Hogwarts Express

Scottish Highlands in late June, it dawned very early, the sun had already climbed up the mountain, and the sunlight spread from the east, drawing a bright line on the railway track.

Hogsmeade Station The platform was crowded with people, suitcases clanked on the stone slabs, owls banged against each other in their cages, and toads clucked in their pockets.

Little Wizards crowded onto the train in twos and threes. Some were chasing each other on the platform, some were leaning on the windows and waving to people outside, and some were holding owl cages and fighting with suitcases.

The scarlet Hogwarts Express was parked on the platform, steam spurted from the front of the car and turned into golden mist in the early morning sunlight.

Regulus was walking slowly, with no luggage in his hands. Baruk was lying on his shoulder, his spider head turning back and forth in the crowd, and he glanced at every suitcase passing by.

He originally wanted to go directly from Hogsmeade Apparition back to Grimmauld Place. He didn't want to sit on the train for a long time, so after thinking about it, he decided to get on the train and wait until he got to King's Cross Station.

The fixed carriage of Slytherin is at the back of the train. The curtains are half-opened, and the sun shines in through the gaps and falls on the table one by one.

Regulus was leaning on the seat by the window, and Baruk climbed up from his shoulders to the window sill, holding the glass with his front legs and staring out the window with his amber eyes.

The train started, the car body swayed, the platform of Hogsmeade slid backwards, and the outline of Castle in the distance retracted into the silhouette of the hill, became smaller and smaller, and was blocked by a hilltop before disappearing.

Avery was sitting opposite, with one arm resting on the window frame, his face full of excitement. "Comet Trading Company has a new model, did you know?

Comet 260, just released last month, has an all-oak handle, and the tail acceleration Rune has been re-engraved. It is said that the straight-line speed is one and a half times faster than Cleansweep Seven!"

He gestured with his hands in the air and said with excitement, "I asked my father to order one for me and renovate the Quidditch shop at home. The hoops are too old. Last time, one almost fell off the pole and hit me on the head."

What Dumbledore said to the Great Hall yesterday had a very clear direction: situation, choice, and camp.

Avery has nothing to choose from. Cuthbert family has already chosen a side, and now he is standing closely with Black family. In his opinion, the position is clear, the direction is clear, and the future is bright.

In the past, when he heard those words, he might have laughed on the spot and replied to Dormitory to make another comment.

But after spending two years with Regulus, he learned one thing: when to speak and when to shut up.

Regulus never makes any remarks about the camp in public. Avery has learned this after watching it for two years.

So all he could think about was the holidays.

Alex sat next to him and asked casually, "Do you have a Quidditch Pitch at home?"

"Of course," Avery said matter-of-factly, "And it's big."

Hermes heard this and his eyes twitched.

Mulciber family has plenty of land, but Abros will not build a Quidditch farm for his son.

It just so happens that he doesn't like it either.

Avery's chat box can't be closed once it's opened.

"Our family plans to go to Southern France for vacation. There is a manor over there in Nice. It's by the sea. Regulus. Do you want to come with us? There is a private beach--"

Regulus looked away from the window and glanced at him.

"Okay, pretend I didn't ask," Avery took his hand off the window frame, changed his posture, and continued to be happy, "I also want to go shopping Diagon Alley, last time I saw Gringotts There is a set of cufflinks made of goblin silver in the window of's jewelry store, which are perfect for my dress. My father said that I need to grow taller to match that style. I said I would buy them first and keep them until I grow taller--"

Hermes was so noisy that he had a headache, and a sentence came out from the side. "Are you still growing?"

"Of course I'm still growing! I'm only thirteen!"

Hermes snorted and ignored him.

He was sitting next to Regulus, with his legs crossed on the seat and twirling his wand in his hand, with an indifferent attitude.

What Dumbledore talked about yesterday, about choices, camps, and not giving yourself up, were gone to him like the wind outside the window.

Mulciber family doesn't need to be chosen at all, it's been dark for a long time. There is a tacit understanding between Abros and Dumbledore, but the team at this station has been established since the generation of old Mulciber.

Regulus glanced at him sideways. "Don't just sleep during the holidays. Legilimency practice every day. Magic Manipulation can't relax. Magic Perception must also keep up. Maintain your physical fitness and get checked before school starts."

Hermes's eyes rolled up and his mouth tilted toward the window.

Avery laughed happily from the other side, and the corners of Alex's mouth also curved upward.

Hermes glanced at them and said in a bad tone, "Don't laugh, you two. Regulus hit me, and I'll hit you until school starts."

He was really having a hard time this semester. He was knocked down countless times in Room of Requirement, and each time he ended up being slapped on the ground.

But the progress has been substantial enough. His reactions are faster, his shots are more accurate, his spells are more powerful, and Spellcasting has a good rhythm of connection. After receiving more beatings, he will naturally know how to take the beating with the least effort.

For Hermes, if you can progress and become stronger, you will get beaten if you get beaten.

He even wanted to go home and have a fight with Abros to see if his father could knock him down as quickly as Regulus.

"Do you like being beaten?" Avery asked, tilting his head and looking mean.

Hermes raised his chin, as if you didn't understand. "I like to become stronger, and getting beaten is a bonus."

Regulus was too lazy to watch Hermes and Avery bickering, and turned his attention to Alex.

His brows have not relaxed since he returned to Dormitory last night.

He knows what's going on outside. His home is a branch of Roxier family, next to the edge of Pure-bloods.

His parents are working inconspicuous jobs at Ministry of Magic. They don't stand out or take sides, but the situation is heating up. What the marginalized people fear most is being forced to choose a side. If they don't choose, in the eyes of some people, it is equivalent to standing on the opposite side.

Regulus looked at his side face and said no words of comfort. What needed to be said had been said before.

Alex's parents also know what to do. They keep their heads down and don't interfere. This is how little people live.

"Don't relax during the holidays," Regulus said, "You will need strength in the future."

Alex turned around, the worry in his eyes disappeared, and he nodded.

Avery listened to Regulus explain the holiday training of Hermes and Alex. He waited and waited, but there was no one for him.

He leaned over to Regulus, his expression rarely serious, but a little shy. "Then I won't go out to play during the holidays. I'll ask my father to hire a sparring partner for me to practice duels one on one -"

Hermes choked next to him. "Didn't you just say you were going to Nice for vacation?"

"Practice after you come back from vacation! Practice after vacation!" Avery slapped the table confidently. "My father said, just practice without rest is House-elf's way of doing things!"

"House-elf doesn't practice either," Hermes frowned. "They work."

"That's different--forget it, you don't understand."

Hermes sneered.

Alex lowered his head and smiled, and the atmosphere in the car became relaxed.

After the train drove for a while, the scenery outside the window changed from Scottish Highlands to the hills and pastures in the north of England, and the sunlight shifted from due east to south.

People came into Regulus's carriage one after another. The tighter the situation became, the more people in Pure-blood Circle who could reach Black family wanted to get in front of him.

The first to arrive were some senior students Slytherin and Sacred Twenty-Eight.

Regulus stood up from his seat, smoothed his collar, shook hands with the other party, and said a few polite words.

"Happy holidays." "Say hello to your father for me." "See you in the fall."

The posture is relaxed, the tone is gentle, but there is a clear sense of distance, and the standard Pure-bloods social etiquette can't be faulted.

Then there are some Pure-bloods little wizards who are not Sacred Twenty-Eight but whose family is still good at it. Regulus didn't get up when these people came in. It was Avery's turn to appear.

He has a decent smile, greets thoughtfully, and says a few words when seeing people off, such as saying that they will have a chance to drink tea together during the summer vacation. He is doing more and more serious work in receiving foreign affairs.

Hermes was crossing his legs by the door, giving everyone who came in a straight face, with the corners of his mouth turned down, and his eyes vacant. His naturally gloomy and unhappy face looked like he was owed a large sum of money Galleon.

The scenery outside the window changed to the suburbs of London, with dense brick buildings, warehouses and factories on both sides of the railway tracks, and chimneys emitting gray-white and orange-red smoke in the afternoon sun.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, the train began to slow down, the car body shook a few times, and the platform King's Cross Station appeared outside the window.

The train stopped and things started to be packed in the carriage.

Hermes jumped down from his seat, grabbed his suitcase, opened the door and left.

Avery kept talking. "It's best to go in early July, after that it gets hotter-"

Regulus stood up, picked up Baruk and put it into his inner bag, then followed his friends out of the car.

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was already crowded with people. Parents were waiting at the exit. Some people tiptoed to look for their children in the crowd, some waved and called names, and some simply pushed through the crowd and squeezed toward the train.

Abros·Mulciber stood at the far end of the platform, away from the crowd, leaning against an iron pillar. He was tall and thin and wore a black robe. He was completely out of tune with the bustle of the station.

Hermes and Regulus simply nodded and walked straight in that direction.

Abros saw his son coming, glanced in the direction of Regulus, nodded from a distance, then turned around and disappeared into the crowd with Hermes.

Old Cuthbert stood slightly closer, wearing a decent dark gray robe and holding a civilized staff in his hand.

He looked across the crowd in the direction of Regulus, nodded slightly, and smiled kindly.

Avery saw his father, waved his hands and yelled, then rushed over carrying the box.

The decent smile on Old Cuthbert's face turned into helplessness. He reached out and patted the back of his son's head as he rushed over. Apparition also left.

Alex's parents were standing in the middle of the platform. He said to Regulus, "See you when school starts" and left.

All the friends left, Regulus stood alone on the platform, and the crowd rushed past him.

He looked across the crowd and toward the exit at Gryffindor.

Found it.

Sirius stood on the other side of the platform, surrounded by a group of people from Potter.

James·Potter put his arms around Sirius's shoulders, kept talking, and danced with excitement.

Sirius smiled brightly, with all his teeth exposed. Lupin stood beside him with a gentle smile on his pale face.

Peter stood a little further away, the small eyes on his round face chattering.

Charlus·Potter stood behind them, with gray hair, square-framed glasses, and high energy, with a hand on James's shoulder.

Euphemia·Potter was standing next to him. He was short, with white hair, and a warm smile on his round face. He was reaching out to help James adjust his collar. James struggled to pull away twice, and his ears were a little red.

The family is neat and tidy.

Regulus looked at it for a moment, stretched out his hand to smooth out the folds at the collar, and pulled his shoulders back slightly.

Take a step forward, walk through the crowd, and walk over there.