Hogwarts: This Wizard is Unscientific 12
by adminChapter 12: The Upper and Lower Limits of Fellow Young Wizards
Hermione curiously asked, “What’s wrong with Gryffindor? I heard that the greatest wizard of the 20th century—Dumbledore—graduated from Gryffindor.”
“But Ravenclaw is also good,” Hermione added as an afterthought.
Neville stared intently at Andy, as if Andy wouldn’t get a pass unless he provided a reasonable explanation. He looked ready to pounce.
“Uh…”
Andy hadn’t expected his one sentence to cause such a reaction.
But on second thought, Hogwarts’ four houses had existed for a millennium, each with its own traditions and supporters. (This refers to the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.)
Fans of Muggle sports teams and idol groups constantly bicker, let alone the four houses of Hogwarts.
“We come to Hogwarts to learn magic. No matter which house you’re in, the knowledge is the same. The key is our own efforts,”
Andy leaned back, calmly explaining, “Each Hogwarts house has its own traditions, so the learning atmosphere is different.”
“Gryffindor is certainly good; it symbolizes courage. It’s just that young wizards usually can’t distinguish between courage and recklessness, so they’re quite mischievous.”
“And I prefer a quieter learning environment,” Andy concluded. Courage is a great quality, of course, but Gryffindor? No thanks!
“I see!”
Hermione said thoughtfully, “It’s hard to imagine Dumbledore being mischievous like those naughty kids when he was young.”
Andy already had an image in his mind.
Maybe young Dumbledore threw dung bombs in the corridors too.
They continued chatting about their own experiences as the train slowly chugged along.
Whoosh!
The train conductor pulled open the compartment door, pushing a trolley laden with food. With a pleasant smile, she asked, “Children, would you like to buy some snacks?”
“I’ll buy some.” Hermione was very interested in wizarding snacks.
“I… I… I won’t,”
Neville stammered, “My grandmother is afraid I’ll lose my money. Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve lost my allowance…”
Andy pulled out several Sickles, “I’ll buy some too.”
Wizarding snacks were not only fun, but also delicious.
Back home, Andy didn’t dare compete with his little sister for snacks, often sharing his own. But being out on his own was much more liberating.
The young wizards were generous, and the witch’s smile grew even warmer. “Thank you for your patronage.”
“Neville, you can share with us!” Andy invited.
“I… I…” Neville blushed, feeling a little embarrassed.
Andy chuckled, “You can treat us next time. We’re classmates now, no need to be polite.”
Hermione also generously said, “That’s right, we’re all classmates, no need to be polite with us.”
“Thank you!”
Neville opened a box of Chocolate Frogs, and suddenly seemed to remember something. He jumped up, “Oh no, I lost Trevor!”
“Trevor?” Hermione asked curiously.
Neville frantically searched around, “Trevor is my pet, a golden toad.”
Hermione’s eyes widened; she couldn’t imagine anyone keeping a toad as a pet.
Seeing Neville on the verge of a meltdown, Hermione suggested, “He should still be on the train; let’s go look for him!”
Then, Hermione turned to Andy, “Are you coming?”
Andy rubbed his temples, “Come on, Trevor may not be a magical creature, but he’s a magical pet. He’ll come back when he’s had enough fun.”
Hermione looked at Neville suspiciously, “Is that so?”
Neville thought for a moment, a little embarrassed, “There have been a few times Trevor disappeared and then reappeared…”
Seeing Hermione’s increasingly dangerous look, Neville could only stammer, “I forgot.”
After sharing snacks, the three of them became closer.
Neville told the story of how, to prove he wasn’t a Squib, his uncle threw him out of a window, and he bounced back.
This made his family overjoyed because he could go to Hogwarts.
Hermione also talked about her childhood magical outbursts; she had a fight with someone she really disliked, and in her anger, she made their hair disappear.
“What about you?” Hermione turned to Andy.
Through chatting with Neville, Hermione had a general idea of the magical abilities of her classmates. If Andy represented the upper limit, then Neville represented the lower limit—he couldn’t even cast a single spell and hadn’t even read a textbook before school.
“Me…?”
Andy fell into a memory, “It was around the age of six. My dad said I was old enough for magical outbursts, so I used magic to blow up the stool he was sitting on.”
“That’s it?” Hermione didn’t believe him. “I read in a book that young wizards only have magical outbursts when they are emotionally agitated; this is a sign of unstable magic…”
Before Hermione finished, Andy used magic to make her hair float.
“Ah!” Hermione exclaimed.
“It’s getting harder and harder. That must be because my magic is stabilizing,” Andy shrugged, with a smug expression.
Neville looked on with envy, “Andy, you’re amazing.”
“Is that wandless magic?”
Hermione glared at Andy, then curiously said, “I read in a book that only very powerful wizards can perform wandless magic.”
“It’s not exactly wandless magic.”
Andy explained, “It’s just basic magic control. I’ve been practicing hard to achieve this.”
Speaking of diligent practice, Hermione’s gaze returned to her books.
“I’m going back to reading.”
“And you two…”
Hermione glanced at Andy and Neville, “If you have nothing else to do, don’t disturb me.”
Neville looked at a loss.
Andy shrugged, leaning back in his seat to rest.
Woo woo woo—
The train continued its journey. Outside, the sky grew darker, and Andy and the others drew closer to Hogwarts.
After an indeterminate time, Andy felt someone nudge him.
“Andy, Hogwarts is almost here. We should change into our robes,” Neville whispered.
“Thanks!”
Andy rubbed his eyes, slowly rising from his seat, stretching out his arms and waving his wand gently.
A crack opened in the suitcase on the rack, and a set of robes flew out.
Andy’s casual clothes automatically came off, folded themselves, and went into the suitcase.
The robes unfolded in mid-air and draped themselves on Andy.
Change complete!
(End of Chapter)
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