Chapter 6 The Hogwarts Express

On September 1st, the sunshine was exceptionally bright, as if even the heavens were congratulating the new students.

The sky over London was clear, with a few faint clouds hanging on the blue wall of the sky. The refreshing breeze brushed past everyone's ears, like a gentle whisper that was intoxicating.

Maca bought a new suitcase in Diagon Alley, which was a second-hand item bought from a junk shop. The Trace-Removal spell inside was damaged, causing the space inside to be greatly reduced, but fortunately, the Ministry of Magic's permit sticker was still firmly attached to the inner flap.

Maca was trying to belittle the suitcase and haggled the price several times before finally gritting his teeth and buying it. Now, he was walking comfortably on the platform aisle of King's Cross Station, enjoying the happy mood that he bought with his gold galleons - the luggage only consists of a single owl and a lightweight suitcase, what a wonderful trip.

After a while, he came to the area between platforms 9 and 10, but hesitated as he stared at the thick support pillar.

"Oh?" Maca extended his hand and quickly realized that it passed through the stone wall of the pillar, showing a surprised expression.

The first time was always a little uncomfortable, although he didn't feel any pain, he still felt a little nervous. With a small step forward, he found himself already through it and arrived at the real Hogwarts Express platform.

The thick smoke from the steam locomotive was swirling over the chattering crowds, and cats of various colors were weaving in and out of people's feet. In the buzzing conversations and the noisy sounds of dragging heavy luggage, the owls screeched piercingly and the sounds were echoing.

The owl on Maca's left shoulder looked much larger than the others and was very quiet, unlike the small fellows who kept hooting constantly. It blinked its bright eyes and looked at the crowded aisle in front of it, unfazed.

Yes, after spending some time with it, Maca found that his all-black owl seemed to dislike staying in its cage. Since he released it, it has never returned to the cage.

"Mafer, let's go!" Maca gave it a rather majestic name - Maferio, of course, a nickname "Mafer".

"hoot." Mafer chirped softly to show approval.

There were already quite a few people in the carriage. After passing through several carriages and not seeing anyone familiar, Maca randomly chose a compartment with fewer people.

"Oh, good morning!" Maca stood at the door and nodded to the people inside, "Are you okay if I sit here?"

"Of course, please come in!" A black-haired boy immediately responded.

This boy seemed a bit shy and didn't seem to be good at communicating with people. After answering, he shrank back into his seat and didn't speak anymore.

"Do you mind introducing yourself?" Maca felt the atmosphere in the compartment was a bit cold, so he brought up a topic, "My name is Maca, Maca McClain, and you?"

"…Anthony Goldstein." The black-haired boy stuttered and looked even more nervous.

It seemed that he was indeed not good at chatting. Maca nodded and did not further communicate with him, as he had many things to do, such as studying and memorizing his spells.

After a while, two more people entered the compartment. Perhaps because there were more people, Anthony seemed to be in an unnatural state from the beginning. He forced himself to look out the window, pretending to enjoy the scenery.

"Hello everyone! My name is Ernie Macmillan, and I'm glad to meet you all." The blond boy who just entered looked very cheerful, and he greeted Maca loudly as he sat opposite him.

Maca nodded at him, introduced himself with a smile, and then turned to look at the last girl who came in.

"Um, well..." The girl was busy stroking her brown long hair, trying to make them more obedient. It seemed that she was not satisfied with her natural curly hair.

"Lisa, Lisa Dupin... oh!" She was saying when she suddenly screamed in pain, probably because she had pulled too hard and pulled out some hair.

"Hey, Maca! I say, what book are you reading?" Ernie was short and fat, but his attire was not lacking in luxury and color. He looked like he came from a good family.

However, Maca did not detect the arrogance often found in children of noble families from him. He seemed like a friend worth making.

"Oh, I'm reading a textbook!" Maca held up the book and showed Ernie the cover.

"Oh! My family also has that book, but I never thought about reading it. It's too thick, and the title looks really boring." Ernie scratched his head, making his normally neat blond hair look messy.

Lisa, who was sitting next to Maca, frowned at Ernie's hair but didn't say anything. She just turned her head to look at Maca.

Maca always felt that maintaining a clean appearance was a necessary task that could make others have a good impression of you. After all, most people still prefer neat clothing and a clean appearance, even though Maca personally felt that comfort was more important.

Lisa secretly looked at Maca and then nodded in satisfaction.

Obviously, this cute-looking girl had high demands on herself and others.

Afterward, besides Anthony who barely spoke, the other three had some preliminary communication and agreed to get along well in school. Of course, Lisa clearly preferred to talk to Maca, although the thick-skinned Ernie didn't notice.

As for the harvest on this journey, apart from memorizing dozens of herbs, the only thing worth mentioning was "briefly meeting Miss Hermione Granger"!

However, her haughty attitude, talkativeness, and impetuous code of conduct really made Maca a little overwhelmed. After a few perfunctory words, Hermione left in a hurry.

Oh, she was helping Neville find a toad - maybe that was it. In fact, Maca didn't really hear clearly. At that time, his attention was focused on memorizing the names of herbs!

The Hogwarts Express traveled all day, and by the time the train slowed down, it was already dark.

The terminus of the train was set outside the back gate of Hogwarts, and the newcomers had to take a four-person boat to get to Hogwarts. This could also be considered one of Hogwarts' traditions. Of course, if you think you might have seasickness in the future, you may be able to follow the lake around to the front door, although that does sound a bit silly.

"Head down!" When the first batch of boats approached the cliff, Hagrid, who occupied one boat, shouted loudly.

Everyone lowered their heads, and the boat carried them through the ivy curtain covering the cliff face to the hidden entrance. They seemed to be in an underground tunnel and finally arrived at a place like an underground pier, and then climbed up a patch of broken stones and small pebbles on the ground.

In the light of Hagrid's lantern, the newcomers climbed up a tunnel in the rocks until they finally reached a flat and damp grassy area under the shadow of the castle.

Everyone climbed a flight of stairs and gathered in front of a huge oak door.

"Is everyone here?" Hagrid raised his huge fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door suddenly opened and a tall black-haired witch in emerald robes stood in front of the door. She looked serious and obviously not an easy person to fool.

"First years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here," she replied.

Even the hallways of the back entrance of Hogwarts Castle were intimidatingly large. A row of torches blazed on the stone walls, and the ceiling was so high that it was almost invisible. In front of them was a luxurious marble staircase leading all the way up.

Muffled voices could be heard from the door on the right, indicating that the other senior students at Hogwarts had probably arrived. However, instead of leading them directly inside, Professor McGonagall brought them to an empty room across the hall.

The room was small with the first years standing shoulder to shoulder, most of them nervously observing their surroundings.

Maca was no exception, standing in a corner holding his trunk, even his owl Marfa perched on top of his head in resignation.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet is about to start, but before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be like your family."

Maca was pushed to the back and didn't pay much attention to Professor McGonagall's speech, quietly waiting for everything to begin.

"When they are ready, I will take you over," Professor McGonagall said. "Please, wait quietly."

Just as Professor McGonagall finished speaking, they heard a loud rumble.

"Love!" a boy shouted from the front, causing Maca to shake his head in annoyance.

"Please be quiet!" Professor McGonagall repeated firmly, and she left the room. Maca heard laughter coming from the front.

"Oh!" Suddenly, they heard several screams from the front.

"What's going on?" Maca grumbled under his breath, standing on tiptoe to see ahead. "Oh, that's...."