Kathy And Her Wizard Diary

　　Kathy never imagined she would experience time travel, let alone be transported to England.

　　But in this life, her parents are loving, the neighborhood is harmonious, her classmates are friendly, and life is prosperous and filled with joy.

　　Just as she had fully embraced the persona of a British child, both physically and mentally, and was even starting to hesitate about whether to accept the advances of a boy in her class, an owl flew to the windowsill of the living room carrying a letter. It happily flapped its wings at her standing behind the windowsill, revealing… a letter tied to its leg？

　　This familiar yet surreal scene left Kathy momentarily stunned. She stared at the owl for a long time, until it grew impatient and tapped its beak against the windowpane.

　　Before Kathy could reach out to push the window open, her mother's scream came from behind: "Ah—an owl! Darling, come quickly!!"

　　"What—" came her father's surprised voice from upstairs, the ceiling faithfully transmitting the thudding sound of his hurried footsteps.

　　Kathy turned around and saw her young and beautiful mother, tears glistening in her eyes, covering her mouth as she looked at the owl outside the window. She then quickly rushed over, squeezed past Kathy, and opened the window.

　　Kathy watched as her mother deftly took the letter from the owl's foot, then stared at the envelope, turning it over several times. Kathy could see clearly from the side that the envelope's seal was stamped with a very familiar emblem.

　　…This… this is just too surreal!

　　Before she could gather her thoughts, her mother cupped her face in both hands, kissed her cheek with tears in her eyes, looking utterly overjoyed: "Sweetheart, the letter from Hogwarts has arrived!"

　　Her father also stepped forward, wrapping his arms around both of them, planting an excited kiss on her mother's hair, and said with relief: "Thank goodness, our daughter isn't a Squib."

　　Wait… wait a second？!

　　Kathy stared blankly up at her parents, but her parents, caught up in their excitement, clearly didn't grasp her confusion. Her mother kissed her forehead once more, full of anticipation: "My little Kathy is sure to be a brave Gryffindor."

　　Her father embraced her mother's shoulders, speaking with deep affection: "A gentle Hufflepuff would be nice too."

　　Her mother rested her head on her father's shoulder, a sweet smile appearing on her face: "Yes, that would be wonderful too."

　　They embraced sweetly for a moment, then Mom quickly snapped back to reality and excitedly dashed toward the second floor: "I remember‌ Eve's child is also starting school this year. I'll go contact her right away."

　　Dad was beaming with joy. He drew a slender wooden stick from his waist, muttered an incantation Kathy couldn't understand, and tapped the fruit platter on the coffee table. The fruit platters leaped from the table to the floor, dancing merrily.

　　Looking down, he saw Kathy staring intently at his wand, so he generously handed it over and said gently, "Look, this is Dad's best companion. You'll have one of your own someday."

　　Under Dad's expectant gaze, Kathy touched the wand with mixed emotions, then returned it to him and sat down on the sofa.

　　Wait… Dad, haven't you ever considered your daughter's psychological resilience？

　　She thought she might have transmigrated into a world like Detective Sherlock at most—who could have imagined she was living in Harry!

　　.

　　Kathy had no real sense of being a witch; she felt like she had been walking on clouds all this time, and even Diagon Alley couldn't ground her. It wasn't until the Sorting Ceremony, when she put on the ancient hat and all sound and light around her vanished, that everything finally felt real.

　　In the silence, the Sorting Hat said, "Ah, a slightly nervous little girl. Don't worry, this isn't a dream."

　　Kathy shifted uneasily on the high stool. The Sorting Hat, having read something from her mind, murmured to itself, "Freedom… knowledge. Very well, Ravenclaw!"

　　Someone lifted the Sorting Hat from her head, and the surrounding sounds became clear again. Kathy sat at the front of the Great Hall, gazing at the candles floating mid-air, the four long, ancient wooden tables filled with students, and the stone walls adorned with fire basins. Suddenly, she felt deeply moved, as if witnessing a dream come true right before her eyes.

　　Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress standing nearby, gently patted her on the back. "Go join your house."

　　Kathy hopped off the stool and ran toward the Ravenclaw table.

　　.

　　The new students arrived at the castle quite late, and after dinner, it was already past eight o'clock. The professors didn't keep the students long, letting the prefects of each house lead them back to their common rooms, as all instructions could wait until classes began.

　　At the forefront of the Ravenclaw group was a seventh-year male senior, followed by a line of first-years. Kathy stood in the middle of the line, following the prefect as they climbed the stairs upward. The prefect walked while explaining, "Our house resides at the very top of the castle, offering an incredibly open view and beautiful scenery. The view from your dormitories is absolutely fantastic."

　　The first-years: Huffing and puffing…

　　The prefect rounded a corner, not even out of breath, and said, "You'll need to get used to these stairs; you'll be climbing them for the next seven years."

　　The first-years, completely unable to adapt, begged the senior to stop for a rest. The prefect glanced at the exhausted newcomers behind him, paused, and smiled, saying, "A healthy body is the foundation for pursuing knowledge. I hope you all remember that, juniors."

　　Kathy was also worn out. She leaned on her knees, panting heavily for quite a while. Only after they had caught their breath a little did the prefect ask everyone to continue onward.

　　When they finally saw the Ravenclaw emblem, Kathy's legs were trembling. The prefect led them to stand before an ancient wooden door and explained, "Inside here is our common room. To enter or exit this door, you must answer a question."

　　At that moment, the bronze eagle-shaped door knocker on the wooden door spoke: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg？"

　　The prefect replied, "It's a cycle with no beginning."

　　The door silently swung open. The prefect pushed it aside, turned to the newcomers, and said, "Welcome to the common room."

　　It was an exceptionally spacious hall, not at all crowded despite the many bookshelves placed throughout. Everywhere in the hall, Ravenclaw's signature blue was visible—blue sofas, blue carpets, blue curtains.

　　Just as the prefect had said, Ravenclaw's view was superb. The hall had windows in every direction, and those large double-hung windows were slightly ajar. The gentle breeze from the heights softly stirred the curtains. As soon as Kathy stepped inside, she could see the full panorama of Hogwarts.

　　The seventh-year female prefect waited quietly for the newcomers to look around for a while. Then, with a warm smile, she approached them and said kindly, "Come, let me show you to your dormitories. I'm sure you'll love them."

　　With that, she walked up the spiral staircase located in the corner of the common room.

　　Kathy dragged her weary legs to the base of the staircase, looked up at the spiraling steps ascending before her, and felt a flicker of despair in her heart.

　　When Kathy opened her eyes, she was still a little dazed. She stared at the stone-brick ceiling for quite a while before remembering she had been sorted into Ravenclaw the previous night and was now sleeping in a Ravenclaw dormitory.

　　The dormitory was located in the tower. It wasn't overly spacious, so it housed only two students. Two European-style four-poster beds took up a significant amount of space, and along with the wooden wardrobes and bookshelves bearing the house's characteristics, the room didn't have much space left.

　　However, the advantage of the tower was its prime location, and Hogwarts certainly made good use of this feature. Each bed was positioned by a window, ensuring everyone had a view.

　　Their room was on the east side of the tower, with windows also facing east. As Kathy sat up to get dressed, she could gaze into the distant Forbidden Forest.

　　The view was absolutely fantastic! It made climbing those high stairs last night completely worth it!

　　By the time Kathy had finished her slow, deliberate morning routine, her roommate Eve had also woken up. She lay in bed with her eyes open, still groggy, and reached for the pink children's watch she had brought from home.

　　Kathy had already checked the time and kindly reminded her: "It's half past seven."

　　Eve took a few seconds to process this, then seemed to fully wake up, quickly sitting up in bed: "Our first class is at nine, Kathy, we should have gotten up earlier!"

　　"But it's not even eight yet!" Kathy said incredulously.

　　Eve quickly began her morning routine, replying to Kathy through a mouthful of toothpaste foam: "You must not have any Ravenclaws in your family. My mom said that for Ravenclaws to avoid being late, you have to set out half an hour earlier than others!"

　　She gargled noisily, then added: "And our first class is Potions, in the dungeons. We still have to go to the Great Hall for breakfast… I bet most of the other students have already left."

　　Kathy thought dismissively, there's still an hour and a half, how could we possibly be late.

　　.

　　Kathy soon realized she was wrong.

　　Truly wrong.

　　She really should have gotten up another hour earlier.

　　Who would have thought that even leaving the Ravenclaw common room requires answering the door knocker's riddle—though that didn't take much time.

　　But who could have imagined that she and Eve would wander around the castle stairs for half an hour, only to end up back at the Ravenclaw Tower？

　　Kathy stared in despair at the Ravenclaw crest hanging on the wall. Eve sat down on the steps, gasping for breath, and said, "I… let's take a break…"

　　Kathy was also exhausted, leaning against the wall and speaking in fits and starts, "We… we were going down, weren't we!"

　　Eve coughed twice, waved her hand at her, and didn't want to speak.

　　Kathy recalled the path they had just taken—there were no particularly distinctive staircases. She had taken every staircase she saw downward. Logically, they should have reached the first floor no matter what, but for some reason, instead of finding the Great Hall, they had ended up back at Ravenclaw Tower.

　　It was unbearably real.

　　The wooden door opened from the inside, and the seventh-year prefect who had led them yesterday stepped out. Seeing their disheveled state, he didn't seem surprised at all and asked with an expression of understanding, "What's wrong？ Got lost？"

　　Why do you understand so well!

　　Kathy glared up at him. The prefect smiled and said, "It's like this for everyone at first. Haven't you eaten yet？ I'll take you to the Great Hall."

　　As soon as Kathy heard the word "Great Hall," her stomach growled. The lavish feast from last night had long been completely digested, and after the early morning half-hour "exercise," she was now so hungry she could eat a horse.

　　The prefect, just like last night, led them down the stairs, with Kathy and Eve following closely behind, carefully memorizing the route.

　　The castle's staircases were arranged in a bizarre manner; most didn't run all the way to the bottom, often ending on a certain floor and requiring them to find another staircase to continue downward. The prefect effortlessly guided them through several staircases and, in less than half an hour, successfully brought them both to the Great Hall.

　　Since they weren't walking too fast and were focused on memorizing the route to distract themselves, Kathy didn't feel particularly tired this time. She glanced around but didn't spot any first-years at the Ravenclaw table, unsure whether they had already left or hadn't arrived yet.

　　The prefect grabbed a piece of bread from the long table, greeted a classmate nearby, then turned to look at the two of them: "Did you pay close attention to memorizing the route just now？"

　　Kathy and the other obediently nodded.

　　"Hey," the prefect suddenly flashed a mischievous grin, "I'll tell you something—memorizing the route is useless."

　　Kathy widened her eyes at him, and Eve frowned as she asked, "Why is it useless？"

　　"Because many staircases move around, so it's pointless to memorize them," the prefect said with a smile. "Even many seventh-years still get lost."

　　"Then what should we do？" Kathy asked, troubled.

　　"Watch and learn." The prefect said, placing the plate of bread in front of them and signaling them to eat quickly. Then he turned around and waved to a few students who had just entered the hall. They glanced at each other, their reactions seeming somewhat indifferent, but still sent one person over.

　　The student had chocolate-colored skin and was quite good-looking. He didn't seem like a first-year, but definitely wasn't an upperclassman either. He looked at the prefect and asked, "What's up？"

　　His tone sounded rather arrogant.

　　What shocked Kathy wasn't that, but rather that she stared at the exposed part of the student's tie for quite a while, confirming it was the green color belonging to Slytherin.

　　She almost suspected that the little knowledge she retained about Harry in her memory was all wrong.

　　Weren't Slytherin supposed to have poor relationships with all the other houses？

　　Perhaps she stared for too long, causing this Slytherin to turn his face toward her. His narrow eyes glanced at Kathy a few times, but he said nothing.

　　The prefect sat on the Ravenclaw bench and spoke to him quite naturally, "Do any of you have plans to return to the common room later？ Could you take these two little ones to the Potions classroom on your way？"

　　The Slytherin frowned slightly, looking rather unwilling. The prefect added, "Please."

　　The dark-skinned boy reluctantly nodded, "Alright, but tell them to eat faster."

　　He said, returning to the Slytherin table and sitting down with his companions.

　　The prefect turned to them and said, "Did you hear that？ You need to eat quickly."

　　Eve beside her noticeably sped up her eating, mumbling, "Slytherins really are so cold."

　　"But they're all quite nice," the prefect said, taking a sip of milk with a smile.

　　Listening to the prefect's perception-shattering words, Kathy couldn't help but glance back toward the Slytherin while eating. He was slowly cutting his bread, chatting with his companions. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, Kathy had a feeling they were talking about the two of them.

　　As if to confirm her suspicion, his companions glanced in her direction. Kathy quickly looked away and stabbed a German sausage onto her plate.

　　.

　　The prefect also had a first-period class and left after finishing her meal. Before leaving, she told them to wait on their chairs for a Slytherin senior to come collect them.

　　Kathy felt a bit restless. The Slytherin from earlier had already left the Great Hall, and she didn't know who would come to fetch them.

　　Fortunately, the wait wasn't long. A chubby Slytherin soon walked over and said to them, "Let's go, to the Potions classroom."

　　Kathy and Eve obediently picked up their schoolbags, stood up, and followed behind him without a word.

　　He didn't walk alone; instead, he led them to the entrance of the Great Hall to meet up with his companions. The Slytherins showed little reaction to their arrival and turned away as they approached.

　　Kathy was taken aback by the cold attitude. The chubby boy glanced at her and said, "Keep up."

　　Kathy jogged a few steps to catch up, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the figure with pale blond hair ahead, her curiosity itching fiercely.

　　This hair… could it be a Malfoy？ Is Malfoy the only family in the wizarding world with hair this color？

　　could this be the son of that famous Malfoy？ When did the son enroll, anyway？

　　… She couldn't remember.

　　Annoying.

　　Just as Kathy's group left the Great Hall, before even turning the corner, they saw several Gryffindors leaping and bounding down the stairs toward the hall. The pale blond-haired Slytherin took the initiative to taunt, "You're going to be late again, Potter. I'm truly concerned about your house points."

　　"Mind your own business, Malfoy," one of the black-haired Gryffindors panted, glaring over. After a pause, he added with a mischievous grin, "Or would you prefer I share some portrait passwords with you？"

　　Malfoy sneered, "Passwords bought with Gryffindor house points are far too precious—I'll pass."

　　Potter's companions had now rushed out of the Great Hall, each clutching a piece of bread as they dashed up the stairs. As they passed, they shouted to Potter, "Harry, we've got the bread! Hurry up, we're going to be late!"

　　Potter quickly glanced over the group of Slytherins, his gaze lingering briefly on Kathy and the other girl at the back of the line.