The Legend of the Four Giants

The sky grew dim.

The chilling temperature and the gathering of dark clouds accelerated the arrival of night.

"Found them!"

Hagrid, the massive half-giant with a face full of tangled whiskers, lit the lantern in his hand and led a bustling crowd of young wizards toward the Black Lake.

"What's up with those two over there?"

"Are they also first-years starting this year? Why didn't they ride the train with us?"

"Maybe they just live near Hogwarts."

Ian and Aurora, who had been squatting by the Black Lake playing in the water, drew the attention of the young wizards almost immediately. They followed behind Hagrid, whispering and chattering among themselves.

"You two must be the children Dumbledore mentioned, right?" Hagrid held his small pink umbrella in his other hand, creating a stark contrast with his hulking frame.

"If there's no one else here, then it must be us." Aurora had to tilt her head back quite a bit just to see Hagrid's beard-covered face.

"Professor, you're finally here; we've been waiting so long." Ian quickly grabbed his suitcase, and he and Aurora walked toward the group of first-years.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I was delayed a bit finding a student who'd wandered off." Hagrid laughed until his beard trembled, and he ruffled Ian's hair with a massive hand. "Just call me Hagrid; I'm only the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Don't get it wrong, you little tyke—you're quite likable."

Clearly.

That "Professor" had really struck a chord with Hagrid.

"It's all the same, all the same."

Ian felt as though the man's giant hand could cover his entire skull.

"Everyone's here now, hurry up and get in the boats; we're running out of time."

Hagrid's favor was always easy to win. Seeing the scrawny Ian, he even tucked his little pink umbrella into his waistband, effortlessly freeing up a hand to help Ian and Aurora carry their suitcases.

"Thank you, Professor Hagrid, you're a good man."

Ian trotted happily behind Hagrid, while Aurora looked thoughtful, as if she had realized something. The two of them joined the line of young wizards following Hagrid.

However.

No one approached them to talk.

Initial friendships.

Almost all began on the Hogwarts Express; the chance encounters in the train compartments had, to a large extent, already determined the social circles of the young wizards from the start.

The group soon arrived at the boat landing in the middle of the Black Lake.

"Four to a boat, don't push, don't shove, this is for your own safety!" Hagrid bellowed at the eager young wizards.

Immediately after.

He tossed Ian and Aurora's suitcases into the boat in front of them—Ian and Aurora naturally had no choice but to climb into the small boat themselves.

"You! Yes, you! You can't cram ten people into one boat!"

Hagrid ran off toward the other students.

At this moment.

Two girls walked over one after the other and climbed into the boat occupied by Ian and Aurora. The two didn't seem to know each other well, as they sat with a wide gap between them and the pair.

"Hello."

One of the girls greeted Ian and Aurora warmly.

Aurora gave a slight nod.

Ian let out a long sigh of relief.

"I thought I was going to have to share a boat to the school with the big guy, Hagrid."

He felt a bit relieved that the boat was filled with little people like himself.

"You just called him Professor and said he was a good man, yet now you're saying you don't want to share a boat with him?" Aurora looked at Ian with a hint of surprise.

"It's not a matter of wanting to or not."

Ian replied righteously, "Of course I think he's a good man, but what does that have to do with the potential for us to capsize?"

A very logical argument.

The girl opposite them, who had greeted them so warmly, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Just then.

"Everyone sit tight, we're off!" Hagrid found a boat for himself, and with his shout, all the small boats began to move automatically across the mirror-like surface of the lake.

"That's not scientific!"

Ian looked at Hagrid's boat and noticed that its draft was no different from the others. He was surprised for a moment, then seemed to realize something as he sighed softly.

"But it is certainly magical."

The weight of a Hagrid could never be equivalent to just four young wizards; the small boats ferrying the students to Hogwarts were clearly some form of alchemical construct endowed with multiple capabilities.

Feeling the boat navigate automatically, Ian found himself looking forward to learning alchemy.

"Your eyes are truly beautiful." The enthusiastic girl noticed Aurora's gaze.

"Thank you." Aurora responded indifferently.

"My name is Cho Chang, I hope we can all be friends." The enthusiastic girl sitting opposite reached out a hand toward Aurora, who hesitated for a moment before giving it a light shake.

However, she did not offer any introduction of her own.

"She has autism and doesn't like to talk." Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Ian hurriedly made an excuse for his companion. This reason, however, caused Aurora to turn and glare at him several times.

"I see." The girl named Cho Chang didn't seem sure whether to believe it or not.

"Just call me Ian. I'm different from her; I love to talk." Ian enthusiastically reached out to shake Cho Chang's hand. Looking at Harry Potter's first love, he noted she indeed possessed the delicate, refined features of a classic Asian girl.

"Lumos!" As the sky grew dark, the aloof girl who had remained silent the entire time suddenly drew her wand and cast a spell, a soft white light hovering at its tip. It seemed she was truly reticent by nature, having had no interaction with Ian or the others at all.

"Lumos!"

"Lumos!"

Except for their boat, white lights began to flicker on the other vessels as well. On the lake, the small boats drifted in orderly fashion toward the Hogwarts castle, leaving winding wakes that traced a picture-perfect path through the boundless night.

"It's said that the four founders of Hogwarts arrived by boat when they first established the school." Cho Chang seemed to have a naturally outgoing personality. She gazed toward the silhouette of Hogwarts castle in the distance, displaying the urge to share knowledge that would eventually lead her to Ravenclaw. "I remember someone once told me a story that when young wizards cross the lake, they receive the blessing of the four founders, and their legacy baptizes the students' magic."

The words, spoken slowly, perked Ian up.

A moment later.

"Rumors! Pure, unadulterated rumors!" Ian sighed in disappointment after checking his personal status panel. Women might lie to him, but his personal panel never would.

"I said it was a story, so it's not necessarily true." Cho Chang brushed back her hair and smiled lightly, not minding Ian's rebuttal.

"I don't mind you chatting." Just then, the aloof girl holding the glowing wand spoke up. "I'm just suggesting that instead of discussing ethereal legends, perhaps you should pay more attention to the crisis right in front of us."

Her sudden remark left Ian and the others momentarily stunned. A crisis? What kind of crisis could there be at Hogwarts?