The crowds at the station were growing steadily, and the prefects' voices echoed back and forth through Amplifying Charms.
"First-years, leave your luggage on the train! House-elves will deliver it to Hogwarts."
Hagrid raised his lantern high, his booming voice instantly cutting through the station's din.
"First-years, this way!"
His towering figure was strikingly conspicuous in the station, and a group of people soon gathered around Hector's direction.
"First-years, don't be shy, gather here!"
Hagrid's roaming eyes suddenly lit up as a familiar figure appeared in his field of vision.
"Hello there, Harry."
Hagrid greeted him warmly.
"Hello, Hagrid," came the voice of the boy called Harry. Hector, who had been zoning out, snapped back to reality and looked behind him.
The boy before him had a thin face, with a mess of jet-black hair resting haphazardly on his head. His eyes were a vivid, clear, and bright emerald green. Beneath the fringe across his forehead, a faint lightning-bolt scar was just visible.
Clearly, this was the child of prophecy of the magical world, the famed Harry Potter. And that red-haired boy looking around nervously by his side must be Ron Weasley, the youngest son of the Weasley family, whom Harry had just met on the train.
Harry naturally noticed Hector's gaze and gave a polite nod in greeting.
Knowing this was a golden opportunity to make an impression on Harry, Hector took the initiative to introduce himself.
"Hi, I'm Hector."
Harry paused. Although he found it a bit abrupt, he politely replied,
"Hi, I'm Harry."
Harry noticed that Hector was different from other wizard-born children; upon hearing his name, the boy merely nodded, completely devoid of the star-struck excitement other children showed.
"I'm Ron," the red-haired boy chimed in immediately with his own introduction.
"I know," Hector smiled. "Fred and George told me their little brother would be coming to Hogwarts this year. You must be him."
"You know my brothers?" Ron looked rather surprised.
"Met them last term," Hector explained. "I live in Hogsmeade. My grandfather runs a pub there."
"Hogsmeade?" As a magical world novice, Harry had little concept of Hogsmeade. Ron explained to him,
"Hogsmeade is a wizarding village near Hogwarts, sort of like Diagon Alley, only not as far."
Ron glanced at Hector and continued,
"Though you aren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade until third year. How did they manage to sneak out? I'll definitely have to ask them later."
"Right then, little wizards, you'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later. We need to get moving." Seeing that most people had arrived, Hagrid interrupted Harry, who looked ready to ask more questions. Hagrid turned around, holding his lantern high, with a crowd of wide-eyed, curious young wizards trailing behind him.
"This way, little wizards, come board the boats this way." Hagrid led them to a small pier and stepped into the lead boat himself.
He drew a pink umbrella from his coat and tapped the prow of the boat. Instantly, the lanterns on all the boats flared to life.
"No more than four to a boat! Fewer is fine, but no more, unless you fancy swimming across to the opening feast."
Hector reacted quickly, hopping straight into the first boat behind Hagrid. He looked back at Harry and Ron. The two of them were still standing on the bank, looking hesitant.
"Hurry up, what are you waiting for?" Hector waved.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Neither had a bad first impression of this newly met wizard boy, and they both hurried over to join him.
After a moment, a round-faced boy who looked rather timid and nervous walked over to their boat. He seemed terribly strained, as if waging an intense psychological battle with himself, before finally stepping forward to ask in a tiny, careful voice,
"Is there... is there room here? Everywhere else is full."
Hector looked back. In truth, most of the boats had one or two empty spots here and there, but looking at the chubby boy's deeply aggrieved expression, Hector could more or less guess what had happened.
This must be Neville, the future Swordmaster of Gryffindor, who in his first year was still just a pitiful, insecure, and bullied chubby kid.
"Sit down, there's still a space here." Hector shifted to one side of the boat to make room.
"Thank you, thank you," Neville hastily bowed twice to Hector, his face radiating near-overflowing joy as the tears welling in his eyes vanished.
The chubby boy's boarding movements proved entirely contrary to his quiet voice. Hector and Harry were both on the slender side and no match for Neville's heavyweight status. The moment Neville planted one foot in the boat, it rocked violently. If Hector hadn't promptly cast a Floating Charm on Neville, everyone in the boat would have tumbled into the water like dumplings dropped into a pot.
Harry and Neville swapped seats, and only then did Hector lift the charm.
"Blimey, that was brilliant," Ron gasped in admiration, while Harry looked at Hector with respectful eyes.
"Learned it myself. Very practical." Hector put away his wand and looked at Neville, who was shrinking back in self-reproach. "I'm Hector. And you?"
The chubby boy dropped back to his mosquito-like murmur. "I'm Neville."
Harry looked between himself and Ron with a wry smile.
"We won't bother introducing ourselves, then. We saw each other on the train."
"All aboard? Off we go!" Hagrid's voice rang out from the front. He tapped his boat, and all the vessels automatically moved forward as if following some command.
The four in the boat simultaneously fell silent, watching the woods slip backward beside them. Hagrid's voice drifted back again.
"Mind the ivy! And keep your hands inside the boats. We'll be at Hogwarts in a flash."
The four lowered their heads as the boats glided one by one beneath an arching stone bridge. When they raised their eyes again, the woods had vanished behind them entirely, their gaze instantly captured by the castle ahead.
The castle of Hogwarts stood majestically upon a cliff in the distance. As night fell, the grand main keep, surrounded by clustered spires, shimmered brilliantly under the moonlight. The castle was blazing with light, enveloping the surrounding forest in its radiance. Looking further out, undulating mountain ranges stretched for miles, their forward momentum abruptly halted by this massive fortress. Hogwarts radiated a cozy warmth, forming a sharp contrast with the vast, silent, and terrifying forest in the distance.
Awestruck by the grandeur of Hogwarts Castle, Hector turned to look at his companions. Ron's mouth was hanging open, Neville had unconsciously straightened his posture, and Harry's eyes shone with light—perhaps from the castle's lights, though Hector trusted his own eyes were shining just as brightly.
Specks of light skimmed across the glass-smooth surface of the Black Lake, which mirrored the image of Hogwarts just as it had every day for centuries.
The boats soon reached the Hogwarts harbor and gently came to a halt. Hagrid stepped ashore first, lifted his lantern, and watched the young wizards gathering behind him.
"Right, everyone off the boats?" Hagrid turned around. "Hogwarts first-years, stick close to me now, we're almost there."
Hagrid led the young wizards up a long flight of stone steps and halted before a heavy oak door. Standing before it was a tall, elegant elderly witch wearing emerald-green velvet robes and a tall pointed hat. She looked benevolent, though Hector always sensed a strictness hidden beneath that kindness.
Hagrid stopped and politely greeted the elderly woman by the door.
"Professor McGonagall, here are the first-years." Hagrid appeared somewhat deferential before her, holding the witch in deep respect.
McGonagall smiled warmly and replied,
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here."
Hagrid nodded, cast a parting glance at Harry, and walked away.
"First-years, welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. She stood before the oak door, looking out at the sea of little wizards with a smile on her face.
"Shortly, you will pass through these doors, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your respective houses."
Hector, Harry, and Ron stood at the front of the queue, exchanging glances without a word.
Professor McGonagall paused, her smile giving way to a stern expression.
"They are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."
"While you are here, your house will be like your family. Good behavior will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup."
At that moment, Professor McGonagall was interrupted by a shriek. Hector looked back to see a girl startled by a toad that had hopped onto her shoe, frantically trying to shake it off. Upon seeing the toad, Neville lunged forward and carefully scooped it back up.
"Trevor! Found you at last."
The girl was badly shaken, and Neville stammered apologies, only to turn around and crash straight into Professor McGonagall's stern gaze.
Whereupon Neville was badly shaken in turn. He dropped his head, mumbled an apology, and slunk back to his original spot in line.
Hector felt a pang of sympathy for Neville inwardly, but outwardly he, Harry, and Ron were biting their lips so hard to keep from laughing that their faces turned red.
Professor McGonagall said nothing more, continuing,
"The ceremony will begin shortly. Stand ready."
With that, she turned, pushed the door open, and walked inside.
The three boys looked at each other. Not looking was one thing, but the moment they did, none of them could hold back their laughter any longer.
"It's true, then. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." A voice cut through their chuckles. Harry and Ron looked past Hector, and Hector saw Ron's face twist into an expression of outright disgust.
Hector didn't even need to turn around. With that familiar tone and classic line, he knew his favorite swaggering boy was finally making his debut.
Hector looked back anyway, entirely matching his expectations: a slicked-back golden pompadour, brand-new robes, and a chin tilted so high he seemed to be looking down at people through his nose.
The name Harry Potter caused quite a stir. After all, as the Savior and the ultimate hero of countless bedtime stories, Harry's solo victory over Voldemort had elevated him to a status nearly rivaling Dumbledore in the magical world.
"This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle. And I'm Malfoy." Malfoy gestured toward the two ball-like thugs flanking him, then stepped right up to Harry Potter.
"Draco Malfoy."
Hector had always wondered why this kid provoked such a prolonged and resolute hostility from Harry. You could say half of Harry's troubles in the first half of the series belonged to Snape, whom they were about to meet, and the other half belonged to this pompadour-sporting Malfoy. Now he had his answer.
This kid went around looking down his nose at everyone, and his arrogant demeanor was immensely unlikable. Purity-of-blood talk constantly on his lips, combined with a "if I can't have it, destroy it" attitude, made him the absolute archetype of the rich-kid villain in every piece of fiction.
Except most rich villains chased the heroine and targeted the hero, whereas Malfoy... well, he somehow looked more like he was trying to attract Harry's attention. Plus, considering this was Britain—
Mystery solved. Turns out Ron was the true male lead all along.
Watching Malfoy's haughty strut, Hector felt a mild irritation.
Trying to flex about family background? No matter how great your old man is, can he possibly top Dumbledore? The undisputed greatest wizard of the modern age, and you're trying to act tough? I'm keeping a low profile, so what gives you the right to swagger?
As Hector thought this, Ron beside him let out a direct scoff.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are."
Malfoy turned his head, looked Ron up and down, and opened fire directly.
"Red hair and a secondhand robe... you must be a Weasley."
Ron looked thoroughly furious. He didn't reply, simply fixing Malfoy with a glare. Malfoy didn't spare Ron another glance, turning back to press his attack on Harry.
"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter," Malfoy said, sounding quite earnest. "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort."
Hector couldn't help it. Having been pulled out of his immersion ever since "No need to ask who you are," he found himself mentally picturing Malfoy draped in Buddhist monk robes. Just as he managed to snap back to reality, he was amused all over again by Malfoy's arrogant posturing and clunky trash-talking technique.
Malfoy shifted his gaze to Hector, narrowed his eyes, and demanded coldly,
"And who are you?"
Hector took a deep breath, looked at Malfoy's hostile expression, and teased,
"Does it matter, Lord Swagger Malfoy?"
Ron, who had been furious a moment before, burst out laughing at Hector's playful tone, setting off a wave of snickering among the other first-years behind them.
Draco's face flushed bright red. He glared viciously at Hector, who didn't back down an inch, staring right back.
"Very funny. Muggle-born, obviously. Completely clueless about how noble the name Malfoy is."
Draco was growing flustered, grinding out the words through clenched teeth, one by one.
Hector looked the flushed Malfoy up and down and decided to have a little fun teasing this arrogant second-generation lord.
A second-generation lord? Like he was the only one.
"So, care to take a guess at my name, Lord Malfoy?"
Malfoy gave a dismissive laugh.
"A Muggle-born nobody. Who cares?"
Hector looked at Malfoy, his eyes practically glowing. *Oh, wonderful. Such a classic villain line!* Originally, Hector had only planned to casually show a bit of strength to knock down Malfoy's arrogance while leaving him some dignity—after all, he didn't want a full-blown feud. Letting Malfoy go bother Harry and Ron instead of him fit his plan of biding his time to prepare for Voldemort. But Malfoy's perfectly timed setup made Hector feel that failing to flex just a little would be an insult to his status as the ultimate second-generation VIP of the magical world.
"I'm Hector. Hector Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore is my grandfather."
Straight up: in terms of family background, everyone present was trash.