The Upper and Lower Limits of Junior Wizards

Chapter 12 The Upper and Lower Limits of Junior Wizards

Hermione asked curiously, "What's wrong with Gryffindor? I heard that Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the 20th century, graduated from Gryffindor."

"But Ravenclaw is good too," Hermione added at the end.

Neville stared intently at Andy, as if he were about to rush up and fight Andy if Andy couldn't give him a reasonable explanation.

"Well…"

Andy never expected that her words would cause such a big reaction from the two of them.

However, upon closer examination, the four houses of Hogwarts have existed for a thousand years, and each house has its own traditional culture and supporters.

Fans of Muggle sports teams and idol groups often engage in online feuds, not to mention the four houses of Hogwarts.

"We go to Hogwarts to learn magic. Actually, no matter which house you go to, the knowledge you learn is the same. The most important thing is our own efforts."

Andy leaned to one side and calmly explained, "Each house at Hogwarts has its own traditional culture, so the learning atmosphere in each house is different."

"Gryffindor is good, of course; that house symbolizes courage. It's just that young wizards often can't distinguish between courage and recklessness, so they're very mischievous."

"I prefer a quieter learning environment," Andy concluded.

Courage is certainly a very good quality, but Gryffindor is out of the question!

"So that's how it is!"

Hermione said thoughtfully, "It's really hard to imagine that Dumbledore was as naughty as those bad kids when he was young."

Andy already had a picture in his mind.

Perhaps Dumbledore also threw dung balls in the hallways when he was young.

The group continued chatting about their interesting stories as the train slowly moved forward.

Whoosh!

The train vendor opened the carriage door, pushing a cart full of food, and asked with a friendly smile, "Children, would you like to buy some snacks?"

"I want to buy some." Hermione was very interested in the snacks from the wizarding world.

"I...I...I won't buy it."

Neville stammered, "My grandma's afraid I'll lose my change. Well, it's not the first time I've lost my allowance..."

Andy pulled out a few silver coins. "I'll buy some too."

The snacks in the magical world are not only fun, but also taste great.

In the past, when they were at home, Andy was too embarrassed to compete with the little girl for snacks, and he often had to share his own snacks with her. But he was much freer when they were out.

The young wizard was generous, and the witch selling the goods smiled even more kindly, "Thank you for your patronage."

"Navie, you should eat with us!" Andy invited.

"I...I..." Neville blushed, somewhat embarrassed.

Andy chuckled and said, "You can invite them back later. We'll all be classmates from now on, so there's no need to be so polite."

Hermione generously added, "That's right, we're all classmates, no need to be so polite with us."

Thank you!

Neville opened a box of chocolate frogs, then suddenly seemed to remember something and jumped to his feet. "Oh no, I've lost Rafer."

"What is Ralph?" Hermione asked curiously.

Neville frantically searched around: "Lever is my pet, it's a golden-backed toad."

Hermione's eyes widened; she seemed unable to imagine that anyone would keep a toad as a pet.

Seeing Neville was getting increasingly anxious, Hermione suggested, "It should still be on the train. Let's go look for it!"

At this point, Hermione turned to Andy and asked, "Do you want to come along?"

Andy rubbed his temples. "Please, even though Rafer isn't a magical creature, he's still a pet with magical powers. He'll come back on his own once he's had enough fun."

Hermione looked at Neville suspiciously. "Is that so?"

Neville thought for a moment, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "It seems like there were a few times when Raeford would suddenly disappear and then suddenly reappear..."

Seeing Hermione's increasingly dangerous gaze, Neville could only offer a dry explanation: "I forgot."

After sharing snacks, the three of them gradually became more familiar with each other.

Neville also recounted how his uncle threw him out of the window to prove he wasn't a Squib, and how he bounced back up on his own.

This made his family very happy because he could go to Hogwarts to study.

Hermione also talked about the magical outburst she experienced when she was a child. She had an argument with someone she really disliked, and in a fit of anger, she made that person's hair disappear.

"And what about you?" Hermione asked Andy.

Through her conversation with Neville, Hermione gained a general understanding of the magical abilities of her fellow young wizards.

If Andy represents the highest level of his class, then Neville represents the lowest level of his class—he can't even use a single spell, and he hadn't even looked at the textbooks before starting school.

"Me..."

Andy was lost in his memories. "It was probably when I was six years old. My dad said I had reached the age where my magic would go out of control, so I used magic to blow up the stool under his butt."

"That's it?" Hermione said incredulously, "I read in a book that young wizards only experience magical outbursts when they are emotionally agitated; it's a phenomenon of unstable magic..."

Before Hermione could finish speaking, Andy used magic to make Hermione's hair float up.

"Ah—!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It's getting harder and harder, which is probably because the magic is gradually stabilizing." Andy shrugged, with a Versailles-like expression on his face.

Neville looked on with envy. "Andy, you're really amazing."

"Is this wandless spellcasting?"

Hermione glared at Andy first, then said with some curiosity, "I read in a book that only very powerful wizards can cast spells without a wand."

"It doesn't count as casting spells without a staff."

Andy explained, "This is the simplest form of magic control, and I've been practicing hard to achieve it."

Speaking of diligent practice, Hermione's gaze returned to her books.

"I'm going to continue reading."

"And the two of you..."

Hermione glanced at Andy and Neville. "Don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary."

Neville was somewhat at a loss.

Andy shrugged and leaned back in his chair for a short rest.

Waaaaah—

The train continued its journey, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened, as Andy and his friends drew closer and closer to Hogwarts.

After an unknown amount of time, Andy suddenly felt someone push him.

"Andy, we're almost at Hogwarts. We'd better change into our wizard robes quickly," Neville whispered.

"Thanks!"

Andy rubbed his eyes, slowly rose from his seat, spread his arms, and drew his wand, waving it lightly.

A suitcase on the shelf opened a crack, and a wizard's robe flew out from inside.

Andy automatically shed his casual clothes and folded himself up before putting them into his suitcase.

The wizard's robe unfurled in the air and then fell over Andy's shoulders.

Dress change complete!

(End of this chapter)