Who says "new year" means a new journey on the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts.
"E VE LYN!"
I didn't even have time to turn around before Mary threw herself at me like a cannonball.
Honestly, it seems like she doesn't love me; she just wants to kill me.
"Marie, could you please throw yourself at me with a bit less force? I know you're always happy to see me, but it hasn't even been 24 hours since we last saw each other."
"But for me, it's been an eternity."
She looked at me with tearful eyes.
"Sigh, you really need to learn to be less dependent on me, or you'll end up suffering."
After that, we got on the train and found a compartment with only a blonde girl inside, reading a magazine.
"Chicanero?"
Marie was trying to read the title.
"It's a magazine published by my father."
Her voice had a certain quality, as if she were more detached from reality than everyone else.
"Actually, this type of magazine talks about lesser-known magical creatures, ones that are often thought to be nonexistent. For instance, it's like if Muggles had a magazine about dragons—we can't say these creatures don't exist, but encountering them is so rare that it borders on urban legend."
"So there's a chance the creature doesn't exist."
"Indeed, but there's always a hint of doubt. As long as its existence isn't proven, we can only speculate."
"And yet, these creatures do exist."
The blonde decided to join our conversation.
"You should know that I often read this magazine because, even if some things might be lies from time to time, I know that certain creatures in these magazines do exist, and it lets me discover new ones."
I couldn't quite read her expression—she seemed a little annoyed, probably when I suggested it could be false, but also pleased that I was taking the magazine seriously.
As a silence began to settle, Hermione opened the door, accompanied by a redheaded girl who seemed to be looking for something.
"What, did someone lose their toad again?"
I held back a laugh at Marie's joke.
"You haven't seen Harry and Ron, have you?"
"No, we came straight to this compartment and haven't seen them."
"It's strange; we checked all the compartments."
"Maybe they missed the train."
Marie was really in a playful mood today.
"Actually, we're just arriving at the station, and the train is about to leave," said the redheaded girl, probably from Ron's family.
"Mystery solved—they missed the train. But don't worry; they'll make it to Hogwarts during the banquet or tomorrow morning, just like it happened with Marie here once."
After a quick round of introductions, we learned that the blonde girl was Luna Lovegood and the redhead was Ginevra Weasley, or Ginny for short. The nice thing about nicknames is that when a parent uses your full name, you immediately know how angry they are.
We continued talking, barely avoiding a dispute because Ginny didn't fully believe in the existence of what The Quibbler reported.
After that, Ginny shared her anxieties about the Sorting.
"What is everyone so stressed about? It's not like they'll reject you."
"Technically, it's almost an army since we're learning to fight the forces of evil."
"You didn't have to say it like that, Marie."
Once we arrived at the Hogsmeade station, I admired the beautiful, starry sky.
"Hey, Evelyn, are you seeing something that shouldn't be there?"
I scanned the sky until I saw something big heading toward the castle.
"Oh no."
Ginny started talking, certain of what it was, and we later learned that the object in the sky was a car.