blogombal Page 21
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Harry looked completely bewildered.
Is there any other way to punish people in the world?
Chapter 27 Crossing the Lake
Several hours later, night fell, and it was pitch black outside the car window, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Even Ron and Hermione, who were usually very lively, began to quiet down.
Chu Yang closed his book and began to organize his luggage, putting the books he had taken out back in an orderly manner.
He was already used to taking the train to other places to study, and he was very skilled at it. Moreover, it was a private car, so he didn't have to worry about missing his stop, and there was nothing to be nervous about.
Accompanied by the "whoo-whoo-whoo" sound of the train whistle, the train slowly pulled into a simple station. It was not large and the facilities looked a bit old, but it was very clean.
The greenery and streetlights along the railway line made the station feel warm and inviting, easing the anxieties of some of the new students.
Under the streetlights, Chu Yang saw Hagrid, the giant, walking towards them through the car window.
The darkness made him appear even more imposing!
A giant, almost as tall as the train, carrying a lantern, loudly reminded the freshmen to get off at their stop, "First-year students, move over here, hurry up, don't be shy, the party tonight is missing you!"
Upon hearing this, the new students immediately got off the bus, leaving all their luggage on board, which would be delivered to the school later.
Harry and Ron got off the train and immediately went up to Hagrid, greeted him, and then followed closely behind him, while Chu Yang lagged a few steps behind and disappeared into the crowd.
My encounter with Harry Potter was by chance.
Chu Yang did not intend to continue this chance encounter.
He didn't want to get involved in the conflict between the main characters and Voldemort because it was a troublesome and time-consuming affair with no benefits.
In reality, who would be eager to do something so thankless and exhausting?
Instead of wasting time on this, Chu Yang would rather find a place to study magic in peace.
In any case, Harry Potter, as the protagonist, will definitely defeat Voldemort in the end, so whether Chu Yang helps or not doesn't make much difference.
He must hurry up and improve his abilities so that he can help the other "selves" when he enters the Soul Palace next time.
After all, getting something for free once is enough; doing it more than once is a bit impolite.
Just when Chu Yang thought he would drift further and further away from them, a little tail started following him.
"Chu Yang, can you tell me which grade level you've studied on your own?" Hermione stared at Chu Yang with her big, round eyes, like a little squirrel.
Amidst the surging crowd, Hermione held onto Chu Yang's sleeve with one hand to avoid getting separated.
Chu Yang was quite helpless.
Hermione has a very strong sense of pride; at home, she would always be the first to show off what she had learned.
But this time, in terms of knowledge, Chu Yang completely overwhelmed her.
Given her personality, she won't just give up like that.
Chu Yang calmly told a lie, "Actually, I haven't read as many books as you think. Apart from the first-year textbooks, the rest are mostly books about defense against the dark magic."
"You already know my family situation. Even if I wanted to read, I couldn't afford to buy extra books. Even my tuition was paid by Hogwarts."
After the topic of family background came up, Hermione indeed stopped asking questions and instead comforted Chu Yang, saying, "Chu Yang, you don't need to worry about the books. Professor McGonagall told me that Hogwarts' library has a very rich collection of books, and you can borrow many books there."
Chu Yang smiled and said, "Thank you for reminding me, Miss Granger."
Hermione waved her hand and responded with a smile, "No need to be so polite, just call me Hermione."
The two had barely finished speaking when the group reached the lakeside. Hagrid, standing on the shore, waved his arms, beckoning the students to board the boats.
"Each boat can carry a maximum of 3 to 4 people. Keep an eye on things. If you're heavier, choose a boat with fewer people!"
The new students began to board the boat, but the waves made it rock from side to side, and it was quite a struggle for a group of 11-year-olds to get on.
Hermione hesitated for a moment as she watched the small boat swaying precariously, until Chu Yang grabbed the bow and made the boat as if it were nailed to the surface of the sea.
"Wow, you're really strong!" Hermione looked at Chu Yang in surprise, then tentatively put her feet into the boat, braced her hands on the hull, and carefully flipped over.
Another boy, who was rather large, stood awkwardly on the shore. It seemed that the others were not very welcoming to him and thought he was taking up space.
The boy gave Chu Yang an awkward smile.
"Come on up, the three of us are just right." Chu Yang tilted his head and gestured for the boy to get on the boat, and the latter sat down with a sigh of relief.
After Chu Yang was the last to board the boat, the small boat started moving without any support, clearly indicating that a spell had been cast on it beforehand.
"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger," Hermione introduced herself confidently to the awkward boy.
“Y-you…hello, my name is…Neville Longbottom.” The chubby, white boy named Neville was so nervous that he started to stutter.
The small boat drifted further and further away from the shore, and the surrounding light became increasingly dim.
The dark lake was eerily still, and a silent fear rippled across its surface.
Hagrid's lantern alone was not enough to dispel the fear of the group of 11-year-old children.
Out of fear, Hermione clung tightly to Chu Yang, clutching his robe tightly.
Out of goodwill, Chu Yang had to remind him, "If you keep holding on to me like this, and I fall into the lake, I'll drag you down with me."
Hermione shook her head decisively and said, "You're so smart, the chances of you falling into the water are very small. It's safer to hold onto you."
Chu Yang: "..."
From a small boat drifting by, complaints kept coming: "I really don't understand why we can't take a horse-drawn carriage like the older students. Why do we have to cross the lake by boat? What if something goes wrong?"
Hagrid, who was at the front, heard the complaints and turned around helplessly, saying, "Don't worry, everyone. It's very safe to travel by boat. In all the years that Hogwarts has been, not a single student has ever died while traveling by boat."
Hagrid's explanation failed to gain the children's understanding; instead, the complaints grew louder.
Hermione, who had been quite frightened just moments before, immediately perked up and explained in a loud voice, "Crossing the lake by boat is a tradition for new students at Hogwarts. It's a way of imitating the scene when the four great wizards who founded the school first arrived here."
"The significance of doing this is to remind future generations not to forget their original aspirations and to remember the hardships that led to the establishment of Hogwarts as it is today."
With Hermione's explanation, the freshmen's complaints stopped abruptly, and their inner chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) surged forth!
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Chapter 28 The Monster in the Black Lake
"So, we are following in the footsteps of those great sages?"
"Wow, my goodness, that's so cool!"
The excited little wizards chattered incessantly, breaking the fear brought by the darkness.
Hermione proudly raised her head and winked at Chu Yang, subtly showing off.
To keep her in line, Chu Yang was about to praise her a couple of times when an untimely voice suddenly rang out.
"Look! That little Muggle from a Muggle family is explaining the history of Hogwarts to a real wizard?!"
"This is utterly laughable!"
A small boat drifted by from the side, carrying three boys. The two boys on either side were tall and much stronger than Neville.
Between the two sat a blond boy, quite handsome, but with a sinister look in his eyes, suggesting he had come with ill intentions.
The blond boy said in a deep voice, "You Mudbloods from lowly Muggle families are not worthy to speak of the four great wizards, especially the great Salazar Slytherin."
"None of your business!" Hermione trembled with anger. Since entering the wizarding world, the thing she hated most was people saying that her parents were Muggles.
How could you use such vicious words?
The usually taciturn and timid Neville, contrary to his usual self, angrily rebuked the blond boy.
"What does 'Mudblood' mean?" Hermione paused, instinctively sensing that it was a bad word.
Neville hesitated for a moment, then whispered a few words in Hermione's ear. Hermione's expression suddenly changed, and her eyes turned red.
Chu Yang narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at the blond boy. There was obviously only one person among the freshmen who could say such vicious things: Draco Malfoy!
Ordinary young wizards might not know anything about the new students at Hogwarts, but Draco Malfoy was different.
His family is a very prestigious family in the history of Hogwarts, and his father, Lucius Malfoy, is one of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Obtaining the list of new students in advance and trying to befriend and win over the prestigious wizarding families on the list is a common tactic of the Malfoy family.
When Lucius Malfoy saw that there were two new students from Muggle families on the list, he threw a huge tantrum at Draco Malfoy.
Every member of the Malfoy family graduated from Slytherin House at Hogwarts and highly regards the bloodline theory of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of the house.
They all believed that only pure-blood wizards were qualified to learn and use magic.
Chu Yang found this quite amusing.
According to their thinking, the first wizard in the world to discover and use magic was not qualified to use magic at all.
Because his parents were both Muggles...
Without the first Muggle-born wizards who pioneered the path of magic and exchanged ideas with each other, where would wizard families have come from?
This is completely different from the chicken-or-egg question.
Muggle-born wizards and pure-blood families must have come first.