Hogwarts Summoning Guide

Harry and his friends met up with Ron and Hermione's families in Diagon Alley, and together they bought textbooks and other necessities for the new school term.

Ron still got Percy's old textbooks, but he wasn't sad at all, because to make up for his lost pet Scabbers, Black gave him a chubby owl, which he named "Piglet".

However, no one saw Fred and George. Even their father, Arthur, didn't know where they had gone. Mrs. Weasley complained the whole way that her two sons had been running around with Bai Lin for the entire month and hadn't even known where they were going home. She hoped they could make it back to school in time.

However, Harry knew that Whitescale had a shortcut to Hogwarts, so he didn't have to take the train from King's Cross Station every time. Although Harry always felt that riding the Hogwarts Express had a certain ritualistic quality to it.

On the train, the students were all talking about their new teacher—Mad-Eye Moody, an extremely powerful Auror who had sent half of Azkaban's Death Eaters there, though he had become somewhat mentally unstable since retiring.

Ron munched on his snacks, muttering, "They're just making a fuss. Everyone has their quirks; my dad collects all sorts of plugs!"

Hermione glanced at Ron with obvious disdain as she flipped through the book, though she felt quite sorry that he could no longer teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Although his teaching methods were somewhat harsh, which Hermione would have found absolutely unacceptable before, she now seemed to be beginning to agree with them and even miss them a little.

The weather was sunny and bright today. Harry sat by the window, looking at the scenery outside, and thought about the torrential rain at this time last year, and the first time they fought against Dementors on the train. Someone was almost taken away by a Dementor with a kiss.

"Did you know? Durmstrang students can learn dark magic directly!" Ron said mysteriously. "I heard it from my dad. He once considered sending me there. He said he knew the headmaster."

"I'll just send you there, then I won't have to be bothered by you every day," Hermione said with a grin, giving Ron a quick stab.

"Yeah, that way you'll be stronger, and you won't get beaten to a pulp by Hermione every time, haha," Harry added unexpectedly.

"But," Harry asked with some curiosity, "is Durmstrang also a magic school?"

Hermione nodded and promptly explained to Harry, "Although I don't know where Durmstrang is, it must be somewhere far to the north... Their school uniforms even include a fur cloak for warmth! They teach some dark magic, but of course, not the three forbidden spells."

"Are there many more magic schools? I've never heard you mention them!" Harry said.

"Maybe if you spend more time in the library... you'll be much more knowledgeable than some guy who only knows how to eat snacks," Hermione couldn't resist teasing Ron, still holding a grudge about him mocking her. "There are three magic schools in Europe, the last one is Beauxbatons, and... Catherine graduated from Beauxbatons."

Everyone heard about Bai Lin and Catherine's breakup, and they exchanged knowing glances. A little while later, Ron and Hermione started arguing about how the magic school hid such a huge castle.

However, Harry remained deeply skeptical of Hermione's explanation.

Because no matter how many illusions are used to prevent Muggles from seeing the castle, it's impossible for a Muggle to accidentally wander in for several years, and there have never been any Muggle planes in the sky. He is more inclined to believe Bai Lin's statement that Hogwarts is actually in a world within a world, and can only be entered through special methods, such as taking the Hogwarts Express.

A group of people were making a lot of noise, but the weather in September is unpredictable, and as they approached the end, a torrential downpour began.

They soon arrived at Hogsmeade Station. Harry saw Malfoy get off in another carriage, glance at the three of them from a distance, and then turn away. It seemed that Malfoy had been much quieter lately and no longer bothered them for no reason.

Thunder rumbled in the sky. Hermione covered Crookshank with her cloak, and Ron carefully covered the pig's cage. They jumped off the train in the pouring rain.

"Hello, Hagrid!" Harry shielded his glasses from the rain and greeted the huge figure on the platform.

"Hello, Harry!" Hagrid replied gruffly. He was about to say something when the rain poured down on his face, almost making him choke.

"By the way, why don't you open your pink umbrella?" A long-lost voice rang out from behind Hagrid, and then Harry and Hermione were delighted to see Bai Lin walk out from behind. He pointed to the sky with one finger, and the rain seemed to be blocked by an invisible umbrella, not a single drop falling on him.

"Let me do a good deed, haha, I just learned some space magic." Bai Lin raised his hands to the sky, and instantly the invisible umbrella became as big as the roof of the platform, covering all the children who were about to get off the train.

"Thank you, Professor!" the children thanked Bai Lin one after another. Some older girls even crowded around him, excitedly asking, "Professor, what course will you be teaching next semester? I definitely want to take it!"

"I heard you broke up with the seamstress. That's great news, no, I mean, it's such a shame..."

Bai Lin rolled her eyes, feeling that shielding them from the rain was the most idiotic thing to do.

As is customary, first-year students were ferried across the lake by Hagrid, while the other students rode in carriages pulled by Thestrals. Harry had just boarded the carriage when he saw the twins squeeze in and get into the same carriage as them.

"Hello, Harry," George greeted Harry. "How's it going with Ron? I bet you beat him up, haha." The twins always enjoyed teasing Ron, perhaps because Mrs. Weasley had become too lazy to care about them since Ron's birth.

Ron retorted, unconvinced, "I'd like to see what you've learned from Professor Kelling sometime!"

"Actually, it's usually Hermione who beats him up," Harry said, revealing Ron's secret. Ron pounced on Harry, trying to tickle him, and the two of them made the carriage shake.

Hermione looked at the two of them and sighed rather maturely, "Ah, such childish little boys."

The carriage passed through a gate flanked by statues of winged wild boars and continued along the wide driveway for a while. Due to the strong winds, even though the two little ones had stopped playing, the carriage was still shaking violently.

Harry leaned against the car window and saw Hogwarts getting closer and closer. Many lit windows shone dimly behind the thick rain curtain. Returning to the school again, Harry felt a little like he was in another world, but his heart was more determined than ever. He would work harder this year and learn real skills so that he could become the person he wanted to be.