The Path of the Four Giants

The Weasley twins finally left, not bothering Breeze any further. According to them, teasing their own younger brother was far more amusing than playing pranks on a first-year student who was nearly their own age.

"Finally gone. I think I can spend the rest of the train ride in peace..."

"Clang!"

Oh, by Merlin's saggy, cheese-soaked, summer-worn, hole-ridden socks!

The compartment door was shoved open forcefully not long after. Breeze looked toward the entrance with utter resignation. This time it was a girl, likely a first-year, sporting a bush of thick brown hair and a pair of prominent front teeth.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost his toad."

Breeze felt the girl was somewhat arrogant, as her gaze swept haughtily across his compartment. However, she faltered upon seeing him, and she said stiffly, "Have you..."

Breeze felt the girl was merely putting on a front of self-importance to appear capable, yet her hand, clutching her wand, was visibly and nervously rubbing against the handle.

"Sorry, I haven't seen it. Of course, you could keep looking, as there are far too many people coming and going."

Breeze smiled; this was a trivial matter, and certainly friendlier than the Weasley brothers barging in with a bag of spiders.

"Oh, sorry. I suppose I should look elsewhere. By the way, I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."

After saying this, Hermione Granger immediately closed the door and left with a rapid tap-tap-tap of her footsteps.

Breeze shook his head and picked up his Transfiguration book to read again, but before long, he heard another knock. It was the trolley witch selling snacks. Breeze bought a few items, and after all the commotion, he found himself hungry.

But after he had eaten his fill, Breeze heard footsteps passing by outside. It was Draco Malfoy. Earlier, he had taken his two large cronies to find Harry Potter, seemingly to make friends, though it appeared he had failed.

Tsk, the haughty Malfoy hadn't secured the friendship of the pitiful Savior. One could only hope the Savior hadn't been frightened by those two hulking first-years and Malfoy's pale face.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken

Malfoy hadn't even finished speaking when he saw Brie wave his wand. Brie smiled at Malfoy and chanted, "Scourgify!"

Following the effect of Brie's spell, the mud stains on Malfoy's robes vanished one after another.

It was a useful cleaning charm. Brie tapped the tip of his wand against Malfoy's cheek, watching the fury in Malfoy's eyes as he said, "Ah, apologies, young Mr. Malfoy, but we had best keep up, as that giant has finally noticed the situation behind him and stopped up ahead."

Brie walked past Malfoy and extinguished the light from his Lumos charm. Some school history records mentioned that this was the path the four founders had walked. Although Cho Chang hadn't mentioned it, Brie wasn't illiterate, so he was willing to comply with the school's arrangements regarding such minor matters within the rules.

Of course, no one noticed the Notice-Me-Not Charm Brie had secretly cast on Malfoy just now; it was unlikely any of the nervous first-years would have spotted it.

"Alright, Miss Granger, thank you for your help. I am Breeze Order, and I don't think we can afford to waste any more time."

"Oh, of course. I mean, you can call me Hermione."

"Then you can call me Brie."

If being a busybody meant helping Brie, he wouldn't mind having such a friend. It was clear that Hermione was a warm-hearted, righteous, and fair girl. Brie liked making friends with fair-minded people, though they couldn't be too rigid—Brie sometimes liked to follow his own whims.

As the group restored order, they rounded a bend.

"Turn this corner, and you'll get your first look at Hogwarts in a moment."

The giant muttered, "Hope everything was alright back there. I was watching Harry and didn't see."

Rounding the narrow path, the group caught sight of a vast, black lake.

On the high hillside across the lake stood a majestic castle, its many towers bristling and its windows twinkling under the starry sky. Brie felt it was incredibly beautiful, and the little bit of trepidation he had felt in his heart subsided. This would be the place where he would live for the next seven years, and all the mysteries of magic lay within.

Many small boats were floating on the surface of the lake.

The giant shouted, "No more than four to a boat!"

Brie, Hermione, and that sniffling little boy, Neville, sat in one boat. They were a bit behind, so there was no fourth person, while on the other side, Malfoy and his friends were there, with those two hulking boys in a boat of their own.

Brie could see that the boat at the very front held Harry Potter, who had been staying close to the giant's side.

"Heads down!" the giant shouted as the first batch of boats approached the cliff, though only he needed to duck.

After disembarking, Brie heard a series of "Ribbit! Ribbit!" sounds.

"It's my Trevor! Thank Merlin!"

Neville shouted in surprise and picked up the toad on the bank. Brie, watching the toad, couldn't quite grasp the preferences of young wizards, and it was clear Hermione couldn't either.

Malfoy snorted as he stepped off the boat.

"Tsk, toads are long out of fashion, and they're all slimy. It should be thrown into the Black Lake to fend for itself."

Watching Malfoy's retreating figure, Neville remained immersed in the joy of being reunited with his pet. Brie curled his lip; since it wasn't about him, he didn't care, though the justice-obsessed Miss Granger glared angrily at Malfoy.

Everyone was led by the giant to the front door of Hogwarts Castle.

"Knock, knock, knock!"