Hermione and Neville probably walked the entire length of the train, but they didn’t find the escaped toad. Fortunately, Neville had already moved past the sadness of his pet's escape—perhaps not completely, as he was still feeling down, but at least he wasn’t crying anymore.

When Hermione entered, she was surprised to see a pile of snacks on the table and asked, "What are these?"

"A lady selling snacks just came by," Wade indicated. "Look, I bought a lot—strawberry cream jelly, chocolate balls, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and pumpkin juice. Let’s share! Oh, Neville, do you want to try this mint toad?"

Neville took it, muttering “Leviosa” as he took a bite, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "It's really delicious."

Hermione didn’t refuse, sitting down generously to take a piece of cake. "Thanks, I’m hungry too. By the way, you won’t believe it, but Harry Potter is in the compartment less than ten meters away from us—you know Harry Potter, right?"

"Of course, his name is mentioned in 'Significant Magical Events of the 20th Century,'" Wade said while unwrapping chocolate beans. "But I think it’s best not to disturb him—he lost his parents on the night he became a hero. If it were me, I’d rather not have that kind of honor."

Hermione was taken aback. "You—you’re right—I hadn’t thought of that..."

Neville lowered his head, his hand slightly tightening around the mint toad.

The sacrifice and honor of the Potter family are world-renowned, but not many know that during that time, Death Eaters tortured Neville's parents to madness in their search for the missing Voldemort.

The boy kept these dark memories hidden inside him as they enjoyed their meal.

Wade had thought that there would surely be plenty of snacks left over, but the train rattled on for a long time, and even as it grew dark, they still hadn’t reached their destination. The snacks on the table were all finished by the three of them, the snack lady had disappeared, and they still hadn’t had dinner.

"Hogwarts isn’t in England, is it?" Hermione said angrily as she stood up. "I’m going to the front to ask the driver when we’ll arrive."

"Let’s go together."

This time, Wade stood up, curious about the train driver who might only work four times a year, wondering who was in that position.

Neville followed, wanting to look for his pet again.

The driver was an unremarkable brown-haired man, puffing on a pipe and sporting a scruffy beard, but he had a good temper. Facing the three little wizards' "interrogation," he answered cheerfully, "Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon. You’ll have dinner in Hogwarts Castle."

Hermione happily returned.

As they passed through numerous compartments, Wade casually observed, seeing all unfamiliar faces. He only recognized the Weasley twins—their compartment was very lively, with cheers and laughter echoing from afar, not knowing what interesting tricks they were playing.

Before reaching the compartment, they suddenly heard screaming, and three kids stumbled past in the aisle, one blond boy even pushed Neville aside, shouting, "Move! Don’t block the way!"

"Hey!" Hermione couldn't stop them and stomped her foot in anger. "What an impolite guy!"

Wade reached out to steady Neville, who almost fell.

"Thank you," Neville said gratefully.

Wade shook his head and said to Hermione, "You go change into your robes first; we’ll wait outside."

Hermione nodded, swallowing her anger, and with heavy footsteps, she entered the compartment, locked the door, and quickly changed behind the curtain. Then it was Neville’s turn. The three of them had just put their things into their trunks when they heard the driver’s voice ringing through the train—

"We’ll arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; we will take it to the school for you."

The train slowed down and stopped at the platform. Hundreds of students poured out like bees from a hive, and the dark, small platform was crowded with people. Hermione and Neville closely followed Wade, their faces pale.

"First-year students! First-year students, follow me! Watch your step!" A big guy nearby shouted with a loud voice while holding a lantern.

Wade and the others squeezed through the crowd, noticing that the older students were heading in another direction. However, no one dared to question in front of Hagrid’s massive figure guarding the Forbidden Forest.

A group of people walked down a small path through the dark woods, finally catching sight of a towering castle in the distance. Countless windows glowed with light, the brightness reflected on the dark, mirror-like surface of the lake, making the castle look particularly magnificent.

"Wow—" the first-years exclaimed in unison.

Under Hagrid’s direction, they boarded small boats to cross the Black Lake, finally arriving at the foot of the castle. Hagrid even found Neville's toad in one of the boats. Overjoyed, Neville took back his precious toad, while Hagrid knocked three times on the castle’s large door.

The door opened, and Professor McGonagall stood at the entrance with a serious expression.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said.

………………

The Sorting Ceremony began.

Hogwarts has four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, sorted by a talking hat based on the students' talents and qualities, which Wade knew from his past life.

Having crossed into this world for eleven years, he had actually forgotten many plot details from the novels or movies. However, upon discovering he was in the Harry Potter world, he recalled many memorable moments and recorded them in his unique way.

Before reporting, Wade had carefully considered which house he wanted to join—the Sorting Hat values talent but also considers the students' wishes.

First, he obviously ruled out Slytherin—his parents were not wizards, and in a house that values bloodline and family heritage, he would likely be ostracized by other students. Although Wade wasn’t afraid of those teenagers, he also had no interest in taking on such a challenge.

Gryffindor?

After much deliberation, he still felt it wouldn’t work.

With Harry Potter around, Gryffindor would be a hub of storms, all eyes focused on them. Moreover, in the plot, most Gryffindors were a bit foolish, often stirred by rumors to isolate and ostracize the innocent Harry Potter, leaving Wade with a very bad impression.

Similarly, Ravenclaw also seemed to have instances of bullying, mocking and teasing classmates (like Luna Lovegood).

If it were Hufflepuff, it wouldn’t be like that. Although most Hufflepuff students had average grades, they were sincere, kind, and trustworthy. As for being seen as a fool, so what? Wade believed that his intelligence wouldn’t change because of the house he was in.

Once he made his decision, Wade appeared more composed than those little wizards who thought they would be fighting trolls. After the Sorting Hat sang a song, Professor McGonagall took out a long list and began sorting each new student into their respective houses. Some were assigned quickly, while others hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, Wade heard a familiar name—

"Hermione Granger!" Professor McGonagall called out.

Hermione rushed over and hurriedly put on the hat.

Moments later, the Sorting Hat shouted, "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Then—

"Wade Gray!"