Platform 9¾, Meeting the Weasley Twins

Scarlet flames burned in the backyard. Linley could feel a wave of heat wash over him just by getting slightly closer.

"This fire doesn't seem able to hurt me!"

As he stared at the flames, that thought suddenly appeared in Linley's mind.

Linley tried reaching out to touch the fire burning in the yard. A burning sensation struck him instantly, but that was all. The blazing flames could not cause Linley any greater harm.

This was not an effect of the Incendio. Though the flames summoned by Incendio were magical fire, they did not distinguish friend from foe and could burn everything around them without restraint.

Yet when facing Linley, they seemed to have met their master and became obedient. One small flame even clung to Linley's palm, flickering gently at his fingertips.

Linley was somewhat surprised by this.

After all, magic that prevented flames from harming their caster was not uncommon. The First Generation Dark Lord Grindelwald's Protego Diabolica could even put Fiendfyre to use. But Protego Diabolica was a fusion of the Fiendfyre Curse and the Shield Charm, inherently possessing defensive magic. Linley's Incendio, however, was nothing more than ordinary magical fire.

Moreover, the flames simply had no effect on Linley. When faced with other flammable objects, they would still turn into demons that devoured everything.

"So the problem is with me?"

Linley fell into doubt.

Linley was not the sort of reckless fool who blindly believed in himself, insisted on investigating everything alone despite knowing nothing, and ultimately drove both himself and those around him into a dead end.

When he encountered something he did not understand, he naturally had to seek advice from someone more skilled in magic.

So, after extinguishing the flames in the backyard, Linley returned to the castle and found his mother, Rowena.

After learning of Linley's situation, Rowena pondered for a moment and pulled a beautiful Willow Wand from her robes.

With a wave of her hand, she cast a flawless Silent Spell, and a ball of flame abruptly appeared between them.

Rowena's control over fire was equally precise. The flames burned in the air without showing the slightest tendency to spread.

"Try it. See whether this fire can hurt you."

Rowena guided the flames toward Linley as she spoke.

Linley reached out and touched the fire, then shook his head. "It's the same as my Incendio. I can feel the burning, but it can't truly hurt me."

Rowena nodded slightly and waved her wand again, extinguishing the flames.

Rowena looked thoughtfully at the dark red tips of Linley's hair. "Since even my flames cannot hurt you, that proves the problem is not with the fire, but with your constitution. As for whether the root of it lies in your bloodline or some other magical power, that is impossible to say."

"But as far as I know, neither the Roll Family nor my former family has ever had such a precedent. Of course, it may be an atavistic inheritance, or perhaps an ancestor with this power was never recorded in the family history."

"At the very least, this power is all benefit and no harm to you for now, isn't it? In the wizarding world, it is hardly unusual for young wizards to possess certain extraordinary abilities!"

Rowena smiled gently and spoke softly.

Linley nodded slightly at her words.

Just as Rowena had said, wizards with special abilities were not unusual in the wizarding world. The Trelawney Family's prophetic gift, passed down every other generation, was one example, while Half-Veelas possessed an innate power of allure.

"Yes. My extremely strong affinity for fire allowed me to master silent Incendio in only three days, and it also keeps flames from harming me."

Linley no longer dwelled on the origin of his talent.

His powerful affinity for fire allowed him to achieve mastery over fire magic far beyond ordinary people with ease. What he needed to do was make the most of his talent and let his unique gift shine.

Time passed as quickly as Merlin taking off his stockings. In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

That day, Linley slung his small black backpack over his shoulders. After saying goodbye to Rowena, he had Gael Apparate him to King's Cross Station.

With a sharp crack, Linley and Gael appeared in an empty corner of King's Cross Station.

Linley stepped out from behind the pillar concealing him and saw crowds of people passing by.

To avoid being noticed by Muggles, Gael had hidden himself the moment they arrived.

After quietly saying goodbye to Gael, Linley carried his backpack and ticket as he headed toward Platform 9¾ from his memories.

Not far away, many boys and girls accompanied by their parents were pushing trolleys one after another into the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten. Most of these children shared one common feature: their trolleys usually carried a cage containing an owl.

An adult man stood beside the barrier, and Linley could vaguely see a Wand tucked into his waistband.

Clearly, the man was a wizard responsible for maintaining order here, while this entire area had been placed under an obvious Confundus Charm. The Muggles passing on both sides turned a blind eye to the strange sight before them.

The young wizards passed through the barrier one by one. Some first-year Muggle-borns even charged through it with their trolleys as though marching to their deaths.

Linley could not help glancing at them repeatedly.

Since all his luggage had been stuffed into his backpack under an Undetectable Extension Charm, Linley passed through the barrier with ease.

On the other side of Platform 9¾, Linley saw a deep red vintage steam locomotive standing beside a platform crowded with young wizards.

A sign hanging on the train bore a line of words: Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock.

Seeing those words and recalling the train's speed in the original story, Linley could not help laughing softly.

It truly was worthy of the name Hogwarts "Express"!

With that thought, Linley boarded the train and headed straight for a compartment near the rear.

Linley sat by the window and took an old-looking notebook from his backpack.

It was Rowena's notebook from her time studying at Hogwarts, filled with notes on fire magic.

Though even its pages had yellowed with age, the notebook was a priceless treasure in Linley's eyes. By studying his mother's experience, he had already learned to make flames burn freely in the air without any fuel while casting silently, and he could control their size and shape at will.

"Excuse me! Are there any seats left in this compartment?"

Just then, a bright voice came from the compartment door.

Two red-haired boys walked in. They looked almost exactly alike, clearly a pair of twins, and Gryffindor House crests were embroidered on the chests of their wizard robes.

The moment Linley saw them, he already knew who they were.

George Weasley and Fred Weasley.

Red hair, twins, Gryffindor.

Those unmistakable traits made their identities obvious at a glance.

"All the seats are free. Sit wherever you like!"

Linley closed the notebook in his hands and spoke to them.

Fred thanked him, then he and George worked together to shove their luggage trunks toward the corner of the compartment.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Seeing that their faces had reddened from the effort, Linley pulled out his Wand and kindly used the Levitation Charm to move their trunks into the corner.

Fred and George both froze for a moment at the sight.

"Thanks, mate. If it weren't for that move of yours, we'd have forgotten we were wizards!"

George grinned at Linley as he pulled out his Wand and cast "Scourgify" on his dust-covered robes.

Fred used a Cleaning Charm on himself as well, and the two sat down opposite Linley.

"Fred Weasley, pleased to meet you!"

"George Weasley, pleased to meet you!"

The Weasley twins extended their hands to Linley at the same time.

Linley shook both their hands and smiled. "Linley Roll, pleased to meet you both!"

The two stared blankly for a moment before expressions of realization appeared on their faces.

George said, "I was just wondering how a first-year who hasn't even started school could use the Levitation Charm so skillfully. Turns out you're a young wizard from the Rory family!"

Normally, young wizards from Pureblood Families came into contact with magic earlier than their peers, so George assumed Linley had been studying magic for a long time.

Linley smiled and shook his head, not telling them that he himself had only begun learning magic two months ago.

Linley's gaze fell on the Gryffindor crests on their chests. "You're both Gryffindor students, right? I wonder which House I'll end up in."

Fred said, "Yes, we're both second-years in Gryffindor."

George glanced at the notebook beside Linley and said thoughtfully, "As far as I know, everyone from the Rory family graduated from Slytherin, and those with Roll Family blood are also likely to enter Slytherin House. But if it's you, Rory, you might very well end up in Ravenclaw Academy."

Fred nodded. "That's right. Hardworking young wizards like you usually go to Ravenclaw!"

Linley glanced at the notebook beside him, which had not been fully closed, and laughed helplessly.

"Linley. Just call me Linley."

Linley spoke kindly.

Hearing the intent to make friends in Linley's words, Fred and George exchanged a glance before saying in unison, "Linley, you can call us by our names too!"

Just as the three were about to continue chatting, the compartment door was pushed open again.

A plump woman with a cheerful smile and dimples pushed in a trolley full of snacks. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Linley looked at the trolley. It was loaded with all kinds of magical foods, including Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cheering Charm Bubblegum, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and more.

Linley could even spot several boxes of the relatively obscure Cockroach Clusters.

However, the cockroaches still crawling around inside those boxes were far too much for Linley to appreciate.

Perhaps only some Old Bee would have such a fondness for a bizarre dessert like Cockroach Clusters.

Facing the trolley full of food, the Weasley twins fell silent.

At this point in the timeline, they had not yet earned much money by inventing magical products, so they were rather short on cash.

"Three Chocolate Frogs, please!"

After hesitating for a long while, Fred counted out several Knuts from his pocket one by one and handed them to the plump woman.

If there had only been the two of them in the compartment, Fred would have chosen to get through the journey with the sandwiches Mrs. Weasley had prepared.

But now that they had made a new friend, Fred still wanted to treat him to food from the wizarding world.