Arrival at Hogwarts

She took the envelope from the owl's beak.

[Dear Hermione Jean Granger]

[Thank you for your concern. I wish you a pleasant new term at Hogwarts.]

[Minerva McGonagall.]

Hermione: "..."

This Cat Professor was quite polite.

When Hermione first received her Hogwarts acceptance letter, she had written a brief thank-you note and given it to the delivery owl out of courtesy.

She had only meant to be polite. She hadn't expected Professor McGonagall to actually write back.

Shaking her head, Hermione looked around the room.

This was the original Hermione's own room in this world.

As for why she had appeared here, she had the final page of the Spellbook in her mind to thank.

After obtaining it in the Marvel Universe, Hermione had calmed down and suddenly realized something.

She was in the Marvel Universe. Hogwarts might have accepted her, but she had no way to attend!

Where was she supposed to find spells to record under those circumstances?

Besides, she was a twelve-year-old girl without any legal identity or anyone to turn to. Even surviving would be a problem!

Unwilling to give up, Hermione had flipped through the Spellbook and discovered two icons on the last page.

An infinity symbol and a castle.

The infinity symbol was gray and didn't respond no matter how she touched it, but the castle was in color.

Throwing caution to the wind, Hermione had reached out to it with her consciousness.

And then she had returned to this world.

The castle on the page had turned gray, while the infinity symbol had become colored. A progress bar had also appeared beneath it.

Hermione had immediately grasped what that meant.

After repeated attempts, she had finally confirmed that the Spellbook could take her between the Marvel and HP worlds, but it needed time to recharge.

Every time she crossed between worlds, she had to wait roughly twelve hours for the progress bar to fill before she could cross again.

So, after buying a wand and some books in Diagon Alley, Hermione had immediately recorded every spell she could currently access and rushed straight to the Marvel Universe to practice.

With an entire world between them, surely even the Ministry of Magic couldn't track whatever spells she used.

After packing her luggage and declining her parents' offer to see her off, Hermione headed for King's Cross Station.

More precisely, she was heading for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, hidden within King's Cross Station, where the train taking Hogwarts students back to school awaited.

When she reached the platform and saw everyone around her ignoring the students walking through the wall, Hermione instantly understood that some spell had been cast to muddle Muggle perceptions.

Otherwise, the spectacle of one person after another charging straight into a wall would have left every onlooker's jaw on the floor.

Typical Ubisoft.

Hermione remembered that the platform was only open for a limited time. Not daring to delay, she clutched her ticket and walked straight through the wall.

If she went in too late, she really would hit the wall.

Once she passed through, the view opened up before her. A steampunk-style train stood quietly beside the platform, and quite a few young witches and wizards were hauling their luggage aboard.

After boarding, Hermione found an empty compartment and sat down.

She leaned against the window, her lovely face reflected in the glass, but her eyes held a maturity far beyond her years.

Just as she sank into thought, the compartment door suddenly slid open.

"Oh, someone's here?"

A boy wearing glasses saw Hermione and immediately began apologizing.

His frames were held together with tape, and the left lens had a crack in it.

"Sorry, sorry, but all the other compartments are full. I saw there were still empty seats here. Could I sit here?"

Hermione glanced at him without speaking, then gave a slight nod.

"Thank you."

The bespectacled boy sat down.

Before long, a red-haired boy also arrived at the compartment and asked the same question.

Harry stole a glance at Hermione. Seeing no reaction from her, he nodded and patted the seat beside him.

"That scar-you're Harry Potter!"

Ron's eyes suddenly widened, and he began exclaiming in excitement.

Once the commotion died down, Ron looked at Hermione.

Only then did he notice that the aloof girl before him had shown no reaction whatsoever to the name Harry Potter.

After all, thanks to the Dark Lord, practically everyone in the Wizarding World knew Harry Potter.

Was she Muggle-born, unaware of what that name meant?

Ron looked at Harry and mouthed, "Your friend?"

Harry shook his head and spread his hands.

He didn't know the girl's name either. He simply felt that she radiated a "keep away" aura that made him reluctant to strike up a conversation.

It hadn't occurred to him that Hermione might not recognize him. He just thought she didn't want to talk to him.

Just then, the snack trolley passed by. Wealthy Harry bought a huge pile of snacks outright, showing off his superpower of money and leaving the penniless student Ron utterly stunned.

The two laid the foundations of a solid friendship built on Galleons.

Just as they were sharing Chocolate Frogs, the compartment door slid open again.

A pale boy with platinum-blond hair appeared in the doorway, followed by two lackeys.

Draco Malfoy.

"Is it true?" Malfoy drawled, his gaze sweeping over Harry and Ron while completely ignoring Hermione in the corner. "They say Harry Potter is in this compartment."

Harry nodded.

Malfoy's gaze shifted to Ron, and his lips curled with disdain. "Red hair and secondhand robes? You must be a Weasley."

He turned to Harry and held out his hand. "You'll soon find that some wizarding families are much better than others."

"Potter, you wouldn't want to make friends with the wrong sort, would you? I can help you there."

Harry glanced at his outstretched hand, then at Ron's flushed face, and flatly refused. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks."

Malfoy's expression darkened instantly.

"I'd advise you to be smart about this, Potter," he said coldly. "Some people die because they don't know what's good for them. Like your parents..."

Harry and Ron both stood up and glared at him.

Hermione, who had been resting against the window with her eyes closed all this time, finally frowned in irritation.

Just as Malfoy was about to say more-

A Chocolate Frog leaped straight into his open mouth, plugging it completely.

Malfoy's eyes widened in horror, and he frantically tried to claw out the Chocolate Frog, which was still wriggling.

"Pfft!"

He finally managed to spit out the Chocolate Frog, but just as he was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, the world began to spin. Everything before his eyes swayed and twisted.

The floor beneath his feet seemed to turn into soft, rolling waves, and his body toppled backward beyond his control.

Thud!

Malfoy hit the floor hard, the back of his head striking it with a dull thump.

Stars danced before his eyes, and his head buzzed so badly that, for a moment, he couldn't tell which way was up.

"Hahahahaha!"

Ron couldn't hold back any longer. He pointed at Malfoy on the floor and burst out laughing.

"I've never seen anyone fall over while standing still before! Forget learning magic-go home and learn how to walk first!"

Harry couldn't suppress his laughter either, his shoulders shaking.

After recovering, Malfoy struggled to his feet, mortified and furious. His face turned a deep purplish red as he glared viciously at Harry and Ron.

"Weasley! You must have done it! Just you wait!"

He didn't even stop to consider how Ron could possibly have done such a thing without drawing his wand. He simply assumed it was one of the Weasley family's cheap pranks.

After throwing out his threat, Malfoy limped away in disgrace, supported by his two lackeys.

Amid all the chaos, no one noticed the whisper from the corner or the faint light that had flashed from the wand tip peeking out of a sleeve.

[Levitation Charm proficiency +1, Confundus Charm proficiency +1]

Inside the compartment, Ron was laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up.

Harry laughed for a while too, then looked curiously at Hermione.

From beginning to end, the girl had simply sat quietly by the window, as though none of what had happened had anything to do with her.

Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.

Sensing Harry's gaze, Hermione turned her head, her eyes settling on his cracked lens.

That's a bit of an eyesore.

"Reparo."

With a casual flick of her wand, the crack in Harry's glasses vanished without a trace.

Compulsion satisfied.

[Mending Charm proficiency +1]

Night fell, and the train finally arrived.

After leaving the train and boarding small boats, the first-years traveled across the water to Hogwarts under the guidance of Hagrid and the others.

Looking at the enormous, magnificent castle before her, even Hermione, who had seen countless towering buildings in her previous life, couldn't help expressing her heartfelt admiration.

"Sure enough, seeing it on a screen can never compare to experiencing it in person."

They climbed the steps and arrived outside the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall stood at the edge of the staircase, wearing green robes and a pointed Wizard's hat.

A faint hubbub drifted through the great doors behind her.

Professor McGonagall explained the rules of the Sorting, then had the first-years enter the Great Hall in order.

As Hermione passed Professor McGonagall, the professor looked at her and suddenly spoke. "Miss Hermione Granger."

Hermione paused, her thoughts racing.

Hm?

Unlike the original Hermione, who had rushed to the very front, she had done the exact opposite, hiding at the back for fear of drawing attention.

She hadn't expected to be noticed even there.

Hermione turned toward McGonagall. "Good evening, Professor McGonagall."

McGonagall looked down at her for a moment, then gave her a kindly smile.

"Miss Granger, thank you for your concern. I wish you a pleasant new term."

The same words as in her reply.

Understanding dawned on Hermione. So it was because of the letter she had written earlier.

"Thank you for your kind wishes. I hope your teaching goes smoothly as well." She returned a perfectly polite smile.

The others were surprised to see Professor McGonagall speak to a first-year individually.

"Who's that girl? I haven't seen her before."

"Her surname's Granger. Never heard of it. She's probably Muggle-born..."

A Muggle?

Nearby, Malfoy's gaze instantly filled with contempt.

He remembered this girl. She had been in the same compartment as Harry Potter and that Weasley.

So she was a Mudblood after all.

After what had happened on the train, he had eventually thought it through. That Weasley idiot couldn't possibly have been capable of something like that.

Could it have been Harry Potter?

He had initially suspected Hermione as well, but now he had crossed her off his list of suspects entirely.

A Mudblood had probably never even encountered magic before. How could she possibly have that kind of skill?

Still, having a Mudblood witness him at his most humiliating made him even more irritated.

He silently committed Hermione's face to memory.

Once they reached the center of the Great Hall, the most conspicuous sight, apart from the older students on either side, was the row of professors seated at the head of the hall.

Especially the Whitebeard old man in the middle, who looked remarkably like Gandalf.

Albus Dumbledore.

The old man stood and surveyed the room. His gaze lingered on Harry Potter for a moment, then passed over everyone else and went straight to Hermione at the very back.