Reflected In the Mirror, I'm A Maze

Trapped In Confusion, I Still Don't Know Myself

.

.

.

.

.

Felix could hardly believe it. It was finally happening!

Ahead of them, way off in the distance, was a beautiful castle that took roots in the magic soil and of which the highest tower brushed the clouds. He had heard so many stories about this place, both from history books and from his older friends, but none of them did justice to the ethereal sight.

Hogwarts, the best magic school in the country – and where he was about to spend the next seven years of his life in order to study the magical arts and everything else pertaining to them.

"Hey, did you know that students used to enroll at the age of eleven and twelve?"

Jeongin's question rang in the air for a few seconds, and Felix ripped himself away from the view to glance at his friend. The white-haired boy wasn't even looking at any of them, plunged into Hogwarts: A History – Rewritten by H. G. and thus missing the sights.

"Innie, get your head out of your book and look outside!" urged Jisung, who had been just as transfixed as Felix. "You're missing the best part!"

Surprised, the youngest of the group quickly abandoned his book to shuffle over to the large window of their compartment, a small gasp escaping him when he saw the castle slowly growing bigger as the Express got closer.

"Eleven used to be the age of enrollment because that's when a child's magic core used to mature." Seungmin's calm voice echoed from behind them – he, too, was plunged in one of his books, but he didn't seem all that bothered about missing the sights. "Today, magic is slower to develop, and one's magic core only fully matures at the peak of puberty, hence why the enrollment age shifted from eleven to fifteen."

"You talk like a dictionary," snorted Jisung, shaking his head.

"I think it's interesting," countered Felix, turning around to spare a smile for their studious friend. "Thanks, Minnie."

The bespectacled boy offered a small smile back, and Jeongin also turned to look at him.

"Do you know if there have been any other important changes in Hogwarts' functions over the years?" he asked, curious.

"Well, the curriculum is bigger now. There are a lot more options of classes offered from 4th year to 7th year, depending on what specialties the students are interested in pursuing, kind of like a muggle college or university," explained Seungmin, flipping another page of his Potions book – he was really good at multitasking. "Also, since there's been an influx of muggleborn wizards in the past few decades, it's slowly becoming more open to technological advances – a new field called Technomagic was developed at Hogwarts, and it's slowly but surely gaining popularity in the wizarding world."

"That's actually pretty cool," relented Jisung, finally looking away from the window too. "Will we be able to study that?"

"I think it'll take at least another decade or two before it can be properly inducted in the school's curriculum, so most probably not," shrugged Seungmin. "But I doubt the teachers will turn you away if you ask questions about it."

"What about the Sorting Ceremony?" then recalled Felix, fidgeting a bit. "It's different from how it used to be, isn't it? Or at least, that's what Chan told me."

"Hmm. The Sorting Ceremony used to sort 1st years."

"What? Really?" blinked Jisung, taken aback. "Right off the bat?"