Only by Casting Aside Prejudice Can We See the Real World

Harry and Neville beside them were also stunned. Only little Hermione sat obediently beside Lyon, without showing any surprise.

Two hundred Galleons—even a month of work at the Ministry of Magic would not pay that much!

And those two hundred Galleons were going to George and Fred. Why could they not have such a good opportunity?

But Lyon's presence in the compartment was simply too overwhelming, and neither of them dared to interrupt.

At the center of it all, George and Fred stared wide-eyed. George stepped forward tentatively. "Did you say two hundred Galleons a month?"

Fred slammed a hand onto the table. "No problem! Even if the boss told us to steal Merlin's underpants, we'd do it without hesitation!"

Lyon smiled at the two brothers. Now that the Weasley twins had joined him, arming the Razor Gang would be much easier.

They chatted for a long time, until the announcement that the train was about to arrive at Hogwarts sounded, and everyone began changing into their school robes.

Lyon let Hermione change alone in the compartment, while he simply used a changing spell to put on his clothes.

Over the month of summer break, he had learned many practical spells.

"Huh, Lyon, where's your luggage?" After little Hermione sorted out her own things, she saw that Lyon's hands were empty and looked confused.

"They're all in my pocket." Lyon waved his wand at Hermione's luggage. The large and small bags instantly shrank and slipped straight into Hermione's robe pocket.

"Silent casting again? How come I've never seen spells like that?"

Lyon rubbed Hermione's little head. "The Levitation Charm, Shrinking Charm, and Undetectable Extension Charm. Combining the three lets you do this."

"But you only waved your wand once." Hermione was perplexed, and a sudden sense of crisis welled up inside her.

"Who said spells have to be cast by waving a wand?"

"Could this be wandless magic again?!"

Hermione stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Why did Lyon already know so much magic before school had even started?

The train arrived at the station, and the bustling crowd quickly disembarked. Outside, it was pitch-black and raining.

Ignoring Harry and Neville's resentful expressions, Lyon thoughtfully cast a Drying Charm on both Hermione and himself.

"First-years, over here!"

A tall figure in the distance looked their way. Upon spotting Harry, he broke into a grin. "Harry, how are you?"

Harry was drenched from head to toe. He forced a smile. "Uh, I'm fine."

The first-years were soon led by Hagrid, following the group toward the boats.

Hagrid brought Lyon, Harry, and the others onto one of the boats. Hagrid excitedly chatted with Harry, asking how he had been doing lately.

Ahead of the boat, several huge, horse-like creatures, so skinny that they were little more than skin and bones, beat their enormous wings and stirred up gusts of wind as they pulled the boats along. Their bodies glowed a ghostly blue.

"Lyon, what are you looking at?"

Little Hermione waved her hand in front of Lyon. Lyon frowned and turned around, only to find Hermione looking at him in confusion.

"You can't see them...?"

Lyon suddenly remembered that the creatures pulling the boats should be Thestrals.

They were extremely strange creatures, visible only to those who had witnessed death.

Lyon swept his gaze over everyone in the boat and found that no one else could see the Thestrals as he could.

Hagrid also noticed Lyon watching the Thestrals, and his tone grew solemn. "That's right. The creatures pulling these boats are Thestrals. Only people who have witnessed death with their own eyes can see them."

The atmosphere fell somewhat silent, while Lyon looked at the Thestrals with interest.

The core of his wand was a Thestral tail hair. According to Ollivander, Thestral tail hair was an extremely strange material, and wands made with it were highly unstable.

But Lyon had always found his wand easy to use, and he had not noticed anything unusual.

Soon, the boats reached Hogwarts. Just as Lyon stepped ashore and prepared to head toward the castle, he suddenly felt someone tug at his clothes.

He spun around quickly, only to discover that a Thestral had bitten the hem of his robe.

Lyon raised an eyebrow. The Thestral stepped forward twice, stretched its head out in front of Lyon's hand, and occasionally nudged against it.

Lyon raised his hand and stroked the Thestral's head. The Thestral let out a deep snort.

From everyone else's perspective, they only saw Lyon's robe hem rise for no reason, then watched him reach out and stroke empty air.

Hagrid's eyes widened, and he cried out in surprise.

"Oh, heavens, Lyon, the Thestral likes you!"

"Thestrals never take the initiative to approach wizards. This is amazing!"

Lyon gave Hagrid a friendly smile as his hand stroked the Thestral's spine.

The Thestral snorted again and again, rubbing its head against Lyon's chest as though reluctant to leave.

"All right, I have to go."

Lyon looked into the Thestral's hollow eye sockets. There were no eyes within them, only an impenetrable darkness.

After hearing Lyon's words, the Thestral tugged at his wizard robes again. Lyon smiled helplessly. He actually rather liked Thestrals.

As if thinking of something, Lyon took a pumpkin pasty from his pocket and held it out before the Thestral.

The Thestral sniffed it, hesitated for a moment, then opened its mouth and took a tentative bite.

Hermione watched Lyon uneasily from the side and tugged on his robe hem. "The books say Thestrals are unlucky. Don't let it hurt you."

She could not see the Thestral, and she was very worried about Lyon's safety.

Lyon smiled, glanced at the curious looks around him, and spoke.

"Thestrals are gentle creatures. It's only because seeing them requires witnessing death that many people consider them unlucky."

"People always like to view the world through tinted glasses. I believe people should have tolerance in their hearts. Only then can they open their eyes to see the world instead of living within their own narrowness."

"To be shrouded in prejudice is an utterly despairing thing. Just like Thestrals, only by seeing for yourself whether they truly are as the rumors claim, and finding the answer yourself, can you see the real world."

As Lyon spoke, he stroked the Thestral's broad spine. "Later, I discovered that Thestrals are actually quite adorable."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

After Lyon finished speaking, Hagrid clapped excitedly beside him.

Hagrid wiped at the corner of his eyes. "Yes, that was wonderfully said."

Hagrid was also a half-giant. He understood deeply how dark a world shrouded in prejudice could be.

That was precisely why he liked magical creatures. Like him, they too were covered by the world's prejudice.

Lyon's words had struck the softest part of his heart. For no reason at all, he felt a little wronged.

It was like when someone suffered a grievance—they would not cry on the spot, but would cry when another person comforted them, because being understood naturally brought out the pain buried in their heart.

"Oh, Lyon... I... I'm sorry, I lost my composure. Lyon, what you said was so wonderful!"

Hagrid wiped away his tears. "You'll definitely become a great wizard someday."

Everyone was somewhat moved. Lyon's words had also struck their hearts. Neville and Harry had both grown up in adversity.

They had suffered countless prejudices and could only swallow them in silence, but today, Lyon had suddenly touched something within them.

"Lyon, I'm sorry." Hermione lowered her head in shame. It was truly rare for little Hermione to admit her mistake.

Lyon gently rubbed Hermione's head. "Don't blame yourself. I'm not angry with you."

"All right, I think we still need to be sorted. Let's go to Hogwarts Castle."

Lyon smiled as he comforted everyone. After bidding farewell to the reluctant Thestral, he followed Hagrid and the others toward Hogwarts Castle.

Before leaving, Hagrid even invited Lyon to visit his hut. Naturally, Lyon did not refuse and promised that he would come by in a few days.

Lyon had already planned to do so. There was still a dragon egg in his luggage, and he did not know how to hatch it.

If he could establish a connection with Hagrid, not only could he hatch the dragon egg later, but he could also purchase magical creature materials from Hagrid.

As Lyon's thoughts wandered, they finally arrived at the Hogwarts Great Hall.