When Avada returned to the carriage where Cedric and the others were, he found them, just as expected, still excitedly discussing Flying Broomsticks and Quidditch. At some point, the table had also become piled high with snacks. So Avada could only despairingly join in their discussion, stuffing Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs into his mouth while occasionally chiming in with, "Mm, yes, right."
After keeping it up for several hours, by which time it was completely dark outside, the train finally began to slow and came to a stop at the familiar little station.
"The school letter we received said that students above first year don't have to take the boats. They can go straight to Hogwarts by carriage..." Cho asked Cedric curiously as she straightened her clothes. "How do the carriages cross the Black Lake to get to the school? Do they run on the water? Or are they actually pulled by Kelpies?"
"They fly straight across."
Cedric explained, "They're pulled by a magical creature called a Thestral. Supposedly, it's a winged creature resembling a horse, and it's a very strong flyer..."
"Supposedly? Didn't you ride in one of those carriages last term?"
"I can't see them."
He smiled. "Thestrals have a magical characteristic: only people who have witnessed death with their own eyes can see them. Otherwise, they're invisible to you... To be honest, I'm rather glad I can't see Thestrals."
As they spoke, they followed the crowd off the train. They saw the first-year students being led by Hagrid along the road to the harbor, while the large group of returning students headed for the carriage station on the other side, clearly familiar with the way. The students who had just started their second year and didn't know where the carriage station was followed close behind the older students, afraid they might lose their way.
The carriage station was not far from the train station. After walking for less than a minute, Avada saw several hundred empty carriages parked in neat rows across a wide clearing. In front of each carriage was a bright mass of life force and spiritual power—
Wait, I can't see the Thestrals?
Staring at the empty space in front of the carriages, where only his Magic Sense revealed the life force and spiritual power, Avada couldn't help feeling puzzled.
He had died once himself, yet he still couldn't see the Thestrals?
Did dying and coming back to life not count if he'd done it to himself?
As he climbed into a carriage, Avada carefully studied the magical structure of the Thestral, intending to figure out the principle behind its curious trait. But it took only a short while for his brows to twist in confusion.
The magical structure of the Thestral was so chaotic it was almost painful to look at. If it weren't for the most basic life force and spiritual power, he wouldn't have believed it belonged to a living creature. And among all those tangled structures, Avada couldn't find a single part that seemed to serve any purpose. It was even messier and more chaotic than the clumsiest doodle...
Forget anything related to "death" or "invisibility"—Avada found it incredible that this thing could even run!
Could this thing be a bundle of bugs?
Avada rubbed his head in frustration. He had noticed that once his research into the world reached a certain depth, his Magic Sense hardly ever proved useful. That had been the case with the magical voids in spiritual power, the splitting of souls, time and fate, the protective charm on Harry, and now the principle behind the Thestrals being visible only to those who had witnessed death...
It was as if there were something more fundamental than magic in this world, something that silently influenced how everything worked. That only made Avada more eager to open the book Professor Baker had left behind and see the so-called "deepest, most fundamental secrets" inside.
"Once I'm back at school, I'll put all my other research on hold and focus on breaking the book's seal!"
During the previous summer, other matters had kept him occupied, and he hadn't been able to cast spells without restraint, which was why progress on breaking the seal had been slow. If he devoted himself entirely to this one task, he was confident he could break it completely before Christmas!
As the students climbed into the carriages, they rose smoothly into the air, carrying a faint smell of mildew and straw. They crossed the Black Lake and headed toward two magnificent wrought-iron gates, flanked by stone pillars topped with winged boars. After passing through the gates, the carriages picked up speed along the long, uphill road leading to the castle. Through the window, Avada watched the towers grow closer and closer.
At last, the carriage rattled to a stop, and Avada and the other returning students climbed out one after another. The second-years followed the crowd up the stone steps, passed through another oak door, and entered the spacious, shadowy Entrance Hall. Torches burned there, and a grand Marble Staircase led upstairs—a different entrance from the one used by the first-years.
"We got here much faster than the first-years. They'll probably need a few more minutes..."
This time, the Weasley Twins excitedly explained things to the second-years. "It's a Wizarding World tradition: the first-years don't know how the Sorting Ceremony works, so they're already nervous. Then we older students sit down early, all dressed up and sitting in neat rows. When the first-years enter the hall, we say nothing and just stare at them solemnly..."
"Don't look at me like that. It's a fine Hogwarts tradition. Everyone has to go through it once..."
Perhaps unsettled by the second-years' reproachful looks, Fred gave an awkward laugh and explained, "You see? Now you get to enjoy the tradition too, don't you?"
"Come on, let's go! If we don't hurry, we'll be late!"
This time, it was the Prefects who started urging them along. It seemed everyone, without exception, agreed about this almost-prank-like tradition.
So Avada had no choice but to follow everyone else, straightening his robes, putting on the black pointed hat he hadn't touched once all year, and tucking his wand into his belt where it was visible. Then he sat quietly and gracefully at the Hufflepuff table.
"Hey, remember? Harry Potter is among this year's first-years!"
There was still some time before the first-years arrived, so the older students who had already taken their seats made full use of it, whispering among themselves about the topic they'd been discussing nonstop since the end of last year: "Which House will he be sorted into?"
"Ravenclaw, definitely! He had the terrifying talent to defeat You-Know-Who as a newborn. How could he not be in Ravenclaw?"
"Rubbish. He ought to be in Gryffindor! I looked into it: nearly every member of the Potter Family came from Gryffindor, and both his parents were Gryffindors. Harry Potter will be no different!"
"I hope he'll be in Hufflepuff. Think about it: he defeated the most evil Dark Lord at birth and ended a terrifying era. That must mean he has a great, selfless heart..."
"Haha, stop guessing. He'll definitely belong to Slytherin! He was born to defeat the previous Dark Lord, then take his place..."
"Shut up! You can't say that out loud!"
After someone beside the Slytherin student forced him back down, everyone began discussing how terrifyingly powerful Harry Potter's magic must have become over the past eleven years, and whether he might even replace Dumbledore as Hogwarts Headmaster...
As Avada pretended to take part in the discussion, he turned his Magic Sense toward someone among the seats at the front of the hall.
In that person's life force, besides his own normal golden spiritual power, there was also a dark-gold, more stable mass of mutated spiritual power. Within it was a magical void smaller than those found in ordinary people.
At last, I've found you... Voldemort!
Before you continue