Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 7 Don't Call Me a Staff Maker

The Hogwarts Express is an old-fashioned steam train that is slow and not very comfortable. Its only advantage is that it allows passengers to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Of course, this was all information that Xilun had heard from other wizards, and he would soon find out the truth.

Xilun arrived relatively late; many of the private rooms were already full.

Finally, near the back of the train, he found an empty private compartment.

"Good luck." Xiren took out his wand, pointed it at the suitcase, and flicked it upwards slightly.

"Yugadimurleviosa..."

The suitcase wobbled and floated up in an odd posture, crawled a distance with difficulty, and was finally pushed onto the luggage rack by Xilun.

"It should be ~ Levi-Osa, your pronunciation and pauses are wrong."

The sudden sound startled Xilun. A little girl with brown hair pushed open the door of the private room from the outside, walked straight in, and sat down in the seat opposite.

A timid, round-faced boy followed behind her.

"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom," the girl said.

"We were looking for a spot and happened to see you casting a spell as we passed by."

"I've tried the Levitation Charm too, and it worked pretty well... I mean, I've already memorized the 'Standard Spells: Beginner'. What about you?"

As she said this, she subconsciously raised her head, her voice became much louder, and her tone sounded somewhat arrogant.

"I didn't memorize it, and I don't think freshmen need to waste time memorizing textbooks when they enroll," Xiren said bluntly.

Hermione was taken aback, clearly not expecting Siren to say that.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Neville desperately tried to say something to ease the tense atmosphere, but he didn't know what to say and paced around anxiously.

However, he was clearly overthinking it; neither Siren nor Hermione took this little incident to heart.

Siren didn't care, and Hermione was used to it.

"I'm all alone here. If you don't mind, we can come together."

"Thank you," Hermione said. She had no intention of leaving, as the train was about to depart and it would be difficult to find another empty compartment if she left.

After putting away his luggage, Xilun took out a thick hardcover book and began to read it attentively by the window.

There were many parents dropping off their children outside, making a lot of noise, but Xilun didn't seem to care.

He watched very carefully, and occasionally he would take out a wooden stick and scrape it a few times with the knife he carried with him.

Before I knew it, the train had pulled away from the station, leaving the wheat fields and villages far behind.

But the private room did not quiet down.

The main reason is Hermione. From the moment she sat down, her mouth never stopped. She kept telling Neville what books she had read during the holidays and how many she had memorized.

It chattered away like a macaw showing off its feathers.

Although he had known about Hermione's personality for a long time, after experiencing it firsthand, Celeste realized that she really was a bit annoying.

He didn't understand why Hermione could talk about just a few basic spells for two hours straight.

What's even more frightening is that Neville kept nodding and bearing the load, showing no impatience whatsoever.

Siren thought they would stay like this until Hogwarts, but he was wrong.

Hermione's attention still fell on him.

"What book are you reading...?" She seemed to have wanted to ask this for a while, craning her neck to look at Xilun.

"Perhaps we can exchange ideas. I've also bought a lot of extra reference books: 'A History of Modern Magic,' 'The Rise and Fall of Black Magic,' and 'Important Magical Events of the 20th Century.' What's yours...?"

"Snapped!"

When Hermione peeked over, Celen instinctively closed the book in his hand, blocking her view.

This almost heartless act caused Hermione's expression to change noticeably for the first time; she looked somewhat angry.

"I won't just look for nothing, I can lend you my book too..."

No, you've misunderstood.

Xilun quickly shook his head and explained, "Actually, this is a magical book. If you look at its contents rashly, it might cause you some trouble."

"A magical...book?"

Judging from Hermione's expression, she clearly didn't believe it.

How can you not read a book?

Besides, it's not like she hasn't been to the bookstore in Diagon Alley before; she can read any of the books there.

"He... he's right," Neville said, offering an explanation as he looked at Hermione.

"There are many books in the magical world that cannot be read casually." Although he spoke softly, his expression was very serious, as if he were taking it very seriously.

"I heard my grandma say that someone once read a book that was cursed, and afterwards could only say one word per second. I don't know if it's true."

"It's true," Xiren said softly. "Actually, I've seen that person before."

"You've seen it?" Hermione's eyes widened, and her voice became high-pitched and shrill.

She glanced at Xilun, then at the book, and suddenly leaned back, pressing herself tightly against the wall of the private room.

She didn't want to only be able to say one word per second; that would be too terrible.

"You're overthinking it, this isn't it." Xilun picked up the book and shook it.

The book cover features two crossed magic wands, and the words on them are blurred and faded, indicating that they have been around for a long time.

Hermione could only vaguely make out the words "Olivendine" on the wand.

Wait, Ollivander...

"I remember now!" she suddenly shouted, startling Neville.

Hermione, however, didn't notice this. She stared at Siron and said, "I've seen you before, at the wand shop. You were standing next to Mr. Ollivander."

"That's quite remarkable of you, to actually remember that the wand seller's name was Ollivander," Siron said casually. "If your memory were any better, you might even recall my self-introduction."

"Do you remember? Siren Ollivander."

Hermione blushed again.

She was so focused on correcting Xilun's magic that she didn't pay any attention to his self-introduction.

"Of course I remember... but... I just can't recall it..." Hermione explained, forcing herself to speak.

Xilun didn't press her further, and instead stretched his shoulders and neck.

Those people weren't exaggerating; the Hogwarts Express was incredibly uncomfortable, making him feel awful from the jolting.

Across from him, Hermione kept staring at him, her mouth agape, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

However, this hesitation did not last long.

Just as Xilun was about to continue reading...

"So, you're also a staff maker?"

Xilun's expression changed instantly. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the two people opposite him with a serious and earnest expression.

"First of all, our profession has an official name: wand maker."

Secondly, if you find that awkward, you can call us wandmakers or wand artisans, that's fine too, but there's one thing!

Xiren took a deep breath and said, word by word, "We are not called Staff Masters, and that's very important!"