The sunlight on September 1st was exceptionally bright, as if even the heavens were congratulating the new students on their matriculation.
London's sky was clear, with only a few faint wisps of cloud hanging on the vast blue expanse. A refreshing breeze brushed past everyone's ears, as intoxicating as a soft whisper.
Marcel had bought a new suitcase in Diagon Alley. It was a second-hand one from the junk shop, and the Undetectable Extension Charm on it was slightly damaged, making the space inside much smaller. Fortunately, the Ministry of Magic's permission sticker was still firmly attached to the inner flap.
After thoroughly disparaging the suitcase and successfully haggling the price down several times, Marcel had finally bought it through gritted teeth. Now, he walked effortlessly along the platform walkway of King's Cross Station, savoring the pleasant feeling bought with Galleons. A journey with only an owl and a light suitcase was truly wonderful.
Before long, he arrived between Platforms 9 and 10, but he hesitated, staring at the thick supporting pillar.
"Oh?" Marcel reached out his hand and was surprised to find it pass right through the brick-and-stone column.
The first time is always a little strange. Although it didn't hurt, there was still a sense of nervousness. With a small step forward, he found himself having passed through, arriving at the true Hogwarts Express platform.
Thick smoke from the steam engine billowed over the chattering crowd, and cats of all colors weaved between people's legs. Amid the hum of conversation and the clatter of heavy luggage being dragged, owls hooted shrilly, calling back and forth to one another.
The owl perched on Marcel's left shoulder looked much larger than the others and was very quiet, not at all like the little ones that were cooing and hooting incessantly. It blinked its large, bright eyes, observing the crowded platform ahead, completely unfazed.
Yes, after spending some time together, Marcel had discovered that his pure black owl didn't seem to like being in its cage. Ever since he let it out, it had never gone back in.
"Malfa, let's go!" Marcel had given it a rather grand name, Malfurion, but "Malfa" for short.
"Hoo," Malfa hooted softly in agreement.
The train was already quite full. Marcel passed through several carriages without seeing anyone he knew, so he randomly chose a less crowded compartment and went in.
"Oh, good morning!" Marcel stood at the door and nodded to the people inside. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Of course, come in!" a dark-haired boy immediately replied.
The boy seemed a bit timid and not very good at communicating. After his one reply, he shrank back into his seat and said no more.
"Mind if I introduce myself?" Seeing the cold atmosphere in the compartment, Marcel had to start a conversation. "My name is Marcel, Marcel Maclean. And you?"
"...Anthony Goldstein," the dark-haired boy mumbled, looking even more nervous.
It seemed he really wasn't good at chatting. Marcel nodded and didn't press him further. He had a lot to do anyway! For example, memorizing, memorizing, and more memorizing.
Taking out a copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi from his suitcase, Marcel began to read it carefully. The book was incredibly thick, and the variety of plants inside was quite complex. So far, he had only managed to memorize a little less than half.
After a short while, two more people entered the compartment. Perhaps because it was getting more crowded, the dark-haired Anthony had been in an unnatural state from the beginning. He kept forcing himself to look out the window, pretending to be admiring the scenery.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Ernie Macmillan, nice to meet you all!" The blond boy who had just entered seemed very cheerful. He looked at Marcel sitting opposite him and greeted him loudly.
Marcel nodded back at him, smiled, introduced himself, and then turned to look at the last girl who had come in.
"Um, that is..." The girl was vigorously trying to smooth down her long brown hair, as if she wanted it to be straighter. It seemed she wasn't very happy with her naturally wavy hair.
"Lisa, Lisa Turpin... Oh!" As she was speaking, she suddenly cried out in pain, probably having pulled out a few strands of hair from smoothing it too forcefully.
"Hey, Marcel! Say, what book are you reading?" Ernie was short and stout, but his clothes were stylish and vibrant, suggesting he came from a well-off family.
However, Marcel didn't detect the arrogant air often found in children from wealthy families. He seemed like a friend worth making.
"Oh, I'm reading a textbook," Marcel said, holding the book up to show Ernie the cover.
"Oh! I have that book at home too, but I've never thought about reading it. It's so thick, and the title sounds incredibly boring," Ernie said, scratching his head and messing up his neatly combed blond hair.
Lisa, sitting next to Marcel, frowned at Ernie's hair but said nothing, turning her head to look at Marcel instead.
Marcel had always believed that maintaining a neat appearance was a necessary task, as it could make others have a good impression of you. After all, most people preferred neat clothes and a clean look, although Marcel personally felt that comfort was all that mattered.
Lisa secretly sized up Marcel and then nodded with satisfaction.
Evidently, this rather cute girl had high standards not only for her own appearance but for others as well.
After that, apart from Anthony who barely spoke, the other three had some initial conversation and agreed to see more of each other at school. Of course, it was obvious that Lisa preferred talking to Marcel, though the somewhat dense Ernie didn't notice.
As for what he gained on the journey, besides memorizing a few dozen more herbs, the only other thing was probably a brief encounter with Miss Hermione Granger.
However, her proud attitude, rapid-fire speech, and urgent manner of action were really too much for Marcel to handle. After he gave a few perfunctory replies, Hermione hurried off again.
Right, she was helping Neville find a toad. That was probably it. In fact, Marcel hadn't really heard clearly; at the time, all his attention was focused on memorizing herb names.
The Hogwarts Express traveled for the entire day. By the time the train began to slow down, it was already dark.
The final station was set across the lake from the back entrance of Hogwarts. The new students had to take four-person boats to get to the castle, which could probably be considered one of Hogwarts' traditions. Of course, if you ever found out you were prone to seasickness, you could perhaps walk around the lake to the front gate, though that did sound a bit silly.
"Heads down!" bellowed Hagrid as the first boats neared the cliff face. He had a boat all to himself.
Everyone ducked, and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to lead them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto a shore of rock and pebbles.
Under the light of Hagrid's lantern, the new students climbed up a passage in the rock, coming out at last onto a smooth, damp patch of grass in the shadow of the castle.
They all climbed a flight of stone steps and crowded around a huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid raised his enormous fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face, and it was plain that she was not someone to be trifled with.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
This was Hogwarts Castle, after all. Even the entrance hall was astonishingly large. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
A noisy chatter could be heard from a door to the right; the rest of the Hogwarts students must have already arrived. But Professor McGonagall didn't lead them straight in. Instead, she led the group into an empty chamber off the hall.
The room wasn't very large. The new students crowded together, shoulder to shoulder. Most of them were nervously observing everything around them.
Marcel was no exception. He was carrying his suitcase and was pushed into a corner by the crowd. Even his owl, Malfa, had to resignedly perch on top of his head.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts..."
Pushed to the back, Marcel wasn't in the mood to listen carefully to Professor McGonagall's speech. He just quietly waited for everything to begin.
"...I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
Just as Professor McGonagall's voice faded, Marcel suddenly heard a "Croak."
"Trevor!" a boy's cry came from the front. Marcel shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Please remain quiet!"
Professor McGonagall repeated in a stiff tone before leaving the room. Marcel immediately heard a few people in front of him burst into laughter.
"Ooh!" Suddenly, a few screams came from the front.
"Now what?" Marcel complained under his breath, standing on his tiptoes to look ahead. "Huh, is that-"