A Certain Magical Hogwarts

The village of St. Catchpole was a small, remote hamlet in Devon, England.

It was home to both wizards and Muggles, far removed from bustling cities and hidden away in the countryside.

Westward from the village stretched a range of rolling hills. On an open flat in the hills stood a rustic wooden cottage surrounded by brambles.

The cottage belonged to an old woman named Olenna Redwyne. She was a diminutive lady with a head of silver hair, slightly hunched with age.

One July day, she abruptly left the area.

Rumors in the village spread that someone had paid Olenna a hefty sum to buy the property.

The new occupants, apparently unimpressed with the shabby old cottage, quickly tore it down. In its place, they built a beautiful three-story house complete with a large balcony.

The ivy that once blanketed the wooden cottage wasn't destroyed but carefully transplanted to another location.

Strangely, instead of wilting, the ivy flourished. Within a week, it grew at an astonishing speed, completely covering the shadowed side of the new house.

The owners also redirected a mountain stream, forming a small moat-like river encircling the house.

The only way in and out was via a charming peachwood bridge that connected to the main yard.

Soon, tall plane trees were mysteriously transplanted around the river, shading the entire property and ensuring the house remained hidden from prying eyes.

Despite its beauty, the house felt incomplete, as it lacked the presence of its owners.

Today, that silence, the incompleteness was finally broken.

A massive vehicle pulled up at the end of the lane.

It was a triple-decker bus. On its windshield, golden letters formed the words Knight Bus.

The doors opened, and three children disembarked—two girls and a boy—followed by a chubby ginger cat that wobbled unsteadily, as though carsick.

The bus conductor stuck his head out. He was a gangly young man of about seventeen or eighteen, with large ears and a smattering of acne on his face.

"Stark, is this your house?" asked Stanley Shunpike.

"No, it belongs to a classmate," William lied.

The magical world wasn't safe, as two years at Hogwarts had made that abundantly clear. William wasn't ready to reveal where he lived to strangers.

This house would serve as one of the safehouses he was planning to set up.

"Yeah, I figured," Stan said, clearly a chatterbox who enjoyed prying into others' business, "Didn't see you bring much luggage."

Stan had recently graduated from Hogwarts, and William hadn't expected to see him working as a bus conductor.

"Well, goodbye then," Stan said cheerfully, "Thanks for riding the Knight Bus—goodbye, Stark, and goodbye to you two young ladies."

The driver, Ernie, pressed the clutch, and with a loud bang, the bus doors closed. Another bang, and the Knight Bus thundered down the narrow country road, trees jumping aside to clear its path.

"Oh, I'm never riding the Knight Bus again," Annie said with a groan.

She had nearly thrown up during the ride.

"But," Hermione raised an eyebrow, "weren't you the one who suggested we try it? You practically begged, saying, 'It's my lifelong dream!'"

"Well, you didn't object either! In fact, you were excited…don't you dare lie, I saw it!"

The two girls started bickering.

William, standing between them, rubbed his temples. The two seemed to argue constantly every time they met, as if they were mortal enemies.

What was the point?

Ignoring them, William stood on the road, and looked into the distance.

From this vantage point, he could see the beauty of Ottery St. Catchpole. The village below resembled a whole lot of toy houses forming streets.

Dumbledore had chosen an excellent location, it was both peaceful and scenic.

Turning back, he interrupted the argument, announcing loudly to Hermione and Annie, "All right! This is our new home. We'll be spending the rest of the summer holidays here."

William cleared his throat dramatically.

Hermione and Annie immediately stood side by side, smiling and clapping politely as though part of a review parade.

Satisfied, William nodded and, in an authoritative tone, said, "Classmates, I'll keep it brief. There are three main points.

Point one, sub-point one:

This is our new home. It was designed and planned by a famous architect, with feng shui consulted by a Divination witch.

Please take good care of it.

To be honest, I've grown tired of living in London. The air quality is poor, traffic is terrible, and you can't even see the stars at night.

This place is much better, we beautiful mountains, clear waters. Looking at this scenery makes me want to write poetry!"

As William was warming up to his speech, the two girls lost interest and ran toward the peachwood bridge, tugging at each other.

"I'm going in first!"

"No, I am!"

"Me first!"

Hermione, being faster, pulled ahead. Annie, unable to keep up, grabbed Hermione's shirt too hard, nearly pulling off her short sleeve.

The movement exposed a sliver of Hermione's pale shoulder and the thin strap of her undershirt.

Hermione's face turned bright red, her eyes and cheeks practically dripping with embarrassment. She was so furious that she wanted to curse Annie on the spot.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw William standing behind them. He immediately turned his gaze to the river, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Their argument was finally broken when Boba Tea, the chubby ginger cat, sauntered across the bridge with an air of dignity.

The girls and the cat disappeared into the house to explore, while William remained on the bridge, watching the small fish in the stream.

From his ring, he pulled out a handful of fish food and scattered it into the water. Bright red koi swirled below, gobbling up the food.

"Grow up quickly," William muttered, "Once you're big enough… I'll eat you."

"Hey, William, what's this about?" Hermione's voice called from the yard.

Crossing the bridge, William entered the large fenced courtyard.

In the middle of the yard was a red sign with the word DEMOLITION painted in bold English letters.

When the original wooden cottage had been torn down, the demolition notice had been left on the wall. William had kept the wooden plank as a keepsake.

In his previous life, while at the orphanage, he had often seen neighbors with DEMOLITION signs on their walls. At the time, he had pitied them for losing their homes, even fantasizing about inviting the pretty older girl next door to share his room.

Only later did he realize the word meant wealth!

[tl/n: this sign usually means the area is under development by companies or the government, which means, they will be compensated accordingly, and if the resident is stubborn enough and the company or government desperate enough, a chance to profit immensely.]

Unfortunately, in the wizarding world, a DEMOLITION sign wasn't worth much. The new house hadn't cost many Galleons to build.

William began inspecting the plants in the yard.

The spacious yard was lined with pathways flanked by unusual magical plants. On the left stood a tall persimmon tree, while the right featured a thriving grapevine arbor. Beneath the arbor was a gazebo adorned with a mistletoe wreath studded with white berries.

The owls, Drogon and Rhaegal, perched on a branch, watching the newcomers curiously.

Meanwhile, Hermione and Annie were still examining the DEMOLITION sign. Neither of them liked it, finding it inauspicious, and wanted to replace it with a proper house name.

William thought for a moment, then smiled. "Let's call it Bag End."

"Bag End? What's that?" Hermione asked curiously.

The world of Harry Potter didn't include Tolkien's stories of Middle-earth, so they were unfamiliar with the reference.

Clearing his throat, William began softly, "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit…"

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