The Hogwarts Express

Lucien put away Professor McGonagall's letter.

He had now glimpsed the initial possibility of opening up a new direction in Transfiguration, and he finally had an idea of how to handle the matter of repaying his loan.

He turned his head and glanced over, only to find that the owl was still there, preening its feathers.

Lucien sat down at his desk and began writing his reply to Professor McGonagall:

"Professor, thank you for your guidance. I will keep your warning in mind and will not attempt..."

Since Professor McGonagall had already solemnly explained the dangers of transfiguring magical creatures, Lucien naturally would not be stubborn enough to insist on trying it right away.

A meal had to be eaten one bite at a time, and a road had to be walked one step at a time.

Lucien knew very well that he should first master the fundamental knowledge, build up enough of a foundation, and only then attempt truly high-end, innovative Transfiguration.

As long as he developed a stable form of magical creature Transfiguration within a year, he would be able to complete the loan mission.

The tip of his quill scratched softly across the paper.

Before long, he finished the reply. Lucien placed it in an envelope and was just about to hand it to the owl perched by the window.

Suddenly, a pale golden figure flew in from outside the window and pounced straight at the plump snow-white bird.

"Coo! Coo—"

The owl was instantly frightened into crying out, flapping its wings as it darted all over the room.

Seeing this, Lucien merely waved helplessly.

"Liuguang, stop scaring it."

The golden figure came to a halt, its large golden-red eyes blinking as it looked at Lucien.

Lucien was also looking at the little qilin, the corners of his mouth full of a smile.

Liuguang was the name he had given the little qilin.

It meant golden light, which suited its pale golden scales well enough.

With a cluster of auspicious clouds coiling beneath its feet, Liuguang stepped through the air to Lucien's side and nuzzled his cheek with the forehead where its short horns had yet to grow, looking extremely affectionate.

"Go soothe that owl. I still need it to help deliver a letter."

Understanding its master's meaning, Liuguang turned its head toward the owl flying wildly around the room.

Without the little qilin seeming to make any movement, the frightened owl slowed its flight, then finally landed on the window again.

"Coo."

The owl tilted its head.

Liuguang lifted its head toward Lucien, as if waiting to be praised.

This was the qilin's mental communication, which allowed it to convey meaning directly into the minds of other creatures. Liuguang had conveyed goodwill and comfort to the owl.

On top of that, qilins were symbols of auspiciousness to begin with, and were very friendly toward other creatures.

That was why the owl calmed down so quickly.

Lucien gently rubbed Liuguang's little head and smiled.

"Well done."

Then he casually handed the envelope to the owl by the window.

After receiving the letter, the owl flapped its wings and flew straight away.

Ten o'clock in the morning, September 1st.

Lucien arrived at King's Cross Station.

This was London's transport hub, and the flow of passengers was enormous.

Lucien passed through the crowd and arrived at the famous Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

He slowed his steps, waiting until he saw someone walk straight into the third pillar.

Lucien followed that person and naturally walked into the barrier.

His entire body passed straight through, bringing him into a new world.

The Hogwarts Express was an old-fashioned steam train.

Its whistle had not sounded yet. It sat there quietly, as it was not yet time for departure.

Lucien was in no hurry to board. He walked along the platform for a while, studying the magical train.

It had a red locomotive and black carriages, and did not look much different from a human steam train.

However, Lucien knew very well that this was a proper work of alchemy. The Hogwarts Express might be the magical creation made by wizards that interacted the most with the Muggle world.

He swept his gaze around the platform. It was full of young wizards saying goodbye to their parents.

The older young wizards were fine, since they had already been to Hogwarts several times.

But those newly enrolled first-year young wizards mostly had worried faces, and some even had tears in their eyes.

There was no helping it. These first-years were only eleven, and for many of them, this was their first time being separated from their parents, entering an unfamiliar school, and meeting new classmates and teachers.

As he stepped onto the train, a smile tugged at the corners of Lucien's mouth.

Hogwarts, here I come.

After making his way through the train, Lucien found an empty compartment at random, walked in, and put away his luggage.

In truth, his luggage consisted of only one suitcase.

It was no ordinary suitcase. Lucien had made another trip to Diagon Alley and bought one that had been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm.

The space inside was large enough to hold all of Lucien's daily necessities and books.

Of course, it could not compare to Newt Scamander's suitcase from Fantastic Beasts.

That suitcase was practically a little world of its own, hiding who knew how many magical creatures inside.

In the future, I can study the Undetectable Extension Charm and see whether I can modify and expand my suitcase. If I can make it like Newt's and throw out a huge swarm of magical creatures in battle, it'll probably give my opponent a tiny little shock.

As he thought this, Lucien opened the suitcase and took out several books.

There was still plenty of time on the journey anyway, so Lucien leaned against the window and leisurely started reading.

"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters actually requires you to run into a pillar?"

Hermione dragged a pile of luggage through the carriage, panting for breath.

She had clearly arrived at King's Cross early, yet she had spent quite a while searching for the platform.

If she had not spotted a family crashing into a pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten and then magically disappearing, Hermione would probably have had to circle around for even longer.

Because she had been hurrying, beads of sweat dotted the tip of Hermione's nose, and her already bushy brown hair was even more disheveled than usual.

After passing the compartments that were already full, Hermione came to a tightly shut door. She first calmed her slightly hurried breathing, then raised her hand and gently knocked.

"Hello, is there still any room inside?"

"There is. Come in."

The voice sounded a little familiar, but Hermione did not think too much about it. Right now, she only wanted to put away her luggage, then sit down and have a proper rest!

With a swish, she slid the door open and looked inside.

A boy was sitting by the window, a book in his hands.

Sunlight poured through the carriage window, falling on the boy's dark-gold hair and reflecting a faint golden glow.

Hearing the door open, those dark-green eyes left the page and turned toward Hermione.

"Oh, Miss Granger. What a coincidence."

Looking at that handsome face and the faint smile in his eyes, Hermione actually forgot to respond for a moment.

The compartment stayed quiet for nearly a full minute.

"Ah, right, Lucien. What a coincidence, what a coincidence."

Hermione's face reddened a little at once, but fortunately, she was already flushed from exhaustion, so it was not too obvious.

She tilted her head slightly and murmured in a small voice, "Can I sit inside?"

Lucien lifted a hand.

"Go ahead."

With a soft cough, Hermione was just about to turn around and move her luggage.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Hearing the incantation, Hermione saw her pile of luggage float up and drift neatly toward the overhead rack.

"You learned spells in advance too?!"

The little witch looked at the wand raised in Lucien's hand with delight.

In keeping with her top-student nature, Hermione had read many basic magic books over the summer and had tried learning some very simple spells.

But that did not include the Levitation Charm Lucien had just used. Hermione had assumed this spell would have to wait until a teacher taught it at Hogwarts.

She had not expected Lucien to have already mastered it, and judging from how smoothly the luggage flew, his proficiency with the Levitation Charm should not be low, right?

Could he be one of those so-called pure-blood wizards, with elders at home who had taught him magic in advance?

Looking at Lucien's bearing, he did seem like nobility. Was he from one of those pure-blood families mentioned in the books? But there did not seem to be a Grafton...

"Oh, thank you for helping me move my luggage."

Hermione belatedly thanked Lucien.

"I was just finding an opportunity to practice a spell. No need to be polite."

Lucien smiled courteously, then put away his wand and continued reading the book in his hands.

Seeing Lucien start reading again, Hermione quietly sat down across from him and did not rashly try to strike up a conversation.

But only a few minutes passed before she started to feel a little unable to endure it.

Hermione wanted to imitate Lucien and take out a book to read too, but that would require moving her trunk down, which would definitely make noise and disturb Lucien. She also did not want to trouble Lucien again by asking him to help her get it with a Levitation Charm.

"If you want to read the books on the table, you can take one yourself."

Lucien did not even lift his head, continuing to flip through the book in his hands.

Hermione was still a child after all, and Lucien found her awkward, hesitant manner rather interesting, so he simply reminded her to take a book and read it herself.

Hearing Lucien's permission, Hermione softly said thank you.

She reached out and took the first book from the pile.

By sheer coincidence, it was that book:

Guide to Raising Magical Creatures