On the Train

King's Cross Station.

Will spotted the pillar between platforms nine and ten at once. It was the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. A spell had been cast on it, and Will easily sensed the magic flowing through it, as well as the magic in the witches and wizards among the crowd.

Carrying his trunk, Will plunged straight into the pillar.

Just as the books had described, the station was noisy and crowded amid the steam from the locomotive. Witches and wizards bustled about, calling loudly to one another. The chug of the train, the hubbub of the crowd, and the cries of animals chasing each other all blended into a racket that irritated Will. He liked quiet.

Will made his way through the crowd and spotted several people: a round-faced boy following an old woman, a family of red-haired wizards, a girl with bushy hair and slightly prominent front teeth, and, of course, the scrawny boy in black-rimmed glasses known as The Chosen One—Harry Potter.

Will passed them, boarded the train, and finally found an empty compartment amid the noise. Smiling with satisfaction, he sat by the window, set his trunk on the seat beside him, took out a book, and began reading with relish.

The book was called Secrets of the Curse: A Curse-Breaker's Life. Written by a Curse-Breaker who had graduated from Hogwarts, it recorded what he had seen and heard during fifteen years working in Egypt, along with his understanding of curses.

Will didn't want the professors to discover that he had begun studying Dark Magic so early, so he had left all his Dark Magic books behind. A book about curses was already pushing the boundary.

"Egypt has more curses than anyone can count. Most people now believe this is due to the pharaohs' peculiar habits and their jumble of beliefs. Egypt had four Sun Gods alone.

"The pharaohs covered their own corpses in curses, and no wizard wants anything to do with those mummies. The funny thing is, some pharaohs only guarded against wizards and forgot to cast curses against Muggles. Muggles later stole their corpses, which even circulated as a 'rare delicacy' among Europe's upper class."

[You gained new knowledge of curses. Curse Studies experience +1]

[You gained new knowledge of curses. Curse Studies experience +1]

As pages turned and his experience grew, the compartment door suddenly opened. A girl came in carrying a trunk identical to Will's, plainly bought from the same shop.

She had a delicate, slightly thin oval face and an aloof air. Her dark blue dress made her skin look even fairer. All in all, she was beautiful.

"Is anyone sitting here? I couldn't find another compartment." Even her voice sounded cool.

Will glanced at her and replied just as coolly, "Go ahead."

Then he returned to his book. Could a girl be more interesting than curses? More interesting than experience?

The girl seemed unbothered by his attitude. She put down her luggage and sat opposite Will.

A chill settled over the compartment. Neither of them spoke. Will simply read, paying the girl no attention. In that strange silence, the train began to move and pulled away from the platform.

The silence didn't last long.

The compartment door opened again, revealing a boy and a girl. The girl had bushy brown hair, rather prominent front teeth, and freckles. She wasn't particularly pretty.

The boy was slightly chubby and hid half his body behind her, giving him a timid air.

Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom.

"Can we come in? The other compartments are pretty much full, and we don't have much luggage." The girl was out of breath, apparently from hauling her heavy trunk.

Only then did Will look up and glance over.

One look at him made Hermione cry out in surprise.

"Will Berens! What are you doing here? Er, I mean, you're a wizard too?"

No wonder she was surprised. Will had been her primary school classmate, and his grades had always been better than hers. Hermione had thought she wouldn't see him again after being accepted into Hogwarts. Yet here he was.

"Hello, Miss Granger." Will looked at the girl opposite him. "I don't mind if you come in. I don't know about this lady."

"Go ahead." The girl opposite him sounded a little distant, but her eyes studied Will with obvious curiosity.

Will noticed and looked back. Her gaze immediately shifted to Neville, as though she were wondering why he was hiding behind Hermione.

Hermione lifted her heavy trunk and tried to stow it, but she struggled to raise it onto the luggage rack. Watching her pant with the effort, Will drew his wand and gave it a wave. The trunk floated up as if it had a mind of its own and settled onto the rack. Neville's trunk followed it.

All three young Wizard stared at Will in surprise.

"You've already learned magic? I mean, I've tried a few simple spells at home, and some of them worked—Lumos, for instance—though some failed. But how did you do that? You didn't even say the spell!" Hermione's questions came in a rapid stream. Will had known her long enough to be familiar with her brisk, headlong manner.

Her eyes fell on the book in Will's hands. "Are you reading? 'Of all the curses in Egypt, the most terrifying is Tutankhamun's curse...' Why don't I remember that passage? I mean, I've memorized all this year's textbooks, and that isn't in them. Is this book something we study this year?" Hermione gave no one a chance to answer. Will felt a headache coming on. That was Hermione, all right.

The girl in the dark blue dress looked at Hermione in surprise when she heard she had memorized all the textbooks. Neville's jaw nearly dropped. He was forgetful himself and couldn't imagine how hard that must have been.

"It's simple. I said it in my head. This is a book on Curse Studies; Flourish and Blotts sells it," Will said calmly. Then he lowered his head and returned to reading, soon absorbed in the book as though the three of them held no interest for him.

"It's not simple at all. Nonverbal Spellcasting is an advanced technique. Many adult wizards who've graduated from Hogwarts can't do it." The girl opposite Will had spoken up. She seemed interested in him again, her bright eyes fixed on him. But when Will remained buried in his book, displeasure entered her gaze.

"Berens..." The girl seemed particularly interested in Will's surname.

"I've never heard of that wizarding family. Have any of you?" She clearly came from one of the Pure-blood families.

Neville, who had just sat down beside Will, scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I don't remember Gran telling me about that family. I don't think there is one?"

"So you two come from wizarding families?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. Everyone in my family is a Wizard. You can call me Neville—Neville Longbottom." Neville had left some space between himself and Will so he wouldn't disturb his reading.

The girl nodded. "I'm from the Lestrange family. You can call me Sylvia. You haven't told us about yourself."

Only then did Hermione realize she hadn't introduced herself. Her earlier confidence had faded. "I'm Hermione Granger. Both my parents are what you call Muggles. No one in my family knows magic, so we were all terribly surprised when my Hogwarts letter arrived. You both grew up in wizarding families, so you must already know lots of magic?"

She sounded a little dejected.

"Actually... I can't do any magic. Gran won't let me try spells with my wand." Neville's face reddened, and he looked close to tears. "I'll be the worst student at Hogwarts."

"Oh..." Hermione suddenly felt a little better, though she didn't show it. "We can learn together, though."

"You don't need to worry. Most young witches and wizards can't do any magic before they go to Hogwarts," Sylvia explained. "Almost all of them only bought their wands this summer. Without wands, they probably hadn't learned any magic at all."

Sylvia turned to Hermione, apparently unconcerned by her background. "You must be one of the few new students who can already cast spells. You're well ahead. And you seem to know Mr. Berens."

"He was my primary school classmate. Until today, I didn't know he was a Wizard too." Hermione felt more confident now. She also noticed that Sylvia seemed interested in Will, but when she looked at him, he was still staring at his book.

The scene felt painfully familiar. Back in primary school, girls had always liked to gather around Will, but he had never paid them any attention.

And once Will started reading, he shut out everything around him. He was even more of a bookworm than she was.

Hermione didn't know what they saw in him. Right now, she wanted to know how Will had learned magic, but he clearly had no intention of talking to any of them. She would have to wait until he finished reading.

[Someone became curious about you. Charisma Experience +1]

[Someone developed a liking for you. Charisma Experience +1]