Arrival

The three of them chatted, snacked, and played cards, and before they knew it, time had flown by.

"Five minutes until the train arrives at Hogwarts. Please leave your luggage on board; staff will take it to the school for you." An announcement came over the train's speakers, heralding their imminent arrival at Hogwarts.

"Good grief, we're finally here. My back's gone numb from sitting all this way," Charles complained, standing up and stretching.

Anduin packed up their things, gathering the Mahjong tiles from the table and putting them away with the leftover snacks.

The train gradually came to a stop. The three of them stepped out of the carriage, and the sky had already begun to darken.

At the station, Hagrid waited with a lantern, calling out, "First Years! First Years, over here!"

Drawn by his voice, the crowd made its way over, and Anduin and the others slowly joined them.

"Hagrid, long time no see. It's been a while," Anduin greeted him as he approached.

"Oh, Anduin, it's so good to see you. I heard about that terrible thing that happened. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have..." Hagrid looked down and saw Anduin. He'd heard in the Order of the Phoenix about what had happened in Knockturn Alley that night when he'd been with Anduin, and immediately started apologizing in a fluster. Hagrid felt that it was all his fault that Anduin, an Underage Wizard, had nearly come to harm.

"It wasn't your fault, Hagrid. I was just careless. I'm fine now, aren't I?" Anduin cut him off. He had no intention of letting the conversation continue; he wasn't about to invite trouble before school had even started. What he'd seen at the station had made him realize that many Death Eaters' children attended Hogwarts. He had no idea whether any of the Death Eaters he'd taken down that night had relatives at the school who might come after him.

Though he wasn't afraid of trouble, he wasn't going to go looking for it, either.

"That's good, Anduin. Thank goodness you're all right. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall heard about what happened that night, too. I got a terrible scolding, and they haven't let me go to Diagon Alley since. You have no idea how guilty I've felt." Hagrid clearly hadn't caught Anduin's meaning and carried on talking to himself.

"You can stop worrying now, Hagrid. I'm about to start school. Aren't you going to congratulate me?" Anduin did his best to comfort Hagrid, then steered the conversation away again.

"That night?" Charles and Vivian had overheard them and couldn't help wondering what had happened. More and more First Years were gathering around them, so it wasn't a good time to ask directly. They held back their questions, planning to find a chance to ask Anduin later what exciting thing could have left even this big man so shocked.

"Hey, you big oaf! What are you standing around for? Hurry up and show us the way. I'm exhausted from the journey. You're as big as a bear, but are you really that stupid, leaving us standing here?"

Just then, a boy among the gathered First Years ignored the two who were talking and shouted mockingly at Hagrid.

Anduin felt a flicker of irritation at the rude shout and glanced back at the speaker.

The Underage Wizard wasn't very tall, but had a well-proportioned build and neatly trimmed dark hair. Though young, he already wore an arrogant expression, with deep-set, sullen eyes.

"What are you looking at? You're the one wasting time talking to that great lump. And now you're glaring at me?"

"Get lost, Sampur Travers. This has nothing to do with you. If you're looking for trouble, I can give it to you." Charles darted out from behind Anduin, shoved Travers aside, and stood in front of Anduin.

"Well, look who it is. A friend of the cowardly McKinnon. What's the matter, McKinnon? Why aren't you hiding behind the grown-ups and crying like you did at the station?" Travers put on a look of mock surprise and sneered at Charles.

Charles was about to lose his temper and charge over to teach the boy a lesson, but Anduin held him back.

"Don't let words provoke you so easily, Charles. He's doing it on purpose. Don't stoop to his level." Anduin gave the boy called Sampur a cold sidelong look. He'd sensed something was off from the start. The boy had picked a fight with him for no reason and spoken rudely; seeing him with Charles, he'd likely decided to target Charles and was deliberately baiting him.

At that moment, a burly figure stepped between them. It was Hagrid.

"No fighting off school grounds. Otherwise, I have the right to send you straight back home, and then you'll have to wait until next year to come to Hogwarts." Hagrid was stern as he warned them, though most of what he said was aimed at Sampur Travers.

"The McKinnons are all thickheaded. Just poke them a little and they'll jump right up. If he'd thrown the first punch in front of everyone, I could've made him pay for it. Too bad that boy and this great oaf are in the way." Sampur Travers thought bitterly. He glared at Charles and Anduin, then stepped aside.

"That guy's Sampur Travers, from the Travers family. If you ask me, Hogwarts shouldn't let him come to school at all. His whole family supports the Dark Lord, and I bet some of them have even joined the Death Eaters. Our families ran into each other at the station this morning, and they even dared to make fun of my injured uncle. The nerve." Charles glared resentfully at Sampur Travers, who'd moved aside, then turned back and quietly explained to Anduin.

Anduin silently cursed his bad luck. The boy looked like trouble, and he'd run into some on the very first day of school. But he quickly shook the thought off. If the boy left him alone, fine; if he dared to cause trouble, Anduin wouldn't go easy on him.

Anduin also realized that even within the school, undercurrents ran deep during wartime. His earlier hope of staying out of it had been far too naïve.

"Don't pay him any mind. If you'd attacked him just now, it would've given people a reason to talk, especially in front of everyone. Even if you weren't expelled, the school might still punish you. He was deliberately trying to make you lose your temper, so be careful in the future." Anduin comforted Charles, then warned him.

"I was too impulsive. Thanks, Anduin." Charles felt a quiet wave of relief and thanked him.

With Anduin and Vivian reassuring him, Charles gradually calmed down. The three followed Hagrid along a narrow path, and before long they reached a lakeshore. Across the water stood a magnificent castle: Hogwarts.