King's Cross Station and Ancient Magic: Improvement

King's Cross Station stood in the heart of London and, for England, was an extremely important transport hub.

It was still early, so there were not many travelers coming and going.

Wizet made his way smoothly into the station and, after asking around several times, found the direction to Platform Nine.

The closer he got to Platform Nine, the more groups of people appeared around him.

They all looked like parents seeing their children off, but their style of dress was truly bizarre.

Some wore clothes in colors so glaring they looked like costumes borrowed from a circus;

Some wore outfits with violently clashing pieces, a thick padded coat on top and shorts below;

And some seemed to have chosen the wrong clothes altogether—one was clearly a bald, middle-aged man with a face full of stubble, yet he was wearing a floral dress...

Though their clothes clashed completely with those of the surrounding travelers, their movements were surprisingly consistent—they approached the pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten, slammed straight into it, and vanished.

A well-dressed middle-aged man in a suit noticed something strange and hurried forward with a puzzled expression. He even reached out, seemingly wanting to touch the pillar.

Just then, a burly man in a pleated skirt suddenly appeared. He raised his wand, rushed to the middle-aged man's side, and muttered under his breath.

A flash of light passed, and the middle-aged man's face filled with frantic urgency. He sprinted out of the station at the speed of a hundred-meter dash...

Wizet wiped away a handful of sweat, unsure where he should even begin criticizing it.

Everything was far too strange.

A pleasant female voice sounded beside his ear. "Muggle Studies should be made available to all years. It shouldn't just be an elective."

She was an Asian girl with delicate features, shoulder-length black hair, and a few freckles on her pretty nose.

She wore a sky-blue hooded sweatshirt, with two dark-blue letters, "T," on the chest.

The girl pulled a suitcase with one hand and held an old-fashioned broom in the other.

The broom had been very well maintained and had clearly never been used to sweep the floor. Both the handle and the twigs had been varnished, looking smooth and shiny.

"You're Wizet, right? You look a little familiar. I remember you often appeared on the front page of last month's Daily Prophet."

The girl introduced herself with a smile. "My name is Cho Chang... I'm a Ravenclaw student."

Wizet nodded. "Hello, Cho Chang."

"Hello!" Cho Chang said with a smile. "We should go. Just walk straight into it. The Ministry of Magic staff will only disperse the Muggles."

"The Ministry of Magic staff..." Wizet pointed at the burly man in the pleated skirt. "Actually dresses like that?"

"Right? Hard to understand, isn't it?" Cho Chang gave a helpless smile. "That's why I said Muggle Studies should be made universal, and its knowledge needs updating too."

"I'm wearing a Tutshill Tornados jersey and holding a flying broom, so what? They still won't notice me... Muggles these days are much more tolerant."

"Can you believe it? It's already 1991, and Muggle Studies' understanding of Muggles is still stuck three hundred years ago. It's simply unbelievable!"

Cho Chang walked ahead, quickening her pace as she spoke, and disappeared straight into the pillar.

Wizet followed closely behind. After an extremely brief moment of darkness, a bright platform appeared before his eyes.

Behind him was no longer the hall of King's Cross Station, but a wrought-iron archway, with a sign hanging from the ceiling that read "Platform 9 3/4."

Whooo, whooo, whooo...

It was a deep-red steam locomotive, brimming with a strong Victorian style.

In fact, this steam locomotive had indeed come from that era. It was a means of transport the Ministry of Magic had "requisitioned" from England.

The Minister for Magic at the time had been Ottaline Gambol. In order to escort Hogwarts students safely back to school, this female minister overrode all opposition and mobilized the Ministry of Magic to carry out a major project.

The project involved one hundred and sixty-seven Memory Charms and the largest-scale Concealment Charm in England's history, and only in the end was Platform 9 3/4 built.

The steam locomotive had likewise undergone a complete renovation, changing entirely from steam-powered to magic-powered, and was named the "Hogwarts Express."

The platform was very noisy. White magical smoke curled overhead, and all kinds of pets threaded through people's feet;

Parents clung to the windowsills of the Hogwarts Express, murmuring last-minute instructions before departure, while the children nodded again and again like chicks pecking at grain.

Wizet cast Magic Eye. The ancient magical power brewing here was extremely abundant, and silver-blue magic almost seemed about to overflow from the platform.

With a stir of his mind, countless strands of ancient magical power surged toward him, and the Wizard's Practical Guide in his mind turned to the fourth page.

Ancient Magic: Improvement (Beginner): Guide ancient magical power to improve spells... strengthen magical power... add special effects to spells...

Improvement magic was different from shield magic. It could not be used directly and had to be combined with other magic.

Its function was very practical. It could strengthen the power of magic while also adding some special effects.

During the period before school started, apart from organizing the things he would need for the new term, Wizet had been studying the Wizard's Practical Guide, learning how to use ancient magical power.

If understood through the thinking of his previous life, this notebook was equivalent to providing him with "Special skills," or so-called special skills—SP skills.

Whether it was the shield magic from the very beginning or the Magic Eye he later obtained in Diagon Alley, both were different from present-day wizarding magic.

In particular, the appearance of improvement magic helped him confirm certain guesses.

The notebook mentioned two kinds of ancient magical power.

One kind of ancient magical power came from an Obscurus and could be used to cast magic directly.

The other kind of ancient magical power was even more special, coming from those ancient magical buildings;

The ancient magical power these magical buildings had brewed over time could be absorbed directly, promoting the growth of the Magic Eye or opening new pages in the notebook.

"Feels pretty awe-inspiring, right?" Cho Chang's voice rang out. "When I first came in, I was actually shocked too. Antiques like this are usually only seen in museums."

The first few carriages were already full of students. Some were roughhousing in the corridors, some had schoolbags propped in front of them as they rushed their homework, and others were just chatting idly.

"Why did you bring a toad? Is that in fashion now?"

"His name is Trevor. He's a toad. My great-uncle bought him for me. He was very happy that I had a wizard's talent..."

"Are you sure your great-uncle was happy? And not feeling something else? People still keep toads... toads as pets these days?"

Cho Chang was a warmhearted girl. She led Wizet all the way to the middle section of the train and found an empty compartment.

Together, the two of them hoisted their suitcases onto the rack. "Anyone still making up homework at a time like this is basically a Gryffindor student."

"How can you tell?" Wizet asked curiously.

He did not know much about Hogwarts.

Although there was a copy of Hogwarts: A History in his mind, it was not a textbook, so he had not had time to read it yet.

Cho Chang took out a rag and wiped a flying broomstick that was already gleaming. "As far as I know, Gryffindor students tend to make especially full arrangements for their summer holidays."

"They'll plan expeditions to wizarding ruins, or spend the whole day obsessed with Quidditch... In any case, doing homework is usually the last option."

Wizet could not help laughing. "So on the day before school starts, it's a choice between finishing homework and sleeping?"

Cho Chang giggled too. "Exactly! That's how it is!"

A young Black guy suddenly poked his head in and held up the pocket made by the hem of his shirt. "Mate! Can I borrow your homework to copy? I've got a bag spider from Africa. I can let you touch it!"

In the original work, Cho Chang is described as a pretty Asian girl. This is to clarify that point.