The morning sun painted King's Cross Station in soft gold, casting long shadows across the bustling crowd. Steam hissed from the gaps between tracks as owls hooted impatiently in their cages. Families gathered around trolleys loaded with trunks and cats, hugs were shared, and tickets clutched tightly in nervous hands.
Professor Minerva McGonagall strode briskly through the station, guiding a very out-of-place boy through the mass of Muggles.
"Stop climbing the walls, Inosuke!" she hissed.
Inosuke Hashibira, wearing his usual boar's head mask and proudly bare-chested, had his feet planted on a pillar, halfway up it, sniffing the air.
"This place is filled with steel beasts and strange scents!" he shouted.
"I told you. It's a train station," McGonagall replied, tugging at his belt to pull him back down. "And this is where you'll catch the Hogwarts Express."
Inosuke landed on the ground with a thud, eyes gleaming beneath the boar mask. "Hogwarts Express?" he muttered. "Sounds like a monster."
Minerva sighed. "No, you will not fight it."
They reached the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. She checked the surroundings, then pointed toward the solid wall.
"Through there," she instructed. "Just walk straight at the barrier. Don't stop."
Inosuke blinked. "You want me to run into a wall?"
Before she could explain further, he shouted, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" and sprinted head-first.
He exploded through the barrier in a blast of steam and roaring laughter.
Minerva stepped through a moment later, adjusting her hat.
Ahead of them was the bright red engine of the Hogwarts Express, spewing steam into the sky. Students in black robes loaded their luggage as parents gave tearful goodbyes. The whistle of the train echoed through the platform.
Inosuke froze.
His fingers twitched.
He took a cautious step forward, eyeing the train like a stalking predator.
"Is this it?" he whispered.
"Is this the monster!?"
And then he charged.
"YEEEEAAAARGHH!"
"PREPARE YOURSELF, METAL DEMON!"
He leapt onto the front of the train, clinging to the cowcatcher, pounding his fists against it like a gorilla.
"THIS THING HAS ARMOR! IT'S A BOSS MONSTER!"
Steam hissed again, as if hissing back.
"BEAST BREATHING—"
"Inosuke!" McGonagall barked.
He paused mid-swing, one foot planted on the buffer, looking back at her.
"It's transportation! Not a monster!"
He lowered his fists slowly. "So I ride it?"
"Yes!" she growled. "Like everyone else."
Grumbling, Inosuke jumped down and stormed toward the train door, muttering about the wasted opportunity to wrestle a train beast.
Inside, the compartments were already filling up. Students peeked from behind curtains, murmuring about the shirtless boy in a boar mask stomping down the corridor with twin rods on his back.
Minerva opened an empty compartment for him.
"This is where you sit. The ride takes several hours. Don't… break anything."
"Are there enemies on the train?" he asked, eagerly.
"No. Only other students."
"…What if they want to fight?"
"They won't."
He clicked his tongue in disappointment and slumped onto the seat.
Minerva gave one last exhausted look, then turned away. "Try to behave."
She didn't see him immediately press his face to the window like a dog, fogging up the glass.
Moments later, the compartment door slid open again. A red-haired boy peeked in.
"Er… you mind if I sit here?" he asked.
Inosuke turned slowly, steam still rising from his body.
"DO YOU FIGHT?" he bellowed.
The boy yelped and fled.
Inosuke snorted.
"Cowards."
"No one here's got guts, huh?"
As the train began to move, he looked out the window and grinned.
The hunt for strength would continue at Hogwarts.
And this metal beast? He'd tamed it.
_________
The train clattered steadily over the rails, the gentle rocking motion carrying the Hogwarts Express deeper into the countryside. Clouds rolled past the windows, painting the sky with streaks of gold and gray. Inside, chatter echoed through the corridors: introductions, laughter, and the scuffling of excited feet.
In his otherwise quiet compartment, Inosuke sat cross-legged on the seat, boar mask still on, nose pressed to the window like an alert animal.
He had already driven off three curious students with aggressive declarations of battle. Now, with no enemies presenting themselves, he simply sulked, tapping the metal rods on his lap.
"Boring…" he muttered through the mask.
"No threats. No beasts. I hate this peaceful nonsense."
Then the door slid open with a soft clatter.
"Excuse me," came a crisp, clear voice. "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."
Inosuke turned his head slowly.
Standing in the doorway was a girl with bushy brown hair and a determined expression. Her wand was already in hand, and her eyes scanned the compartment like a commander assessing the battlefield.
Then she saw him—and blinked.
"What on Earth…"
Inosuke remained motionless, eyes glinting beneath the mask.
Hermione stepped forward, cautious but curious. "Um… are you a student? Are you alright?"
Inosuke leapt to his feet and slammed his foot on the seat.
"YOU! GIRL! DO YOU WISH TO TEST ME?!"
Hermione nearly dropped her wand. "What?! N–No! I'm just looking for a toad!"
He crouched, staring at her like a predator measuring prey.
"Toad? A beast?" he asked.
"Er… well, yes. Technically."
"I CAN FIND THIS TOAD FOR YOU."
Hermione raised a brow. "I—I doubt that. You don't even—"
But he had already dropped to all fours and sniffed the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"Tracking it," he said, crawling out of the compartment and into the corridor on all fours, much to the horror of the passing students.
Hermione chased after him. "Wait! You can't just crawl around like that!"
"Silence! I am a tracker of the highest order!"
"This train reeks of fear and sweets… but I can smell the toad!"
He sprinted down the hallway, scattering second-years and first-years alike, ducking beneath swinging elbows and legs, grunting and sniffing like a truffle-hunting boar.
Hermione trailed behind in disbelief.
"Who is this lunatic?!"
Inosuke skidded to a stop near a luggage rack. He sniffed once, twice, then reached between two trunks and yanked something out.
"FOUND IT!"
In his hand squirmed a very startled, very slimy toad.
"ACK!" Hermione gasped. "You actually found it?!"
The toad croaked.
Inosuke held it high like a trophy. "TINY BEAST SECURED! NOW, WHO IS THIS NEVILLE?! I SHALL DELIVER HIS CREATURE!"
The students in the nearby compartment stared wide-eyed. One girl screamed.
"Please stop shouting," Hermione groaned, rubbing her temples.
"SHOW ME THE ONE WHO LOST TO HIS PET!"
Hermione took the toad and gently cradled it. "His name is Neville Longbottom. He's—wait, I saw him a few cars back!"
"LEAD THE WAY!"
"Let's return this beast to its weak master!"
They turned and hurried back down the corridor, Hermione clinging to the toad while Inosuke stomped behind like an over-excited guard dog.
Soon enough, they found Neville—tall, round-faced, and fumbling nervously with his bag.
"Trevor!" he gasped when he saw the toad. "You found him?!"
Hermione handed the toad over. "Not me. Him."
Neville's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the boar-masked, shirtless boy standing proudly with crossed arms.
"Wh-who is that?"
"I'm not sure," Hermione muttered. "But he's… good."
Inosuke stepped forward, towering over Neville.
"Train yourself better. A beast that runs away brings shame to its master."
Neville shrank back. "O–Okay."
Ha!" Inosuke barked, satisfied. "Another successful hunt!"
He turned and strutted back down the corridor, pushing past a group of stunned Ravenclaws.
Hermione followed him again, shaking her head. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"I am INOSUKE HASHIBIRA! WARRIOR OF THE FOREST! KING OF THE MOUNTAIN!"
"…Right."
They returned to the empty compartment. Inosuke plopped back down, resting his feet on the opposite bench and folding his arms behind his head.
Hermione stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Well… thank you for helping Neville. That was surprisingly kind of you."
"I just like hunting. Finding beasts. Doesn't matter if it's for someone else."
"…You're strange."
"I've been called worse."
There was a moment of silence between them. The train hummed along its track. Outside, the green hills of Scotland rolled by.
Hermione, curiosity getting the better of her, finally stepped inside.
"I'm Hermione Granger," she said. "I've read every book on Hogwarts, you know."
"I'm Inosuke," he said, pulling off his boar mask for a brief moment. His face, to her surprise, was sharp and almost handsome under the dirt. "And I've read zero books."
"…Figures."
"But I'll learn your wizard stuff. Then I'll beat everyone at it."
"You don't beat people at magic, you—never mind."
She sat down across from him, clearly unsure if she had just made a friend or walked into a disaster waiting to happen.