The young wizards

The atmosphere in the compartment was decidedly strange, but Will paid the others no attention.

"There are many competing views on the nature of curses in the wizarding world today. In Egypt, however, the prevailing belief concerns the 'legitimacy' of curses. In other words, curses possess legitimacy in a magical sense, a right granted by the 'gods.' Thus, many Egyptian curses can endure for thousands of years, whereas curses from other regions tend to be much shorter-lived."

"Personally, however, I believe this supposed 'divine mandate' remains questionable. The European wizarding world generally regards curses as merely a variant of magic, one that is fundamentally closer to small-scale ritual magic. Moreover, every accomplished curse-caster or curse-breaker I have met over my years of curse-breaking has possessed considerable insight into ritual magic. Some could even be considered ritual magic practitioners in their own right."

"In my own curse-breaking work, I frequently need to employ various rituals to lift curses."

Will nodded noncommittally. Ritual magic was a major branch of ancient magic, with a long history in magical communities across the globe. Rainmaking and sacrifice in China, for instance, were classic examples.

Will recalled an example he had read about in A Brief History of Eastern Magic and The Mysterious Magic of Asia: Zhuge Liang's Borrowing the East Wind, another large-scale magical ritual.

"Grrrrumble..." Only when his stomach growled did Will close his book. Food was another of his great loves. Knowledge might nourish the mind, but he could not fill his mind alone.

Will took out... several metal lunch boxes from his trunk.

When he opened them, the food was still steaming hot: Beef curry, stir-fried snow peas, the famous British dish coronation chicken, and a box of white rice. The portions were modest, but their aroma filled the entire compartment.

The other three stared wide-eyed at the sight. Sylvia and Hermione even exclaimed aloud.

"You brought a packed lunch?"

"Your food's still hot! Is that magic?"

Sylvia and Neville were astonished that Will had brought cooked dishes aboard, while Hermione focused on how food in ordinary metal lunch boxes could still be steaming after an entire morning. Magic seemed the most likely explanation.

Will's stomach was rather empty, so he swallowed a mouthful of beef curry before answering their questions.

"Yes. I heard we wouldn't reach Hogwarts until tonight, after all. There's a Warming Charm on the food. Oh, you can find the Warming Charm in both A Feast at the Flick of a Wand and The Magic of Cooking."

Hearing Will casually rattle off those titles left Hermione feeling a little anxious. She had never even heard of those books. Apparently, Will had already read quite a few books on magic. It seemed he had outdone her yet again.

Will glanced at the three of them and waved his wand, turning a few toothpicks beside the lunch boxes into spoons.

"Would you like some?"

[Someone has developed a favorable impression of you. Charisma Experience +1] ×3

The corners of Will's mouth lifted. Every little bit counted.

"Transfiguration? You've already learned Transfiguration? I tried a few times using A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, but I couldn't manage it. How did you do that?" Hermione always focused on things like this.

Of course, Will knew she was afraid of falling behind. She worried that children from wizarding families already possessed a wealth of magical knowledge, while she had only just entered the wizarding world. But those fears had always been unnecessary. There were no magical primary schools, after all. Most young witches and wizards studied at home before enrolling at Hogwarts.

Half-blood families might send their children to Muggle primary schools. Among pure-blood wizarding families, those with fewer resources taught their children themselves, while wealthier aristocratic families might hire tutors.

"It's not that difficult, is it? Are you sure you don't want some?" Seeing that none of them reached for a spoon, Will did not press them. He popped a piece of coronation chicken into his mouth instead.

Neville looked miserable. "Of course it's difficult! I haven't mastered a single spell yet. I've barely even looked at those books. Merlin's beard, will Hogwarts expel me? I knew I had no talent."

"Don't be silly, Longbottom. I've never heard of anyone in your family being expelled. In fact, I've never heard of any wizard being expelled for a lack of talent. Some have been expelled for other things while at school, though, like that magical creature expert, Newt Scamander." Sylvia's tone was rather cool, but Neville nevertheless seemed encouraged.

As a member of the Lestrange family, Sylvia had made a point of learning about Newt.

"You mean that zoologist was expelled from Hogwarts?" Hermione could hardly believe it. In her current view of the world, expelled students were irredeemable delinquents, hopeless cases who amounted to failures. Yet Newt Scamander was a famous British Magizoologist, traveler, travel writer, and the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

She remembered that it was a textbook for Hogwarts' Care of Magical Creatures class.

"Yes, so Hogwarts isn't an unquestionable authority," Will said, swallowing his food and offering his opinion. "Besides, some wizards today don't attend any school at all. Instead, they study under a teacher through an apprenticeship, though that approach has some serious drawbacks."

"How do you know so much? Are you from a wizarding family too?" Hermione finally asked the question she had been holding back. Will acted more like a child from a wizarding family than Neville did, but it was also an indisputable fact that he had attended primary school with her.

"Of course not. All my blood relatives are Muggles. I've just read a few more books."

Hermione felt immense pressure. This classmate of hers really had outdone her again. Silently, she resolved to work even harder. She could not let him keep showing her up.

"Goodness, Berens, you're a born Ravenclaw," Neville said with heartfelt admiration. "I'll probably only get into Hufflepuff."

"There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff. Newt Scamander was a Hufflepuff, you know. It's produced plenty of famous wizards, such as Grogan Stump, who served as Britain's Minister for Magic from 1811 to 1819, or Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, who teaches Care of Magical Creatures. Then there's Hengist of Woodcroft, who's on a Chocolate Frog Card. He founded Hogsmeade.

"All of them were outstanding wizards. There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff. They're honest and down-to-earth—you could say they're the best people to befriend."

Will had seriously considered going to Hufflepuff himself. The little badgers would not disturb his peaceful life, and he would be closer to the kitchens. Neither his studies nor his meals would suffer, and his charm skill might even level up rapidly in Hufflepuff House.

Will's explanation seemed to strike a chord with Neville. "I suppose there really is nothing wrong with Hufflepuff."

"I think Hufflepuff is fine, but Gryffindor should be the best house. Dumbledore was a Gryffindor, you know," Hermione said, sticking to her opinion.

"Then which house do you want to join, Sylvia?"

"Most people in my family were in Slytherin," Sylvia said mildly, as though she already knew she would end up there.

"So it looks like we have students from all four houses in this compartment?"

Will tucked into his hot meal without disputing that, though he was not yet sure where he would go. Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff?

I certainly don't want to be stuck with that reckless Gryffindor lot. Hah, ostracizing a top student? What on earth goes on in their heads?

As for Slytherin, he doubted he would get along well with those "pure-blood aristocrats" who treated Muggle-born wizards with such arrogance and disrespect.