The Wheelchair War Goddess Speedruns Hogwarts

Neville's reaction was perfectly normal.

"The rest of the Black family has nothing to do with me."

Her voice was soft. Nox let out a low purr from her lap, seemingly supporting his owner's stance.

Ron scratched his head and glanced awkwardly at Neville.

Neville stood there at a loss, his face bright red. "I-I didn't mean it like that."

"You don't need to apologize. It isn't your fault." Vera gently shook her head as sunlight danced across her silver-gray hair through the window. "It's getting late. You should go back to your compartment for lunch."

This obvious dismissal came as a relief to Ron and Neville. After hurriedly saying goodbye, the two left the compartment.

Once the door had shut, Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly. "I don't think they meant to..."

Harry immediately sat down beside Vera, her green eyes filled with concern. "Vera, are you okay?"

Vera withdrew her gaze and said softly, "I'm fine."

After all, Bella had caused this mess. As her relative... all Vera could say was that she had inherited a disaster.

Sensing the low mood in the compartment, Hermione clutched her book and hurriedly changed the subject. "By the way, which House do you think you'll be sorted into?"

"I looked it up. Hogwarts has four Houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff."

Harry was immediately drawn in by the topic. "I have no idea what the differences between them are... Hagrid said Gryffindor was the best, but he never clearly explained how the Sorting Ceremony works."

"The book doesn't seem to describe it in detail, either." Hermione frowned nervously. "Honestly, to prepare for Sorting, I learned several simple spells in advance. I just don't know whether that'll be enough."

"Ron... um, when I came in with them at the platform," Harry suddenly remembered something and said with a slightly troubled expression, "I heard his brothers saying that we might have to fight Trolls during Sorting."

Hermione gasped, her face turning pale at once. "What? But we're only first-years!"

Vera quietly watched them from the side without saying anything.

To give new students a good experience, most wizards deliberately kept the Sorting Ceremony secret.

Vera had no intention of revealing it here, either.

"All right," Hermione said, swallowing nervously. "Never mind how it works—what House do you want to join?"

Harry shook her head. "I only know that both my parents were in Gryffindor."

"The Black family tradition," Vera said blandly, her gaze fixed on the scenery racing past the window. "With a few exceptions, every generation has been Slytherin."

As for those so-called "exceptions," that naturally meant Sirius.

Harry's expression visibly dimmed for a moment.

Noticing the shift in Harry's mood, Vera sighed and said softly, "Actually... it isn't necessarily decided. Sometimes personal wishes matter more."

Those words seemed to comfort Harry. She immediately looked up, and her green eyes brightened again.

Vera froze for a moment, then somewhat uncomfortably turned her head toward the window.

As they spoke, the scent of food drifted into the compartment. A witch pushing a snack trolley knocked on their door. "Dear, would you like some snacks?"

Harry's eyes instantly lit up as she looked at Vera. "Want to get something? My treat!"

Vera shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

But Harry had already excitedly pulled several Sickles from her pocket. "I'll take this! And that! Oh, those Chocolate Frogs look pretty good too!"

She returned to her seat carrying a huge pile of snacks and generously spread them across the empty seat to share.

Vera raised an eyebrow at the mountain of snacks before her. "You bought so much?"

Harry scratched her hair sheepishly. "Actually, this is the first time I've been able to decide what snacks to buy. My aunt and uncle never let me eat these."

Vera frowned despite herself, trying her best to remain calm. "Now, you can eat anything you like whenever you want."

The Castle Calls

"Mm! I still don't know which ones taste best, but now I can try them all."

Harry's voice brimmed with barely concealed excitement as her fingers carefully brushed over the wrapping of a Chocolate Frog. "And I want you to try them too."

Vera looked into Harry's bright green eyes, which were filled with nothing but pure joy and a desire to share.

After hesitating for a moment, she gently picked up a Chocolate Frog, feeling a faint vibration at her fingertips.

"Then, thank you," she said softly.

Hermione had already impatiently unwrapped hers. "They say they're enchanted, but once they're bitten, they stop moving—oh! A card!"

A wizard card fell from the wrapper. The picture showed a man with half-moon glasses, a crooked long nose, and silver hair and beard flowing down his face.

"It's Albus Dumbledore!"

Harry immediately leaned over curiously. "Who is he?"

"He's the headmaster of Hogwarts!" Hermione said excitedly. "You don't even know that?"

Harry smiled awkwardly. "My aunt and uncle never told me anything about the wizarding world."

Hermione immediately began rattling off Dumbledore's many accomplishments.

After staring at the small print for a while, Harry flipped the card back to the front and was shocked to find that Dumbledore had vanished.

"He disappeared!" she said in surprise.

"In the wizarding world, the people in photographs can move," Vera explained softly as she watched Harry's eyes widen in astonishment. "It's probably a kind of Transfiguration."

Harry seemed only half convinced. She had just opened a Chocolate Frog, but before she could catch it, it shot through her fingers with a whoosh, arced gracefully through the air, and vanished out the train window.

Vera watched Harry's disappointed little face scrunch up, then leisurely unwrapped her own. The instant the Chocolate Frog tried to leap away, she precisely pinched it between her fingers.

"The trick is the angle of your wrist," she said softly, showing the Chocolate Frog to Harry. "Once it's caught, it won't move again."

Harry's eyes widened in amazement. She hurriedly unwrapped another Chocolate Frog, and just as she reached to catch it, the new frog sprang fiercely upward, arced through the air, and landed perfectly atop Hermione's head.

All three girls froze at once.

The next second, Hermione's scream and Harry's laughter filled the compartment.

Watching the scene, Vera finally could not help laughing too.

Startled by the sudden commotion, Nox leaped from Vera's lap onto the luggage rack and looked down at the chaos from above.

"Don't move!" Harry said, holding back laughter as she carefully removed the Chocolate Frog from Hermione's hair. "Sorry, I'll do better next time."

Vera shook her head, drew her wand, and said softly, "Scourgify!"

The traces of chocolate in Hermione's messy brown hair vanished immediately. She let out a breath of relief and looked gratefully at Vera. "Thank you. I didn't expect you already knew how to use a spell like that."

"I often saw the house-elves use it at home." Vera gave the explanation calmly, then turned over her own card. It depicted a witch in blue robes—Morgan le Fay, a witch from the age of King Arthur.

Nox showed immense interest in the Chocolate Frog, his amber eyes fixed on the one in Vera's hand.

"No, Nox." Vera gently pressed down the white cat's restless paw. "Chocolate is poisonous to cats."

The cat gave an aggrieved purr before jumping onto the luggage rack overhead.

Harry asked curiously, "Can he understand you?"

"His Kneazle blood makes him smarter than ordinary cats," Vera explained, casually handing the Chocolate Frog to Harry. "Here, you can have it."

Harry took the Chocolate Frog, but her eyes remained fixed on Vera. "Are you always like this? Giving good things to other people?"

Vera paused slightly. "I'm just not used to eating sweets."

"Liar." Harry suddenly leaned closer, a mischievous glint in her green eyes. "You ate raspberry ice cream that day. I saw you."

Vera froze. She had not expected Harry to notice her then, much less remember such a small detail. For a moment, she did not know how to respond.

Hermione came to her rescue at just the right moment. "Look outside! I think we're almost there!"

The three girls turned toward the window at once. Between distant mountains, a majestic castle gleamed under the setting sun, its soaring spires piercing the sky and countless windows reflecting golden light.

"That's Hogwarts..." Harry murmured softly, her green eyes full of longing.

Vera gazed at the ancient castle, and the crystal near her heart suddenly trembled faintly—she could feel a powerful surge of magic coming from the castle, as though it were calling to her.

The Magic Circuit inside her began to flow faster, golden patterns flickering beneath her skin.

Without drawing attention, Vera pressed a hand to her wrist and temporarily suppressed the restless Magic Circuit within her. Taking a deep breath, she lit the Tomori in the compartment with her wand. "Let's change into our school robes first. It'll get colder once it's dark."

The three girls began preparing in a flurry. Vera used magic to change her clothes with ease, while Harry and Hermione helped each other straighten collars and sleeves.

The train slowly decelerated before finally stopping beside a small, dark platform.

By then, dusk had faded and night had quietly fallen.

The platform buzzed with voices. Older students streamed toward distant carriages, while the first-years gathered around an extraordinarily tall figure—Hagrid, who held a swaying oil Tomori in one hand.

The three deliberately waited until fewer people remained before leaving the compartment. Harry looked at Vera and hesitated. "Should I push you?"

Vera shook her head. With a light tap of her wand, her body floated weightlessly once more before slowly settling back into the wheelchair.

"Let's go." Vera pushed her wheelchair and moved toward the compartment door first.

Nox nimbly jumped onto her lap and curled up.

The moment they stepped off the train, the cold night air made Harry shiver. She instinctively looked at Vera beside her and firmly tucked in the blanket over her legs.

"Be careful not to catch cold," she explained in a small, blushing voice when Vera looked up at her.

In the darkness, Vera could not see Harry's face clearly, but she still softly thanked her.

Vaguely, she heard Harry seem to laugh, and then Harry headed toward Hagrid in the distance.

"Hagrid!" Harry waved excitedly.

The half-giant turned around with a brilliant smile and greeted her.

His booming voice drew plenty of glances from the nearby first-years. Especially when people noticed Harry and Vera, whispers immediately spread through the crowd.

"That's Harry Potter..."

"The girl in the wheelchair beside her is from the Black family... how pitiful..."

Sorting

Clearly, news that there was a disabled child among this year's first-years had become common knowledge after spreading all afternoon.

Vera ignored the gossip and calmly pushed her wheelchair behind Hagrid.

Harry and Hermione stayed close at her side, occasionally shooting displeased looks at those sneaking glances their way.

Vera had no doubt that if the whispering students came any closer, Harry might charge straight at them and continue reasoning with her fists.

She looked weak, yet she was used to solving problems with her fists?

She did not seem quite like the pitiful little girl Vera had initially imagined, forced to live under someone else's roof.

Vera glanced sideways at Harry walking beside her, lost in thought.

"First-years, follow me!" Hagrid raised Tomori high and led them down a steep, narrow path. "Watch your step! This path's a bit slippery!"

Vera pushed her wheelchair, carefully controlling her speed.

The rugged mountain path was not wheelchair-friendly. Just as she considered using magic to help herself, Harry had already walked behind her and placed both hands on the wheelchair handles.

"We'll take turns pushing you," Harry said softly, glancing back at Hermione.

Hermione immediately nodded as well.

Vera wanted to refuse, but seeing their earnest expressions, she ultimately only accepted it. "Thank you."

Soon, the path opened up at its end, revealing a black lake before them.

On the high slope across the lake stood a magnificent castle, its countless spires rising into the sky and its windows glowing warmly beneath the stars.

"That's Hogwarts!" Hagrid announced proudly. "No more than four to a boat! Be careful not to fall into the lake. The Giant Squid is friendly, but the water's cold this season!"

Harry, Hermione, and Vera naturally boarded the same boat. Nox crouched at the bow, warily staring at the pitch-black lake.

A fleet of little boats immediately glided across the mirror-smooth lake. Harry gazed entranced at the ever-nearing castle and whispered, "It's even more beautiful than I imagined..."

Hermione's voice trembled with excitement. "Look at those towers! The tallest one must be the Astronomy Tower! And the greenhouses over there! I saw them in Hogwarts: A History!"

Vera silently watched the ancient castle, a strange feeling rising within her.

This would be where she lived for the next seven years, and also the main stage of the original story.

The boats slowly entered a tunnel beneath the cliff and finally stopped at an underground dock. Hagrid led the first-years ashore, and they soon arrived before the castle's enormous oak doors.

He raised his enormous fist and knocked three times on the door.