As night fell, the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station.
First-year students rushed off the train full of anticipation, marveling at the castle standing in the distance.
Older students, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed.
"First-year students! First-year students!"
A huge oil lamp drifted in from the night sky, and only when people got closer could they see Hagrid's tall figure.
The first-year students surrounded Hagrid, all looking up at him with clear eyes.
A chorus of admiration erupted.
Wow!
Hagrid was used to this; his beard swept across his chest.
"First-year students, come here!"
"Students in their second year and above, please proceed to the front and board the carriages to Hogwarts."
"Oh, Silan, good evening!" Hagrid greeted Silan in the crowd, then looked around before asking, "Where are Harry and Ron?"
"Who knows?" Silan shrugged.
[Silver Tongue: Proficiency +1]
"Alright, you can go now." Hagrid flicked the oil lamp. "Have a great new school year."
He muttered under his breath (though still quite loudly): "I really hope our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor doesn't cause any more problems this year."
"Hard to say," Silan thought to herself.
Lockhart has obtained Voldemort's Horcrux; who knows what kind of trouble he might cause.
But that's a story for another time.
Silan used his wand to turn a piece of Parchment on his person into a lamp, which he held in his hand to light his way.
Ginny, a first-year student, parted ways with them at the train station.
Hermione followed closely behind Silan, heading in the direction Hagrid had pointed out.
After walking for a while, they saw more than a hundred horse-drawn carriages parked on a muddy street.
"After we move up to the second year, we'll take a carriage to the castle," George explained from the side.
Hermione asked curiously, "Are these carriages enchanted? How can they move on their own?"
Fred shook his head. "Actually, it's the Thestral that are pulling them, we just can't see them."
Silan did see it.
In his eyes, the area in front of the carriage was not empty.
Some animals were standing between the shafts.
They have no flesh on their bodies; their black fur clings tightly to their skeletons, and every bone is clearly visible.
The Thestral's head resembles Dragon, with large whites in its eyes but no pupils, and bat-like periosteum wings growing from the bulge in its shoulder bones.
Thestral
"Is this the Thestral?"
Silan looked the strange animal in front of the carriage up and down, then took two steps forward.
Thestral are very rare Magical Creatures and have long been classified as dangerous animals by the England Ministry of Magic.
Thestral have long been known for their terrifying reputation and have been regarded as a symbol of bad luck.
Of course, these are all rumors.
In fact, Thestral are loyal creatures that can distinguish between friend and foe. Trained Thestral will even attack enemies on behalf of their masters.
Noticing Silan's gaze, the Thestral closest to them turned to look at him.
The deathly pale, pupil-less eyes were somewhat eerie.
Silan went up and touched its neck, greeting it.
"Hello."
The Thestral used to pull the chariot were all trained by Hagrid and posed no threat.
The Thestral glanced at him with some surprise.
It wasn't surprising that someone could see him, but how could he understand what this little wizard was saying?
This is unheard of.
The Thestral stood silently in the deep darkness, almost blending into the night.
Its voice was as gentle as the night breeze. "Can you see me? I mean... hello."
Silan stroked Thestral's head; the feel of it was quite peculiar.
He frowned, deep in thought.
"I think the Tail Hair of Thestral can also be used to make a staff core? I need to remember that."
Not making a profit is a loss.
Since Hogwarts has such a large herd of Thestral, there's no reason not to take some resources from them.
Silan pondered earnestly, wondering how much material these Thestral could produce.
How much money can I exchange it for?
What he didn't know was that his appearance was quite meaningful to Hermione and the Weasley Twins.
Hermione asked in a low voice, "How come Silan seems to be able to see them...?"
George and Fred were silent for a moment, then whispered rapidly, "Only those who have witnessed death and are deeply affected by it can see Thestral..."
"And Silan is an orphan... so..."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat.
She felt somewhat resentful towards herself.
"This is so wrong of me, how could I forget about this?"
Seeing Silan frowning in thought, Hermione felt a pang of heartache, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Silan must be missing his family..."
"I have to be even nicer to Silan, to let him know that someone still loves him," Hermione resolved.
George and Fred, unusually, fell silent with serious expressions.
Amidst a moment of silence and tears, Silan kept plotting how to get Hagrid to reveal something.
"We need to find these Thestral and get some materials out of them..."
George and Fred patted Silan on the shoulder, one on each side, and said firmly, "Don't worry, Silan."
We are your real family.
Silan: "???"
Why are you suddenly bringing this up?
Hermione's eyes were brimming with tears as she tightly gripped Silan's right hand, her expression resolute as she said, "Silan, I will always be with you."
Silan glanced at the three determined-looking men, then at the Thestral pulling the cart.
I roughly realized what was going on.
However, he did not clarify.
Instead, she continued to nod with a sorrowful expression, saying, "Really... thank you... really..."
Looking into Silan's broken and melancholic eyes, Hermione felt her heart breaking.
This world is so unfair.
Why treat someone as good as Silan like this? Why hurt him like this?
This world is absolutely terrible!
The three of them boarded the carriage.
Hermione sat beside Silan, still holding his hand tightly, as if to show him that she was right beside him.
George and Fred sat opposite him, talking about happy things and joking around, just wanting to make him happy.
Silan liked and enjoyed this feeling, which was one of the things he craved.
They were actually right.
Silan witnessed his mother's death firsthand.
Unfortunately, after years of struggling to survive, all those sorrows and pains have become insignificant.
A line of carriages swayed and rattled along the road.
The pitch-black night sky was like a black cloth covering the heavens, with bright stars twinkling like tiny holes poked through, letting in the light from outside.
The carriage passed by the school grounds gate.
On top of the tall stone pillars on both sides are wild boars with wings.
After they passed the stone pillars, walked along the path, passed through the Forbidden Forest, and drove past Hagrid's Hut, they finally arrived at Hogwarts.
A dazzling, fiery red light shone through the enormous windows carved into those towers.
Against the backdrop of darkness, Hogwarts Castle resembles a giant, leafy tree, with its lit windows like large fruits hanging from its branches.
Silan got off the car, joined the crowd, walked up the stone steps, and entered the castle.
Just like last year, the Great Hall was brightly lit, with countless candles floating in the air.
The students gathered around their respective college's long tables.
"Ha, Hufflepuff is going to have a lot more gluttons this year."
"I really hope some useful people will come to Slytherin."
"The brute of Gryffindor and the bookworm of Ravenclaw..."
The whispers of the students around her crawled across the long table, which annoyed Silan.
He glanced at the faculty section.
Lockhart sat there smugly, wearing a brightly colored robe.
Snape was frowning as he stared at Lockhart, seemingly considering what kind of Potions to give him.
As always, this year's Sorting Ceremony began with the assignment of students to their respective schools.
Aside from Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, there's not much to note among this year's freshmen.
Silan watched the Sorting Ceremony with utter boredom.
As Weasley, Ginny was unsurprisingly sorted into Gryffindor.
Luna, on the other hand, was assigned to Ravenclaw.
Before the sorting of houses was over, a professor walked up to Dumbledore and whispered a few words in his ear.
Dumbledore looked outside, then turned to Snape and said a few words.
Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape frowned and rose from his seat.
He stopped abruptly as he approached the Slytherin table.
"Prewett, come with me."