Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

September 1 was a special day. Luke had packed his luggage early in the morning, then used the newly reconnected Floo Network to reach Diagon Alley.

He then left from The Leaky Cauldron and hailed a cab to King's Cross Station.

Though his clothes looked rather old-fashioned when he hailed the cab, the air of wealth about him and the obviously expensive fabric made the driver lose any desire to strike up a conversation.

Although he arrived at King's Cross Station without incident, all the tedious travel still left Luke a little frustrated.

Perhaps he ought to hire a House-elf to handle some basic chores for him. Things like travel, for example.

Pushing his luggage cart, Luke entered King's Cross Station. The feeling of traveling alone to study reminded him of leaving for university in his previous life.

"Meow!"

Book lay in Luke's backpack, stretching out a paw to scratch the back of Luke's neck as though reminding him of his presence.

Luke smiled softly. No, that was wrong—he also had a cat.

Humming a tune, Luke moved lightly and leisurely through the crowds in the station.

Like the children of other Wizarding families, he knew where Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was. Of course, he knew it from the movies. The advantage was that he did not have to struggle like Harry did to find this strange platform with a fraction in its name.

Along the way, Luke also saw several families asking about Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He was not worried, though. There were surely Wizards cleaning up after the station staff who had been asked.

Thinking about it, Luke could not help twitching the corner of his mouth. When he put it that way, he could not tell whether Hogwarts did this out of tradition or simply out of spiteful amusement. It would not have been difficult to write detailed directions on the back of the ticket.

Perhaps after he became a School Board Member, he should push for a related proposal?

After all, Dumbledore respected the rules in most situations. So Professor McGonagall's previous claim that a School Board Member was merely a title was not entirely right. There was still some authority attached to it.

"Hello, excuse me, do you know how to get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"

Luke was suddenly called out to, and he turned toward the voice.

Before him stood a girl with bushy brown hair, bright brown eyes, and a pair of prominent front teeth. Well, with all those features put together, Luke thought he had guessed who she was.

"Oh, Hermione, you're making things difficult for him. Look at how lost he seems. He's just like that station staff member we asked earlier." Behind the girl, a formally dressed man with the air of an elite professional spoke in distress.

Although someone had given Hermione so-called enrollment guidance, they had apparently forgotten to tell them how to enter this strange station.

The train left at eleven, and there was not much time left.

Hermione did not panic. She stared at Luke calmly, like a detective.

"Come with me. It seems Hogwarts' enrollment guidance really is somewhat lacking."

Luke shook his head. Mr. Granger's words clearly confirmed his guess. This girl was not as pretty as Luke had imagined. She only resembled the Hermione from the movies by sixty or seventy percent.

Sure enough, Hermione was still a beauty waiting to grow into herself.

With that, Luke continued walking ahead. From the backpack on his back, Book poked his head out to look at the father and daughter, then returned to the bag without much interest.

Mr. Granger looked at his daughter in surprise.

Meanwhile, Hermione hurriedly pushed her luggage after Luke while explaining to her Dad, "His clothes are a little too old-fashioned. He looks somewhat like that so-called upperclassman who guided me, and he's eleven, alone, with a huge pile of luggage. It's obvious he's here to attend school."

With that reminder, Mr. Granger quickly realized it too. "We shouldn't have asked the station staff in the first place. We should have asked those strangely dressed people who passed by us. They might have been Wizards too."

Luke heard every word of the father and daughter's conversation, and he could not help sighing. Hermione possessed such calm reasoning at this age. She really was impressive.

They were already close to their destination, and Luke soon stopped before the third pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten.

He turned to look at Hermione and smiled. "Stay close behind me. Use all your strength, and don't hesitate."

Then, before Hermione could ask her question, he pushed his luggage cart straight into the pillar.

Mr. Granger jumped in fright and took a step forward, ready to save Luke, only to discover that Luke had already vanished into the pillar.

Something else he could not understand had happened. Mr. Granger rubbed his forehead in anguish. The Wizarding world really was difficult to comprehend.

As he lamented, Hermione beside him took a deep breath, suppressed the nervousness in her heart, and charged at the pillar in one burst.

Then she too disappeared into it.

But when Mr. Granger rammed into the pillar as well, he only felt himself hit a real wall.

He clutched his forehead in pain.

After rushing through the pillar, Hermione saw a bustling crowd. Students, parents, even vendors—it was strange yet lively. She looked around and spotted the handsome boy who had brought her in waiting not far away, so she hurried over.

As she reached Luke's side, she seemed to suddenly remember something. She turned back to look, then cried out in surprise and panic, "Where's my Dad?!"

Her voice was a little loud, drawing the attention of other students and parents. Sharp as she was, Hermione sensed people pointing and whispering about her, and she felt inexplicably angry.

"Calm down. Muggles—people without magic—can't enter this station. So your father can't come in."

Seeing Hermione's panic, Luke stepped forward and explained.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief and looked at Luke seriously. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. If you haven't said goodbye to your father, you can go back now. That wall can still be passed through until eleven."

Luke had not seen any of this in the movies, of course, but he had asked Professor McGonagall all the questions he had once had while chatting with her before. So he understood these matters fairly well now.

"Okay! I'll go say goodbye now. Please watch my luggage for me!"

With that, Hermione ran back the way she had come without looking back.

Luke sensed countless gazes fixed on him, some of them even carrying hints of provocation.

Those gazes had clearly shifted from Hermione to him. When Luke followed them, he often found their owners dressed like wealthy Wizards, each carrying a certain air of nobility. Some even had family Crests embroidered along the edges of their Wizarding robes.

Luke raised an eyebrow, then took out his family Crest from his pocket.

At the bottom was a black diamond. Above it was a brown wand, and at the very top was a coiled green serpent.

Once they clearly saw the design of the Crest, the provocative and disdainful looks directed at him turned into surprise and goodwill.

Luke could not help feeling emotional.

"How could pure-bloods ever rise again with a bunch of vermin like this?"