Lynn's days before the start of term were quite fulfilling.
The first thing he did was add all the spells from the first-year textbooks—from the Levitation Charm and Wand-Lighting Charm in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 to various odd little bits of magic—into his skill library.
Instant mastery, available immediately.
Now, he was already a qualified first-year young Wizard.
He also secretly tested the [Apparition] he had "plucked" from Headmaster Dumbledore.
This skill was simply too useful!
He didn't even have to walk to the river to fish anymore; with just a thought, he could appear at his usual fishing spot with a "crack."
Unfortunately, the convenience of magic couldn't change his fate as the "King of Blanking."
He still went every day with high spirits and returned dejectedly, unable to catch even a single fish scale.
This made him start to seriously suspect: had some wicked Wizard cast the legendary [Blanking Curse] on this river?
"No way… no way…" Lynn muttered to his empty fish bucket.
"Is there any fisherman nowadays who can blank as steadily and consistently as I do? This is definitely not normal!"
…Time flew by, and the start of term arrived in the blink of an eye.
Lynn carried his undetectable extension trunk, which was stuffed with all sorts of things yet felt as light as an empty box, and arrived at the bustling King's Cross Station.
He pulled out the acceptance letter Dumbledore had given him and confirmed the information on it once more: "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."
"What the heck? Nine and Three-Quarters? (`A´)" Lynn was annoyed; this naming convention was truly full of Wizarding eccentricity.
He tucked away the letter and quietly observed his surroundings. Soon, he spotted some families pushing luggage carts, hurrying along, and dressed in somewhat "vintage" clothing.
They headed purposefully toward the stone pillar between platforms nine and ten, and then—whoosh—people and carts alike vanished into the pillar!
"Oh, so that's how it is." Lynn realized, feeling that this way of entering was much cooler than tapping on a brick wall.
He followed suit and accelerated toward the stone pillar.
There was no expected impact, only a brief sensation like passing through a cold curtain of water. The next moment, he was standing on a brand-new, noisy platform.
A scarlet steam engine was parked beside the platform, with a prominent sign hanging on the front: "Hogwarts Express."
Thick white steam mingled with the cries of various pets and the clamor of students, full of life.
After Lynn boarded the train, he found that the first few carriages were mostly full, bustling with chatter.
There was nothing he could do; after all, he had arrived a bit late.
He simply used the Levitation Charm to make his trunk float behind him and walked all the way to the end of the train before finding a relatively spacious empty compartment.
He picked a random window seat and let out a long sigh of relief.
Knowing that term started today, he had been so excited last night that he barely slept.
Since it would take a long time for the train to reach Hogwarts anyway, he might as well catch up on some sleep.
Thinking this, Lynn pulled a comfortable sleep mask from his trunk, put it on, adjusted his posture, and prepared to drift off to sleep.
After some time… slurp, slurp.
A wet, sticky sensation came from his face.
Lynn groggily sat up and yanked off his eye mask, only to see a… toad squatting on the small table in front of him!
It was staring at him with its dull, bulging eyes, its mouth twitching.
This thing was what licked him awake?!
Person and toad stared at each other. (⊙_☉)
[Ding! Task issued: A hungry "Heirloom Toad" detected. Feed it to obtain: Tongue Twister.]
[Effect: The target's tongue will experience brief confusion and inversion, causing jumbled speech for one minute. The effect cannot be dispelled during this period.]
Looking at the system task and the seemingly interesting prank magic, Lynn instantly felt that being licked a couple of times by a toad wasn't so unacceptable after all.
Looking at the toad again, it even seemed to have become somewhat handsome.
"Hello, do you have anything to eat?" The toad in front of him actually spoke, its voice a bit raspy. "My master is lost. I forgot where I lost him. I'm very hungry now."
[Language Mastery] even covers Toad-speak? Lynn mentally gave another thumbs-up to the breadth of this ability.
Just then, as if by fate, the snack trolley arrived at his compartment door with a timely "creak, creak."
"Do you eat sweets?" Lynn tentatively asked the toad.
After receiving an affirmative reply, Lynn bought a bunch of Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and the like.
The toad seemed starved; it accepted everything and ate very happily.
[Task completed! Obtained magic: Tongue Twister.]
After eating and drinking its fill, the toad gave a satisfied burp and hopped out of the carriage.
As it left, it even waved a front paw like a human and said indistinctly to Lynn, "Goodbye, kind person! I hope you don't fail any subjects at your new school!"
Lynn: "…" This toad knows quite a lot…
The train continued to chug along.
The scenery outside the window flew by; London's cityscape had long vanished, replaced by increasingly open fields, which then gradually gave way to dense forests, winding rivers, and dark green hills.
This long journey from the plains of Southeast England to the Scottish Highlands finally reached its destination at nightfall—Hogwarts, Hogsmeade Station.
"First-years! First-years over here!"
A voice as loud as a bell boomed over all the noise.
Lynn looked toward the source of the sound and was instantly dumbfounded.
He had never seen such a tall and burly person! Whose general was this?
"My name is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, and I'm here to take you into the Castle!" Hagrid held a giant lantern, his smile looking very simple and honest. "Alright, let's start boarding the boats! Don't keep the Professors waiting!"
Hagrid pointed to a row of small boats moored by the black lake and shouted, "Remember! No more than four people to a boat!"
Lynn and three other first-years he didn't know—who all glanced at him curiously—boarded a small boat together.
"Is everyone on board?" Hagrid, occupying an oversized boat by himself, turned back to confirm from the rear. "Then… off we go!"
At his command, all the small boats seemed to be pulled by invisible ropes, cutting through the ink-like surface of the lake simultaneously toward the towering Castle on the opposite shore.
They passed through a cliff covered in ivy, sailed through a pitch-black tunnel, and finally arrived at a place resembling an underground dock.
Hagrid led them up a gravel path to a giant oak door in the shadow of the Castle.
Standing before the door was a Witch in emerald-green robes, with a stern expression and a meticulously styled bun, looking as if she had been waiting for a long time.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." The Witch's voice was clear and authoritative.
Hagrid grinned at the first-years and left with his lantern.
The Witch's sharp gaze swept over all the first-years, who appeared somewhat nervous and curious.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "I am Professor McGonagall, Dean of Gryffindor House and your Transfiguration Professor."
She pulled open the giant oak doors and led the first-years into the magnificent Castle.
The entrance hall was astonishingly large, with blazing torches lining the stone walls. The ceiling was so high that the top was barely visible, and a grand marble staircase led upstairs.
Professor McGonagall did not take them directly into the noisy Great Hall, but instead led them into an empty room off the entrance hall.
"The Start-of-term banquet will begin shortly."
Looking at the group of anxious young faces before her, she said sternly, "But before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your houses… The Sorting Ceremony is a very important tradition…"
After Professor McGonagall gave an explanation about the four houses, she stated that she needed to leave for a moment, asking them to wait quietly, and that she would return shortly to take them into the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony.
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Read my second novel: Naruto: Multiverse Adventures.