As the Hogwarts Express came to a stop, the eager young wizards poured out the moment the doors opened, chattering and crowding the platform.
Herman, his body a disheveled mess as if he'd been licked by a dog, walked at the back of the crowd.
He would occasionally straighten his robes, trying to make his school uniform look less wrinkled. He dragged his magical suitcase along, his steps slow and drawn, exuding an aura of utter despair.
Harry walked ahead, with Ron, who was holding a puppy in her arms, following closely behind. The two walked side by side, completely ignoring the resentful look Herman was giving them from behind.
On the platform, a very burly figure held an oil lamp high, the light illuminating his face covered with a thick beard.
Hagrid grinned widely, as if he had encountered some incredible good news, and excitedly shouted over and over again, "First-year students! All of you, line up over here!"
Neville was the first to squeeze through, tilting his head back to look at Hagrid with genuine joy. " Hagrid! Long time no see!"
Hagrid looked down, and when he saw it was Neville, his eyes lit up. He reached out his large, fan-like hand and patted Neville on the shoulder.
The force made Neville shrink a bit. " Neville! You've grown quite a bit! Look at your build, you're just like your father back in the day!"
Neville winced as he was slapped, but his smile remained unchanged; inwardly, he thought, "Your strength hasn't diminished at all."
Hugo, who was standing next to Neville, kept staring at Hagrid without saying a word. His encyclopedic mind was working at a rapid pace, trying to match the Giant in front of him with the entries for Giant in the book.
But it seems a bit small. Could it be a dwarf from the Giant? Do Giant have dwarfs?
Hagrid glanced around the crowd again, his gaze suddenly fixing in one direction.
He saw Harry walking slowly towards him from a distance, her red hair standing out strikingly under the light.
Hagrid's smile widened even further, his voice trembling slightly. " Harry! Long time no see, the last time was at Gringotts."
As soon as Gringotts was mentioned, Hagrid seemed to realize something, quickly shut up, and began to change the subject.
"So, how have things been between you and Black all these years?"
Harry stopped in her tracks upon hearing Hagrid's words, looked up at the Giant who was more than twice her height, and replied, "He's alright, just always running around."
Hearing Harry's answer, Hagrid nodded and said, "That's how it is with Black. When he was in school, he loved to explore the whole castle. Your father, Lupin, and Peter were there too. Later, your mother joined us. My parents, I, and Black were all very good friends. I arrived a little late that year and saw that Black had already taken you away."
As he spoke, Hagrid seemed to recall some sad memory, his eyes began to redden, and tears were about to fall.
Seeing this, Herman was about to step forward and change the subject, after all, it wasn't good to let a Giant shed tears in public on the first day of school, but before he could speak, he was suddenly patted on the shoulder.
"Hey, little brother--"
A cheerful voice rang out from behind, then quickly turned into undisguised disgust. "Ugh? What's that on you? It's disgusting!"
After speaking, Draco quickly withdrew her hand and took out a handkerchief from her clothes, vigorously wiping her fingertips.
After wiping herself, she looked at the handkerchief stained with some unknown sticky substance, then decided she didn't want it anymore and tossed it to Herman: "You wipe yourself, it's disgusting."
Herman took the handkerchief and looked down. The white handkerchief was covered with sticky traces of black dog drool, and the Malfoy family crest on the edge was also blurred.
He had gradually gotten used to the sticky residue on his body, but seeing the marks on the handkerchief again instantly brought back unpleasant memories, as if he were back on the train, with a huge dog jumping up beside him and drooling all over him, making him feel nauseous.
Hugo and the others also noticed Herman's disheveled appearance and gathered around. Neville asked with concern, "Did you throw up in the car? Are you alright? Should we call the professor to take a look?"
Herman quickly waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.
Looking at Herman's dirty clothes, Hugo hesitated before drawing her wand and asking, "Should I clean them with magic? I've tried ' Scourgify ' before, and it's worked a few times."
Hugo's words reminded Herman that there was still magic to use! He hadn't completely shaken off his Muggle mindset; he had only thought about washing his clothes and changing at school, completely forgetting about this.
"Oh right, how could I forget that?" Herman said, taking out his wand and gently waving it at himself.
A gentle breeze swept over her body, and Herman looked down to find that the stains on her clothes had vanished instantly, the fabric was smooth again, and even the wrinkles had been ironed neatly.
The handkerchief was clean again, and the emblem on it was clear once more. Only a faint, lingering scent remained on Herman's nose, probably due to psychological trauma.
"Here you go." Herman handed the handkerchief back to Draco.
Unexpectedly Draco looked at the handkerchief and backed away, probably feeling uncomfortable. She waved her hand and said, "Um... you can have it, no need to return it. I'll be going now, remember to choose Slytherin!"
After saying that, she jogged to catch up with two equally chubby classmates, probably also members of Pure-blood families, and then squeezed to the front of the line without looking back, trying to get as far away from Herman as possible.
After this interruption, Hagrid no longer had time to hold back his tears, but he did remember Draco's last words, "Choose Slytherin," and couldn't help but burst out laughing, "What's so good about Slytherin? They're all wicked!"
Clearly, Hagrid didn't have a good impression of Slytherin students during his school years.
"Alright, kids, it's time to board. Professor McGonagall has been urging me several times." Hagrid said, turning around and striding ahead of the group, waving his hand to signal the new students to follow.
The new students, carrying their luggage, followed behind, stumbling along a steep and narrow gravel path.
As Herman walked, he looked around and noticed that the students from the other grades were being led by their Prefect to the other side of the station, where carriages pulled by strange horses were parked.
After walking along the path for a while, the surrounding view gradually opened up.
The path beneath my feet leads to a wide, black lake. On the opposite shore, the spires of Hogwarts Castle are clearly visible in the night, each lit window like a jewel adorning black velvet.
Many small boats were moored along the lake shore, with dim lanterns hanging from their bows. Hagrid stood on the foremost boat and called to the new students, "Four people per boat, get on! And don't rock back and forth on the boat!"
Herman fell to the back of the group, and there was just one small boat left, so he boarded it with Ron and Harry.
The boats were apparently controlled by magic, requiring no oars. After Hagrid warned them, "Don't stick your hands out of the boat or touch the water," all the boats started up on their own, swaying gently away from the shore, leaving long, thin ripples on the calm lake, heading straight for Hogwarts Castle.