Hogwarts Express

"Yes, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Savior of the Wizarding World. He defeated You-Know-Who, the second Dark Lord, when he was one... Incredible."

When Breeze had been in the secondhand bookshop, he had seen plenty of books mentioning the Savior, Harry Potter. They seemed to portray him as the next White Lord, about to be crowned. The first White Lord was Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts.

The White Lord was the Wizarding World's universally recognized representative of good, opposed to the Dark Lord. There had been two Dark Lords so far: one was locked away in a tower in Nurmengard, and the other had been killed by Harry Potter.

But Breeze didn't think so. What could a one-year-old child have done? He was more inclined to believe that Harry Potter's parents had killed You-Know-Who.

You-Know-Who was called Voldemort, but Breeze wasn't foolish enough to say his name aloud. Some books said the name was enchanted, allowing You-Know-Who's followers to find anyone who showed him insufficient reverence and kill them.

As for Harry Potter himself... Breeze remembered that the last time he'd seen him, Harry had been terribly thin. According to some books about the Wizarding World, he should have been living like a "prince." But Breeze could tell that Harry Potter didn't seem to have a good life. In fact, he seemed less comfortable than Breeze, who lived in an Orphanage.

Breeze put down his diary and leaned back in his seat, watching the parents and children still saying their goodbyes outside the window, chattering away. Seek good fortune and avoid disaster. The Savior will probably be in Gryffindor once he gets to Hogwarts. I just need to treat him like an ordinary person.

Of course, that all depended on Harry Potter treating Breeze like an ordinary person too. If he let his fame and ambition go to his head and became arrogant, Breeze would stay far away from him. That was simply common sense. Children didn't have a complete worldview. If Breeze hadn't had An Qing's memories, he wouldn't be this mature or think about his circumstances. Breeze himself was only eleven years old.

Just then, a loud voice rang out. It belonged to a short, plump, red-haired woman. Breeze glanced over. She was sternly addressing a tall, thin, freckled red-haired boy. Beside her stood a middle-aged, heavyset red-haired man holding a little red-haired girl.

The red-haired woman said, "Ron, get on the train! Where are George and Fred? And Percy, too! He can't even come and help his own brother!"

The little girl looked crestfallen and muttered that she wanted to go to Hogwarts too. The red-haired woman immediately soothed her. "Oh, dear Ginny, you can't go yet. You'll have to wait until next year."

The freckled red-haired boy lowered his head and muttered, "They never care about me unless they want to tease me. Percy is a Prefect this year, so he's off showing off... None of you ever notice me."

At last, the boy reluctantly picked up his battered old trunk and boarded the train with his father's help...

After seeing the Malfoy family's gleaming, aristocratic appearance, Breeze had now seen a family that looked poor and shabby.

"They're complete opposites. The Wizarding World has rich and poor, too. Maybe the only difference from the Muggle world is the existence of magic."

Breeze picked up Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, the book he would be studying at Hogwarts, written by Emeric Switch.

"Transfiguration. How interesting."

Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to do it successfully. He still couldn't get the hang of it, and he didn't dare rush things. The book said Transfiguration was the most dangerous subject they'd study in their first year. For now, all he could do was read more and work on mastering it once he got to school.

Planning before acting was the truth of the matter.

Before term began, Breeze focused mostly on studying spells and getting used to his own magic.

"Sorry to bother you, but is this seat taken?"

The compartment door slid open. A girl stood there. She stared at Breeze's face and his pure-black eyes for a moment before speaking.

"My name is Cho Chang. I'm of Chinese descent."

She had East Asian features and seemed to have come looking specifically for Breeze, since she wasn't carrying any luggage. A brown-haired girl stood behind her.

Cho Chang kept looking at Breeze's pure-black eyes. In China and the Wizarding World, solid-colored eyes often carried special significance, so she didn't ask about them. Soon, she turned her gaze away.

"This is Kay Gibson. We're both second-years at Hogwarts, in Ravenclaw House. Well, I heard there was a new student with East Asian features here, so I came to have a look."

Cho Chang seemed to realize that this was a little rude, and blushed. Kay Gibson, standing behind her, waved at Breeze openly. She seemed like a typical Westerner.

Judging by the East Asian standards of beauty in An Qing's memories, Cho Chang wasn't exactly beautiful, but she had distinctive East Asian features. For some reason, Breeze found himself liking her.

"I'm Breeze Order." Breeze smiled faintly, without saying anything more about himself. Cho Chang and the others politely didn't ask.

"I'm the only one here for now. I'd be delighted if you two would join me."

If Breeze wanted to join Ravenclaw House, having someone show him the ropes would be a great help. It would let him make himself seem more like a Ravenclaw before the unknown Sorting. Books never described things like that in enough detail. It was as if they deliberately left things out.

"Of course. We'd love to join you."

Kay Gibson led Cho Chang to the seats opposite Breeze. After noticing the book in his hands, Cho Chang grew more at ease and asked, "Order, looks like you'll be a Ravenclaw."

Cho Chang smiled warmly, and Breeze nodded.

"I think Ravenclaw would suit me well. I hope I can join you. But could you tell me a little about it? The books never give the full picture... I hope you don't mind me asking, but I think you could help me adjust to studying at Hogwarts."

Kay Gibson laughed. "A textbook Ravenclaw. Always ready to seize the chance to ask about something they don't know."

Breeze smiled. Of course he'd seize the chance. Taking stock of a situation always helped him make the right choice.

What Breeze didn't know was that Ravenclaws' thirst for knowledge was genuine. He was clearly more calculating. Perhaps the disguise he was planning would only backfire. He was more like a sly little snake, good at keeping himself hidden.

Kay Gibson glanced at Cho Chang, as if signaling to her.

Cho Chang understood and smiled. "Hogwarts has four Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Ravenclaw's symbol is an eagle, and its color is blue—the color of the sky, and a reflection of its eternal pursuit of knowledge... Gryffindors are a bunch of brave people, or so they think. Hufflepuffs love to eat, and they're kind and simple. As for Slytherin, well, sorry, but they're the least friendly. They care a lot about blood status, and even Half-bloods are looked down on there."

"I don't think you'd like Slytherin either. The other Houses all have a problem with them. Even Ravenclaw doesn't like them, especially Gryffindor. They're practically mortal enemies."

"Mortal enemies?" Breeze couldn't understand. Weren't they all students at the same school? Why were they so divided?

"Could it be some kind of misunderstanding?"

Cho Chang clearly didn't want to talk about it, so she said, "It's none of our business. We'd better watch from the sidelines and stay sensible."

"Ravenclaw students pursue wisdom. We're the most level-headed. The other Houses might think we're bookworms, but we're just exploring the sea of knowledge. We pay little attention to things that have nothing to do with it..."

"Whoo..."

A whistle interrupted Cho Chang. Then a voice came from outside the compartment. It belonged to a boy. As he passed Breeze's compartment door, Breeze caught a glimpse of red hair.

"The train to Hogwarts is about to depart. First-years, please take your seats in an orderly fashion..."

Seeing Breeze's curious expression, Kay Gibson chuckled. "That's Percy Weasley, a fifth-year Gryffindor Prefect. He's in charge of keeping the first-years in order."

Cho Chang continued, "Sorry, Breeze, but we need to get back to the second-year compartment. Our luggage is there, and the route first-years take to Hogwarts is different from the one the other years take... It's a secret, so I can't tell you. As for the other things about Ravenclaw, you'll learn them once you join the House. It's fun to discover things for yourself, too."

"Right, then. See you at Hogwarts. I hope I get sorted into Ravenclaw."

Breeze smiled a little awkwardly. He probably wasn't a bookworm, but that was all right. Cho didn't seem like one either.

Still, Breeze felt uneasy. How exactly did the Sorting work? Could he really get into Ravenclaw?

"I'm sure you will. No first-year from the other Houses would be reading on the train before term even started."

After Cho Chang and Kay Gibson left, Breeze's compartment was empty again. But perhaps the train had already departed and all the first-years had found seats, because nobody else came in...

"Rumble... thud!"

Before Breeze could collect himself, two tall, thin, red-haired boys barged into his compartment. They slammed the door behind them.

"Oh, Fred, George, give me back my spider!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Someone outside pounded hard on the door, but soon stopped. Breeze heard him say, "Oh, damn, Percy's coming! You'd better look after my spider, or I'll put slugs in your bedsheets!"

"Hahaha, Percy saved us," one of the red-haired boys said with a cheeky grin.

The other red-haired boy was holding a cloth bag. It was clear that something inside was wriggling.

"It's a spider, cute little first-year."

The two of them glanced around. Then one said, "Those two girls just now were second-years."

The one holding the bag added, "And they were Ravenclaws."

The other boy gave Breeze a sly, suggestive look. "And one of them was East Asian. I remember her—a pretty Chinese girl named Cho Chang."

The boy holding the spider casually patted Breeze on the shoulder. "You sure are lucky. Haven't even been sorted yet, and you've already got girls interested in you."

Breeze brushed his hand away and sat up cautiously. "Sorry, but I think you have things of your own to take care of."

He glanced at the bag of spiders in their hands, feeling helpless. Their expressions were all too familiar. They looked just like Breeze did when he wanted to play a trick on someone.

Yes, not everyone at the Orphanage liked Breeze. Some jealous children often came looking for trouble. "Weak little" Breeze "had no choice" but to fight back, and "pranks" were a good way to deal with other kids.

Of course, well-behaved Breeze always had the trust of Head of House Betty. It was all the fault of those troublesome children, who were simply unlucky enough to end up making a mess of themselves.

The two boys exchanged a look and stared solemnly at Breeze, as if trying to figure something out. Then they burst out laughing and said together, with perfect timing:

"Oh, here's a pretty good first-year."

The one holding the spider bag said to Breeze, "I'm Fred Weasley."

The other said, "I'm George Weasley."

They looked at each other. "We're twins."

Then they looked back at Breeze. "We hope you get into Gryffindor. We can show you a good time."

...What an interesting pair.