After boarding the boat.
Neville kept his face tight, gripping the seat, too nervous to lean near the edge of the boat.
Two other new students joined them.
Once the boat was full, no one rowed, but the little boat started moving on its own.
Dylan glanced down.
He saw a huge squid, its two suction cups firmly attached to the bottom of the boat.
The squid moved silently beneath the water's surface, guiding the small boat forward, passing beneath the cliffs and sailing through the curtain of ivy.
Finally, the boat slowly came to a stop.
The squid then dove straight down to the bottom of the lake and disappeared from view.
"I wonder if squids taste good when chopped and stir-fried," Dylan murmured, smacking his lips.
Neville shakily stepped off the boat, hurrying toward the shore from the dock.
"Phew..." Neville sighed in relief.
At that moment, Dylan walked over and reminded him, "Don't rush too much, or you might leave something behind on the boat."
"Huh?" Neville froze.
He immediately started patting his chest and pockets.
He didn't seem to find what he was looking for, and his eyes widened in panic.
"Oh no! My Trevor's gone again!"
"What? Again?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
He remembered that Neville had lost a toad once when he first boarded the train.
Hermione had even helped search for it, and that was how she met Harry and Ron.
Dylan had wondered at the time why he didn't see Hermione searching his compartment for the toad, but it now made sense, it was probably found halfway.
But…
"I don't remember seeing any toads or other creatures on you earlier," Dylan said, "So, did you lose Trevor again when we got off the train?"
Dylan had the Parasite Possession Charm, so he could sense the presence of living creatures to some degree.
Though he hadn't consciously been paying attention, now that he thought about it, he hadn't noticed any life forms besides Neville's.
Neville was now sweating nervously.
He scratched the back of his head, trying to remember, but nothing came to mind.
Dylan spoke up again, "It could have fallen somewhere along the way or on the train. I'm leaning toward the second option."
As Dylan thought about it, he realized the chubby kid who had been in front of him earlier must have been Neville.
And along the way, he hadn't seen any sign of a toad.
"If it was on the train, the house-elves should return it to the school," Dylan added.
"But..." Neville hesitated.
"There's no 'but.' Even if it fell along the way, we can't go back now. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to check."
"Is that really the only choice?" Neville asked, looking glum. "I've heard Hogwarts is full of dangers. I'm really worried something will happen to Trevor."
Dylan sighed, feeling a little helpless at Neville's reaction.
"Here's what I'll do," Dylan said. "I'll try the Summoning Charm. If Trevor's nearby, I should be able to summon him. But if you really lost him on the train or along the way, there's nothing we can do."
"What? You can cast the Summoning Charm?" Neville's eyes widened in surprise before his face lit up with joy. "Then, please, can you do it for me?"
"Don't get your hopes up too high," Dylan warned.
With a flick of his wand, Dylan said, "Accio Trevor!"
A surge of magical energy flowed from the wand, and to their surprise, it shot directly toward a small boat.
"Whoosh!"
A plump toad, clearly well-fed, flew toward them.
Before it could get too close, Dylan cut off the spell.
"Ribbit~"
Trevor landed on the ground, croaking.
Neville immediately ran over and scooped up Trevor from the ground.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Oh my gosh, Dylan! You're amazing! You can even cast such a difficult spell. Thank you so much! I bet Trevor must have fallen halfway and chased me the whole way here!"
Neville sniffed.
At this point, many of the other little witches and wizards had already walked off.
Dylan shook his head. "Alright, let's hurry. We'll miss the group if we don't catch up."
He walked ahead, with Neville trailing quickly behind, occasionally patting the plump toad in Neville's arms.
"Don't run off like that again!" Neville scolded the toad.
"Ribbit~"
Dylan gave the toad a look.
It was fat and ugly.
Why would anyone keep a toad as a pet?
Were they raising it for its magical ingredients to kill later?
"My little Shadow is much cuter."
Though it looked ominous and meows loudly, what did that matter?
Professor McGonagall turned into a cat, too!
In the grand scheme of things, Coalball was basically Professor McGonagall!
Plus, Shadow wasn't even a real cat, it was its own species!
After catching up with the group, Dylan and Neville walked along a cobblestone path and arrived at a large door.
"Bang, bang!"
Hagrid knocked loudly on the door, and there was a resounding echo.
Soon, the door opened, revealing Professor McGonagall.
She wore a flowing green robe, the color vivid and the fabric smooth. Her iron-gray hair was neatly combed, and her posture was impeccable, with no sign of disarray.
She looked at the group of little witches and wizards with a stern expression, her sharp gaze unyielding. On her head was a pointed hat with the school's crest.
Professor McGonagall looked very unapproachable, far different from the kind and gentle demeanor she had shown when taking them around Diagon Alley.
"This is the first-year class," Hagrid's booming voice announced.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take over from here," Professor McGonagall said with a nod.
She opened the door wider, allowing Hagrid to enter, and then led the first-year students into the entrance hall.
"Follow me."
Dylan, now at the back of the group with Neville, looked around at the Hogwarts interior as they walked.
The walls on either side were old, adorned with many relief sculptures.
The sculptures held fire bowls that burned brightly, casting their glow across the hall.
Dylan noticed these sculptures depicted the four house animals, each with wings growing from their backs.
They looked so lifelike, as if they were watching over the new students.
"How interesting!"
Entering Hogwarts, Dylan felt a deep sense of history and weight in the air.
"This is so much more thrilling than watching a 3D movie!" he thought.
He barely remembered which 3D movie he had seen, but he did recall how Dementors would drift by at the start, scaring him when he was younger.
"This is the Great Hall, where you'll have your dinner soon. But before that, we need to welcome you to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall explained, leading them to the door of the hall. She turned and added, "Before you officially enroll, you must first undergo the Sorting Ceremony."