Throughout August, ever since Harry learned of the existence of the wizarding world, the school life he had been looking forward to at the Dursleys' unfolded before him in a way he never expected.
Due to the train incident, teaching activities at Hogwarts were inevitably affected.
Dumbledore decided to set the start of the new term for Thursday and hold another formal Welcome Feast on Wednesday evening, giving the young wizards ample time to recover from their injuries and soothe their frightened souls.
Most students were transferred to their dormitories on the night of the disaster, but not Harry.
Although he repeatedly insisted that he had only bumped his forehead a couple of times and bled a little, the stern witch doctor dressed like a nun refused to let him go—
"Just bled a little?!"
On Tuesday morning, after being cooped up in the Hospital Wing all day Monday, Harry couldn't stand it anymore and applied to leave. Madam Pomfrey glared at him with "terrifying" eyes.
"Such a severe collision could very likely cause a concussion, Mr. Potter. I must be responsible for you!"
"But!"
Harry glanced at the glass door of the Hospital Wing, where his new friend Ron had his freckled nose pressed against the glass, looking at him expectantly.
"I know I don't have a concussion, Madam Pomfrey!"
Harry protested "angrily," eager to get to know Hogwarts more intimately with Ron.
"Oh, it doesn't count if you say so yourself."
Madam Pomfrey threw a sentence at him and turned away.
Nevertheless, after an examination on Tuesday evening, the selfless Madam Pomfrey finally released him.
Unlike at his Muggle school, where many classmates avoided him due to Dudley's intimidating size even if they didn't find him strange...
At Hogwarts, in his newly joined Gryffindor House, within just one night, he had become quite familiar with his four roommates.
They were Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnigan.
First was Ron. When Harry first met him on the train, he thought Ron was a clumsy fellow, but after spending a short time together, Harry changed his opinion.
Ron wasn't clumsy at all; on the contrary, he was very sharp and loyal.
Talking to the others, Harry learned that when his scar hurt on the train and everyone else was scared silly, it was Ron who first rushed up to hold him down and told Neville to fetch his prefect brother.
Speaking of Neville, he was the second roommate Harry met on the train.
After a brief interaction, Harry thought Neville was a boy who was exactly as he appeared—always radiating a sense of panic, looking like the type who easily gets himself into trouble.
However, he thought Neville had his sharp moments too.
That was, he could always find out news that they couldn't. (Harry thought this might be due to his harmless appearance).
"Zacharias told me this."
In the boys' dormitory, several small boys gathered around a bright candle, chatting. Naturally, the topic couldn't stray far from the disaster they had just experienced and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who had saved their lives—Mr. Ares Delfino.
"He was sorted into Hufflepuff. He broke a rib in the train crash—"
Neville's chubby face flickered in the candlelight as he spoke in a bluffing tone.
"He said Professor Delfino ran a shop called 'The Agency' in Diagon Alley before taking over from the previous professor!"
The Agency?
Harry had already been surprised for half a day that Professor Quirrell, who shook his hand at the Leaky Cauldron, had tried to rob Gringotts. So when Neville mentioned this, he was more curious about what "The Agency" represented... Was it a unique shop in the wizarding world, like Ollivanders or Quality Quidditch Supplies?
"How did he know?"
Seamus blinked curiously—this was Harry's third roommate, from a wizarding family like Ron, and a very friendly boy.
"Oh, because the shop Professor Delfino rented belongs to Zacharias's grandmother—he heard his grandmother mention before that a wizard named Ares Delfino was always late with the rent... When he heard Professor Delfino's full name, he remembered immediately."
"I'm more interested in knowing what 'The Agency' is?"
Harry's last roommate—Dean Thomas—spoke up. He was the only other boy in the dorm who grew up in the Muggle world. He loved football especially, and the first thing he did upon entering the dorm was pin a poster of his favorite team above his bed.
"Sounds like a general store that sells everything?"
Ron shrugged, then spoke in a vexed tone.
"Percy seems to know more about this professor. Yesterday at lunch in the Great Hall... Oh, you were still in the Hospital Wing then, Harry."
Ron continued, "I was discussing the magic Professor Delfino used to force the train to stop with Fred and George... many people were discussing it. Then Percy came over, acting all... oh, you don't know Percy, he loves to be mysterious. He hinted to us that he knew more about Professor Delfino, but when you actually asked him, he wouldn't say anything!"
"The older students seem to know—"
Neville blinked his round eyes, confusion appearing between his brows.
"But like Percy, they aren't willing to say much."
Could that powerful professor be hiding some major secret?
In the sudden silence, Harry pondered with immense curiosity—he couldn't help but be curious, could he?
He had witnessed with his own eyes how Professor Delfino stopped the train. That spectacular scene couldn't be rendered by any Muggle movie he had ever seen!
In a way, it almost shaped his perception of magic!
"Maybe you can ask Hagrid!"
Ron broke free from his vexed expression and looked excitedly at Harry.
"He must know what secrets lie in Professor Delfino's past—Hagrid was already here when my mum and dad were at Hogwarts. Didn't Hagrid invite you for tea tomorrow? You can ask him... Can I come with you to see Hagrid? I want to see what exactly Percy is trying to hide!"
"Of course, no problem."
Thinking of tomorrow's meeting, Harry's mood lifted. He nodded happily, looking at his friends and extending a friendly invitation.
"Anyone else want to come?"
Dean and Seamus clearly weren't that interested; they just wanted Harry and Ron to tell them the news they found out.
"I want to go—"
Neville pursed his lips, looking down at the bumps on Trevor the toad with a pitiful expression.
"But I can't. I need to ask Madam Pomfrey if she knows anything about treating toads... He hasn't eaten anything for two days since eating Professor Delfino's fly."