The Hogwarts Express, an old steam train, was slow and uncomfortable, its only advantage being that it allowed passengers to fully enjoy the scenery along the way.
Of course, Xilun had heard all this from other Wizards; as for what it was truly like, he would soon find out.
Xilun didn't arrive particularly early, and many compartments were already full.
Finally, near the rear of the train, he found an empty compartment.
“Good luck,” Xilun said, pointing his wand at his suitcase and giving a slight upward flick.
“Wingardium Leviosa…”
The suitcase floated up in an odd, wobbly manner, struggling forward a short distance before Xilun finally pushed it onto the luggage rack.
“It should be ~ Levio—sa, your pronunciation and pause are both wrong.”
A sudden voice startled Xilun. A brown-haired girl pushed open the compartment door from outside and walked straight in, sitting down in the opposite seat.
Following behind her was a timid, round-faced boy.
“Hello, I’m Hermione Granger, and he’s Neville Longbottom,” the girl said.
“Hello, I’m Siron Ollivander,” Xilun said.
“We were looking for seats, and happened to see you using the Levitation Charm as we passed by,” Hermione rattled on, “I’ve tried it too, and it works quite well… I mean, I’ve already memorized all of ‘Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1,’ and a few extra reference books I bought. What about you?”
By the end, her voice had grown much louder, and her tone sounded a bit overbearing.
“I haven’t memorized it, and I don’t think it’s necessary to waste time memorizing all the textbooks when starting as a first-year,” Xilun said bluntly.
Hermione paused, clearly not expecting Xilun to say that.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward. Neville desperately tried to say something to ease the slightly stiff mood, but he didn't know what to say and was flustered.
However, he was clearly overthinking it; neither Xilun nor Hermione took this little interlude to heart.
Xilun didn't care, and Hermione was used to it.
“It’s just me here. If you don’t mind, we can share.”
“Thank you,” Hermione said. She had no intention of leaving anyway, as the train was about to depart, and it would be difficult to find another empty compartment if she left.
After putting away his luggage, Xilun pulled out a thick, hardbound book and began to read it intently by the window.
There were many parents seeing off students outside, making a lot of noise, but Xilun didn't mind.
He read very seriously, occasionally taking out a wooden stick and scraping it a few times with a small knife he carried.
At some point, the train had already pulled out of the station, leaving behind fields of wheat and villages in the distance.
But the compartment did not quiet down because of this.
The main reason was Hermione; from the moment she sat down, her mouth hadn't stopped, constantly telling Neville what books she had read during the holidays and how many she had memorized.
She chattered like a macaw showing off its feathers.
Although Xilun had known about Hermione’s personality for a long time, only after experiencing it firsthand did he realize she was truly a bit annoying at that moment.
He also didn't understand why Hermione could talk tirelessly for two hours about just a few basic spells.
Even more astonishing was Neville, who kept nodding in agreement, showing no signs of impatience at all.
Xilun initially thought they would continue like this all the way to Hogwarts, but he soon realized he was wrong.
Hermione’s attention still fell on him.
“What book are you reading…?” She seemed to have wanted to ask this for a while, craning her neck to look over at Xilun.
“Perhaps we can exchange ideas. I also bought many extra reference books, ‘Modern History of Magic,’ ‘The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts,’ ‘Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century.’ What’s that one of yours…?”
“Snap!”
As Hermione leaned over, Xilun instinctively closed the book in his hand, blocking her view.
This almost unfeeling action caused Hermione’s expression to change noticeably for the first time; she looked a bit angry.
“I won’t just look for free; I can lend you my books too…”
“No, you misunderstood.”
Xilun quickly shook his head and explained, “Actually, this is a magical book. If you look at its contents rashly, it might cause you some trouble.”
“A magical… book?”
Judging by Hermione’s expression, she clearly didn’t believe him.
How could a book not be looked at?
Besides, she had been to the bookstores in Diagon Alley, and she could look at all the books there.
“He, he’s right.” Seeing Hermione’s expression, Neville helped explain.
“There are many books in the Wizarding world that you shouldn’t just look at casually.” Although his voice was very soft, the expression on his face was very serious, looking solemn and earnest.
“I heard my grandmother say that someone once looked at a cursed book, and after that, he could only say one word per second. I don’t know if it’s true.”
“It’s true,” Xilun said softly. “Actually, I’ve met that person.”
“You’ve met him?” Hermione’s eyes widened, and her voice became high and sharp.
She looked at Xilun, then at the book, and suddenly recoiled, pressing herself tightly against the compartment wall.
She didn’t want to be able to say only one word per second; that was too terrifying.
“You’re overthinking it; this one isn’t like that,” Xilun said, picking up the book and shaking it.
The book’s cover had two crossed wands drawn on it, and the words on it were blurred and faded, clearly having endured a long time.
Hermione could only vaguely make out the words “Ollivander” above the wands.
Wait, Ollivander…
“I remember!” she suddenly exclaimed, startling Neville.
However, Hermione didn’t notice this. She stared at Xilun, “I’ve seen you, at the wand shop. You were standing next to Mr. Ollivander.”
“Then you’re truly remarkable, to actually remember that the wand seller is named Ollivander,” Xilun said blandly. “If your memory were a little better, you might even recall my introduction just now.”
“Do you remember? Siron Ollivander.”
Hermione’s face flushed again.
Just now, she had been so busy correcting Xilun’s magic that she hadn’t paid attention to his introduction.
“Of course I remember… it’s just… I didn’t think of it…” Hermione stiffly explained a couple of sentences.
Xilun didn’t press her, instead stretching his shoulders and neck on his own.
Those people really weren’t exaggerating; the Hogwarts Express was too uncomfortable, the jolting made him uneasy.
Across from him, Hermione kept staring at him, her mouth open, seemingly wanting to say something, but hesitating greatly.
However, this hesitation didn’t last long.
As Xilun was about to continue reading…
“So, are you also a wandmaker?”
Xilun’s expression changed slightly, looking at the two people opposite him seriously and intently.
“If possible, I hope you can use a more formal name—Wand Crafter.”
“Is there a difference?”
Xilun didn’t answer immediately, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Just think of it as the difference between a cat and a tabby cat.”