September 1.
The Wick family took their son to King's Cross Station.
Watson wore a smart suit and leather shoes, repeatedly checking the address in his hand to make sure he had read it correctly.
"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"
Despite having lived in Britain for so long, Watson had never heard of such a platform at King's Cross Station.
The family wandered around for ages without finding it.
John glanced at Watson, whose enthusiasm had not waned, and could not even be bothered to expose the real reason he had volunteered to come: he wanted to see the legendary wizarding train.
As a Muggle, he could hardly avoid being curious about magical things.
Having seen the story, John naturally knew where to go. He found the third pillar between platforms nine and ten.
John turned and waved goodbye to his dad, then plunged straight into the pillar under his dumbfounded gaze.
John had quite a lot of luggage, which caused him to accidentally bump into a little girl as he passed through onto the platform.
"Ouch!"
Their luggage collided.
His years of physical training proved their worth at that moment.
He planted his feet in a horse stance, steady as a rock.
The scrawny wizard he had collided with was not so lucky. She was knocked sprawling.
Her luggage fell to the ground, spilling books everywhere.
Strength versus magic, round one.
Strength won.
"Are you all right?"
Realizing he had knocked someone over, John hurried to help the Little Wizard up from where she had landed flat on her back.
He also helped collect the books scattered across the ground.
As he picked up the books, he raised his head to look at the Little Wizard's face.
She had already changed into her wizarding robes. Her thick brown hair was bushy, and her brown eyes were bright, but her most striking feature was her two large, rabbitlike front teeth.
John might not have had many virtues, but he was certainly honest. He exclaimed in surprise.
"Your front teeth are really big!"
Hermione had been about to say she was fine, but her face instantly darkened.
Despite being a dentist's daughter, she had larger front teeth than other children. It was the last thing she wanted anyone bringing up.
This boy had knocked her over and then made fun of her front teeth. Hermione had no desire to be nice to John.
John had no idea that the person he had bumped into was Hermione, one of the Golden Trio. After all, Hermione had been made prettier in the Harry Potter films.
Besides, so many years had passed. The fact that he remembered any of the plot at all was thanks to Harry Potter's enormous success in his previous life.
Expecting him to recall the finer details would really have been asking too much.
Unaware that he had offended her, John gathered the scattered books, stacked them, and put them back. He smiled. I'm such a gentleman.
Hermione, however, felt no goodwill toward him whatsoever.
"Thank you."
After a hurried word of thanks, she wanted nothing more to do with him. She pushed her luggage hard and quickly strode away.
John thought the little girl was simply shy. He swept a hand through his hair and said with melancholy vanity, "This damned charm of mine."
On the train.
John had arrived fairly early, and there were still plenty of empty compartments.
He picked one at random, sat down, and gazed out the window in boredom.
As he remembered it, Weasley was supposed to meet the Chosen One for the first time today.
Unfortunately, he had missed that iconic scene.
"Excuse me, could I sit here?"
A somewhat uncertain voice rang out. It belonged to a boy.
His round face was freckled, and his expression was timid and uneasy, as though he feared John might refuse.
It was clear that this child lacked confidence.
This little chubby boy still looked much slimmer than that great big lump Dudley.
John smiled. "Please, have a seat."
Neville was relieved to hear those words, but once he entered the compartment, he realized the boy before him did not look like someone to mess with.
He had fine features and wore a brown wool sweater. A wand spun nimbly between his fingers like an obedient little snake.
It felt like sitting across from a cowboy who was showing off by twirling a revolver in his hand.
The timid Neville shrank into a ball against the window, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.
"Croak."
"Trevor!"
Neville's pet toad hopped out, and he hurriedly caught Trevor.
Afraid of annoying the boy opposite him, he stole a nervous glance at John.
John was looking at him too, making him quickly lower his head, convinced he had upset him.
Little did he know that John was staring at the toad, which had stirred his memories.
A toad? I remember someone in Harry Potter having a pet like that.
Among the few parts of the story John remembered, not many characters besides the Golden Trio had left much of an impression.
Of the handful he did remember, the Sword Saint of Hogwarts was definitely one.
He held out his hand and introduced himself with a smile. "Hello, I'm John Wick."
"I-I'm Neville Longbottom," Neville stammered in reply.
Hearing that name, John thought, Just as I suspected.
The future Sword Saint of Hogwarts, a true Gryffindor.
Some people said Neville was the true child of the prophecy. That claim had swayed countless people on online platforms in his previous life.
John leaned more toward the idea of two saviors, because Harry Potter could not have won without Neville destroying the Horcrux.
Without Harry's welding-no... his clash of spells-Neville killing the great snake would only have earned him fury.
Neither could do without the other. Neville's kindness meant that even if he had known the truth, he could never have killed Harry, the seventh Horcrux.
So the idea of two saviors made more sense.
When John fell silent after hearing his name, Neville wondered whether he should find another compartment.
The Longbottoms did not have a good reputation among pure-blood families. They were on the same level as the Weasleys.
As silence settled over the compartment, another voice came from outside, this one overbearing.
"May I sit here?"
With her bushy hair and oversized front teeth, Miss Know-it-all Hermione Granger had arrived.
Thinking another person might ease the pressure, Neville eagerly spoke up. "This seat's free."
After the words left his mouth, he stole a glance at John.
Hermione tilted her little head up slightly, a habit of hers.
As the top student at school, she had always been her teachers' darling.
But after sitting down, she noticed the black-haired boy opposite her. They had met that morning.
Remembering his comment about her large front teeth, her face darkened.
Neville had been delighted to have someone share the pressure, but when Hermione's face darkened, he thought he had done something rude or offensive again.
Silence fell once more.
Finally, Hermione broke it. She held out her hand to Neville, her head slightly raised, and spoke in a much less shrill voice. "Hermione Granger."
"Neville Longbottom." Neville breathed a sigh of relief. That oppressive silence had made him wonder whether he would survive the journey to school.
John came back to his senses as well and said, "John Wick."
Only then did he realize that the girl whose large front teeth he had commented on was Hermione, one of the Golden Trio.
Hermione did not hold a grudge for long. She was a kindhearted girl by nature.
When she heard that both of Neville's parents were wizards, she immediately became interested.
"Then do you know any magic?"
"Children from magical families must be exposed to magic very early, right? Could you show me?"
Neville stammered, unable to get a word out, while Hermione's mouth rattled on like a sewing machine, never stopping for a moment.
John smiled knowingly at the sight. Miss Know-it-all really would keep digging until she got to the bottom of things.
Putting down his wand, he rescued Neville. "Talent varies from person to person. Take me, for instance. Everyone in my family is a Muggle, but I'm a wizard."
Hearing that John also came from a Muggle family, Hermione felt less annoyed with him and a little closer to him.
The two chatted about the novelties of the magical world, occasionally asking Neville, their local expert, a question.
The atmosphere in the compartment improved, but after their chat, Neville realized he had no idea where his toad had gone.
Always happy to help, Hermione volunteered to take Neville to look for his toad. Before leaving, she asked John whether he wanted to come.
John could not be bothered to move. Holding the Chocolate Frog he had just bought and wondering where to bite it, he waved a hand. "I'd better stay here, so nobody thinks the compartment's empty and takes our seats."
Hermione thought that made sense, so she took Neville off to search the train for his toad.
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