Ron: It Feels Like I've Lost Something

At ten-thirty in the morning, there were still half an hour before the Hogwarts Express departed.

Rhine and the Granger family had already arrived at King's Cross Station.

The moment he entered, Rhine keenly noticed quite a few wizarding families.

Though they tried hard to blend in with Muggles, certain clothes, mannerisms, and habits still made them stand out in Rhine's eyes like lightbulbs in the dark.

However, unlike the cheerful, expectant atmosphere described in the original story, nearly every adult wizard in those families wore a worried expression.

What had happened at Gringotts yesterday simply could not be kept secret. The entire wizarding world knew about it by now.

It was undoubtedly the most shocking Dark Wizard attack in eleven years. Rumor had it that an Unforgivable Curse such as the Imperius Curse had even been used, nearly getting so many young wizards killed. It was deeply worrying.

What kind of Dark Wizard could breach Gringotts?

Could it be that he was not dead after all? That he had returned?

That thought hung over the wizarding world like dark clouds, casting a shadow over what should have been a joyful day.

A strange look appeared in Rhine's eyes.

He remembered that, in the original story, Voldemort's return had happened during fifth year.

Yet Minister for Magic Fudge had kept covering up the truth, leaving many witches and wizards in the dark and unwilling to believe that Voldemort had truly returned.

As a result, the Ministry of Magic had failed to organize any meaningful defense before the resurgent Death Eaters broke through.

Fudge, a Minister for Magic who was not a Death Eater, had accomplished something more useful than any Death Eater ever could. He could be said to have been nailed to the pillar of shame. It was rather ironic.

But in this life, because of Rhine's influence, the wizarding world was already concerned about Voldemort's return.

Perhaps what had happened in the original story would not happen again. Even if Voldemort returned, he would no longer be able to seize power so easily with the Death Eaters.

While Rhine was lost in thought, Mr. and Mrs. Granger did not notice the unusual atmosphere that had nothing to do with them. Instead, they were concerned with another matter.

"Hermione, which platform are you boarding from?"

The Grangers had always trusted Hermione. Their daughter was simply outstanding in every possible way, and they never had to worry about her. Naturally, there had been no need to ask about something as simple as a train ticket.

But when they heard the platform number from Hermione, their voices involuntarily rose, their faces filled with astonishment.

"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters? Does King's Cross Station even have a platform like that?!"

By coincidence, a similar conversation came from nearby.

It was a large family: a short, plump woman with four red-haired boys beside her, while she held the hand of a little red-haired girl.

There was no need to say more. One look at that grand procession told Rhine that this had to be the Weasley family.

Mrs. Weasley was asking her children a question.

"All right, which platform is it?"

Rhine raised his brows, confusion in his eyes.

He had been somewhat puzzled by this even when he read the original story in his previous life. How could Mrs. Weasley possibly not know which platform it was?

Even if she had graduated years ago, she had sent so many of her own children off. Why did she still need to ask?

Then he understood a little.

As Mrs. Weasley asked the question, her gaze kept darting toward a lone boy standing not far away.

That skinny boy in ill-fitting clothes and battered glasses—who else could he be but Harry Potter?

Judging by Harry Potter's lost expression, he clearly had no idea what to do.

Rather than asking her children a question, Mrs. Weasley was using a way that would not embarrass Harry to draw his attention.

Percy Weasley answered his mother first, sounding puzzled.

"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

Harry did not seem to notice, so Mrs. Weasley asked Fred and George again.

"Which platform are you two going to?"

Fred and George gave the same answer, but Harry still had not noticed.

So Mrs. Weasley asked Ron as well. When she finally got to Ginny, Ginny's shrill answer finally caught Harry's attention, and he hesitantly walked over to them.

It was not just Harry. Several other new students and their families, all confused about Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, slowly approached after hearing the conversation.

Rhine sighed inwardly.

No wonder the Weasley family had friends everywhere, and why Harry Potter was as close to them as family. You could see the reason from the way they acted.

They truly were a good family.

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had also heard the Weasleys' conversation and hurried over with Rhine and Hermione to ask about it.

Seeing this, Harry, afraid of missing any information, quickened his pace and came over too.

After a brief exchange, Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked amazed.

"We have to run straight into that barrier wall?"

"Good heavens, how had we never noticed people doing that before!"

Harry Potter, meanwhile, felt immensely relieved.

Thank Merlin, he would finally catch the Hogwarts Express. He would not have to attend Stonewall High because he had missed the start of term.

Then Harry looked at Rhine and suddenly found him familiar, as though he had seen him on television.

A moment later, he remembered and cried out.

"Rhine Snow? You're that famous literary genius?"

Rhine smiled.

"That's all Muggle-world stuff. I'm a new Hogwarts student too."

He held out his hand to Harry.

Harry looked rather flattered.

"My aunt's whole family really likes your books, though they never read them. Well, forget I said that. Anyway, they bought several editions of every book you wrote and even set aside an entire bookshelf for them."

"They always said they hoped Dudley would have literary talent like yours..."

"My name is Harry Potter. It's an honor to meet you."

"Oh, right. Hagrid mentioned you to me too."

Rhine's smile grew even brighter.

"Hagrid brought you in as well? What a coincidence."

"Let me introduce you. This is Hermione Granger, and these are Mr. Granger and Mrs. Granger."

Harry's face was full of delight at meeting new friends.

If he had not remembered that the train would be leaving soon, he felt he could have stood there talking for another half hour.

Then Harry noticed Mrs. Weasley looking at him with tears in her eyes.

He felt completely at a loss.

"Ma'am, are you...?"

Mrs. Weasley quickly wiped away her tears and gave him a warm smile, as though she were looking at one of her own children.

"It's nothing, dear. May I call you Harry?"

"Hagrid and I are old friends, and of course, so are you and I. There is so much I want to thank you for, but we are almost out of time."

Harry did not understand, but Rhine knew what Mrs. Weasley meant by her gratitude.

During the more than ten years of fighting the Death Eaters, the first Order of the Phoenix had produced countless elite wizards. Some had even required Voldemort himself to kill them.

Mr. and Mrs. McKinnon and Mr. and Mrs. Bones, for example—both families could be called families of martyrs.

Then there were the Prewett brothers. They had fought Voldemort to the very end without ever fearing or surrendering.

Before Mrs. Weasley married Arthur Weasley, her name had been Molly Prewett. The Prewett brothers had been her older brothers.

It was precisely because those two exceptional brothers had taught her that Mrs. Weasley's magical ability was so formidable, strong enough for her to kill Bellatrix Lestrange alone in the final battle of the original story.

When Harry had made Voldemort disappear all those years ago, he had avenged the blood debt of Mrs. Weasley's family. From any perspective, Mrs. Weasley naturally felt nothing but affection for Harry.

But this was clearly not the place to reminisce, and Mrs. Weasley did not wish to bring up those terrible events from back then to Harry.

"All right, it's almost time. Hurry into the platform."

"Harry, Rhine, Hermione, don't be afraid. Run straight in."

"Go on, you three go first. Ron will follow you."

At that moment, Ron watched Rhine, Hermione, and Harry walk ahead of him, chatting excitedly, and suddenly had a strange thought.

Why does that look like an iron triangle?

Why does something feel off?

It feels like I've lost something?

The next moment, while Ron was still spacing out, Rhine reached out, grabbed his arm, and smiled at him.

"Ron? Stop daydreaming. Come on, we need to hurry. We still need to find an empty compartment on the train!"

"At this hour, a compartment that can fit four people won't be easy to find. If we can't, we'll just sit on the roof and freeze in the wind."

"Keep up!"