The Culprit? A Warning!

Prying up the floorboards.

Digging the dirt.

Prying open the coffin.

Filling it back in and laying the boards back down.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. This fluid, practiced routine didn't take Ian much time, and for once, he managed to climb into his hard wooden bed before eleven o'clock at night.

At least it's good for my cervical and lumbar spine.

Though still young, Ian had already started considering his health. His sleep quality was usually quite decent, but tonight, his brain was too active to drift off.

A library with free books, the Hogwarts kitchens, the West Tower owlery... I just hope no one treats that place like a buffet.

His racing thoughts.

They overwhelmed the drowsiness brought on by his physical exhaustion.

Ian couldn't help but start planning his goals for his first year.

"I definitely have to find the Room of Requirement. Maybe it can provide me with a wand I can't take outside, allowing me to practice magic without any worries inside."

"Whoever wants to learn Quidditch can have it, but I should still study the Flying Broomstick. Modifying the design might be cool... It's a pity I didn't get to ride the Hogwarts Express."

Ian didn't even know when he finally drifted off to sleep.

Outside the window.

The stars, like diamonds scattered across black velvet, shimmered with a soft, distant light. A shooting star streaked across the sky, like a stray stroke of ink on a celestial scroll.

The chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves accompanied the world until dawn.

"Brush teeth! Wash face!"

He didn't need an alarm clock. As the sunlight spilled into the room, he snapped his eyes open, performed a kip-up, and quickly donned the black robes Snape had bought him in Diagon Alley.

Most wizards would change into their school uniforms on the Hogwarts Express, but since he clearly wouldn't have that opportunity, he had to put them on as soon as he woke up.

He couldn't exactly strip and change in front of the entire student body, could he?

And no one was going to throw those wretched Galleons at him for it.

Even if there were Galleons, I wouldn't make such a fool of myself! Ian was a man who valued his wealth, but he felt that earning money by selling his dignity was worse than going to Knockturn Alley to mug a dark wizard.

After checking the sturdiness of the floorboards and ensuring all his belongings were packed in his trunk, Ian began to wait for Snape's arrival with bated breath.

Just like that.

The sun rose, the sun hung high, the sun wandered toward the west... and Ian's expression shifted from eager anticipation to a hollow, listless despair.

"Don't tell me he forgot about me!"

Ian remembered Snape saying he would come to pick him up when school started, but after waiting nearly the entire day, he began to reconsider Snape's credibility.

In the original story.

That old bat's reputation didn't seem to be very good, did it? The more he thought about it, the more he felt he'd been stood up. Ian grabbed his trunk, intending to make his own way to Hogwarts.

The final stop of the Hogwarts Express was also near the village, and it wasn't too far from the castle, though the path led through a dense, overgrown forest.

"Bang!"

Just as he dragged his trunk toward the front door, it was kicked open rudely. Snape, his expression as unchanging as ever, walked in and scanned the room.

He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

His deep, dark gaze finally landed on Ian.

"If you're packed, follow me."

With that, Snape turned on his heel and walked out, his face set in a stony mask.

"I thought you'd forgotten me."

Ian hurried to keep up.

"Hmph, do you lack legs? Are you incapable of going to school on your own?"

Snape sneered.

"That's exactly what I was planning to do."

Ian curled his lip.

Following behind Snape out the door, he saw that besides himself, there was someone else waiting outside with a trunk.

The glow of the setting sun shone on the girl's face, casting a faint golden hue over her platinum-blonde hair.

"Miss Grindelwald."

Ian greeted her with a hint of surprise.

"Good afternoon, my friend. You can just call me by my name."

Aurora nodded gently.

Seeing that the two actually knew each other, Snape immediately furrowed his brows. His gaze shifted repeatedly between them before finally landing on Aurora with a sharp intensity.

"Did you teach him that magic?"

It was obvious.

Snape had linked the Corpse Control Curse Ian had learned directly to Aurora.

Although Ian's learning ability had already caused him to suffer a setback, he still found it hard to believe that one could just pick up a scrap of paper recording Dark Magic on the streets of Hogsmeade Village.

"He has never learned any magic from me."

Aurora met Snape's gaze, her tone indifferent. There was not the slightest ripple of emotion in her heterochromatic eyes; she was not intimidated by Snape's stare.

"Miss Grindelwald, I don't care for what reason Dumbledore agreed to your application to enter Hogwarts, I only hope you will properly abide by the rules of Hogwarts."

"Do not let me discover that things which have no business appearing are circulating within the school." Snape's voice was extremely stern, clearly serving as a veiled warning.

"A very reasonable request." Aurora nodded, offering no rebuttal. Standing not far beside her, Ian had been keeping a close watch on whether the girl would make any move to draw her wand.

"And you!"

Snape suddenly turned his head to look at Ian.

"What kind of nonsense did you spout in front of Dumbledore?"

His eyes looked as if they wanted to devour someone.

"Huh?"

Ian's face was full of bewilderment.

"I only invited Headmaster Dumbledore for a cup of black tea." Ian recalled his previous interaction with Dumbledore, a look of confusion and slight indignation appearing on his face.

"I feel my etiquette was quite proper; it was Headmaster Dumbledore's bird that almost made me enter my twilight years early." Ian subconsciously touched the top of his head.

Living in England.

From the moment a man is born, he needs to worry about two things.

The first is that like attracts like.

The second... is naturally whether his hairline will retreat into a Mediterranean landscape.

"If you hadn't been spouting nonsense, how would Dumbledore have..."

Snape opened his mouth, annoyed and intending to lash out.

However.

"Professor, when are we departing?"

Aurora interrupted his words from the side.

Perhaps realizing that rumors about his family shouldn't be heard by outsiders, Snape swallowed his questions with frustration, his face dark as he walked straight past the two of them toward the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village.

"Keep up!"

His voice was booming.

"Hey, friend, do you need me to help you with your luggage?"

Ian enthusiastically sidled up to Aurora.

"For me, this is quite effortless."

Aurora coolly declined Ian's help.

"I knew you were impressive, so, could you help me carry mine? It's not very easy for me to drag it along."

Under the girl's stunned gaze, Ian dragged his own suitcase directly to her other side, even thoughtfully prying the girl's hand open to place the handle of the suitcase into it.

"?????"

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Aurora watched as Ian took off running ahead.

(End of chapter)