Hogwarts

Neither of them let the incident with Malfoy spoil their mood, and their conversation continued as cheerfully as before.

"Jerry, those two spells you just cast were brilliant. I can't cast them that smoothly yet. Could you teach me?"

"Of course. Which one do you want to learn?"

"Levicorpus. The next time I see Malfoy bullying someone, I'll give him a little reminder."

"Tom, dinner's ready!" Jerry smiled and shouted out the train window.

Before long, a plump bird covered in jet-black feathers flew in through the window and landed on the table. He stared at Jerry with an "intelligent" look, then glanced at Hermione and began cawing, as though demanding to know where his food was. Had the two-legged creature across from him eaten it?

"Is this your pet?" Hermione looked at the fat, owl-sized bird on the table and reached out to stroke him.

"Caw!" Tom pecked Hermione's hand, making her jump, then flew up and perched on Jerry's shoulder, looking utterly aloof.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" Jerry asked with concern, then gave Tom a light tap on the head.

"I'm fine. He just startled me. Jerry, what kind of bird is he? A Crow?"

Jerry explained, "I don't know either. Someone gave him to me. He looks a bit like a Crow, but I don't think he is one. I call him Tom. He's probably one of those fantastic beasts, too. He can understand simple things I say."

As he spoke, Tom nuzzled against his ear again. "Stop that. Help me with something first, and I'll give you extra food later."

Jerry picked Tom up and set him on the table in front of them.

"Come on, Hermione. Didn't you want to practice spells? You can use Tom."

Hermione hesitated, afraid she might hurt Tom.

"Don't worry. Tom has very high resistance to magic. Ordinary spells can't hurt him at all. I practiced spells on him all the time over the summer."

"But I..." Hermione still hesitated.

"Levicorpus!" Jerry said nothing more and simply cast the spell, hoisting Tom into the air. Tom neither squawked nor struggled, as though he was already used to it.

"If you feel bad about it, just give him some extra food afterward. He might even come looking for you the next time you practice."

Hermione: "..."

Now Hermione knew why Jerry's bird was so fat.

Time always slipped by unnoticed. Once they finished practicing spells, Hermione took out some fruit to feed Tom as his reward.

Tom glanced back at Jerry and, after seeing him nod, began eating Hermione's fruit. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hermione finally got to stroke Jerry's bird.

"His feathers are so beautiful. They look black, but in the sunlight they have a deep blue or purple sheen. They're absolutely gorgeous!" Hermione exclaimed.

After eating, Tom did not fly outside again, but stayed perched on the table. Perhaps because she had fed him fruit, he was much friendlier toward Hermione now. He did not even struggle when she picked him up.

"Whoo, whoo, whoo!"

As the train whistle sounded, Jerry could clearly feel them slowing down. He glanced out the window; darkness had already fallen. "We need to put our Robe on," he told Hermione. "We're almost at Hogwarts."

After they packed up their things, they heard an announcement over the train's speakers.

"The train will arrive at its final stop, Hogwarts, in five minutes. Passengers, please leave your luggage on the train. House-elves will deliver it to your dormitories."

After hearing the announcement, Jerry opened the window and let Tom out, then shielded Hermione as they followed the crowded stream of passengers off the train.

As soon as they stepped onto the platform, Hermione tapped Jerry's arm and pointed a short distance away. "Look, that's Harry Potter!"

Jerry looked where Hermione was pointing and saw Neville there as well.

"Let's go over."

"Hi, Jerry! We meet again." Seeing Jerry and Hermione approach, Harry greeted them warmly.

"Jerry, you know each other?" Hermione asked, looking at him in confusion.

"I couldn't find Platform 9¾ at the station. Luckily, Ron's mum helped me."

Then he turned to Harry and Ron. "No need for introductions. Everyone knows everyone already."

After they chatted briefly, a booming voice rang out. "First years! First years, over here!"

They turned toward the voice and saw a powerfully built man standing well over three meters tall, with broad shoulders and a straight back. His beard was coarse and unkempt, and his hair resembled a wild jungle. He looked like a towering oak tree.

Spotting Harry, Hagrid greeted him. "Hi, Harry! Long time no see. How've you been?"

Harry was a little excited. "Hi, Hagrid! Long time no see. I've been fine. Let me introduce you all. This is Hagrid."

"Hagrid, these are my friends. These two are Ron and Neville, and these are Jerry and Hermione."

"Hello, youngsters. Hey, with that red hair, you must be from the Weasley family. I hope you're not as fond of mischief as your two brothers."

After exchanging greetings, they followed Hagrid, stumbling along the mountain path until they reached the lake.

The lakeshore was pitch-dark, with only the oil lamp in Hagrid's hand providing any light. They could barely make out their surroundings.

"Lumos!" Hermione took out her wand and used Lumos to light the area around the two of them.

"Beautifully cast!" At Jerry's praise, Hermione smiled proudly. Then...

"Lu-mos!" Jerry drew his wand, and a single Lumos lit up the entire lakeside dock.

Everyone around them stared at Jerry, dumbfounded.

"How did you do that, Jerry? I reckon you're even better than my two git brothers," Ron said in amazement.

"Thanks, Jerry!" Hagrid waved to him in gratitude. "While we've got the light, hurry up and get into the boats. Remember, no more than four to a boat! Come on, once everyone's aboard, we'll set off!"

"How on earth did you do that, Jerry?" Hermione asked in the boat, still finding it unbelievable.

"Nothing but practice!"

Hagrid sat alone in the leading boat, with all the other boats following behind him.

Soon, they saw the brightly lit Castle perched on a cliff across the lake. Solemn and mysterious, its enormous silhouette looked even grander in the moonlight.

Everyone was struck speechless by the magnificent Castle. Even Jerry, who had prepared himself for the sight, was no exception.

Once they reached the shore, they climbed out of the boats and followed Hagrid briskly up the steps to the Castle's front doors.

A tall witch wearing square glasses and a deep green Robe stood waiting before the doors, her expression stern.