Alina glanced out the window, where the sky was gradually darkening.
Beneath a dark purple skies were mountains and forests. The train had apparently slowed down, and in the distance, one could see the gleaming amber lights of a village. If her guess was right, that was the final stop of this train, the only all-wizarding village in all of Britain, Hogsmeade.
"The train will reach Hogwarts soon. All students, please leave your luggage on the train. We will deliver it to the school for you."
A voice began to resound through the corridor, somewhat like those PA broadcasts from her last life.
But given the interference exerted on electronics within the grounds of Hogwarts and the 'We' in those words, Alina guessed that this was some unknown spell used by the house-elves of Hogwarts.
"It's all your fault! This is a fine mess. I'm sticky all over and have had to change twice before even getting to school."
In the compartment, Hermione glared at Alina as she took off her Coke-stained outer robe and put on a new Hogwarts robe. As for the boys, they had already rushed off into another compartment.
Alina naughtily chuckled.
"It's no big deal. It's just too bad none of us knew the Cleaning Charm. It will be much easier next time."
"You think there will still be the next time? If you try it again, I'll definitely expose you!"
The cute Hermione Granger wrinkled her nose and raised her eyebrows as she threatened. Unlike the boys, she was not one bit afraid of Alina.
For women, especially young girls, there were usually three kinds of friendship. One was a relationship born out of an appreciation for each other's beauty, one was a rivalry between merit students, and the last and most common was that of false friends, friendly on the surface but secretly in constant conflict.
There was no question that the relationship between Hermione and Alina was a combination of types one and two. After an afternoon of conversation, their relationship rapidly warmed, and their tone with each other had become much more relaxed.
"Whatever, but you'll need to learn quite a lot until you can beat me."
Alina shrugged her shoulders, balled up her sticky robe, and stuffed it in her trunk. She giggled and added, "And do you really think that even if you exposed me, they would be bold enough to oppose me?"
Hermione was just about to stubbornly reply when a long whistle interrupted her.
Phwee~
The Hogwarts Express slowed down with a screeching of wheels against the track, finally stopping next to a dark and small station.
"Hiss, it's really cold at night. Do you not feel anything?"
Outside the compartment, the chill of the Hogsmeade night made Hermione shiver. She tightened the robe around her and grabbed the hem of the silver-haired girl's robe. Regardless of how she turned out in the future, Hermione was still just an eleven-year-old girl who was leaving her home for the first time, coming alone to study at a boarding school. Fear and anxiety were only natural. Fortunately, she had a friend.
"It's fine. I'm used to it."
As someone who lived year-round in the Scottish highlands, Alina was rather composed. One had to realize that the shores of Loch Lomond were around 3 to 5 degrees colder than this at night. In fact, breathing in this cold and chilly air made her think of home.
"Follow me! No messing around, and pay attention! I'll take you to where the new students gather."
Looking at the surging crowd of people, Alina frowned and grabbed Hermione's rather cold hand.
The passengers of the Hogwarts Express were all children who had yet to reach the age of eighteen, so discipline and order were never things that could be hoped for. In truth, it was the same when adults left a train. Of course, for Alina, who had been through the hellish large-scale migration of 'Chunyun,' the time when Chinese people returned home to celebrate the Spring Festival, this scene was hardly worth mentioning.
Hermione felt a warm and soft hand in her palm, and a calming sensation traveled up her arm and eased her anxiety.
"Mm." The girl mumbled out and nodded, then obediently followed Alina through the crowd.
As the two made their way through the crowd, they quickly spotted a hairy giant, 1.3 meters tall, holding up a lantern and calling out, "First-year students! First-year students, this way!"
"That's Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts and the keeper of the keys." Sensing Hermione's unease, Alina softly pinched her hand and explained, "There's nothing to be afraid. He's a very warm and gentleman. Harry is very familiar with him. Let's hurry over.
"Hey, Ron, Malfoy, we're over here!"
Alina waved her hand as she called out to her left and dragged Hermione along. It had to be said that having a unique hair color truly made one stand out in a dense crowd.
The small group of friends from the train had soon gotten back together, and as they looked at each other, they all felt much more at ease.
"Alright, is that all the first-year students? Everyone follow me."
After waiting for about ten minutes, when there basically no more passengers disembarking from the train, Hagrid looked around at all the little furry heads around him, a smile appearing behind his bushy beard. Swinging his lantern, he indicated that everyone should come along.
"First-year students follow me! Watch your feet!"
What came next was one of the first-year traditions, the crossing of the lake. Alina mentally nodded.
Everyone followed Hagrid on a steep and narrow path down a slope.
There were no lanterns on the path, and everyone had to rely solely on the illumination of Hagrid's lantern. The thick trees on both sides obscured more than half the moon, making the path almost pitch-black. One could occasionally hear cries of alarm and the slipping of feet. It was clearly not an easy path to walk.
"Take out your wands. Did you remember the spell I told you about the compartment that all wizards need to know?"
Alina looked at the young wizards around her. As she had yet to move, they had all stopped, and the eight of them were at the very end of the pack.
"Mm, we remember. Are we really going to use magic?"
"Of course, I remember."
"Let's try it."
"Of course, such a simple spell."
"Oh, I think I'm going to fail."
The young wizards softly whispered to each other as they took out their wands and nervously gripped, excitement on their faces.
"Very good. Relax, remember what I taught you and follow me."
Alina let go of Hermione's hand, took out her black walnut wand, and then swept it through the air while clearly intoning:
"Lumos Maxima!"
A small ball of light ignited on the tip of her wand. Just as it had been when she tried it on the train, the wand was like an extension of her own body, and there had been no difficulty whatsoever.
"Lumos Maxima!"
"Lumos Maxima!"
...
The other young wizards began to chant the spell, and balls of varying light intensity ignited on the tips of their wands. Put together, it was like a high-power flashlight, illuminating the path ahead.
"What happened?"
At the very front, Hagrid heard some turmoil coming from behind him and turned his head in confusion.
At the very back of the group of new students, a downpour of moonlight had illuminated the steep and uneven path.
Wait, that wasn't moonlight!
Hagrid rubbed his eyes.
The clouds and trees still obscured most of the sun. This light came from the tips of several wands put together, though to be more precise, most of the light was coming from the wand of the silver-haired girl standing at the front of the small group.
As she was standing at the front, the gentle white light illuminated her delicate face as she softly ordered around the new students and had them move along in a disciplined fashion.
As that little group advanced, more and more first-year students stopped and began to gather around them. The moonlight glow allowed them to safely navigate the steep and slippery path.
Even after many years, Hagrid and this class of new students would find it impossible to forget the little girl figure who drove away from the darkness like she was the moon itself.
This was the first time any of them truly became acquainted with Alina 'Moonlight' Kaslana.