Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Romanova arrived in Britain even before Brook did.

She had finally learned Brook's real name and appearance as well.

When she found out that Brook was only eleven years old, her mouth fell open wide enough to fit two ears of corn.

But that also put her much more at ease.

After all, no matter how cynical an eleven-year-old child was, he would not go so far as to destroy the world.

Besides, she was extremely fascinated by Brook's makeup skills.

If she and Brook had been more familiar with each other, she would have pestered him for lessons long ago.

Brook established an offshore investment company overseas.

His instructions to Romanova were quite clear.

Focus on Japan's real estate and stock markets, especially automobile and Sony shares.

As for more specific investment details, he could not help much.

He had traded stocks in his previous life, but the earliest skyrocketing stock he knew about was Amazon in 1997.

Everything else happened after the millennium.

There was still plenty of time.

So for now, all he could do was have Romanova keep an eye on Japan.

Japan had just gone through the collapse of its real estate bubble, and the entire market was at a historic low.

Investing in real estate, automobiles, and Sony stock was guaranteed profit.

Once the money had made a round through the stock market, his funds would be able to come into the open.

When the year 2000 arrived, he planned to take that money to America and apply a hundredfold leverage.

It would probably be enough for him to squander for five thousand years.

Hermione was delighted that Brook had returned safely.

Every day, she went to Brook's house, knocked on the door, then pressed herself against the window to see whether anyone was inside.

To celebrate Brook's return, she invited him to the Granger house for dinner again.

But this time, Mr. Granger had not been drinking, which disappointed Brook greatly.

In the blink of an eye, September 1 arrived.

It was the day Hogwarts began.

At ten in the morning, Brook and Hermione were brought to King's Cross Station by the Granger parents.

There was still an hour until the train departed, so they had plenty of time.

"Hermione, is the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters you mentioned that pillar?"

Mr. Granger pointed at the stone pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten and asked quietly.

"Head straight into the pillar, Professor Dumbledore said. But you can't get through."

Hermione pulled her luggage, her voice a little shaky.

After all, who would be so stubborn as to ram straight into a stone pillar?

Mr. Granger looked miserable.

If he had not been explicitly told that he could not get through, he would have wanted to try crashing into it himself.

Mrs. Granger looked equally worried.

Although they had long heard Hermione mention this special platform.

When the moment truly came, they still did not want Hermione to try so casually.

Hermione gritted her teeth and was just about to move.

Brook patted her shoulder.

"I'll go first."

The Granger parents immediately gave him grateful looks, but then became somewhat embarrassed.

Mr. Granger suggested.

"Perhaps we should wait a little longer. Since this is a school train, there will definitely be older students coming along. We can ask them."

"I'll try first. Dumbledore probably wouldn't lie to us."

Brook pulled his suitcase and headed toward the stone pillar.

It was only because he had arrived early.

Otherwise, if he had seen an army of students repeatedly smashing into the wall.

He would definitely have cried out that it was classic Ubisoft.

Then his vision blurred, before becoming clear again.

He saw an old-fashioned crimson steam locomotive numbered 9527.

It stood beside the platform, puffing out white smoke.

A sign hung from the train: "Hogwarts Express, Eleven O'Clock."

The place he had just passed through had become an archway.

It read: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Brook did not hesitate and immediately ran back through.

"I tried it. It's safe."

Mr. Granger patted Brook on the shoulder, his eyes full of gratitude.

Then Hermione said goodbye to her parents and headed toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters with Brook.

"Shall we find a compartment?" Hermione suggested.

Brook nodded. "Let's go to the last one. Hardly anyone will come bother us there."

They sat down in an empty compartment at the very end.

The moment Hermione sat down, her little mouth started chattering again.

"We're about to learn magic! Just thinking about it is exciting o(≧v≦)o~~"

"Mm-hm."

"Aren't you excited? I barely slept at all last night."

"Mm-hm, excited." Brook continued to brush her off.

"Which house do you think we'll be sorted into?"

"You? Ravenclaw, probably."

Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Didn't Dumbledore tell us about the traits of all four houses? You love studying so much. You're definitely Ravenclaw."

"Then you're definitely Ravenclaw too. You're even smarter than I am."

"No. I want Hufflepuff."

"Can you choose for yourself?"

"I don't know, but if you have a special request, I think they should take it into consideration."

Brook really did plan to go to Hufflepuff.

He vaguely remembered reading a post.

It said that everyone in Hufflepuff was a "foodie."

It would not be too much to find a few cooks in Hufflepuff and make some tasty food, would it?

As for British cuisine.

He could sum it up in one line: baked potatoes, French fries, mashed potatoes.

As for whether he could get into Hufflepuff.

He knew about the Sorting Hat.

Once that thing was put on his head, it would probably probe a young wizard's thoughts or memories.

It would find the category that matched the traits of the four houses.

He possessed Occlumency, so how could the Sorting Hat see anything?

Where he went would be entirely up to him.

Hermione suddenly said, "Actually, I want to go to Gryffindor."

"[・_・?]" Brook looked at her in confusion.

Hermione explained, "I read Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Twentieth Century Important Magical Events. Headmaster Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of this era, and he came from Gryffindor, so I want to go there."

Brook shrugged. He was not surprised by Hermione's choice.

Not to mention that Hermione went to Gryffindor in the original story.

Her hero-worshipping personality alone meant she was never destined to be a quiet and obedient girl.

"Just follow your heart."

Hermione was a little conflicted. She wanted to be in the same house as Brook, but...

Although she held a book in her hands, she did not turn to the next page for a long time.

Brook, meanwhile, began flipping through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander.

He was not interested in things like rats and owls.

But he had ideas about those large magical creatures.

Especially the Zouwu mentioned in the book.

It perfectly matched all of his tastes—big and wonderfully pettable.

Too bad there were no beast-eared girls.

The silence between them did not last long.

A dimpled witch with a cheerful smile pushed open the compartment door.

"Dear, would you like some snacks?"

Hermione was also full of curiosity about food from the Magical World.

"Two of everything, please!"

The witch was just about to retrieve them when Brook added.

"Two pies and two cakes. As for everything else, we'll take it all!"

The smile on the witch's face grew even brighter.

"Brook, we can't eat that much."

"It's fine. They're only snacks. We can save them and eat them slowly."

"We should forget it. We should save more Gold Galleons."

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

(The Hogwarts Express's actual number is 5972. As for why Little Author wrote 9527, those who know, know.)