After an unknown length of time, the train finally began to slow.
Morris rubbed his slightly sore neck and turned to look out the window.
The sky had taken on the colors of dusk, and the distant mountains rose and fell like a sleeping giant beast.
"We're nearly there." Lee Jordan stretched, the back of his right hand accidentally brushing against Guantou, who was dozing on Morris's lap.
"!"
He jerked his hand back as quickly as if he had been burned.
"What's wrong?" Fred keenly noticed something was off.
"Nothing." Lee Jordan shook his head, but an odd feeling stirred within him.
What was that?
He seemed to have felt a strange, sinister chill.
It was no ordinary coolness, but a chill that sank into his bones, as though he had touched something that did not belong in this world.
Yet the sensation was somewhat familiar... He struggled to recall it and finally remembered-it was similar to having one of the Hogwarts ghosts pass through his body.
He instinctively turned toward Morris, only to find that Morris had been looking out the window the whole time, completely unaware of his strange reaction.
Only the black cat had opened his eyes at some point and was quietly watching him.
Lee Jordan shivered involuntarily.
"Are you really all right?" George leaned over too and asked in a low voice.
"I'm fine." Lee Jordan steadied himself.
Morris Black really is a mysterious fellow.
Before the train had come to a complete stop, hurried footsteps rang out in the corridor.
"Let's go." Fred and George stood up together.
"Oh, all right."
Holding Guantou, Morris stood up as well and followed the twins.
"Hey, first-year." Fred glanced back at him and pointed at Guantou in his arms and the trunk at his feet. "You don't need to bring those. Leave your pets and luggage on the train. The house-elves will deliver them to your dormitory. Oh, do you know what house-elves are?"
"Of course." Morris nodded.
He had read a detailed description of these "wizard servants" in a book.
"Stay put, stupid cat. See you tonight."
Morris set Guantou on the trunk.
Although Guantou was somewhat reluctant to part with him, he obediently sat there.
A bustling crowd poured out of the Hogwarts Express, Morris among them.
It was completely dark now, and the evening breeze blew cool and crisp against his face.
He looked around and found himself on a small, rather rudimentary platform.
Nearby stood an old wooden sign, on which the words "Hogsmeade Station" were faintly visible in the dim light.
Not far away, lanterns swayed in the darkness.
"First-years! Over here! All first-years, follow me! Harry, over here! How are you?"
A rough voice rang out.
Morris looked toward the voice and saw an extraordinarily tall giant-so tall that he wondered whether he was a cross between a human and some sort of magical creature.
Still, what he shouted drew more attention than his appearance.
Harry Potter was the only name in this world that Morris was at all familiar with.
He began trying to find Harry Potter in the crowd-in fact, everyone present was doing the same.
Everyone was curious about what sort of person Harry Potter was.
Probably because he was surrounded by the crowd, Morris did not catch sight of the legendary Harry Potter.
But that did not matter. It had little to do with him, after all.
"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts," Hagrid's voice rang out again. "Come on, first-years, follow me! Watch your step!"
Morris said goodbye to Lee Jordan and the twins and joined the first-years.
He followed at the very back of the group, the pleasantly cool night breeze making him narrow his eyes involuntarily.
His life at Hogwarts was about to officially begin.
The oil lamp swaying in Hagrid's hand cast a dim light, and the shadow at Morris's feet writhed unnaturally.
A black outline separated from the shadows, and an owl lightly hopped onto his wrist.
The two ghostly blue flames burning in Yanhua's eye sockets were particularly conspicuous at night.
But because Morris was at the very back of the group, no one noticed this unusual sight.
"Hoot→hoot↑hoot↓"
"You want to go say hello to the owls at this school? No problem. Go on."
Understanding what Yanhua meant, Morris gently raised his arm.
The flames in Yanhua's eye sockets flickered slightly, then he spread his wings and silently melted into the night.
Owls seemed to have their own set of social rules, and as a newcomer, Yanhua needed to show his face among the local owls.
It was just unclear whether they would accept an owl who had become undead.
Morris watched Yanhua disappear into the night sky toward the castle, then quickened his pace to catch up with the first-years.
Hagrid led the restless first-years down a steep, narrow path flanked by dense forest.
At last, they stopped beside a vast lake.
"We'll cross the river by boat," Hagrid said, pointing at the little wooden boats on the lake. "Four to a boat, one at a time!"
Since Morris was last in line, he was lucky enough to have a boat all to himself.
That suited him perfectly-he could even lie down in the wooden boat and gaze up at the stars.
"Please sit up, the gentleman at the back!"
Hagrid's booming voice came from the foremost boat, and Morris had no choice but to comply.
The boat slowly began to move, and he dipped his hand into the lake.
A gentle sensation brushed his fingertips, carrying the particular chill of lake water at night.
He scooped up some water and examined it carefully in the moonlight. It was extremely clear, with almost no impurities visible.
Out of some curiosity, he took a small taste-it was cool and refreshing, without any strange flavor.
A good place for swimming, Morris thought.
Although he could not swim.
Just then, an enormous dark shape silently appeared beneath the surface near his little boat.
It was clearly something big.
It swam slowly, neither approaching nor retreating, as though observing the boats from a distance.
Morris shifted a little toward the center of the boat-he certainly did not want to fall in because of some accident.
When the boat reached the middle of the lake, he had nothing to do and began gazing up at the sky again.
Besides the twinkling stars, some moving shadows were faintly visible in the night sky.
They did not look like ordinary birds, but more like some kind of large creature.
Morris narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly.
Just then, a black speck abruptly appeared in the night sky behind it.
Closer and closer...
At last, Morris could make out exactly what the black speck looked like.
It was a gaunt black winged horse, nothing but skin and bones, with batlike wings, a dragon-shaped head, and a pair of pure white pupils.
Beautiful, was Morris's first impression.
This was his first time seeing such a fantastical creature.