satisfaction, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
Professor Rood turned to the great doors, his muscles bulging as he shoved them open with force.
Cypher stared in astonishment. Was this a performance, or did the doors really require brute strength to open? Why not use magic?
The question was thrown to the back of his mind the moment the doors opened fully.
The draft stirred up by the opening doors made the candlelight overhead flicker faintly, revealing the castle's interior, adorned with intricate patterns and bearing the marks of time.
As the one at the front of the line, Cypher naturally became the leader, guiding all the young wizards inside in an orderly fashion.
What he did not know was that someone behind him was staring at him with deadly intensity, hatred gleaming in his red-tinted eyes.
Before you continue