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  It was only just befetting off the bus that Harry discovered Ron’s pet was actually a rat.

  The British might have a habit of keeping unusual pets, but a rat? Were they rare? Of course not. But why would anyone sider having one as a pet?

  Harry couldn’t uand it.

  If he had been feeling a little nervous when stepping off the bus, his ay immediately eased when he spotted Hagrid. T over the crowd, he stood out with a massive ntern in hand, smiling warmly at them.

  "First years! First years, over here!" Hagrid called out in a booming voice. He didn’t need magiplify it, his sheer size alone gave him an unusually loud voice.

  "Wow, is that Hagrid?" Ron, walking alongside Harry, couldn’t help but excim.

  Among their peers, Ron was certainly one of the tallest. He was nearly as tall as his twin brothers, who were two years older. Yet, standio Hagrid, he barely reached his waist.

  Hermione and Neville looked equally astonished.

  "Hagrid, it’s great to see you!" Harry said cheerfully as they reached him.

  "Ah, Harry! Great to see you too," Hagrid replied with a broad grin. His smile was described as "great" not only because it was wide but also because his face was simply enormous.

  "Hang on a moment, I o t. I remember there should be forty of you... Hmm..." Hagrid seemed tle with numbers. He extended his thick fingers and began patting the students on their heads, ting them one by one.

  After going over them three times, Harry noticed Hagrid ting again, just to be sure. Finally, satisfied that all forty first-years were gathered, Hagrid nodded and called toward the train, "Professor Quirrell, sorry to trouble you! Thanks for your help!"

  A faint response came from the train, but the voice was so soft that Harry couldn’t make out the words.

  By then, Hagrid had already led the first-years to the edge of a vast body of water.

  It was an enormous ke, its surface dark and slightly eerie in the nighttime. They now stood at a small dock where over a dozen tiny boats were moored.

  Hagrid took a moment to double-check the number of students before anizing them into the boats. "No more than four in each boat! Less is fine, but not more! Everyone, pay attention!"

  The students responded half-heartedly, but Hagrid didn’t seem to mind.

  Once he was certaihing was in order, he helped the students board. When all the first-years were seated, he climbed into an especially rge boat with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, who had been waiting near him.

  Ron and Hermione were no longer focused on Hagrid’s t height or massive frame. Like Harry, they were pletely captivated by the breathtaking sight before them, the majestic castle looming on the hillside across the ke.

  The castle was adorned with numerous spires. Through its grand windows and doors, warm lights twinkled beh the starry sky, giving it a dreamlike appearance.

  "Is that Hogwarts?" Harry whispered in awe. He had imagihe school tless times, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.

  Even the gra buildings at Oxford Uy would pale in parison.

  The boats began moving slowly at first, then gradually picked up speed.

  Harry once again marveled at the wonders of magic. He and Dudley had gone rowing on a park, and he knew how difficult it was to propel a boat forward.

  Given the physical strength of the first-years iher boats, he highly doubted they could row so smoothly and at su even pace. The only expnation? Magic!

  "This is amazing!" Harry excimed, his eyes fixed o castle in the distance.

  "Hagrid, why do we have to take boats?" Ron asked. Now that he had realized Hagrid, despite his size, roachable, he felt fortable striking up a versation. With nothing else to d the boat ride, curiosity got the better of him.

  Out in the middle of the vast ke, the dark waters that had merely seemed eerie before now felt truly terrifying. If it weren’t for the presence of so many boats, and, of course, Hagrid, whose mere presence felt reassuring, Ron suspected he might have been genuinely frightened.

  "I know why," Hermione spoke up before Hagrid could answer.

  "It’s because the four founders of the school first arrived at Hogwarts by boat. So, to honor that tradition, first-years always cross the ke this way on their first night. I read it in Hogwarts: A History."

  "Brilliant!" Hagrid excimed. "It’s rare to see a first-year who knows so much already."

  Hermioried to act as though the pliment didn’t affect her, but the slight upward curve of her lips gave her away.

  The closer the boat came to the castle, the rger and more imposing it seemed. As they he steep hillside where the castle stood, it looked as though it was rising straight into the sky!

  Harry was about to say something when he suddenly felt a strange sensation wash over him, a brief, invisible pressure passing through his body. He could sense something, just for a moment, but as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing unusual.

  "What was that?" Harry was taken aback.

  "What’s wrong, Harry?" Ron asked, notig the shift in his expression.

  "Nothing, just a bit of a chill!" Harry made up an excuse.

  "It’s a little cold oer, but you’ll be fine once we get to the castle!" Hagrid said with a reassuring smile.

  Harry nodded in response and adjusted his gsses, though he wasirely aware he was doing it. At that moment, a jolt ran through his mind. His body had felt, however faintly, as if it had passed through something.

  It was like static electricity!

  However, after five years of usiation to enhance his magical aal abilities, Harry was certain, his mental power had fluctuated just then.

  A magical barrier.

  The term sprang to his mind. In Aegean, where Neil had lived in his past life, magical barriers were an essential defense in nearly every city. And in his memories, there was a simir sensation when crossing the edge of such a barrier.

  Furthermore, after passing through it, Harry felt as though the air had bee noticeably more humid, ing around him in a way that was both f and soothing.

  The boat had advanced only three to five meters, surely that wasn’t enough to at for such a drastic ge in air quality. Yet it wasn’t just his body that felt different. The space between his eyebrows, where his mental power was trated, his sea of sciousness, felt particurly rexed.

  It was the same feeling of relief and satisfa that es after enduring thirst for too long and then suddenly drinking a rge, refreshing gss of water.

  It could only meahing, the tration of magical energy in the air had increased signifitly.

  After crossing the barrier, the magi the surrounding enviro had bee far more abundant. Though it was still nowhere he level of Aegean in Neil’s memories, it was siderably strohan before.

  How fasating.

  So, even though Earth was sidered a low-magie, were there still pces where magical energy gathered? Or had someone found a way to trate magi certain areas?

  Harry wasn’t sure which possibility was more likely, but before he could think further, the boat glided past a curtain of ivy aered an open passage. A dark tunnel y ahead, leading them to peared to be a dock.

  At the end of the dock was a cobblestoh disappearing into aunnel.

  "Thank Merlin…" Neville murmured in relief as he stepped onto solid ground for the first time. He had been trembling with fear the entire boat ride, worried the vessel might capsize.

  Thankfully, it hadn’t.

  "As a wizard, I should be thanking Merlin," Ron joked.

  Led by Hagrid, the group of young wizards made their way through the dim tunnel. Suddenly, the space ahead opened up into a vast clearing, and before them stood the t Hogwarts Castle.

  They climbed the stoeps, following Hagrid, until they reached an enormous oak door.

  Hagrid was already an impressively tall ma pared to the massive doors before them, he seemed almost small and graceful. Harry couldn’t help but wonder "Were these doors built fiants?"

  If wizards existed, then it wouldn’t be unreasonable fiants to exist as well.

  Hagrid raised his massive fist and khree times.

  The door swung open immediately.

  Despite its size, the enormous wooden door opened with astonishing ease, gliding soundlessly yet swiftly.

  Standing within the doorway was a tall woman.

  She wore emerald-green robes embroidered with delicate golden thread at the cuffs and hem. Silver threads traced faint patterns of stars and moons across the fabric. A pointed bck hat sat atop her head.

  Her attire was undeniably magical.

  She was clearly an older woman, but her face made it difficult to determine her exact age. Though she was thin, her skin remained remarkably smooth and firm. The only true indicator of her years was her eyes.

  Harry had never seen eyes like hers, deep and calm, like a vast, unfathomable ke. Even behind her gsses, their pierg gaze remained undiminished. Paired with her posed and serious expression, she radiated an aura of wisdom and authority.

  "Good evening, Professonagall!" Hagrid greeted her politely. "I’ve brought all the first-years."

  "Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid," Professonagall replied with a small smile.

  It seemed she wasn’t someone who smiled often, and even now, the expression looked slightly unfamiliar on her face. Still, though her voice remained cool and posed, the softening of her eyes betrayed the warmth behind her words.

  "I’ll take it from here," she said simply.

  As she lifted a hand, the enormous door opened even wider. Harry was fairly certain it was ne enough for a battleship to pass through.

  His curiosity got the better of him as he gnced around. The entrance hall was illuminated by fming torches, their light flickering against the stone walls. The ceiling was so high he could barely make it out. At the far end of the hall, a grand marble staircase led up to the floor.

  "Wele, everyohe oke again. "My name is Minerva Magall, though you may call me Professonagall. You should have already seen my name in your acceptaters."

  Her gaze swept over the gathered first-years, and she offered another faint smile. This time, she spoke more slowly, her tone softer.

  "I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. It is my pleasure to wele you all to the school.”

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