Hogwarts Express

London King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾.

Beside the platform, a deep red steam train stood waiting. The sign hanging from it read: Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock.

It was the start of term at Hogwarts, and the station was especially lively. Taking the Hogwarts Express was the only way for young witches and wizards to get to school.

Owls occasionally flew over the bustling crowd, while cats darted between people's feet.

Matthew felt a little nostalgic. In his previous life, he had taken the train to school, too.

He remembered that the first time he'd ridden a train, he hadn't been able to get a seat. Those dozen or so hours had been miserable.

The first few carriages were already full of students. Carrying Preserved Egg, Matthew found an empty compartment near the back of the train.

Matthew sat by the window. Preserved Egg eagerly leapt out of his arms.

Matthew called out, "The train will be leaving soon. Don't get off, Preserved Egg!"

"Meow~" Preserved Egg replied, then walked out of the compartment.

He watched the crowd outside for a while, but didn't see anyone familiar. Then he took a copy of The Quibbler out of his Undetectable Extension Charm Pocket. Luna had said she'd published an article in The Quibbler.

After searching for a while, he found Luna's article in the lower-right corner of the second page. A striking moving magical photograph accompanied it, showing someone feeding a Little Thunderbird. The article was much the same, simply documenting the process of feeding earthworms to the Little Thunderbird.

Matthew frowned slightly. Publishing information about a Thunderbird in a magazine might draw the attention of the Care of Magical Creatures department. But Luna knew Newt, so they could use the opportunity to talk to him.

Before Matthew could think it over, two red-haired twin brothers appeared outside the compartment.

"Hey, Fred, look who it is~!"

Matthew turned around and saw George doing a strange dance.

George wiggled his body and pointed both hands at Fred.

Fred clutched his head with his right hand and his stomach with his left, hunched over, and said, "Who could it be~?"

George kept wiggling, swinging his hands from side to side below his waist. "The New King of Slytherin~"

Fred raised both arms, pointed two fingers at Matthew, and half-crouched as he kept hopping backward, shouting:

"Matthew Black!"

Matthew felt as if he could dig an entire building out of the floor with his toes.

He said helplessly, "What are you two up to now? Stop giving me weird titles!"

Fred said in surprise, "You don't know either? We didn't make it up."

George said, "I heard it from Percy. He said you're famous among the older students, too!"

Matthew frowned. Something felt off. That title put him right in the firing line, and since it had started circulating among the older students first, someone was probably fanning the flames.

A few days earlier, Old Tom at the Leaky Cauldron had also mentioned that someone had their eye on him...

But Matthew wasn't worried. He'd kept his identity well hidden. Though he'd done plenty over the past few years under the alias Gellman, as far as the outside world knew, he was simply an outstanding student who'd ranked first in his year.

The information gap would leave anyone plotting against Matthew in a world of pain.

Matthew took out a Music Box. "This Music Box can slightly disrupt a wizard's control over their magic, but it's broken. See if you can repair it."

Fred and George had loved making prank items since they were little and were quite talented at it. Matthew just didn't know whether the Music Box would work the same way once repaired.

Fred tested the Music Box and said excitedly, "I love this challenge!"

Fred put the Music Box away and asked, "The Daily Prophet says Harry Potter's starting school this year. We're going to find him. Want to come meet Mr. Savior with us?"

Matthew shook his head. "We'll see him at Hogwarts soon enough."

After the twins left, Matthew took out a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Latest Report on the Gringotts Break-in..." That was the headline. The Gringotts robbery at the end of July still frequently dominated the news, and the whole article was about Gringotts and the Auror Office pointing fingers at each other and shirking responsibility.

"Mr. Savior to Attend Hogwarts!..." This article took up most of the paper. The writer clearly knew how to capitalize on the buzz, describing Harry Potter's battle with the Dark Lord in vivid detail. If you ignored the fact that Harry Potter had still been a baby at the time, it was a pretty good article.

He recalled the story: Voldemort had possessed Professor Quirinus Quirrell, and they were probably behind the Gringotts robbery. Voldemort wanted to use the Philosopher's Stone to return to life.

Later, Voldemort would use Professor Quirrell's body to sneak into Hogwarts and steal the Philosopher's Stone. Matthew had no intention of getting involved. He trusted Mr. Savior to handle it.

Matthew could sense that the crystal in the ring-shaped Metal Disc was nearly fully charged. It wouldn't be long before he could travel to that world again. Exploring another world was his foremost goal.

"So this is where you are, Matthew." A brown-haired boy with bright eyes stood in the doorway.

He walked into the compartment and sat down opposite Matthew.

"Ah, Jerry."

Jerry Abbott was a Slytherin student in Matthew's year, as well as his roommate.

Matthew put down the Daily Prophet and asked in surprise, "Just you? Weren't you and the Bohan family both in Godric's Hollow? Why didn't you come together?"

"Geralt?" Jerry rolled his eyes. "That guy did come to the platform with me, but he said he was going to find his new girlfriend and told me to come find you on my own."

Geralt Bohan, Matthew's other roommate, probably had plenty in common with a certain sorceress of the same name who was a real Casanova. His ex-girlfriend might know more magic than the younger students.

"New girlfriend? The Emma he met before the holidays?" Matthew rummaged in his pocket, took out two bottles of soda, and handed one to Jerry.

Jerry took a long swig of soda and let out a satisfied breath. "Your information's out of date. He got himself another new girlfriend over the holidays. Poor Amanda spent the whole summer delivering letters for Geralt. I'm afraid she'll work herself to death."

Amanda was Geralt's owl.

"Right." Matthew unscrewed his soda bottle and took a sip. He didn't comment further on his other roommate's exploits; he was used to them by now.

Jerry, however, started complaining. "At this rate, by the time we graduate, we'll be able to take a stroll through the Ministry of Magic and run into nine of Geralt's ex-girlfriends!"

Some Hogwarts students went to work at the Ministry of Magic after graduating.

Jerry suddenly changed the subject and said mysteriously, "I saw someone when I got on the train just now."

"Who?" Matthew played along, amused.

"Mr. Savior—Harry Potter!" Jerry said dramatically.