HP: Hogwart's Journey

Robert was stunned when he heard the girl's words.

What kind of twisted logic is this?! Robbery is wrong! Even if you apologize, it's still wrong!

Wait a minute!

Robert's expression turned serious. These people… could they be planning to rob him?

Thinking back, wasn't this girl already trying to rob him before? She only stopped when he caught on. She probably thought that since Robert treated the cat that way, the cat would surely abandon him. A little coaxing, and the cat might just follow her instead.

But White Tiger wasn't an ordinary cat. Who knew what was going on in that independent little feline mind?

As for the boys who had been playing with Opal, they were just onlookers—kind of like when you see an old man walking a massive, intimidating Siberian Husky. You can't resist reaching out for a pet, maybe even offering it a treat.

While Robert was lost in thought, the girl hesitated for a long time, reluctant to speak. Maybe she had been given an ultimatum, because after much pouting, she finally shuffled over and apologized.

"I'll definitely take Little Mo with me!" she declared angrily, glaring at Robert as if he were some heinous villain. "What you're doing to Little Mo is wrong!"

Robert just chuckled.

She had never seen the cat go berserk. If she had, she'd be running for her life, screaming, rather than lecturing him about animal cruelty.

After the girl returned to her table, the boys around her scrambled to flatter her, and soon their table was lively again, a stark contrast to Robert's solitary, quiet meal.

"This is so boring," Robert sighed. "Might as well study. Should've saved my summer homework for later."

With that thought, he pulled out The Complete Guide to Poisonous Fungi and started reading.

While it's good not to have harmful intentions, it's also wise to be cautious. Knowing about poisonous mushrooms could help avoid trouble in the wild.

As time passed, the dining hall became more crowded.

The table next to his was already full, so no one else could squeeze in. But at Robert's table, people kept arriving, though he didn't recognize any of them.

They all looked foreign, and when they started talking—wow. Eight people at the same table, and not a single one from the same country.

Fortunately, English and Chinese were common languages. Through broken sentences and hand gestures, they managed to communicate—awkwardly.

After exchanging greetings, there wasn't much else to say, so they just smiled at each other while mentally vowing to learn more languages.

As they tried to chat, more people trickled into the hall. Some looked downright miserable—clothes torn, missing shoes. Whatever they had gone through, it hadn't been easy.

Once nearly everyone had arrived, a man who had been absent during the entire ancestor worship ceremony finally appeared.

He was the elder who was supposed to take them up the mountain.

The moment he stepped in, he drew everyone's attention. Robert noticed that the younger members from Flower Country immediately sat up straight, even putting away their snacks.

Clearly, this elder commanded great respect.

"First of all, congratulations on finding the meeting point," the elder said.

Robert suddenly felt like everything they had encountered before—the crowded streets, the ritual beneath the great tree—had been some kind of test.

But for what purpose? That remained a mystery.

"This ancestor worship ceremony consists of two parts: the ritual and the family register. The ritual was an opportunity for the younger generation. What kind of opportunity? You all know it in your hearts. Keep it to yourselves and don't spread it around," the elder said, scanning the crowd with a satisfied expression. Then he nodded. "Since everyone is here, we can begin the family register process."

With that, he turned and walked out of the dining hall.

The room buzzed with excitement as the younger ones stood up and followed him in an orderly manner.

The last few to arrive hurriedly grabbed a few steamed buns, eating as they walked. Robert noticed a blond-haired, blue-eyed guy staring at the bread in confusion, asking a Flower Country native why it was white and why it was so dense.

Some who knew more about the ceremony whispered among themselves. Robert tried eavesdropping but learned nothing useful. Even Paul was nowhere to be seen—maybe he was among the ones who arrived looking like a mess?

Good thing Robert had his contact information.

Unlike the ritual, the family register process was more straightforward. The elder led them to a grand, golden hall, where they paid respects to a stone tablet inscribed with the names of the Chen ancestors. Then, in the back hall, those whose names weren't yet recorded were asked to have them engraved onto a blank stone tablet.

Since Robert's parents had passed away early, his name wasn't on the list.

However, as he approached the tablet, he realized something—

All the names on it were in Chinese!

The elder holding a carving knife glanced at him and handed him a tattered pencil and a piece of paper. "Write your name down," he said.

Robert hesitated. "My name is in English…"

The elder raised an eyebrow. "And? We have Russian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Japanese, Korean… If you paid attention to the hall's inscriptions, you'd even see seal script. We're all family—it's just different ways of writing names. What's the problem?"

Robert was speechless.

"Of course, you can also choose a Chinese name for yourself," the elder continued. "It's best to ask your elders at home, but since they never told you about this before, they probably don't mind either way." He twirled the carving knife skillfully. "So, what do you want engraved?"

Robert shrugged and quickly wrote his name on the paper. Since he used cursive, the elder glanced at it and clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Now, this is pretty! Looks like a flower—way better than the chicken scratch those other kids wrote."

With just a few swift strokes, Robert's name was carved onto the tablet, seamlessly blending with the Chinese characters around it.

The elder's engraving skills were incredible. In mere seconds, he replicated Robert's cursive script with an artistic flair, making it look even more elegant.

Robert was thoroughly impressed.

The family register process ended quickly, and the children were sent home.

With nothing left to do, Robert wandered the streets, looking for something interesting.

(End of Chapter)