New Students Arrive

September 1st—the day Hogwarts was due to begin, according to the letter. Hermione got up early and arrived at King's Cross Station with her parents.

To be honest, her parents, Hermione included, had still been doubtful. If Hermione had not argued her case so strongly, her parents would have dismissed it all as some people's pointless prank. Of course, under Hermione's insistence, the family found Diagon Alley and finally confirmed that the world truly had another side.

Hermione was not overly surprised by the discovery of Diagon Alley. Unlike in the original story, she had met a mage and witnessed the power of magic before arriving there. As a result, she was even more certain and determined to study at Hogwarts than she had been in the original story, and her parents had no choice but to agree.

"Where exactly is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"

Accompanied by her parents, Hermione searched all around the station for the supposed platform entrance. Yet after circling the place several times, she still could not find it, and she began to grow anxious. Fortunately, Ministry of Magic staff were stationed on the Muggle side of the station. They had noticed Hermione's unusual behavior early on, and after briefly identifying her, they knew she was a student who had awakened a Magic Seed in the Muggle world and was heading to Hogwarts.

"You should pay more attention to the people around you—especially those about your age, with luggage carts carrying pets like Owls. Oh, right. Didn't you buy a pet?"

Just as Hermione and her parents were growing exceptionally anxious, a boy who looked fifteen or sixteen walked up to Hermione and spoke softly. He was not from the Ministry of Magic, though the Ministry staff who saw him decided not to approach after all. They knew him. He was also a Hogwarts student, and his parents were their colleagues.

If Josh had been here, he would have recognized the boy as Crouch Edward. By coincidence, his parents were also at the station helping guide Young Wizards who could not find their way. Since he was heading to school, he had come along with them and happened to encounter Hermione, who had been wandering around for who knew how many laps.

"Oh, let me introduce myself. I'm Crouch Edward, a Hogwarts student from Hufflepuff. It's nice to meet you." Crouch noticed that Hermione's family seemed somewhat uncomfortable with his sudden appearance, so he introduced himself first.

"Hufflepuff? I know—that's one of Hogwarts' Houses, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Hermione Granger, and these are my parents." Hermione froze for a moment before immediately recalling the introduction to Hogwarts from the books she had read over the summer. She smiled and responded.

Under Crouch's enthusiastic guidance, they quickly found Platform Nine and Three-Quarters—it had been concealed behind a wall by a spell. Hermione's father could not help sighing at how wondrous the magical world was. Whether he truly meant it was another matter, though; Hermione thought the design was not very good at all.

Having seen Josh use magic to open a door and step out of it himself, apparently from somewhere very far away, Hermione was not as astonished as she had been in the original story. Still, she retained her curiosity toward new things. After all, the magical world remained unfamiliar and distant to her—at least during the twelve years of her life before this.

After saying goodbye to her parents, Hermione boarded the train to Hogwarts alone. Crouch had not intended to stay with the new students, but Hermione had endless questions, so he had no choice but to remain for the time being and answer them. It suddenly made Crouch wonder whether he had brought a not-insignificant trouble upon himself, because this girl's curiosity was simply too strong.

When departure time came, the train slowly began moving, while Hermione continued asking questions like a curious child. Crouch felt somewhat helpless, but he still answered enthusiastically. Then one of Hermione's questions left him stunned for quite a while.

"By the way, do you know who the most powerful wizard is? Is it Headmaster Dumbledore?"

That question left Crouch stunned for a long time again. In the past, he might have answered without hesitation: of course it was Professor Dumbledore. But now, he did not know what to say, because he had personally seen someone who had shocked even Dumbledore. Most importantly, that person seemed to be around the same age as him.

"I think... it should be someone else." After hesitating for a while, Crouch decided to tell the truth. That person—oh, no, he should be called Professor now—had already said he would be teaching at Hogwarts, hadn't he? Since they were both Hogwarts professors, there was no need to keep it hidden.

"Oh? Is there someone even more powerful?" Hermione asked curiously. At the same time, she wondered whether the person this upperclassman spoke of was stronger than the alien she had met.

"Yes, very powerful. Even Professor Dumbledore was deeply shocked, and he said himself that he would not be that person's match." Crouch nodded. "But he is also a professor. Though he is about my age, he is incredibly powerful. I think we'll all see him tonight. It seems he has already been confirmed as Ravenclaw's Deputy Head."

"What? He's about your age and already that powerful?"

"Yes. Apparently, he's a great noble from another country. But his accent is extremely authentic. In any case, nobles have always controlled far more resources in this world, so it's only natural that he would be stronger than us."

Hermione was stunned for a long time. She realized that the magical world did not seem all that different from the ordinary world she came from. Those of noble status always possessed more resources. After spacing out for a while, she noticed that Crouch had left the compartment at some point. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief and resolved that she would work twice as hard and not embarrass herself in the world of wizards.

But then she suddenly saw someone open her compartment door. It was a somewhat plump boy who looked very timid. With a trembling, tearful voice, he asked:

"Excuse me, have you seen my toad?"

Later at Hogwarts, Josh and Garen sat in the Great Hall, along with all the other professors teaching there, waiting for the new students to arrive. Professor McGonagall had, of course, gone to receive the newly arrived Young Wizards. As Deputy Headmistress, it was part of her duties.

"Nervous, Josh?" Garen looked at Josh, who was seated beside him in a black wizard's robe, with a mischievous grin. "Who would have thought? Not only can you be a prince, but now you've somehow become a Head of House too! Not bad. Is this you getting familiar with your administrative duties ahead of time?"

Josh shot him an irritated look, but unexpectedly did not argue back.

Yes, Josh had somehow become the Head of Ravenclaw, and the official announcement to the students was to be made today. A few days earlier, Professor Flitwick had brought it up in front of Josh and Dumbledore, but at the time, they had both assumed that Professor Flitwick had merely blurted it out in his excitement.

The truth, however, proved otherwise—Professor Flitwick truly intended to hand the position of Head of House over to Josh! And he had acted on it. Over the following days, he repeatedly sought out Dumbledore and Josh to discuss the matter, and he had even brought it up with Professor McGonagall and the others.

In the end, neither McGonagall, Snape, nor Dumbledore objected. Pomona Sprout, Hufflepuff's Head of House, showed no opposition either—she was busy tending to her plants with the Water element she had comprehended.

Professor Flitwick's reasoning was quite sound as well. He said that he was old enough and that it was time to hand the House over to the younger generation. Fine, but why not look at Dumbledore? The man was over a hundred years old and still energetically serving as Headmaster.

When Josh received the news, he was stunned for quite a while. But he quickly realized that Professor Flitwick probably wanted more time to study Magic elements! Naturally, Josh had refused at first. He directly stated that he had no experience in such matters, only for Garen to say:

"Aren't you a prince? And don't you have your own territory? Being a Head of House here will let you gain more experience, so you can better manage your territory when you return, won't it?"

Josh was instantly defeated. He wanted to point out that being a Head of House was very different from being the lord of a territory, but after thinking it over, he agreed. He had already considered it before; he was simply afraid of trouble and felt that there would be too many matters for him to handle.

Of course, he also made it clear that he could serve as Head of House, but no one was to interfere with his reforms of his own House. In addition, Professor Flitwick had to continue serving as Deputy Head and assist him in his work. Dumbledore naturally had no objections, so Josh rightfully took up the position of Head of House.

Not long after, under Professor McGonagall's guidance, a large group of young Young Wizards entered the Great Hall. There were roughly two hundred and forty to two hundred and fifty of them, but these young wizards would soon be divided among the Houses, leaving each House with around fifty to sixty new students.

Professor McGonagall nodded toward Dumbledore, apparently having already explained all the necessary matters. After Dumbledore gestured for her to return to her seat, he stood and said loudly:

"Hello, children. Before the term begins, there are a few things I must state in advance. First, all students are forbidden from entering the Forbidden Forest. Oh, and secondly, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind everyone that anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death should stay out of the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor. Thank you!"

After saying that, Dumbledore prepared to sit down, but quickly remembered something and stood again.

"Ah, my apologies. Please forgive my rambling. Before coming to Hogwarts, I believe you all became acquainted with the Head of each House, correct?"

"However, this year is somewhat special, so all children, please pay attention. To both returning students and newcomers alike, we regret to announce that Professor Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, intends to step down from his position due to health reasons."

Dumbledore's words drew a burst of startled cries from the students below, mainly from the Ravenclaw students. The students from the other Houses were also surprised and began whispering among themselves, though not quite as loudly. It was clear that Professor Flitwick was highly respected at Hogwarts.

"Quiet, children. I'm not finished yet." Dumbledore gently tapped a goblet on the table with a spoon. His words seemed to carry magic, immediately silencing the commotion in the Great Hall. Every student looked toward Dumbledore.

"Although Professor Flitwick is stepping down as Head of House, he will remain a professor at the school, so those who are fond of him need not panic. Naturally, in order to keep the House functioning properly, we have specially selected a new professor!"

"He is Professor Josh Augustus!"

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