Hogwarts

It was only shortly before they got off the train that Harry learned Ron's pet was actually a rat.

A rat!

Even if the Brits did like keeping all sorts of odd creatures, what was the deal with a rat? Was it rare? Absolutely not. So what possessed someone to keep one as a pet?

Harry couldn't understand it.

If Harry had still been a little nervous as he got off the train, much of that nervousness melted away when he saw Hagrid towering over the crowd, holding an enormous lantern and grinning broadly at them.

"First years! First years, over here, please!" Hagrid called at the top of his voice. He had no need for an Amplifying Charm; his extraordinary size came with an equally extraordinary voice.

"Whoa, so this is Hagrid?" Ron murmured as he approached Hagrid alongside Harry.

Ron was certainly one of the taller boys his age. He was already nearly as tall as his twin brothers, who were two years older. Yet he still didn't even reach Hagrid's waist.

Hermione and Neville were just as astonished.

"Hagrid, it's great to see you," Harry said happily as he reached him.

"Oh, Harry, you too." Hagrid gave him a great big smile. It was both great and big because his face was huge, and because his grin stretched so wide.

"Wait a moment. I need to count. I remember there should be forty first years. Hmm..." Hagrid didn't seem particularly good at counting, pointing a thick finger at each young wizard's head in turn.

He counted them three times, and Harry couldn't help counting along once himself. Only after confirming that all forty young wizards were gathered around him did Hagrid nod in satisfaction and call toward the train, "Professor Quirrell, sorry for the trouble over there. Thanks so much for coming to help."

A faint reply came from the train, but it was so quiet that Harry couldn't make it out.

Hagrid had already set off with the young wizards, leading them to the edge of a vast stretch of water.

It was an enormous lake, pitch-black in the night and rather frightening. They stood on a small dock beside it, where a dozen or so little boats were moored.

Hagrid patiently checked their numbers once again before arranging for them to board the boats waiting by the lakeshore. "No more than four to a boat. Fewer is fine, but absolutely no more! Make sure you remember that!"

A scattering of replies rose from the students, but Hagrid didn't mind.

After checking their numbers yet again, Hagrid had the young wizards climb into the boats. Only when all the others were aboard did he join Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, who had been waiting beside him, in a particularly large boat.

Ron, Hermione, and the others were no longer marveling at Hagrid's height and bulk. Like Harry, their attention had been captured by the magnificent castle towering on a hillside across the distant shore.

Its spires rose in clusters, and pinpricks of firelight shone through its doors and windows, twinkling beneath the starry sky like something out of a dream.

"That's Hogwarts?" Harry had imagined Hogwarts many times before, but the sight of that vast, splendid castle in the distance still left him utterly stunned.

Even Oxford's campus would pale beside this, wouldn't it?

The boats began to move, slowly at first, then picking up speed after a little while.

Once again, Harry felt the wonder of magic! He and Dudley had gone rowing in the park before. He knew rowing wasn't easy.

Given the physical strength of the young wizards in the other boats, he didn't believe for a second that they could row so fast, let alone all at exactly the same speed. That left only magic!

"It's incredible!" Harry sighed in wonder, looking once more toward the towering castle in the distance.

"Hagrid, why are we taking boats?" Having discovered that Hagrid was easy to talk to despite his size, Ron became more animated. With nothing to do aboard the boat, he couldn't resist asking.

Out in the middle of the lake at night, the water that had only seemed a little unnerving before now looked downright frightening. If there hadn't been so many other boats around them, and if the huge, burly Hagrid hadn't been there looking so reassuring, Ron suspected he might have been just a tiny bit scared.

"I know this one." Before Hagrid could answer, Hermione eagerly spoke up:

"The school's four Founders came here by boat the first time. So first years always arrive by boat on their first visit. It's a tradition! I read it in Hogwarts: A History."

"Impressive!" Hagrid said admiringly. "You don't often see a first-year witch who knows so much."

Though Hermione tried her best to act as if the praise didn't matter, the corners of her mouth curling upward betrayed her delight.

The closer the boats drew, the larger and taller the castle seemed. As they approached the hillside on which it stood, the castle looked as though it soared into the sky itself!

Harry was just about to say something in admiration when his body suddenly shuddered. For an instant, he felt as though he had passed through something. Yet there was nothing there as far as he could see.

What was that? Harry was rather surprised.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked, apparently noticing the change in his expression.

"Nothing. It's a bit chilly!" Harry offered the first excuse that came to mind.

"It's colder out on the water. You'll be fine once we reach the castle!" Hagrid said cheerfully.

Harry answered him, but also nudged his glasses up as if casually. In that brief instant, he had felt a tremor in his mind. His body, too, had faintly felt as though it had passed through something.