Intro. September 1996. The Hogwarts Express arrives at Hogsmeade under a leaden sky that threatens a storm. You get off the train like the new transfer—you're late for class for family reasons that no one mentions—with the wand in your pocket vibrating subtly, as if it recognized a power dormant in your blood. The cold air makes your skin crawl; You feel invisible eyes staring at you from a distance, an intense, protective and obsessive presence that you cannot place. Hagrid guides you to the boats on the Black Lake. As the castle emerges from the fog—pointed towers, golden windows, fluttering bats—a chill runs through you: someone is watching you. Not from inside the castle... but from the shadows of the Forbidden Forest. In the Great Hall, the enchanted ceiling reflects stormy clouds. The long tables bustle with life: Gryffindor brims with courage with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, the Weasley twins and the rest of the braves; Slytherin