"You like bears?"
He remembered that in the original game plot, there was an ending where Illya extracted Shirou's soul and imprisoned it in a bear plushie. In another parallel world, Illya's own soul had been placed in a bear plushie.
It could be said that Illya and bears had a strange connection.
"I remember you said back then, if I raised a bear in the future... does that mean I'm definitely going to raise a bear?"
"Ah, well... a lot of things have changed, maybe that won't happen."
"This bear is quite cute. Can I get one?"
Although he didn't understand why a small bear was mixed in among these 'officially designated pets' like cats, owls, and toads, if Illya wanted one, she could have it. For people like them, it wasn't a problem.
"Then let's buy it."
After cheerfully paying the bill, Illya didn't leave the little white bear in its cage but held it in her arms, like she was holding a puppy.
Anyway, the bear cub was still very small, and at a glance, it didn't look much different from a small dog.
After strolling around Diagon Alley for the day, they finally bought everything they needed.
Ethan had deliberately waited until the day before school to make their purchases. So, after packing their luggage that evening, the next day the group arrived at the train station in full force and found the famous Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"A simple barrier."
It kept ordinary people without magical reactions out. No one among them needed to do anything special. They just pushed their carts straight through.
There was no need to run at the wall like in the movie.
Compared to meeting Harry Potter twice in Diagon Alley earlier, they didn't see any 'acquaintances' at the station this time.
However, since they were all taking the same train to Hogwarts, it wouldn't be hard to meet if they wanted to.
After handing over their luggage to the Hogwarts staff for transport, Ethan, Logan, Scáthach, Illya, Leah, and Rin Tohsaka found a compartment and sat down.
There were many of them, so they occupied a whole compartment directly. That way, they didn't have to worry about strangers coming in and interrupting their conversation.
"It's good to have more people!"
Just as Ethan expected, since the compartment was full, no one else came to bother them. Even if someone approached, they would turn away after seeing so many people already inside.
"How much do you know about this world?"
As the train slowly began to move, Logan casually took out a bag of onion rings and started eating. Since he couldn't smoke, he was snacking constantly instead.
Illya, who was sitting next to Ethan, also had a large pile of snacks. But she was feeding them to the bear cub.
"Eat more, Shiro. Grow up fast."
"Shirou?" (Shiro and Shirou sound similar in Japanese)
Illya answered Rin's question without even lifting her head while feeding the bear, "Because I can't use the name Ethan."
"So you named it Shirou?" Rin couldn't understand Illya's thinking. Was it really okay to give her brother's name to a pet?
The original Illya definitely wouldn't have cared about this, but now she was somewhat aware that it might be inappropriate. So, she used a similar-sounding name. "It's Shiro."
"Oh! That's a great name." Rin nodded. Shiro was quite suitable as a pet's name, and since it was a white bear, the name fit well. "Shiro, turn into marshmallow."
Illya had now completely let loose, acting like a genuinely happy child.
As for the topic Ethan and Logan were discussing about this world, she didn't care at all. On the other hand, Scáthach, who sat one seat away, was listening closely.
"I know everything I need to know..."
"So you've already planned what you're going to do?"
Ethan shook his head. "I don't want to do anything. I just want to spend these years quietly."
This time, he truly didn't want to stir up trouble. Becoming a child again had made him lose the desire to act recklessly. Now, he just wanted time to pass quickly and for himself to grow up again. Though he knew that, given his current body, growing up wasn't something that could be achieved simply with time.
Logan didn't believe Ethan's words and gave him a suspicious look.
"With your personality, trying to live a peaceful, ordinary student life without causing trouble... that's simply impossible."
"You should have a little faith in me."
"I have great faith in you... especially in your ability to attract trouble."
Ethan was speechless. Just as he was about to say more, a genuine blonde girl appeared at the compartment door.
Her shoulder-length, slightly curly blonde hair looked very fluffy, and she didn't seem to care about tidying it up. She let it hang loosely.
The little girl looked at the people in the compartment, greeted them politely, and stated her purpose.
"A boy named Neville lost his toad. Have any of you seen it?"
"We haven't seen any toads here. Maybe it went somewhere else."
It was Leah, who was sitting on the outermost seat, who answered her. She was friendly toward everyone and, being warm-hearted, immediately asked if she could help.
"Oh, I'm going to ask around in the other compartments. Do you want to come with me?"
Leah nodded. She didn't need to ask Ethan for permission for something like this. Rin, who was nearby and seemed bored, also decided to join the "Help Neville Find His Pet" task force.
After the girls left, Logan noticed Ethan had paid a bit more attention to that girl earlier. He subtly gestured toward the door.
"That girl... is she someone important?"
"Yes, she's like the female protagonist."
Hermione Jean Granger, the undisputed female protagonist of the Harry Potter world, one of the Golden Trio of Gryffindor, and a Muggle-born academic wizard.
But for now, she was just a blonde girl curious about everything and eager to learn.
"You arranged for Leah to get close to her early on?"
Ethan was helpless and could only explain again.
"This time, I really didn't want to cause trouble. I even wanted to avoid those three altogether."
Getting too close to the Gryffindor Golden Trio—Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley—would mean endless trouble. He didn't want to get dragged into it.
Of course, once they entered Hogwarts, trouble would still come. Hogwarts wouldn't remain a peaceful place for long. The conflict between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix would eventually reach the school, and the Ministry of Magic's incompetence would bring even more problems.
But by that time, Ethan would have already mastered what he wanted to learn. If anyone came looking for trouble, he would just deal with it directly.
"Are you really planning to just be a quiet student?"
"Is there something wrong with that? Fighting and killing all the time gets exhausting. Experiencing a different kind of life could be a refreshing change."
Logan was silent for a moment. He had to admit that Ethan's words made sense. After taking part in countless wars and wandering for years, hadn't he himself slowly adapted to a 'teaching career' he never thought he'd have? Even though his real job back then was to fight mutant crime as an X-Man.
The train, which looked slow but actually moved very fast, finally reached its destination. Waiting at the station to welcome the students was Hagrid, who had brought Harry Potter from his aunt's house.
After explaining a few things, Hagrid led all the children toward Hogwarts: a vast castle located beside a secluded lake.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!"
Deputy Headmistress McGonagall had been waiting for some time. After a simple welcome to the new students, she explained the Sorting Ceremony they were about to face.
Simply put, it was a special talking hat that assigned each new student to one of Hogwarts' four houses, based on their individual traits and desires.
The four houses were Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.
Ethan hadn't mentioned any of this to the people around him. He was very curious which houses they would be sorted into.
After McGonagall finished speaking, the familiar scene of Draco Malfoy offering Harry Potter a handshake and being rejected played out as expected.
At this point, because they had helped Neville find his toad on the train and were also from Muggle families, Hermione, Leah, and Rin had become friends. As a result, they stood beside Ethan and his group.
Ethan suddenly remembered that, besides being a top student, Miss Hermione also had the tendency to talk too much. Right now, she was curiously asking her new friends which house they wanted to be sorted into.
Hermione had done detailed research on Hogwarts before arriving and had a clear understanding of all four houses.
"I want to go to Gryffindor. What about you?"
"Doesn't matter. Any house is fine."
Although the response wasn't very enthusiastic, that didn't stop Hermione. She only quieted down when McGonagall led everyone into the Great Hall, which was already filled with students and house professors.
Next was the Sorting Ceremony that would determine their future for the next seven years. Hermione was clearly nervous and kept swallowing nervously.
After Headmaster Dumbledore finished announcing a few rules, the Sorting Ceremony officially began. Hermione was the first.
As expected, there was no deviation from the original plot. Hermione went to Gryffindor. Ron went to Gryffindor. Harry Potter also went to Gryffindor. The Golden Trio had officially formed.
During this time, Leah was sorted into Hufflepuff. Scáthach went to Ravenclaw. Rin and Logan were both sorted into Gryffindor. Then came Ethan's turn. Somewhat unexpectedly, the Sorting Hat sent him to Slytherin.
(To be continued.)
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