The Day of the Draw at Hogwarts

When Tom and the others came to the platform, they also heard the little wizards around them talking about it. Several young wizards swore that they saw a car flying in the sky with their own eyes. However, this has been refuted by many young wizards. In their understanding, Muggle cars cannot fly. Even if a wizard family has a flying car, who would dare to drive it?

As night fell, the cold air lingered on the platform. The little wizards followed the crowds and poured out of the station little by little while discussing "flying cars" intensely. Tom saw Neville walking past them in a panic, looking around on tiptoes.

"Neville, are you looking for someone?" Hermione had always been a warm-hearted person. Seeing Neville looking anxious, she subconsciously asked, wanting to see if she could help him.

"Harry and Ron are missing. I kept looking for them on the train, but I didn't see them." Neville spoke quickly.

"Longbottom, if you buy a copy of the Evening Prophet, you will understand everything." A greasy, lazy voice sounded behind them, and they knew it was Draco Malfoy without looking back. .

Malfoy shook the evening newspaper that had just been delivered to him and smiled brightly. He also read the contents of the newspaper aloud: "The Ford Anglia can fly, and the Muggles are shocked. Two Muggles in London Convinced they saw an old sedan flying past the Post Office building... At midday in Norfolk, Mrs. Hetty Bellis was drying her laundry... Mr. Angus Fleet of Peebles reported to the police... Six in all Seven Muggles, not including those who saw it and didn't call the police."

"Merlin, even if you end up in Azkaban because of speeding, you should use a better car! I remember that his father, Arthur, was still working in the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, and he did something like this during the summer vacation. A massive search—it turned out that the biggest criminal was Arthur himself!”

Malfoy and the students around him laughed.

"I will definitely send a letter to my father, and then - poof, there will be no more people like Arthur in the Ministry of Magic, and perhaps a subsidy policy should be introduced to prevent some pure-blood families from starving to death at home. Malfoy said with excitement, he felt more and more that this idea was feasible.

"How did you conclude that it was the Weasley family's car!" Hermione fired back angrily, but even she felt a little unsure about what she said.

"Use your brain, Granger!" Malfoy tapped his forehead and wanted to say something else, but Tom interrupted him.

"If you beep one more word, I will publish a popular science document on Elizabeth I in the Daily Prophet. I believe wizards will be very interested in why Queen Elizabeth never married."

Malfoy instantly lost his temper. Several young wizards who came from pure-blood families and knew some ancient secrets looked thoughtful, but most of them still looked confused.

Malfoy disappeared in anger.

The three of them continued to follow the crowd - Peggy didn't seem very happy to follow Hagrid on the boat, but she still left with Hagrid. Tom, Hermione, and Neville walked onto a muddy path with hundreds of horseless carriages parked on both sides of the path.

"Are these cars created by alchemy?" Hermione stared at the empty front of the carriage curiously. This was the first time she saw a carriage without horses.

Tom glanced at Hermione and Neville. From their reactions, Tom felt that Hermione didn't see the Thestral pulling the cart, but Neville should have seen it, which surprised him.

"This carriage is actually pulled by magical animals," Tom answered Hermione's doubts. "These animals are called thestrals. You can simply understand that they are invisible."

"Only those who have witnessed and understood death can see them." Tom said, looking at the emaciated Thestrals in front of the carriage.

It is normal for ordinary people not to see Thestrals. Harry witnessed the murder of his mother when he was born, and even killed Quirrell himself in the first year, but he still had to wait until the end of the Triwizard Tournament before he could see the Thestral. Because he was still young when his mother was killed, he fainted when he killed Quirrell.

This shows that seeing death is not the only requirement. I am afraid that one also needs to know and feel death.

But Tom can see the Thestral:

The Yeqi looks very "unknown". There is no meat on their bodies, and their black fur is directly attached to their skeletons, making their bones clearly visible. People can't help but get goosebumps after seeing them.

The Thestrals' heads were somewhat like fire dragon heads, and Tom could see their milky white eyes without pupils. At this time, the Thestrals between the shafts were looking at him intently.

One Thestral also stretched its wings, and they grew a pair of bat-like wings between the shoulder bones.

With this appearance, it is no wonder that it has been regarded as an unlucky symbol for centuries because of its terrifying appearance and the fact that it can only be seen by witnessing death.

"Can you see them too?" Neville asked softly, coming closer to Tom. Hermione also looked over at this time. She didn't expect that the two boys around her had actually seen death.

"I did it because of my grandpa, what about you?"

"Because there are many people." Tom didn't lie. The wizard in Ukraine, Quilo, and Shoal... he had truly seen the sea of ​​​​blood and corpses.

Neville fell silent.

Although the Thestral looks scary, it is actually a loyal creature that can tell whether the other party is a friend or foe and provide help when they need to travel. The Thestrals at Hogwarts are well-fed, well-trained, and very docile.

At this time, they were standing there, looking at the three two-legged beasts with boredom. Tom also saw the Thestral on the right stepping over the Thestral in the middle and getting close to the face of the Thestral on the far left, rubbing the left side with its head. That cheek - can only be described with one idiom: ears and temples rubbing together.

The Thestral in the middle raised its head in a very humane manner, showing a look of despair.

All of a sudden, the terrifying feeling on them dissipated a lot.

"If you are willing, you can try to touch it. The Thestrals at Hogwarts will not harm the students." Tom approached the three Thestrals, put his hand on the back of one of them, and helped it comb the hair on its back. mane.

Hermione boldly touched the Thestral's ribs, and the Thestral turned directly back and licked Hermione's hand. Its rough tongue ran across the back of Hermione's hand, bringing a wave of The scrubbing feeling was like a scrub, giving Hermione goosebumps all over her body.

Neville also followed suit and found a Thestral to touch a few times.

The three of them touched the Thestral for a while before boarding the carriage and heading to Hogwarts.