Thestrals

What is the mode of transportation to Hogwarts after getting off the train?

From Harry Potter's perspective, it was a ship in the first year of school, he wasn't sure about the second year (he and Ron went to Hogwarts by Flying Ford Anglia), Harry thought it was an invisible carriage in the third and fourth years, Harry didn't know it was Thestral until the fifth year.

Harry is not actually an ignorant wizard, especially with Ron, who has a wide range of unorthodox knowledge, and Hermione, who is very knowledgeable, by his side.

Even so, after Harry took the Care of Magical Creatures Class in his third year and had Hagrid as a friend, he still didn't know about Thestral.

This is all because of one thing: Thestral are considered unlucky creatures in the wizarding world—wizards believe they bring all sorts of terrible calamities to those who see them.

Even Hagrid didn't dare to talk about it in class at first.

Although Hagrid liked powerful animals, he also understood that there were some Care of Magical Creatures he shouldn't have talked about when he first Care of Magical Creatures.

The Hippogriff's mishap was simply because Hagrid hadn't expected anyone to deliberately provoke him—especially after he explicitly stated that such creatures were proud and that it would be dangerous not to do as he asked.

Therefore, in the original timeline, Hagrid's predecessor, Kettleburn, never talked about it. Hagrid only began to introduce Thestral in class after Harry Potter 5.

Furthermore, Thestral possess a unique ability to become invisible to those who have never witnessed their death.

Moreover, this kind of death requires witnessing the passing of Wisdom life and fully accepting and understanding it.

In the original timeline, Harry didn't see Thestral immediately after witnessing Cedric's death; it took him some time to fully process what had happened before he saw them.

This alone explains why the use of Thestral pull carriages went unnoticed for so long.

Since no teacher has ever explained it, its form is invisible to most immature young wizards (who do not understand death).

To the young wizards who saw it, Thestral had a terrifying appearance—large and emaciated, with a head that resembled a dragon, white eyes without pupils, and large bat wings.

In addition, within the wizarding world, hearing voices that others cannot hear and seeing things that others cannot see are not good omens.

Now, even the little wizards who saw it wouldn't reveal its existence.

The fact that Luna was rejected in the original timeline was probably related to this; Luna liked to go to the kitchen and take some bloody raw meat to feed them.

To the young wizard who couldn't see the Thestral, a little witch covered in blood was offering the flesh and blood of some unknown creature to the air, and the flesh and blood kept disappearing.

This already qualifies as a horror movie.

Moreover, Luna's eyes are very prominent, and they are a rare silver-white color.

Therefore, seeing Thestral is not a good thing.

It's not superstition, but its appearance, coupled with the rejection from others.

So, Ryan, who had already gotten off the carriage, hesitated for a moment when Hermione asked what pulled the carriage. He considered whether to explain it to Hermione directly or to use his own methods to let Hermione see it.

"Ryan, these carriages clearly have nothing to pull, so why are there two straight logs (two logs in front of the carriage to pull the animals)?" Hermione saw Ryan staring blankly for a moment and thought he hadn't understood her, so she explained to Ryan in more detail.

At this moment, Ryan and the others were already seated in the carriage: Hermione, Ryan, Harry, and Ron.

Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, and Pansy got into a car.

"Yes, what are those? Invisible horses?"

"Also, Ryan, it's been a long time since Hermione has been here!"

"Thank you for the gifts!" Harry came closer and asked curiously.

Having been away from Ryan for a summer vacation, he had many questions about magic that he wanted to ask Ryan.

Ryan and Hermione exchanged a few pleasantries with Harry and also greeted Harry and Ron.

"I think this might be an alchemical artifact!"

"Dumbledore is a brilliant Alchemy —he could work with Nicolas Flamel!"

"You don't know, Dumbledore came to Harry's birthday party this year!... He even gave Harry a magical Deluminator... Harry also invented a spell with his help!" Ron said proudly, as if he was the one who received the gift from Dumbledore and celebrated his birthday.

However, Ryan could understand, since Ron was a bit dim-witted in some ways. He didn't know that the magical traps he had broken through last semester were actually quite simple, and this time he had also broken into the place where Voldemort hid his most precious things with Harry and the others.

It's actually quite normal for Ron to get cocky like this.

But Harry didn't know that Ryan knew, and kept giving Ron meaningful glances while Ron was talking and bragging.

This led Ron to mistakenly believe that Harry wanted him to talk more.

"Yes! They're not outsiders!"

"Hermione is my friend, Ryan is my roommate, not to mention I shared the Philosopher's Stone with them last year!" Ron suddenly realized.

So he continued to chatter on about his, Harry's, Draco's summer vacation, and if he hadn't been careful, he probably would have even mentioned Regulus.

"Alright, Ron, let's hear what Ryan has to say. I think he definitely knows what's going on with this carriage."

"You know, Ryan and Hermione were number one last year," Harry couldn't help but say.

He was unaware that Ron was somewhat cunning, so he quickly interrupted to prevent Regulus's matter from being leaked.

Ron smacked his lips, seemingly still unsatisfied. He felt that Harry was glorifying others while diminishing his own.

Although Ryan and Hermione weren't exactly outsiders, they were their friends.

But this trend must not be allowed to continue!

What if Harry continues to be so humble, causing their deserved fame to suffer?

You know, last school year, when Ron was bragging about how he and Harry saved the Philosopher's Stone, Harry said a lot of things like that.

However, Ron kept quiet. While fame and boasting about himself and Harry were important, the relationships between Harry and him, and between Ryan and Hermione and him, were also very important.

"Harry is right," Ryan said, keeping everyone in suspense.

Ron, however, immediately beamed with joy, showing no sign of being discouraged by his wrong guess.

In his mind, there was no difference between Harry and him guessing correctly.

Harry didn't speak, but just craned his neck to try and hear what was coming next.

"That's Thestral, a creature that can only see death by seeing it and accepting it," Ryan said, drawing his wand and waving it.

"Thestral! These creatures bring disaster! I dare say they're a little worse than the Ominous!" Ron exclaimed in shock, then the next second, he and Harry stared wide-eyed, speechless.

Before them, in the middle of Xuanyuan, a strange horse appeared.

The horse had no flesh on its body; its black fur clung tightly to its skeleton, and every bone was clearly visible.