"Is he...?" one of the twin brothers asked. "Are you?"
"Am I what?" Harry replied.
"Harry Potter," the twins said in perfect unison.
"Oh, him," Harry said. "I mean—yeah, that's me."
The two brothers stared at him in disbelief.
"Harry Potter!" Susan leapt up with excitement and ran over for a better look. Wang Yong chuckled and shook his head.
The group spent a good while just gazing at Harry, until Mrs. Weasley interrupted the little scene.
Before long, the twins had spread the news across the train: Harry Potter was on board. Ginny jumped up excitedly, insisting she wanted to go see him too.
Eventually, the train gave a lurch and began to move. Wang Yong waved from the window to Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Bones outside. Ginny was crying and laughing all at once as she ran along the platform beside the train, waving with all her might until the train sped up and left her behind.
A little while later, the sliding door of their compartment opened, and Ron came in, dropping onto the seat next to Harry.
"What took you so long?" Wang Yong asked, though he already knew the answer—Mrs. Weasley had been busy scrubbing at a stubborn stain on Ron's nose.
Sure enough, Ron's ears were red, and he didn't say a word.
The Weasley twins came by to say hello. Ron finally met Harry and spotted the famous lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
Ron and Harry quickly hit it off. Susan joined in from time to time, while Wang Yong simply held Susan's little hand gently, patting it softly as he closed his eyes in quiet thought.
Their conversation wandered from families to Quidditch, until Ron pulled a plump gray rat—Scabbers—out of his pocket. Only then did Wang Yong open his eyes to take a look. Scabbers, thankfully, was still and sound asleep.
Around twelve-thirty, the corridor filled with a cheerful clatter. A smiling woman with dimples slid open the door and asked, "Anything from the trolley, dears?"
Wang Yong, curious, bought a selection of wizarding snacks—Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, and Licorice Wands. Most of them were sweets, so he only picked up a small amount of each, but made sure to get a few extra pumpkin pasties.
He placed them between himself and Susan. The British really do love their sweets, he thought. Guess I'm studying abroad now, huh? Should've brought a jar of Lao Gan Ma. At this rate, I'll never survive the food here.
Ron and Harry were soon chatting again, now about the trading cards that came with Chocolate Frogs. Neville came by to ask about his lost toad.
Truthfully, Wang Yong was quite a few years older at heart than the others. Sports were fine, but trying to chat with them on the same level was a bit of a stretch.
Ron was attempting to change Scabbers' color when the compartment door suddenly opened again. Just as he raised his wand, in came the boy who had lost the toad—this time with a girl beside him. She had already changed into her Hogwarts robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said briskly, her tone just a bit haughty, like she assumed command by default. She had thick, bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.
"We already told him—we haven't seen it," Ron muttered, but the girl wasn't even listening. Her eyes were fixed on his wand.
"Oh! Are you doing magic? Let's see it then."
She plopped herself down. Ron looked startled, clearly caught off guard.
"Uh—alright."
He cleared his throat.
"Sunlight, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand. Nothing happened. Scabbers remained gray and snoring.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl asked. "Doesn't seem like it, does it? I've tried a few simple ones at home, just for practice, and they all worked. No one in my family's magical, so when I got my letter, I was ever so surprised—but thrilled, of course! I mean, Hogwarts is the best school of magic there is—at least, that's what I've read. I've memorized all our textbooks, by the way, just in case. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. And you are?"
She rattled it all off in one breath.
"Ron Weasley," Ron mumbled.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Really? You're the Harry Potter?" Hermione's eyes lit up. "I know all about you, of course. I bought a few extra books for background reading—A History of Modern Magic, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century—they all mention you."
"They mention me?" Harry blinked.
"Oh goodness, you don't know? If it were me, I'd have looked up every book that ever mentioned me!" Hermione said. "Do you two know which House you'll be in yet? I've asked around a bit—I'm hoping for Gryffindor. They say it's the best. I heard Dumbledore himself was in Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad either... Anyway, we should keep looking for Neville's toad. And you'd better change into your robes—we're probably getting close."
And with that, she led Neville off.
Wang Yong and Susan sat quietly to the side, slightly awkward. Hermione's whirlwind monologue had totally ignored them, but it sparked something in Wang Yong's mind. The Sorting Hat was created by Godric Gryffindor himself—what if it was enchanted to quietly favor Gryffindor and funnel all the brightest students there?
A short while later, Malfoy showed up—but no major conflict happened. Wang Yong pretended not to see him.
As the train began to slow, the group put on their outer robes and stepped down onto the platform, where the crowd was buzzing with first-years.
Then Wang Yong heard a familiar voice shouting above the din: "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! Harry—how are yeh?"
He couldn't help but shiver just slightly. There stood Hagrid, waving enthusiastically, his great beard swaying.
His arm was still bandaged, but he looked much better than before. Wang Yong marveled again at the half-giant's incredible resilience.
They followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path leading downhill.
"Yeh'll get yer first sight of Hogwarts in a moment," Hagrid called back.
And then—
A chorus of gasps.
The narrow path opened up to reveal a vast, black lake. On the far side, atop a towering cliff, stood a majestic castle silhouetted against the starlit sky, its many turrets glowing with warm light.
"Hogwarts," Wang Yong whispered, his hand clenching in anticipation. His eyes gleamed.
"No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a line of small boats bobbing by the shore.
Wang Yong and Susan shared a boat with two other first-years.
"All ready?" Hagrid shouted. He took his own boat alone.
"Right then—forward!"
The fleet of boats glided silently across the glassy surface of the lake.
Everyone was quiet, mesmerized by the soaring castle above. Wang Yong's heart surged with emotion. This was grander, taller, more breathtaking than anything even the films had shown. He was sure—nothing like this existed in his own world.
As they neared the cliffside, the castle loomed high above.
"Heads down!" Hagrid called as the first boats reached the cliff face.
They ducked under a curtain of ivy hanging down from the rocks, and passed into a wide opening in the stone. The boats drifted through a dark tunnel, emerging at an underground dock. Then, stepping onto a stretch of pebbled shore, they followed Hagrid toward what lay beyond.