Arrival

With a long, age-laden hiss of steam, the train glided to a smooth stop at the platform of Hogsmeade Station.

That hiss was like a command, instantly igniting the vitality of the entire train.

The once orderly carriages were immediately flooded with a chaos mixed with excitement, anxiety, and impatience.

The aisles were crammed with students dragging luggage; upper-year students greeted each other with practiced ease, chatting about summer adventures, while first-years like Harry and Ron buzzed around like headless flies, swallowed by the crowd, their faces written with bewilderment.

"Are we there? Is this Hogwa—ow, my foot! Who stepped on me!"

"Look outside! Gosh, it's darker than Knockturn Alley!"

"Hand me my robe, quick! Don't let it wrinkle! Mum said first impressions with the professors are important!"

The train glided to a smooth stop at the platform of Hogsmeade Station, with a long, age-laden hiss of steam.

That hiss was like a command, instantly igniting the vitality of the entire train.

The once orderly carriages were immediately flooded with a chaos mixed with excitement, anxiety, and impatience. The aisles were crammed with students dragging luggage; upper-year students greeted each other with practiced ease, chatting about summer adventures, while first-years like Harry and Ron buzzed around like headless flies, swallowed by the crowd, their faces written with bewilderment.

"Quick! Harry! Don't forget your trunk!" Ron struggled to pull his battered trunk down from the luggage rack, its corner thudding dully against the doorframe.

"My books! Standard Book of Spells is still on the seat!" Hermione was doing a final check, her nervous demeanor making it seem less like she was going to school and more like she was about to take an exam that would decide the fate of the world.

Amid this noisy backdrop, Lin Yuan was the only one who remained perfectly composed.

He had already picked up his simple trunk, stood leisurely by the door, and observed the vivid "first-year enrollment chaos" before him with the eye of a researcher.

His Soul Power, like an invisible net, clearly sensed the subtle emotional fluctuations of everyone around him.

Excitement, anticipation, anxiety, showing off, inferiority... countless emotions intertwined, forming a vast and mixed energy field.

"Interesting. Intense emotional fluctuations seem to make the magical energy around an individual more active," Lin Yuan noted silently. "Maybe that's one reason young wizards are prone to magical outbursts? Emotion is the key, and also the trigger."

Just then, a voice like a booming bell exploded like a depth charge over the noisy platform, instantly drowning out all the clamor.

"First-years! Hey! First-years, over here!"

The crowd parted automatically.

A giant of a man stood there, holding a swaying lantern.

His massive frame was nearly twice the height of an ordinary person, with a wild tangle of black hair and beard covering most of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that sparkled with kindness, like black beetles.

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed in delight.

"Hello there, Harry." Hagrid grinned, showing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth. The smile looked a bit intimidating but was surprisingly warm. "Alright, follow me! Watch your step! Don't get lost!"

"Merlin's beard..." Ron muttered in a dazed tone. "He... that's Hagrid... Fred and George weren't lying, he really... really could use the trees in the Forbidden Forest as toothpicks..."

"He... he's not the kind of giant that eats people, is he?" A particularly timid blonde girl in the group was already trembling, her voice choked with tears.

Hermione immediately stepped in like a dutiful walking encyclopedia, pushing up her glasses. Her study-freak mode activated automatically in any tense situation: "Don't worry! The book says he's the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid. And strictly speaking, he's not a pure giant, he's a Half-Giant. That's fundamentally different in both biology and magical genealogy. Don't scare yourselves."

"Follow me! First-years! Stay close, watch your step, don't fall behind!"

Hagrid strode ahead with his enormous lantern, his massive frame blocking most of the biting night wind for the chattering little first-years behind him. They followed the swaying light down a steep, narrow path covered in slippery moss.

Lin Yuan's gaze lingered on Hagrid for a moment.

In his Spiritual Sense, the life force and magical power within this big man blazed like a roaring bonfire.

But the texture of that power was completely different from an ordinary wizard—rough, primal, carrying a hint of wildness not belonging to humans.

"A Half-Giant... magical fusion at the genetic level. That's far more interesting than simple spells," Lin Yuan thought. "I wonder if this kind of constitution can store spiritual energy? Another topic for research."

He blended into the flow of chattering young wizards pointing at Hagrid's size, following them down the steep, narrow path.

Thick woods lined both sides of the path; the night wind rustled the leaves, whispering softly. The air was thick with the fresh scent of damp earth and pine needles. To Harry, who had grown up in an orphanage and on the streets of London, everything was astonishingly new.

"You'll get your first look at Hogwarts soon," Hagrid called back in his gruff voice, brimming with pride as if introducing his own home.

At the end of the path, the view suddenly opened up.

A vast, black lake appeared before them, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the brilliant starry sky above.

And on the far shore, perched atop a high mountain, stood a castle beyond words.

It wasn't the dainty, pretty castle of fairy tales. It was a colossal beast crouched under the night sky, made of countless towers, high walls, and battlements.

Hundreds of windows glowed like warm stars in the pitch-black night, clearly outlining its majestic silhouette.

It was a beauty that transcended architecture itself—a grandeur precipitated by time and magic, inspiring awe.

"Wow..."

Someone let out an uncontrollable gasp first, followed by a chorus of sharp intakes of breath and exclamations rippling through the group of first-years.