In the evening, Shuxin organized the things she needed to take for the following day and packed the remaining 18 Galleons and 12 Sickles.
She felt a bit distressed; other people's allowances could last a whole academic year, but hers was spent even before school started, and she had even chipped in a bit of her own money.
Over the past half-month, Shuxin had made another trip to Diagon Alley, bringing Mary and Tom along. No matter how Shuxin tried to persuade them, both Mary and Tom expressed that they were terrified and could not bear to go near it.
Shuxin had tasted the food in Diagon Alley, browsed the magical joke shop—though she didn't buy anything—stopped by Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions to buy a gift for Mary, browsed Flourish and Blotts to buy the latest edition of *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, bought ink, parchment, and quill pens at the Diagon Alley stationery shop, and finally, purchased an owl at the magical menagerie.
It was a mottled gray owl of a rather bulky build. Forgiving Shuxin's aesthetic sense, she named it Ah Hui and left it at the shop, where it would be responsible for delivering things to Shuxin in the future.
Shuxin figured that the owls in the magical world possessed miraculous homing abilities; even if she didn't take Ah Hui with her to Hogwarts, it should still be able to find her.
Shuxin had also visited the gold shop on the neighboring street. The shopkeeper was more than willing to spend a large sum of money to buy a Galleon because this gold coin actually could not be melted down by conventional means, which greatly piqued the shopkeeper's curiosity.
With her dream of getting rich by playing both sides shattered, Shuxin naturally didn't want to see anyone else looking happy.
Those goblins ran a monopoly—they really made a fortune.
The train left at eleven, and Tom arrived at King's Cross Station at nine-thirty. Tom pushed the trolley while Mary accompanied Shuxin to find the platform.
There weren't many people at the station yet. Shuxin passed her hand right through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, her arm slipping through with the utmost ease.
But to Mary and Tom, Shuxin had simply stood there and zoned out.
Shuxin gave Mary and Tom a big hug and said goodbye to them, "I'll write to you as soon as I get to school."
In the end, Shuxin did bring Ah Hui along because Mary was worried and insisted that Shuxin write to her as soon as she was settled at school.
Mary said, "You've just arrived at school and aren't familiar with the place at all. Where will you even find an owl to bring me a letter? Take Ah Hui with you for now, and I'll look after it later."
Shuxin pushed her trolley through the invisible wall and saw a crimson steam engine, with a sign next to it reading Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
There weren't many people on the platform or the train. Shuxin casually picked a compartment in the middle and moved her luggage in piece by piece from the trolley. There was plenty of time anyway, so she could organize things slowly.
"Hello, may I come in? I really don't want to walk any further down."
Shuxin lifted her head from *One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi*. It was a little girl with brown hair.
"Of course you can. My name is Luna Field. You can call me Field. I have a friend of a friend whose name is also Luna; she's a year younger than us and will be coming to Hogwarts next year, so I usually have my friends call me Field." Shuxin helped the girl move her luggage.
"Or, you know, you can just call me Shuxin. That's what my family calls me."
Shuxin had thought about this issue as well. In England, everyone addressed each other by their surnames, but family and friends used first names.
Luna Lovegood had already been called Luna by her family and friends for ten years, and by next year at school it would be eleven, so she wouldn't compete with her for the name.
Besides, she herself hoped her good friends would call her Shuxin rather than the unfamiliar Luna.
"Hello, Shuxin. My name is Susan Bones, you can call me Susan. Are you reading a book?" Susan looked like a lively and cute girl, too.
"Yes, I'm a bit nervous. I don't know how the sorting works yet. Do you?" Shuxin casually struck up a conversation—a topic guaranteed to give first-years plenty to talk about.
"I don't know either. I asked my parents, but they wouldn't tell me. However, a friend in the compartment next door said we have to memorize books. He's a third-year this year, and he said the ones who memorize best go to Ravenclaw, and the ones who memorize worst go to Hufflepuff. I suppose I'll be a Hufflepuff. I can't memorize things, there are so many books, and they're so thick." As she spoke, Susan sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"Is that so? Do they quiz us on so many books? Then I suppose I must be a Hufflepuff too, I can't remember all that either. Shall we study a bit more?"
As she spoke, Shuxin closed the compartment door. "Let's not let anyone know, we'll just memorize it in secret."
The train began to move, and Susan raised her head. "I'm so tired, all this reading has made me hungry. Shall we eat something?"
"Alright, my family prepared sandwiches and french fries for me. They're Muggles," Shuxin said, taking out the food Mary had prepared.
The sandwiches were vegetarian and could be eaten cold; the french fries came with sour tomato ketchup, which was appetizing.
"Would you like to try some of mine? Both of my parents are wizards," Susan said, opening her backpack, which was stuffed full of wizarding snacks.
"The snacks on the train are a bit more expensive than in Diagon Alley, so I brought my own," Susan explained.
"Pumpkin pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Every-Flavour Beans, cakes."
Shuxin still remembered these Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, rumored to include earwax flavor. In the end, she picked up a pumpkin pasty, while as for the Chocolate Frog, she politely declined out of a lack of affection for animated confectionery.
"Would you like to taste mine?"
Susan was busy eating jelly beans and waved her hand. "You should try one, there are so many flavors, you never know what the next one will taste like, it's a lot of fun."
How philosophical. Shuxin played eeny, meeny, miny, moe and picked one. Fortunately, it was pepper-flavored, not too awful.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost a toad." The door was suddenly shoved open.
In came a brown-haired girl with a rather haughty tone.
"We haven't seen one, you should ask in the other compartments." Shuxin patted Susan's back. "You really should knock before coming in, it's more polite."
"Sorry," the girl said, closing the door and leaving, her tone much better than before.
The two of them chatted a lot, mostly with Susan introducing Shuxin to the top figures in the wizarding world, with reference materials sourced from Chocolate Frogs.
"Dumbledore again. I've already got so many Dumbledores."
"Knock, knock, knock."
Shuxin opened the door. Standing outside was the same girl from earlier, followed by a round-faced little boy. "Still haven't found the toad?"
The newcomer said, "Not yet. I just came to tell you that the train is almost here."
Shuxin flashed a smile. "Alright, thank you. My name is Luna Field, you can call me Field, and this is Susan Bones."
Hermione replied, "You're welcome. I'm Hermione Granger, you can call me Hermione. And this is Neville Longbottom."
Although Shuxin had told Hermione to call her Field directly, Hermione still said Shuxin could call her by her first name.
"You can call me Neville." The little boy's voice was super quiet; if Shuxin hadn't been standing right by the door, she might not have heard him at all.
"Hello, Neville. Susan, let's go change into our robes quickly." The unspoken implication was: Hermione, you guys should get going.
Watching Hermione and the other two leave, Shuxin closed the door and began changing her clothes alongside Susan.
"That girl is really something else," Susan remarked.
Shuxin agreed, "Hermione? She's certainly something."
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately," a voice echoed through the train.
The train slowed down and finally came to a complete halt.
Shuxin followed Susan out onto a dark and tiny platform.
"Good thing I dressed warmly. Are you cold?" Shuxin asked. "Let me hold your hand."
"I'm alright, not very cold," Susan said, but she still gripped the hand Shuxin extended.
In the distance, a voice shouted, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! Harry, over here, how are you?"
Shuxin looked up and saw a lamp bobbing above the students' heads. "Susan, look, that lamp is moving. That is so magical."
"Come on, follow me, any more firs'-years? Mind yer legs there, right! Firs'-years follow me."
Ah well, Shuxin remembered—that was the half-giant, Potter's good friend.
Holding hands with Susan and following the half-giant, stumbling along, they took the boats and caught sight of the giant squid before finally arriving at the foot of the castle.
"I'm so starved. That octopus looks full of energy, it must taste great grilled. Have you ever eaten grilled octopus tentacles?" Shuxin asked quietly.
Susan replied, "Can octopus tentacles be grilled? There are so many suction cups on them, aren't there? Are they good?"
"Of course they are. If you ever get the chance, come to my house and I'll treat you. My Mary makes the best barbecue."
As they spoke, the crowd reached the front doors of the castle.