Vivian Bulstrode

As the days passed, the start of term soon arrived. Anduin was quite satisfied with what he had accomplished during that time.

After packing his things and saying goodbye to Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, Anduin set off for King's Cross Station. After spending over a month with Anduin, Tom had grown quite fond of him and gave him a small keg of Butterbeer as a parting gift. Anduin, in turn, left him several recipes for simple dishes that were easy to learn, like fried chicken. Tom looked at him even more warmly after that.

Anduin arrived at King's Cross Station early, alone with his luggage. He loaded each item onto a trolley and checked that he hadn't forgotten anything. Then he took his ticket from his Hogwarts letter. Before saying goodbye, Professor McGonagall had already explained the important things he needed to know about the train journey.

As he pushed his trolley toward the pillar between Platforms 9 and 10, Anduin noticed many Aurors keeping order nearby. They must be making sure Muggles don't wander through and cause trouble.

Anduin looked around to make sure nobody was watching, then pushed his trolley straight at the wall.

On the other side, a deep-red, old-fashioned steam engine stood beside the platform. There weren't many passengers yet. The train left at eleven, and it was only a little after nine, so Anduin had arrived early.

Walking alongside the train with his luggage, Anduin picked a random carriage. With a small wave of his hand, all his things floated beside him and followed him inside.

He found an empty compartment, opened the door, and pointed. His luggage flew up onto the rack by itself.

"Shunfeng, wake up," Anduin called to his owl. But Shunfeng was still standing there with his eyes half closed, dozing. Anduin shook his head, set the owl cage on the table, and shut the door.

Anduin planned to change into his wizard's robes while the train was still mostly empty. Then he sat in the corner of the compartment and pulled out a copy of Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. He'd already read it many times, and had tried Transfiguration a few times, too.

In fact, he had made the most progress in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and had learned plenty of spells. Transfiguration, on the other hand, required personal instruction from a teacher, and he was still a beginner.

About an hour later, more and more people appeared on the platform outside. Then someone knocked on the compartment door.

"Is anyone sitting here?" a girl asked, pointing to the seat opposite Anduin.

She looked young, with long brown hair and light green eyes that held a hint of uncertainty.

"No one's sitting here. Go ahead," Anduin said with a smile.

"I'm Anduin Wilson. Let me help you," Anduin offered as he watched the girl struggle to lift her suitcase onto the luggage rack.

He pointed, and her suitcase floated up, settling neatly onto the rack.

"Cool! I'm Vivian Bulstrode. Are you an older student? You can cast without a wand! I'm starting this year." After seeing what Anduin could do, Vivian had assumed he was an upper-year student.

It was an understandable mistake. Anduin was sturdier than many boys his age, already over five feet tall, with a solid build.

"No, I'm starting this year too. This is just the one spell I've gotten good at," Anduin said, telling a little lie. A few days earlier, he had managed to cast the Obstacle Charm without a wand or words, too, but he didn't want to make himself seem too unusual.

"That's amazing! Are you from one of the Pure-blood families? I don't recognize the name Wilson." Vivian tilted her head and thought hard, but even after a while, she couldn't place it. "My father and grandfather are both Squibs, and my mum's a Muggle. My grandfather was disowned by the Bulstrode family. You should've seen how happy he was when I got my Hogwarts letter! Our family was welcomed back into the Bulstrode family because of me."

"I'm an orphan, and I have nothing to do with any Pure-blood family. I'm a wizard from a Muggle family," Anduin replied calmly. "Your family disowned your grandfather. Don't you resent them? Why are you so happy about it?"

"You really don't seem like a Muggle-born wizard." After seeing how easily Anduin cast the Levitation Charm, Vivian found it hard to imagine he came from a Muggle family.

"My grandfather hated being a Squib. He even says I'm his pride and joy. Isn't it a good thing to be welcomed back into the family? The Bulstrode family is one of the twenty-eight Pure-blood families in the Magical World."

Anduin couldn't understand Vivian's family's way of thinking. To him, bloodlines were nonsense. If his own family had disowned him, he wouldn't have given them the time of day. This girl named Vivian clearly took pride in her status, too. She'd only just boarded, and she was already telling a complete stranger all this.

Just then, some commotion broke out on the platform outside. A crowd had gathered, and from a distance, it looked like people were arguing.

"Do you know what's going on over there, Vivian?"

"Let me see." Vivian opened the window and leaned out to look.

"One side looks like the Travers family, and the other looks like the McKinnon family. I've seen them at family gatherings." Vivian pulled her wind-tousled head back inside and closed the window.

"I heard someone from the Travers family is a Death Eater, and that the Death Eater attacked an Auror from the McKinnon family and badly wounded him. The McKinnon family thinks everyone in the Travers family is loyal to Vol— I mean, the Dark Lord. But the Travers family denies it. They say it was that Death Eater's personal choice, and that the McKinnons got the wrong person. They insist that no one in the Travers family is a Death Eater." Vivian leaned toward Anduin and whispered dramatically.

"Wait, how do you know all that? Didn't your family only just come back into the fold?" Anduin had only casually asked whether Vivian knew what was happening outside. He hadn't expected her to identify the people involved and know the ins and outs of their families' feud.

"Ever since we were welcomed back into the family, the head of the Bulstrode family has often taken me to visit other families. I've heard all sorts of stories about them over tea. Let me tell you, there's a lot going on among the Pure-blood families!" Vivian gave Anduin a look that said the world was more complicated than he imagined, wearing an air of profound mystery.

So you're just a gossip, then, Anduin thought to himself.