Hogwarts.
The common room of Gryffindor House.
A month before the start of term, the room, adorned in crimson and gold, was unusually quiet.
"Umm…"
A murmured sound reminiscent of a newborn kitten emerged from the room.
A petite figure rose from a bed near the door, lazily stretching. Silvery cascading hair draped down her back as she rubbed her eyes, looking around with a sleepy gaze.
"Where… am I?"
Elena yawned softly, unconsciously hugging the soft velvet pillow to her chest, her eyes scanning the surroundings in confusion.
Beneath her was a warm and comfortable large bed with four posts. Around her, there were four or five similar beds, resembling the dormitories of a legendary noble school.
Staring blankly at the deep red velvet drapes hanging from the bed's end, Elena's gaze slowly focused. Finally, she remembered—she had been by the lake, roasting fish, and had met Professor McGonagall. Their last conversation—
"Hogwarts?!"
"This can't be…"
Elena abruptly jumped out of bed, barefoot on the furry carpet, darting to the room's door.
Before her was a familiar circular hall, adorned with plush armchairs. Opposite the extinguished fireplace were two spiral staircases leading to separate rooms—and she stood at the doorway of one of these rooms.
On the walls of the hall hung several portraits. With Elena's sudden appearance, the figures in the paintings instinctively looked up, murmuring softly to each other.
"Gryffindor common room?" Elena, leaning on the railing at the top of the spiral staircase, sighed with a complex and somewhat helpless tone.
Moving magical portraits, dormitory-sized beds, the intertwining colors of crimson and gold… piecing together this information, Elena was able to deduce where she was.
Crack.
At that moment, a faint crackling sound emanated beside Elena.
A peculiar creature appeared beside her, small in size, with bat-like ears, tennis ball-sized protruding green eyes, and a relatively long, flat nose.
"Miss Kaslana, welcome to Hogwarts."
The creature, with a gentlemanly demeanor, bowed deeply to Elena as if it were an old-fashioned butler.
House-elves, a race conquered by wizards in ancient wars, creatures bound to servitude from birth, were typically tasked with domestic chores like cleaning and cooking.
"Please, just call me Elena. Who are you? Is there a special reason for your presence here?"
Curiously eyeing the elf's large ears, Elena knew that Hogwarts had over a hundred such creatures, usually unnoticed by students as they undertook all household chores, cleaning, and cooking.
"Berli, Miss. I am Hogwarts' house-elf, Berli," the elf answered, raising its head, "Professor Dumbledore instructed me to wait here for your awakening and act as your temporary guide within the school."
"A temporary guide?"
Elena hummed lightly, raising an eyebrow, repeating the elf's words without affirming or denying them.
The girl's azure eyes met Berli's, and she suddenly asked, "What if I don't want a tour?"
"Professor Dumbledore instructed that you are free to leave at any time. He's in his office nearby. Miss Elena, do you wish to leave?" The elf replied without hesitation.
"Hmm…"
Elena glanced thoughtfully at the house-elf beside her, finding it hard to decipher what Dumbledore truly intended. Was it merely, as Professor McGonagall said, an invitation to visit Hogwarts?
"…Of course not."
A slight smirk curved Elena's lips as she lightly tapped the wooden railing with her fingers, her eyes sparkling.
"This might be my only chance to enter Hogwarts. I must explore."
Turning around, hands behind her back, she bounced back to the dormitory's edge to put on her shoes.
This was the place filled with countless mysteries—Hogwarts, where all dreams and fantasies began. During her past life's obsession with the Harry Potter series, she dreamt almost every night about wandering through the castle's corridors.
---
Gryffindor's common room was situated on the eighth floor of Hogwarts' main tower, connecting Gryffindor Tower with the castle's main tower.
Elena's previous sleeping quarters were within Gryffindor Tower, offering a view from the window of the shimmering lake and a corner of the Forbidden Forest.
Following Berli's guidance, Elena passed through the portrait of the Fat Lady, exiting Gryffindor's common room. Sadly, the Fat Lady seemed to have left for another painting, so Elena didn't have the chance to meet this frequently appearing character from the novels.
Not far from Gryffindor's common room was the Headmaster's office.
"Miss Elena, this way leads to Headmaster Dumbledore's office. He's waiting for you inside."
Berli extended its thin arm, pointing towards a spiral staircase ahead.
Normally, a hideous gigantic stone creature would guard the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Only after reciting the correct password would the creature move aside, allowing access to the automatic spiral staircase behind it.
At the staircase's end stood a gleaming oak door, adorned with a brass knocker shaped like a lion's head and eagle's wings. In her previous life, many speculated that this office might have been used by Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts.
However, at this moment, the stone guardian that should have been squatting at the staircase had shifted away, clearing the path to the staircase behind it.
"Oh, I see."
Glancing in the direction indicated by Berli, Elena nodded politely. Without hesitation, she turned in the opposite direction. She wasn't keen on rushing to negotiate with the most enigmatic wizard in the entire magical world right after waking up; that would be a bit overwhelming.
As for Dumbledore? She'd take her time; after exploring to her heart's content, she'd seek him out. Besides, who wakes up and immediately rushes to negotiate terms with their captors? That would be just silly.
Standing in the middle of the corridor, she glanced at the occasionally moving stairs and the figures that seemed to animate on the wall, feeling a bit dazed. Elena suddenly realized that maybe she wasn't as resolute as she'd imagined.
When the true magical world, within touchable reach, appeared before her, there was a moment when she began to fantasize about her life as a student in this castle.
Closing her eyes, the silver-haired girl took a deep breath, silently chanting to herself.
"I'm just exploring casually! Just this one time! It's only to fulfill the dream I couldn't achieve in my previous life. After today, I absolutely, absolutely won't care about any news from the magical world!"
Opening her eyes, Elena cautiously brushed her hand against the corridor's wall, whispering softly, "Hello, Hogwarts."