After getting on the boat,
Neville's face was tense, and he held on to the seat with both hands, not daring to approach the edge.
The other two freshmen also got on.
After the four of them were seated, no one rowed, but the boat began to move on its own.
Dylan glanced down
and saw a huge squid, its two suckers tightly attached to the bottom of the boat.
The squid swam silently under the water, leading the boat forward, passing under the cliff and through the curtain of ivy.
Finally, the boat slowly docked.
The squid sank straight into the lake and disappeared.
"I wonder if this kind of squid will taste good when chopped and fried,"
Dylan smacked his lips.
Neville got off the boat shakily and hurriedly trotted from the dock to the shore.
"Huh..."
Neville breathed a sigh of relief.
Dylan came over at that moment and warned, "Don't rush so fast. Be careful not to leave anything on the boat."
"Huh?" Neville was suddenly startled.
He quickly reached into his arms and pockets. He
couldn't seem to find what he was looking for, and his eyes widened as if startled.
"Oh no! My Leff is gone again!"
"What? Again?"
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
He only remembered that Neville seemed to have lost a toad when he first boarded the train.
Hermione had helped him look for it, which led to their introduction to Harry and Ron.
At the time, he'd been wondering why Hermione hadn't come to his compartment looking for the toad. Now it seemed she must have found it midway.
But...
"I don't recall seeing any toads or other lifeforms on you just now. So, did you lose your Leff again when you got off the train?"
Dylan, with his mastery of the Parasitic Possession Charm, could sense the presence of external lifeforms to a certain extent.
Although he hadn't been paying much attention during the journey, now thinking back, he didn't seem to have noticed any other lifeforms besides Neville.
Neville's forehead was beaded with sweat.
He scratched the back of his head, straining his brain, but couldn't recall any useful clues.
Dylan said, "It could have fallen on the way, or it could have fallen on the train. I'm leaning towards the latter."
Now that he thought about it, it seemed as if the chubby little boy standing in front of him was Neville.
And he hadn't seen any toads along the way.
"If it was on the train, the house-elves would have taken it back to the academy."
"But..." Neville paused.
"No buts. Even if it fell on the way, we can't go back and look for it now. We'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Is that the only way..." Neville said with a mournful look. "I heard Hogwarts is full of dangers. I'm worried something might happen to Ralph."
Seeing the chubby little boy's expression,
Dylan felt a little helpless.
"Let me try the Summoning Charm. If it's nearby, I can find it. But if you left it on the train or somewhere along the way, there's nothing I can do."
"What? Dylan, you even know the Summoning Charm?"
Neville was stunned for a moment, then a light flickered on his face. "Then I'll leave it to you!"
"Don't get your hopes up."
Dylan waved his wand.
"Accio Trevor!"
Magic burst forth from the wand.
It surged with surprising precision towards a small boat.
"Swish!"
A toad, seemingly well-fed, flew out. Before the other party could reach him, Dylan interrupted his magic.
"Quack!"
Lev fell to the ground and cried out.
Neville hurried over and lifted Lev from the ground.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Oh my God, Dylan, you're amazing! You can perform such a difficult spell. Thank you so much! I bet Lev must have fallen behind and chased me all the way!"
Neville sniffed.
By now, many of the young wizards had already walked away.
Dylan shook his head. "Okay, let's get going, or we'll fall behind the group."
He walked forward first, and Neville immediately followed him happily.
He pointed a finger at the fat toad in his arms.
"Don't run around anymore next time!"
"Quack!"
Dylan glanced at the toad. It
was fat, plump, and ugly.
Why would anyone keep a toad as a pet?
Is it to raise it and kill it to harvest the magical materials it contains?
"My little Shadow is still the prettiest."
It might be an ominous-looking black cat with a mooing sound, but so what?
Isn't Professor McGonagall a cat after her transformation?
To put it bluntly, Coal Ball is Professor McGonagall!
Besides, Shadow isn't a real cat; it's a species in its own right!
Dylan and Neville followed the group.
They walked down a cobblestone path
and arrived at a large gate.
"Bang!"
Hagrid banged on the door a few times, making a loud noise.
Soon, someone pushed it open from inside. It was Professor McGonagall.
She was dressed in a vibrant emerald green robe, flowing smoothly with naturally draped folds. Her iron-gray hair was tightly combed into a neat, tidy bun, unmistakable.
She gazed at the group of young wizards outside with a stern expression and a sharp gaze. She wore a peaked hat bearing the emblem of the School of Magic.
Professor McGonagall looked difficult now, a stark contrast to the gentle manner she had displayed when she'd been strolling around Diagon Alley with him.
"Professor McGonagall, here are all the first-years," Hagrid said in a powerful voice.
"Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid. Leave them to me." Professor McGonagall nodded.
She widened the door again.
After Hagrid walked straight in, she led the first-years into the entrance hall.
"Follow me."
Dylan joined the crowd, almost at the end with Neville.
As the others passed by, he took in the interior of Hogwarts.
Numerous reliefs adorned the ancient walls lining the path.
They held braziers, emitting a glowing light.
Dylan noticed that these reliefs represented the animals of the four major houses, each with wings.
Each one looked lifelike, as if looking down at the freshmen.
"Interesting!"
Stepping into Hogwarts, a sense of time washed over him.
"This is much more exciting than watching 3D movies back then!"
He couldn't quite remember which 3D version he'd seen, but at the beginning, a group of Dementors floated around. He was still young at the time, and they gave him a fright.
"The Great Hall is inside. We'll be enjoying dinner soon. But first, I'd like to welcome you, the young wizards, to Hogwarts."
Professor McGonagall led them to the Great Hall door and turned to say, "Before you can actually enroll, you'll need to go through the Sorting Ceremony."