Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 416 Yeqi
Until the Hogwarts Express stopped, Hermione kept her hands firmly on the Tales of Beedle the Bard, even as the dining car passed by. Even when a fight broke out in the aisle, Hermione didn't look up, seemingly completely absorbed in the world of the book.

Harry wondered if Hermione was going to finish reading the whole thick book before the train stopped.

Of course, Hermione ultimately failed. Before getting off the train, she had to raise her head with red eyes and ask Lunalovegood:

"This book is so interesting. Can I borrow it for a while?"

"What's the point of this?" Ron said, gesturing with his chin. "My mom used to tell me stories from this book a lot when I was little. We probably still have this book at home. If you like the stories, I'll write to my mom and have her send them to you—wooo!"

Ron had barely finished speaking when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower back.

Hermione smiled insincerely while secretly pinching Ron's soft waist.

“Is it okay?” Hermione asked.

"Okay, sure." Luna glanced at Ron, then at Hermione, and then replied casually.

As they got off the bus, they ran into Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Ron learned while they were out of their compartment on the train to buy something that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson had been elected prefects of Slytherin in their fifth year.

But to Harry, Ron, and Hermione's surprise, when they encountered Draco Malfoy on the Hogsmeade platform, Draco Malfoy did not provoke them at all, and did not even acknowledge Harry. Instead, he hurriedly passed by them with a look on his face.

"That Malfoy must be plotting something wicked," Harry said to Hermione and Ron as they walked.

Ron nodded in agreement.

But Hermione ignored Harry and instead flipped through the Tales of Beedle the Bard in her hands.

After stepping off the platform, they dragged their heavy steps into the crowd, feeling the stinging sensation of the night air on their faces.

They moved slowly toward the door, and Harry could smell the fresh scent of the pine trees lining the path to the lake.

Unlike previous years, it wasn't the towering Hagrid who was responsible for welcoming the new students, but Professor McGonagall—

A crisp, clear female voice was shouting: "First-year students, please line up here! All first-year students, follow me!"

Before Harry could ask Professor McGonagall for details, he was swept along by the crowd and headed towards the foot of the mountain.

After Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped off Hogsmeade Station, they came to the dark, rain-washed street.

There are about a hundred horse-drawn carriages parked here, which are used every year to transport students from first grade onwards to the castle.

Harry glanced at them quickly, then turned back to look at them more closely.

The area in front of the carriage was no longer empty.

Some animals stood between the shafts, and if he had to give them a name, he thought he would call them horses, even though they looked somewhat like reptiles.

They had no flesh on their bodies; their black fur clung tightly to their skeletons, making every bone clearly visible. Their heads resembled those of dragons, with white, pupil-less eyes that stared unblinkingly. Wings sprouted from the bulges between their shoulder bones.

Its large, black, and sturdy wings look like they belong to a giant bat.

The animals stood motionless and silent in the gathering darkness, looking eerie and ominous.

Harry couldn't understand why these carriages, which could clearly move on their own, needed to be pulled by these dreadful horses. "Hmm... Hermione... Hermione..." Harry nudged Hermione, who was holding up the Tales of Beedle the Bard, "What's the name of the animal pulling the carriage?"

Hermione looked up and glanced ahead, then looked at Harry strangely—

"What kind of animal pulls the cart?" Hermione asked.

“There, those animals.” Harry pointed to the black animals in front of the carriage. “Those animals that look like horses.”

"What's that horse-like thing?" Hermione looked around curiously.

“It’s those horse-like things that pull those carriages!” Harry said impatiently. They were only two or three steps away from the nearest strange horse, which was staring at them with its empty white eyes. Hermione looked at Harry with confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione looked a little angry, as if Harry was playing a trick on her.

“I’m saying—look!” Harry gently grabbed Hermione’s arm and turned her around to face the winged horse.

Hermione stared at him for a second, then turned to look at Harry:

What are you showing me?

“Look there—there, right between the shafts! Hooked on the carriage! Right in front of you—” But Hermione still looked confused.

Suddenly, Harry had a terrifying thought: Could it be that he was the only one who could see it?

“Don’t worry, Harry Potter.” At this moment, Luna Lovegood also came out of the platform, staring at the spot Harry had just pointed to with her ethereal and somewhat unfocused eyes, and said, “I can see it too.”

“Really?” Harry asked eagerly, turning to look at Luna, where he could see the reflection of the bat-winged horses in her large, bright blue eyes.

“Oh, yes,” Luna said. “I’ve seen them since the first day I arrived. They’ve been pulling the wagons the whole time. Don’t worry, you’re not crazy, you’re as clear-headed as I am.”

She smiled faintly and climbed into the carriage. Harry's doubts weren't completely dispelled, but he followed her in.

Harry didn't want to tell anyone that he and Luna had the same hallucinations—

If it was truly a hallucination, then after he sat down in the carriage, he never spoke of the horses again; however, he couldn't help but gaze at the silhouettes of the horses moving outside the window.

As they waited for the carriage to start moving, Luna, sitting next to Harry, seemed to suddenly feel something and leaned out of the carriage window to look back—

"What's wrong?" Harry couldn't help but ask curiously.

"No...it's nothing..." Luna shook her head and said, then sat back down in her original seat.

Soon, the carriage started moving, swaying and rocking.

After all the creaking carriages had left, a figure gradually appeared in the darkness of the night on the dark, muddy road, its appearance gradually deepening.

“Luna’s inspiration is truly remarkable…” Tyella, appearing in the darkness, exclaimed, then chuckled softly, “Hehe, Harry can see the Thestrals…”

"That means Harry did indeed witness and understand Tierra's death..." Tierra continued, "meeting the experimental conditions for the Resurrection Stone experiment."

Thank you

Huo Lina cast her January vote.
MysteryAi casts its vote for January.
Mingyuan Bill casts his vote for January.
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(End of this chapter)