Chapter Twelve: Students' Free Visiting Hour

"Hello, my name is..."

Before the first person to squeeze in could introduce himself, he was drowned out by the second student's cheer. "There's an empty seat here!"

He practically rushed in, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

"Hello, my name is Seamus Finnigan."

"Hello," Andrew introduced himself as well, while the earlier boy added his own introduction. His name was Kevin Bader.

"One more..." Seamus spoke quickly. "So many compartments are full. I didn't expect... the train to be packed with people..."

"Of course. All Hogwarts students take the train to school. The older students are in compartments with people they know, so they generally won't be with us."

"Ah, right. I should have thought of that."

Seamus moved with restless energy. "I was just too eager. I've wanted to study at Hogwarts since I was little, but Mum kept telling me I had to wait until I was eleven... God, I've forgotten how I managed to wait all those years!"

"Not necessarily. There's still the legendary Sorting."

Kevin rested his hand on the little table, his expression gentle.

"Oh, the Sorting..."

"God..."

The smile vanished from Seamus's face in an instant...

"I've asked lots of people, but no one's willing to tell me what the Sorting is about. Or rather, the people willing to talk about it never have a definite answer..."

"What if I don't get Sorted and they just throw me out... What would Mum say..."

"Don't worry. It sounds like your mother loves you very much. She'll definitely make you a table full of delicious food to comfort you."

Kevin sounded as though he were comforting him.

"Oh, absolutely not!"

"She was so happy when I showed magical ability. If I got thrown out..."

Even Andrew, who had not managed to get a word in, could no longer control his expression...

Where had this little bastard named Kevin come from? While it did fit Hogwarts's habit of refusing to reveal the secret of the Sorting, this was taking things way too far.

In the spirit of being kind to others, he decided not to say anything—if he did not expose it, the two of them getting into a fight afterward might become the start of a friendship. But if he exposed it now, all that would remain was hatred they could not temporarily escape.

Fortunately, Seamus was not an idiot. Seeing that neither of them looked worried, he seemed to find his own go-with-the-flow attitude from somewhere—if no one else was panicking, why should I?

But once he came to his senses, he decisively gave up talking to Kevin, opened his luggage in a huff, and pulled out a book to read.

Andrew also started reading his own book, amused all the while.

Soon, the fourth person arrived—a somewhat nervous boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley entered the compartment.

"Thank God, I finally made it."

He cautiously looked at the three boys already there. Once he saw that none of them objected, he found a seat and sat down.

"The train was running a little late. I... almost... huff, didn't make it..."

"Hello, my name is... Justin Finch-Fletchley." He had not caught his breath yet. "I thought that platform was a trick. That wall was so thick, and I just went straight through it!"

"True, the entrance was decorated too well."

Seamus was eager to talk again. "But the moment I opened my eyes, I ran straight through!"

"You're amazing."

Justin sighed in admiration. "Unlike me, I didn't know anything."

"It was nothing." Seamus puffed out his chest like a proud little rooster. "Mum told me about it. She even hopes I'll get into Gryffindor and grow up brave!"

"Gryffindor?"

"Yeah, the best House," Seamus said firmly. "Lots of people I know say so."

"I'm not too sure..."

"Put it this way: Hogwarts has four Houses. The best is Gryffindor, the worst is Slytherin, and the other two are Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

Though it was a little mean, Andrew really wanted to see Seamus's expression if he got sorted into Slytherin.

But Seamus's explanation ended before it began.

"Did you hear? Harry Potter is on the train!"

A head poked into the compartment and withdrew before Andrew could see it clearly, but it had brought explosive news.

Apart from Justin's slightly confused expression, the other three all reacted.

Seamus reacted most strongly. "Harry Potter?"

"God, he's the second most famous wizard Mum ever mentioned!"

"Is he powerful?"

Justin did not let the conversation fall silent, and then came a string of introductions Andrew knew all too well... even speedruns would never skip them.

Then, in a very short time, Andrew witnessed what a sightseeing crowd looked like.

It was as though someone had thrown tear gas into the compartments. The corridor was packed with people, forcing the trolley witch to keep saying things like "Sorry, excuse me," and Andrew suddenly felt as if he were traveling during the Spring Festival rush.

And by sheer coincidence, Harry Potter was in the very same carriage as them...

How should he put it? Even the compartments were crammed full of spectators.

Some older students even squeezed in, filling the compartment under the pretense of caring about the first-years.

Still, this let Andrew and the others learn about life at school ahead of time.

But as they chatted, the topic shifted from Harry Potter, the second most famous wizard, to something Andrew did not particularly want to hear.

"Yes, yes, that book, Dumbledore: A Legend."

"Lots of people say it's fake, but I can assure you that it merely added a few stories to make things easier to understand. The truth was even more exaggerated than what was written in the book."

"Our Ravenclaw door knocker was questioned by Dumbledore until it could no longer come up with questions, and only then did it reveal the existence of the one-use Ravenclaw's Diadem—just so you know, it was made by drawing power from the real diadem. That's why Dumbledore is so wise!"

Good Lord, you're even more outrageous than those editors...

But because the other person sounded so certain, Andrew could not be sure anymore—what if it was true?

Who knew how many truths were hidden beneath exaggerated tales?

"Like that?"

"Of course. It was an alchemical item Ravenclaw made to reward the most outstanding students, specially designed to prevent them from abusing the power of the laurel!"

"That's amazing! I heard Ravenclaw came up with the idea of testing magical power with the Levitation Charm for Hogwarts, but the pure-bloods secretly took it and used it themselves. So there was even more to it?"

"Naturally. Wisdom is the greatest wealth!"

"Indeed." Andrew relaxed. The rest of the conversation was not particularly worthwhile. "Sorry, please make way. I think I need to use the bathroom."