The Hogwarts Express

"Yes, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the savior of the wizarding world who defeated the Dark Lord—the second Dark Lord—at the age of one... Incredible."

Brie had seen many books in second-hand bookstores that mentioned the savior, Harry Potter. They seemed to mold him into a new White Lord about to be crowned, the first being Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts.

The White Lord was the recognized representative of the righteous in the wizarding world, while the Dark Lord was his antithesis. There had been two Dark Lords so far, though one was imprisoned in the tower of Nurmengard, and the other had been killed by Harry Potter.

But Brie did not think so. What could a one-year-old child possibly do? He was more inclined to believe that Harry Potter's parents had killed the Dark Lord.

The Dark Lord's name was Voldemort, but Brie would not be foolish enough to say it aloud. Some books claimed the name carried magic, allowing the Dark Lord's followers to track those who showed him disrespect and kill them.

As for Harry Potter himself... Brie remembered that the last time he saw him, he had been extremely thin. According to the books in the magical world, he should have been living a life like a "prince," but Brie could sense that Harry Potter did not seem to be doing well—perhaps even less comfortably than Brie himself in the orphanage.

Brie put down his diary and leaned back in his seat, watching the parents and children outside the window as they said their lingering goodbyes. Seek fortune and avoid disaster, he thought. The savior will likely be a Gryffindor once he enters Hogwarts. I just need to treat him like an ordinary person.

Of course, this was all predicated on Harry Potter also viewing himself as an ordinary person. If he were blinded by fame and greed, becoming an arrogant man, Brie would certainly keep his distance. This was Brie's intuition; children did not have fully formed worldviews. If not for the fact that Brie possessed the memories of An Qing, he would not be this mature or capable of contemplating his own situation. After all, Brie was only an eleven-year-old child.

Just then, a loud voice rang out. It belonged to a short, plump woman with red hair. Brie glanced over to see her speaking sternly to a tall, thin red-haired boy with freckles. Beside her stood a middle-aged man, also red-haired and stout, holding a little red-haired girl.

The red-haired woman said, "Ron, get on the train quickly. Where did George and Fred go? And Percy, too! He isn't even here to help his own brother!"

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

The freckled red-haired boy hung his head and muttered to himself, "They wouldn't care about me anyway, unless they wanted to play a prank. Percy is a prefect this year, so he has to go show off... None of you would ever notice me."

The boy finally lifted his battered, heavy trunk with a sigh and boarded the train with his father's help...

Having seen the golden, aristocratic Malfoy family, Brie now witnessed the visibly strained, red-headed family.

"Truly the opposite ends of the spectrum. The magical world has its rich and its poor; perhaps the only difference from the Muggle world is the existence of magic."

Brie picked up the book he would be studying at Hogwarts: A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch.

"Transfiguration, very interesting."

Unfortunately, Brie had never succeeded; he could never quite grasp the essentials. He didn't dare rush, either. The book stated that Transfiguration was the most dangerous subject they would study in their first year. For now, he could only read more and wait to master it at school.

To plan before acting was the truth.

Before starting school, Brie had focused mostly on learning spells and familiarizing himself with his own magic.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

The compartment door slid open to reveal a young girl. She paused, looking at Brie's face and his pitch-black eyes, before speaking.

"My name is Cho Chang. I am of Chinese descent."

She was a girl with an Eastern face, and she seemed to have come specifically looking for Brie, as she carried no luggage. Behind her stood a young girl with brown hair.

Cho Chang continued to stare into Brie's black eyes, as in China—and even in the wizarding world—pure-colored eyes often held different meanings. She didn't press the matter, however, and quickly looked away.

"This is Kay Gibson. We are both second-year students in Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. Well, I heard someone say there was a new student with an Eastern face, so I came to take a look."

Seeming to realize this was somewhat impolite, Cho Chang blushed. Behind her, Kay Gibson waved at Brie generously; she appeared to be a standard Westerner.

If judged by the Eastern aesthetic in Brie's mind—from the memories of An Qing—Cho Chang could not be called a beauty, but she had distinct Eastern features. For some reason, Brie felt a sense of affinity toward her.

"I am Breeze Order," Brie said with a slight smile, not revealing anything more about his background. Cho Chang and her friend politely refrained from asking.

"I am the only one here for now. If I could invite you both to sit, that would be wonderful."

If Brie were to join Ravenclaw, having someone to introduce him would be a great help. It would allow him to make some adjustments to fit in with Ravenclaw before facing the unknown Sorting. The books always described these things vaguely, as if they were intentionally left out.

"Of course, we accept your invitation."

Kay Gibson pulled Cho Chang to sit opposite Brie. Cho Chang grew more relaxed, and upon seeing the book in Brie's hand, she asked calmly, "Oude, it seems you will be a Ravenclaw."

Cho Chang smiled kindly, and Brie nodded.

"I think Ravenclaw would suit me well. I hope to join you, but could you introduce me to it? The books are never comprehensive... It is a presumptuous request, but I hope you can tell me. It would help me adapt to my studies at Hogwarts."

Kay Gibson smiled and said, "A standard Ravenclaw. Always seizing the opportunity to ask when faced with unknown knowledge."

Brie smiled. He would certainly seize the opportunity; assessing the situation always led him to the right choices.

What Brie did not know was that the thirst for knowledge in Ravenclaw was pure, whereas he was clearly more calculating. Perhaps the persona he intended to adopt would only backfire, making him seem more like a cunning, well-hidden little snake.

Kay Gibson glanced at Cho Chang, seemingly signaling her.

Cho Chang understood, and with a smile, she said, "Hogwarts has four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. The representative animal of Ravenclaw is the eagle, and the color is blue—the color of the sky, and the eternal mindset of pursuing knowledge... Gryffindors are a bunch of brave fellows, or so they think. Hufflepuffs are big eaters, and very simple and kind. As for Slytherin, well, I'm sorry, they are the least friendly. They value blood purity, and half-blood wizards are often looked down upon there."

"I don't think you would like Slytherin either. The other houses have issues with them, and even we in Ravenclaw don't like them—especially the Gryffindors. They are practically mortal enemies."

"Mortal enemies?" Brie found it hard to understand. Weren't they all students at the same school? How could they be so divided?

"Could there be some misunderstanding?"

Cho Chang clearly did not want to discuss this, so she said, "That is none of our business. It is best if we remain rational observers."

"Ravenclaw students pursue wisdom and are the most rational. Perhaps other houses think we are bookworms, but we are simply wandering in the sea of knowledge. We rarely pay attention to things unrelated to it..."

"Choo-choo..."

Cho Chang's words were interrupted by the sound of a whistle. Then, a voice came from outside—a boy. As he passed Brie's compartment, Brie caught a glimpse of red hair.

"The train to Hogwarts is about to depart. Will all new students please take their seats in an orderly fashion..."

Seeing Brie's curiosity, Kay Gibson laughed, "That is Percy, of the Weasley family. He is a fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, responsible for the order of you new students."

Cho Chang added, "I'm sorry, Brie, but we have to go back to the second-year carriages. Our luggage is still there, and the path for first-years to Hogwarts is different from the other years... It is a secret, so I cannot tell you. As for other questions about Ravenclaw, you will know once you enter the house. Knowledge discovered on your own is also very interesting."

"Hmm, see you at Hogwarts then. I hope I get sorted into Ravenclaw."

Breeze offered a strained smile. He probably wasn't a bookworm, but that didn't matter; Cho didn't seem like one either.

Yet, Breeze still felt a sense of unease. How exactly did the sorting work? Could he really get into Ravenclaw?

"Mm, you will. No other first-year would be reading on the train before school even starts."

As Cho Chang and Kay Gibson left, Breeze's compartment emptied out. Perhaps because the train had already departed and all the first-years had found their seats, no one else came barging in...

"Boom... Thud!"

Before Breeze could even collect his thoughts, he saw two tall, lanky red-haired boys burst into his compartment, slamming the door shut behind them with great force.

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

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The person outside pounded on the door vigorously, but soon stopped, and they heard him say, "Oh, blast it, Percy is coming. You two better watch my spider, or I'll dump slugs into your beds!"

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

The other red-haired boy held a cloth bag, and it was clear that something was wriggling inside.

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

The two looked left and right, then one of them said, "Those two girls just now were second-years."

The other, holding the bag, added, "And they were from Ravenclaw."

The first one continued with a mischievous, teasing glint in his eyes, "And one of them had an oriental face. I remember her—a very pretty girl of Chinese descent named Cho Chang."

The boy with the spider patted Breeze on the shoulder with practiced ease and said, "You've got real luck, getting a girl to like you before you've even been sorted."

Breeze swatted his hand away and sat up straight, cautious. "Sorry, I think you two have your own business to attend to."

Glancing at the spider bag in their hands, Breeze felt a sense of helplessness. The look in these two boys' eyes was all too familiar—it was exactly the same look Breeze had whenever he wanted to play a prank on someone.

Yes, back at the orphanage, not everyone had liked Breeze. Some children who were jealous of him would often come to cause trouble, and the "weak" Breeze "had" to retaliate. For a child, "pranks" were a great way to do that.

Of course, the well-behaved Breeze always managed to earn the trust of Director Betty; it was just that those naughty children were always so unlucky, which was why they ended up in such a sorry state.

The two boys exchanged a glance and stared at Breeze with mock seriousness, as if trying to figure something out. Finally, they burst into laughter, speaking in perfect unison:

"Oh, we've got a fine little first-year here."

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

The other continued, "And I'm George Weasley."

They looked at each other and said, "We're twins."

Then, looking back at Breeze, they added, "We hope you come to Gryffindor. We can show you a good time."

...What an interesting pair of fellows.