A Cool Way to Go to School, Another Year's Opening Ceremony

Hogwarts Platform.

As soon as Lucien stepped off the train, he heard that familiar loud voice:

"Alright, first-year students! All of you, come over here!"

Hagrid, holding a lantern, called out loudly to the new students. He immediately noticed Lucien and strode over to him.

"Wow, it's a new school year again. Time really flies, doesn't it?"

Lucien smiled and nodded:

"Yes, this year might be very interesting."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your studies. Oh, by the way, aren't Harry and the others with you?"

Upon hearing Hagrid's question, Lucien suddenly looked up at the night sky.

"Yes, it's coming soon, it's coming soon."

Busy with guiding the new students, Hagrid said goodbye and left.

He would repeat the tradition of previous years, leading the first-year wizards along the same old path of the Four Founders.

However, older students don't need to; they can just take a horse-drawn carriage.

Arriving at Hogwarts Castle in a Thestral carriage after two months' absence, Lucien stepped through the familiar gates.

It must be said that Hogwarts does possess a special "magic" that makes young wizards feel a sense of belonging there.

Arriving at the Great Hall, there weren't many people there; a few senior students sat in twos and threes at a few long tables.

Lucien walked straight to the Ravenclaw table, ready to watch this year's Sorting Ceremony.

But when Lucien glanced towards the Gryffindor, he saw two people who shouldn't be there.

Upon closer inspection, well, they really shouldn't be in the Great Hall at this time.

"Harry, Ron, when did you arrive?"

Yes, Harry and Ron were already sitting at the long table.

Lucien looked down at the two men, who seemed to be shrouded in a grayish-white hue, as if they had been burned out.

Um, according to the original story, shouldn't these two clowns be driving Flying Ford Anglia to school in a really "cool" way?

But I'm probably going to be late and miss the opening banquet, right? Why am I here so early...?

When I was modifying Mr. Weasley's car, I also added the ability to become invisible when flying, reinforced the car, optimized its magical energy reserves, and set up an automatic return mode.

Logically, allowing these two children to experience a small adventure should reduce the original risks.

But it seems my modifications and designs can't get the car to arrive earlier.

Upon hearing Lucien's voice, Harry and Ron looked up. The former seemed relatively okay, but the latter looked utterly dejected.

Ron muttered to himself:

"Lucien, I'm going to die. Can you make me one more meal of braised beef with potatoes, Mapo tofu, and poached chicken...? I don't want to leave any regrets in this world..."

Although puzzled by Ron's act of reciting the menu as if he were ordering his last meal, Lucien patiently asked, with a hint of curiosity:

What have you been through?

Harry adjusted his glasses and listlessly rubbed his hair.

"Let me speak..."

Let's rewind to a few hours earlier...

Harry and Ron stuffed their luggage and pets into the Ford Anglia, but Ron was still a little worried and said:

"Ron, are you really sure you can drive?"

Ron opened the car door while patting his chest:

"Don't worry, Dad and Lucien modified this car during summer vacation, and I learned how to do it too, so I'm pretty good at it!"

The car started, and as soon as the tires left the ground, the entire vehicle instantly became transparent. The Muggle around didn't notice anything unusual.

"Hehe, isn't that convenient? Lucien helped me modify the switch to be invisible, so it turns on automatically. Dad raves about Lucien, saying there aren't many little wizards who understand Muggle car construction and are also skilled in magic."

"Thanks to Lucien's help, Dad said he can make even more modifications."

Ron gripped the steering wheel, steadily propelling the car through the air, and chatted leisurely with Harry.

"However, Lucien only stayed at our house for a few days, so my dad did all the renovations afterward."

Seeing Harry gripping the door handle nervously, Ron reassured him:

"Relax, the excellent Ron the Motorsman will surely deliver the great the Chosen One — Harry Potter— safely to Hogwarts!"

In response to Ron's teasing, Harry originally wanted to remind him that in the Muggle World, trains have conductors, and cars only have drivers.

But Ron was the one holding the steering wheel, so Harry could only give an awkward smile.

And so, the two of them ate toffee and drifted among the white clouds, feeling completely at ease.

"George and Fred will definitely be envious of us. Just imagine, driving down from the sky in a car, wow..."

Ron chewed on his candy, shaking his head as he spoke.

Harry nodded in agreement, admiring the small yet beautiful landscape below.

But after a few hours, Harry and Ron started to get increasingly bored.

Yes, driving for several hours straight would tire even an adult, let alone Ron, a teenager.

Moreover, aside from chatting, the two didn't engage in any other forms of entertainment.

"I hope we can get there soon..."

Harry leaned against the windowsill, bored, his eyes filled with the white clouds he was tired of seeing.

Hearing his good friend's words, Ron slapped his forehead.

"Oops, I'm driving like a madman! How could I forget that!"

Ron held the steering wheel with one hand and tapped the dashboard a few times with the other.

The complex mechanical panel was exposed; Ron slid and pressed buttons, making Harry a little dizzy.

Soon, a bright red button appeared.

Harry was also intrigued.

"This is?"

"Hehe, this is the acceleration device my dad modified. I even helped with it!"

Ron, beaming with pride, pressed the red button.

Suddenly, two long trails of flame shot out from behind the car.

Harry Ron felt a distinct push against his back.

"Wow, that's awesome! We can get to school early! Haha, we'll give them a surprise later!"

Hearing Ron's roar, Harry smiled, feeling extremely pleased.

Before long, they had left the Hogwarts Express behind and were flying along the tracks toward Hogwarts.

Before it even got dark, the Flying Ford Anglia entered the Hogwarts grounds.

With the setting sun behind him, Harry could already see the outline of Hogwarts, and he reminded Ron:

"We're almost there, should we turn off the acceleration mode?"

Ron nodded, hummed in agreement, and pressed the button twice.

However, the car showed no signs of slowing down.

Harry suddenly felt uneasy:

"Ron, why aren't you slowing down?"

"I turned it off, but it doesn't seem to be working?"

Ron's voice grew tense as he quickly stepped on the brakes, but there was still no response.

"We can go in circles first..."

However, before he could finish speaking, the car suddenly went out of control, veering wildly through the air!

"Ah----"

The two children had never seen anything like it before and screamed.

Soon, the car crashed straight into a huge tree.

Just as Harry Ron thought he was about to be smashed to pieces, the car's surface emitted a faint but solid glow.

"Boom!"

The thick tree trunk was smashed open, leaving a large gash, and all the branches and leaves were shaking violently.

Neither of them had time to react, and the car, after crashing into the giant tree, continued its erratic speed toward one of the castle's towers.

Great Hall the long table in the auditorium.

After hearing Harry's recollections, Lucien fell into a long silence.

By helping Mr. Weasley modify the car and adding features such as automatic invisibility, Harry and his friends were prevented from being detected by Muggle while driving, and Mr. Weasley was also spared an investigation by the Ministry of Magic.

These changes should be good, at least in the first half.

However, Mr. Weasley also had more time to add new modifications, which led to even bigger surprises.

"Change, good, bad..."

Lucien murmured softly, then looked at Harry and Ron, whose faces were filled with despair, with a headache.

"So, after you broke the Whomping Willow, you also rushed into the tower where the Headmaster's Office is located?"

"Right..."

After receiving the reply, Lucien did not ask whether Dumbledore was in the Headmaster's Office at the time.

Even if he were alive, he wouldn't be afraid. Could the greatest wizard of this century be killed by a flying car?

"Actually, the Whomping Willow might not have broken..."

Harry whispered,

"At the time, I didn't think the wound was very big, so maybe there was hope..."

However, Ron interrupted Harry with a bitter laugh:

"But when we crashed in, it really scared the principal's bird to death."

The principal's bird?

Fawkes.

Scared to death?

The Phoenix, a Magical Creatures, is said to be reborn from the ashes when severely injured or reaching old age.

According to the original story, Fawkes was supposed to undergo a rebirth this semester, but this incident brought it forward?

Perhaps it's an old bird with a weak heart. I'll go check on it when I have time; I've never seen a newborn Phoenix before.

"That red Phoenix, Fawkes, wasn't it engulfed in flames before turning into ashes?"

Harry and Ron widened their eyes slightly and asked in unison:

How did you know!?

"Oh right, Lucien, you read a lot of books. You even know what it's like when Phoenix is scared to death."

Lucien's lips twitched slightly at their remarks, but he still told them the truth:

"That is the Phoenix's rebirth..."

After hearing Lucien's explanation, the two breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still continued talking listlessly:

"Actually, Snape arrived at the Headmaster's Office first. We had barely rushed in when he arrived. Could Snape have been waiting for us on purpose, looking for an opportunity to expel us?"

Um, Snape was Potions Master, not Prophecy. He shouldn't have been able to predict that you guys would be able to drive the car into the Headmaster's Office.

Perhaps she wanted to consult Dumbledore about something, maybe apply for the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, or maybe send the old bee some potions to prevent cavities and diabetes?

Later, Headmaster Dumbledore came too, saying he wanted to write a letter to our family.

"But the punishment hasn't been decided yet. They say it needs to be discussed with our Dean, Professor McGonagall, because there's never been a precedent of a junior wizard driving into the Headmaster's Office..."

When it came to writing letters, Lucien noticed that Harry and Ron reacted differently; Harry was a little better, but Ron was clearly much more fearful.

That makes sense. Harry's relationship with the Dursley is so bad, they probably wouldn't care if Harry makes mistakes, as long as it doesn't affect them.

But Ron's side...

It all depends on how Dumbledore describes it in the letter.

The new school year's opening ceremony was fast approaching.

The senior students all watched the spectacle, finding it quite entertaining to see the younger students perform.

Lucien was also observing the new students' enrollment.

It seems like there are a lot more new students?

At least more than my own year; do wizards also have baby booms?

However, Gemini and his team will be able to sell more products then, as they have also designed some products specifically for the new product line.

The first event, of course, was the Sorting Ceremony.

After Professor McGonagall announced the rules, she picked up the Sorting Hat from behind her.

The freshmen were naturally very curious about this, and it was normal for them to whisper among themselves in small groups.

But even the seasoned students who had witnessed it once or even several times before were not calm.

"Is that color the Sorting Hat?"

"Yeah, how did it turn grayish-white? Weren't we wearing the grayish-brown one back then?"

"Did they change the Sorting Hat? Or maybe it's too worn out?"

But someone quickly refuted this:

"That doesn't seem right. I remember those patches were in roughly the same spot, on the same hat. Maybe they were magically changed color, or maybe they were cleaned up?"

The idea that magic changes color is alright; after all, it's a wizard, so it's quite normal.

But the next guess silenced those around them, and someone asked in a trembling voice:

"If it's cleaning... then the grayish-brown color of the Sorting Hat from before..."

The young wizard dared not guess anymore, afraid of making herself uncomfortable, but someone nonchalantly chimed in:

"Maybe it's scalp oil, the kind that's been around for thousands of years?"

"..."

"Shut up! Don't say another word!"

Hearing similar conversations overheard, Lucien was speechless. Had the headmasters of all generations really never considered cleaning up the Sorting Hat, or had they simply accepted it as a tradition...?

Lucien remembered that the Sorting Hat had changed after it was placed on his head, so he asked Dumbledore to help clean it up.

In a way, I've benefited my juniors.

Soon, Lucien noticed something strange: the new wizards who had been assigned to their houses would all glance toward the Ravenclaw Table.

What are they looking at?

Lucien thought for a moment, and the common point must be the Sorting Hat. He guessed that the increasingly active hat had said something to the freshmen.

Before long, Ravenclaw welcomed their first new student, who was indeed a female student.

The Eagle House, where women outnumber men, is already used to this.

The Little Eagle clapped enthusiastically, showing their warmth and welcome to the new member.

Lucien naturally joined in the clapping, and when he saw the little girl approach the long table, she first bowed deeply.

Just as I was about to think to myself how interesting and overly polite this junior was, I saw the girl look up and quickly scan her surroundings, as if searching for someone.

After the junior and Lucien's eyes met, she actually walked over.

Standing in front of Lucien, his large eyes blinked, and he asked in a low voice:

"Excuse me, are you Lucien Grafton?"

Suddenly, Lucien's heart skipped a beat, as if he had remembered something...

That was during a conversation with the Sorting Hat...