Night had fallen.
Under a deep purple sky, mountains and forests rolled by as the train slowed its pace.
They were nearing Hogwarts.
Neville seemed less anxious now. After the search for his toad, he'd come to trust Hermione a little more, as she'd shown real care in helping him. Now, he was part of her conversation with Bruce.
Hermione was still talking about Harry Potter, her words flowing straight from the pages she'd read, and the topic had shifted to You-Know-Who.
Bruce and Hermione, both from Muggle backgrounds, showed no fear of Voldemort's name, referring to him as simply "Voldemort."
Neville's face turned pale. "Don't say his name!"
Bruce and Hermione glanced at him in surprise, noticing his face was flushed red, his round cheeks trembling with fear.
"My gran told me that his name has…power. You can't say it…"
Neville's voice wavered as he seemed on the verge of tears.
In Bruce's ear, Kathoom's voice rang with a mocking tone. "Poor kid. He's terrified."
All that fear—just from a name.
Bruce turned to Kathoom in curiosity. "Why is that? Is there some kind of powerful spell tied to it?"
"A spell? No, it's much more than that." Kathoom's voice grew serious. "This is the power of fear—an innate, consuming fear that paralyzes people to the point where even a name becomes forbidden."
The power of fear.
Hearing this concept for the first time, Bruce felt a stir of interest.
"How did he do it? I mean, Voldemort—how did he make a name so terrifying?"
If Bruce could create something similar, perhaps he could use it to keep Gotham's crime under control.
In that moment, Bruce's interest in Voldemort began to grow, almost uncontrollably.
"That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself," Kathoom replied cryptically. "Each world has its own way of doing things. You need to find a path that suits Gotham."
Bruce would have to decide what kind of person he wanted to become.
He had to be Gotham's Dark Knight—not a Dark Lord of the wizarding world.
As Hermione tried to calm Neville down, a voice echoed through the train.
"The train will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage onboard, as it will be transported to the school separately."
They were finally there.
The train gradually slowed and came to a complete stop.
Students bustled toward the doors, jostling to disembark onto a small, dimly lit platform.
Bruce had already changed into his uniform and followed Hermione and Neville off the train.
A lantern swung high over their heads, illuminating the platform as a gruff voice called out.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Harry! Over here, yeh all right?"
The voice belonged to a giant of a man whose face was almost entirely hidden behind a tangled beard and mane of hair.
He waved at a small boy in the crowd, causing a stir as everyone realized it was the famous Harry Potter.
Bruce caught his first glimpse of the youngest person ever to make the history books, and as he looked at Harry, Bruce felt an instant sense of familiarity.
Sympathy among orphans, Kathoom would call it.
Wait a second—
Bruce suddenly realized how naturally Kathoom's dark humor had seeped into his thoughts. He was even mentally filling in for what Kathoom would say, without Kathoom having to actually say it.
That was disturbing.
He shook his head, banishing the ridiculous thoughts from his mind.
"This way! Follow me, all firs' years! Watch yer step, now! All firs' years, follow me!"
Hagrid swung his lantern, leading the group of first-years down a narrow path.
The woods surrounding them were silent and shadowed, broken only by the occasional sniffle from Neville.
"Jus' 'round this bend, an' yeh'll get yer first sight of Hogwarts."
As they turned the corner, the path opened up to reveal a vast black lake.
Across the lake, on a high hill, stood a towering castle with turrets and towers, its windows glimmering under the starlit sky.
"No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid called, gesturing to a line of small boats docked along the shore.
Bruce, Hermione, and Neville climbed into the same boat, which began moving on its own, carrying the group of young wizards toward Hogwarts.
Silence fell over the boats as everyone gazed up at the majestic castle, lost in their own thoughts.
The only one who seemed unimpressed was Kathoom. Hopping to the edge of the boat, he dipped a wing into the lake, letting the ripples fan out as the boat glided forward.
Just then, a huge shadow passed beneath the boats, spreading out and covering the entire convoy with its darkness.
One of the students was the first to notice, letting out a sharp scream. "What was that?!"
The panicked cry instantly caught everyone's attention, plunging the entire fleet of boats into confusion.
Hagrid's booming laughter echoed over the water. "Oh, don' yeh worry! Tha's jus' the giant squid! It's harmless. If anyone falls in, it'll even fish yeh out!"
The first-years finally calmed down, peering curiously at the massive shadow moving below.
It's enormous.
Bruce watched the squid with interest, until Kathoom hopped back onto his shoulder and casually rubbed the water off his wings using Bruce's hair.
"Want to hear a legend about the giant squid?"
Would you stop if I said no?
Bruce didn't answer, but Kathoom started talking anyway, as he always did.
"According to some...'alternative' sources, the giant squid isn't what it seems."
"A long-lost founder of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor, is supposedly still alive, living as the squid in the lake. Some say he's the oldest Animagus in existence, able to transform into one of the largest magical creatures.
"Every night, at exactly eleven, he transforms back into Gryffindor and takes a stroll across the grounds until dawn."
Now that's one wild tale.
Bruce had read a lot of books about the wizarding world, and none of them mentioned this supposed "fact."
"Who told you that?" Bruce asked.
"J.K. Rowling," Kathoom replied.
"Who?"
Bruce frowned. He'd never heard that name before. Was she part of the wizarding world?
Kathoom, however, clearly had no intention of continuing down that path. He just stared pensively as the dark shadow slowly drifted away beneath the surface.
"If the legend's true, it means there's an even higher form of transfiguration out there."
Kathoom turned to Bruce, eyes alight. "The giant squid isn't just an animal—it's a magical creature. Regular Animagi can only transform into animals, but this form of transformation could allow someone to become magical creatures...or even mythological beings."
With that, he gave Bruce a firm pat on the head.
"Don't worry, Brucey. If that type of transformation really exists, I'll make sure you learn it!"
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T/N: Did Rowling really say that?