The Chinese girl from Hufflepuff is both timid and brave

Chapter 146 Thestral Carriage

The train's final stop, Hogsmeade station, was still guarded by the giant Hagrid who was as big as a hill. However, this time, second-year Sun Zhu no longer needed to be led by Hagrid to Hogwarts. The Hufflepuff prefect spoke loudly and led the second-year students to a place not far away.

Senior Brian looked a shade darker than before, but still shy. He beckoned the badgers to follow him. When he passed Hagrid, he glanced at the freshmen who had gathered there and were looking at them curiously. He paused, as if he had prepared himself mentally, before he said to them, "Welcome to Hogwarts. I look forward to seeing you in Hufflepuff soon."

There was a small murmur among the freshmen, and some seemed to be about to applaud, but stopped when Hagrid looked at them.

Although Sun Zhu felt that Hagrid had no intention of restraining them, just by standing there he was intimidating enough.

Senior Brian smiled and continued walking forward. Karina tugged at Sun Zhu's sleeve and whispered, "I heard that this was Senior Cecilia's instruction. Do you think we will recruit the most freshmen this year?"

"I'm not sure, but in previous years, Hufflepuffs always had the most new students, and this year should be the same."

"It's not fair for you to do this."

"It's a foul."

Suddenly, two voices of accusation came from her ears. Sun Zhu turned her head and found that the twins had mixed into the Hufflepuff team at some point, looking at them with a bright smile on their faces.

"What did we do?" Sun Zhu looked innocent.

"Why are you two here?" Carina pointed around, "This is the Hufflepuff team."

"Come on, who else but you Hufflepuffs would line up?" Fred made a face, "We're here to join you."

"We're going the same way anyway." George nodded.

"Oh... but it sounds like you have a lot of opinions about us." Sun Zhu looked disgusted, "You just said that we are not kind. I didn't expect that this word could be used to describe Hufflepuff."

"You use this method to recruit new members, which can easily make them have a preconceived favorable impression of you."

"That way if the Sorting Hat gives them multiple options, they'll be more inclined to choose Hufflepuff."

"Bryan is not so cunning, he just wanted to say hello to them." Sun Zhu denied, "You are overthinking it."

"That's right. If we want to recruit new students, we don't need this method at all!" Carina pointed at Cedric who was talking to senior Brian in the front of the team. "Just put him in front of the new students and tell them that this is a senior from Hufflepuff. The effect will be better than it is now."

"Tsk~" The twins made a strange sound of disgust at the same time.

"Do you two have any objections?" Daisy glared at them. "I've been watching you two for a long time. Are you here just to pick a fight?"

"No, no!" Fred pretended to be scared and closed his mouth tightly.

"We're just chatting among friends." George said nonchalantly, "By the way, Zhu, I haven't asked you yet, are you going to join the Quidditch house team this year?"

"My dad has already bought me a broom." Sun Zhu nodded. "I will also practice during the summer vacation. Then, Karina and I will follow Senior Anna as a substitute chaser."

"Fred and I will also join the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year as Beaters." George looked excited. "We will play with Charlie, but unfortunately he is already in his seventh year. I think it will be difficult for Gryffindor to meet another Seeker as good as him."

"Ah... I think there will be one in the future, don't worry." Sun Zhu thought of Harry who will be entering school next year, and replied subconsciously.

Karina poked her face and said, "How can you encourage others to be more ambitious?"

"Ah this..." Sun Zhu covered his mouth.

George laughed: "I don't know why, but I really believe what you say."

Sun Zhu laughed dryly and decided to remain silent for the time being.

Senior Brian, who was leading the way, stopped. Sun Zhu looked ahead and saw many carriages parked in an open space, at least a hundred in number.

Sun Zhu stared at the seemingly empty space in front of the shaft, knowing that it was not as simple as it seemed.

"Wow, so many! Are we going to take them to school?" Karina walked forward and opened the car door. Seeing Senior Brian nod, she got in with confidence.

Many people from other colleges came one after another. Sun Zhu saw Fina standing not far away with a frown on her face. She knew that Fina must have seen those terrifying-looking Night Thestrals.

"I noticed you looked very worried and didn't talk much since we got off the car. Fina, what happened?"

Fina came back to her senses and glanced at Sun Zhu, then shook her head: "Nothing, I was just thinking about what my aunt told me. But it's not important."

"Wow, so how do these cars drive? Are they powered by magic?" Kalina's voice came from afar.

"It is said that there are invisible horses pulling the carriage." A passing Ravenclaw girl studied it for a while, "It is a magical creature we don't know about."

Hearing this, Angelina tried to reach out her hand to test the shaft of the cart. She quickly touched something slippery and hard, and subconsciously withdrew her hand.

"Hey! You're a Gryffindor after all. What did you touch?"

"I can't tell. It looks like wings or protruding bones." Angelina shook her head and saw the twins eager to try. "I think you'd better not try it."

"There's nothing to worry about, Angelina. This is a magical creature that the school uses to pull carts for students. How can it be dangerous?" Fred said indifferently.

"We won't do anything to them. It's still unknown whether such creatures actually exist. After all, no one can see them," said George.

"I can see it, so I advise you not to do anything stupid. If you anger them, even the gentlest magical creatures will not show mercy to you." A faint voice came, and the twins were stunned at the same time.

Eugene, with curly hair, gracefully got into a carriage with a book in his arms. After saying that, he closed the door without even looking at the twins.

"Huh?" Sun Zhu was a little surprised, but seeing the twins' deflated looks, he couldn't help but laugh.

"She's right." Fina nodded. "Stop looking and let's get in the car."

Sun Zhu opened a nearby car door and noticed that most of the students were chatting and laughing in a relaxed manner, with only a few carefully avoiding something when approaching.

The carriage was not very spacious, with one person per carriage, so it would be a bit crowded if two people got in. There was a smell of dry straw inside, which was not unpleasant. Sun Zhu heard the voice of senior Brian outside.

"These carriages are moving very fast. They will all be back in a few minutes. Please wait for a while if you haven't boarded yet. If you are already on the carriage, please sit tight. It may be a little bumpy, but don't worry."

Sun Zhu hugged tightly the Niffler backpack that she always carried with her and pulled her school robes closer. The carriages quickly took off and flew towards Hogwarts.

The road was not as bumpy as she had imagined. She could only hear the whistling of the night wind, and the car shook slightly when it landed. Sun Zhu carefully opened the door and saw the gate of Hogwarts Castle not far away.

After the students got off the carriage one after another, the empty carriage once again flew into the distance. Sun Zhu looked up at the distant patch of sky in the night sky, which gradually became an invisible dot as the distance increased. Amid the exclamations of other students, she turned to the long steps leading to the school gate.

Professor McGonagall was still waiting for them at the door, nodding at them one by one with a calm but friendly smile.

"Children, welcome back to Hogwarts. Please go to the dining hall and wait. The sorting ceremony for freshmen will begin soon."

Sun Zhu followed his companions to the Hufflepuff table, where a few people were already seated.

Cedric waved at her, holding a newspaper in his hand and looking hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Sun Zhu sat next to him and saw that he looked conflicted, so he looked at Tonks next to him.

Tonks spread her hands and said, "He became like this after reading that newspaper."

Karina and Fina also sat next to her and looked at Cedric with some curiosity.

"There's some bad news in today's Daily Prophet, and it's about your friend." He handed the newspaper to Sun Zhu, "I hope you don't worry too much."

Sun Zhu's heart twitched. He took the newspaper from his hand and quickly read the news.

"The famous experimentalist Ms. Pandora Lovegood had an accident during a recent experiment. She is currently seriously injured and is being treated at St. Mungo's Hospital."