Chapter 12: Platform Encounter
"Wow." Hermione let out an exclamation as she emerged right behind Su Er.
The entire platform had a weathered appearance, completely different from the railway stations outside. Renaissance-era patterns were carved into the bricks and stones, and wooden signs hung from the supporting beams overhead by thin iron chains, swaying gently in the breeze.
The distinct words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters were inscribed upon it in an aesthetic font.
"An old-fashioned steam train, eh, Su Er." Hermione patted Su Er's arm excitedly.
Even the Muggle world had already put subways into use, and railways had been upgraded and modernized, yet only here lingered an ancient aura originating from the previous century.
Su Er looked over the platform in detail.
The platform was not very large, and the small platform built of unknown stones was crowded with people. Some wore normal clothes, while others were dressed in eccentric outfits with winter coats on top and shorts on the bottom, chattering and talking loudly.
Cats occasionally darted agilely through the crowd, chasing one another.
Owls hooted noisily inside their cages.
The red steam train's engine puffed out white smoke with a chugging sound, and the words Hogwarts Express were neatly written along the side of the carriage.
The place where dreams set sail, Su Er muttered to himself.
"What are you saying?" Hermione leaned in and asked. She looked up at the clock on the wall, which was probably the only thing that looked somewhat modern. "We need to get on the train quickly. I've looked at the train tickets, and we're in the tenth compartment."
The wheels of the trolley ground against the gaps in the flagstones, making a rattling sound, and the two quickly found the compartment marked on their ticket. Some young wizards were already inside the train, sticking their heads out of the windows to say goodbye to their families.
Now came the problem. Su Er looked at Hermione's trunks with a headache-not many, just three, but two of them were packed full of books bought from Flourish and Blotts.
"Need any help?" A warm voice sounded beside them, belonging to a slender, handsome boy.
"That would be great. The two of us are worrying about how to get these two bags onto the train." Su Er looked at the high drop between the platform and the train, as well as the wide gap between the carriage door and the platform, and nodded.
"Mm..." The boy was clearly taken aback by the weight of the trunks. He gripped the trunk handle tightly and gave it a lift, failing to budge it at all on the first try.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha..." Hermione awkwardly looked up at the sky.
"Pretty heavy, huh?" Su Er said. "They're all books Hermione bought."
"Mm, it doesn't matter." The boy smiled, let out his hand, and drew out a wand. "Don't forget, we're wizards."
"Wingardium Leviosa." He chanted a spell, pointing the tip of his wand at the trunk.
"It's the Floating Charm, how could I forget? This is already considered the wizarding world, we can use magic." Hermione Granger, who had memorized whole books, said with annoyance.
Regardless, the trunks were both brought up. Upholding the principle of seeing a good deed through to the end, the boy very warmly delivered the luggage into the compartment.
"Thank you very much for your help. You can call me Su Er..." Su Er expressed his gratitude.
"Don't mention it. You're new students, right? I'm a third-year, my name is Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff student. I'm really looking forward to you making it to Hufflepuff when you're sorted," Cedric said.
"Then I'll be off first. My friends are waiting for me in their compartment."
"So that's Cedric, a lot more handsome than in the movies," Su Er thought with a smile as he waved goodbye to him and watched his retreating figure.
"Did you hear that?" Hermione tapped Su Er. "He said something about sorting just now..."
Seeing the worried expression on Hermione's face, Su Er knew she was overthinking things again, and smiled teasingly. "Don't worry, it's bound to be a very simple test."
"For instance, successfully casting an Alohomora?"
Hermione ignored him and began to sink into a state of pre-exam panic. She opened the trunk and moved a large pile of books onto the only table in the compartment, piling it completely full.
"No, I have to read a bit more. Maybe there'll be a way to pass the sorting exam in the books." She muttered as she flipped open Hogwarts, A History. "There's bound to be a record in history."
Su Er sat down against Hermione's spot, and Hermione didn't mind. Frowning, she flipped rapidly through the books, quickly getting into the zone.
Su Er smiled, casually picked up a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and began flipping through it. A considerable portion of it detailed the author's adventurous experiences, and Su Er read it like a novel, finding it very interesting.
While the two of them were engrossed in their books, the compartment door was pushed open with a rattle.
"Excuse me, can I sit here?" A chubby, round-faced boy stood at the doorway looking lost, his lips pressed tightly together. "I've walked through a lot of compartments, but they're all full."
"Of course." Su Er looked up and raised his chin toward the empty seat opposite.
"Thank you so much." The boy put his trunk in the corner and sat down in the seat. "My name is Neville Longbottom."
Su Er raised his eyebrows. The Gryffindor sword saint who would make a name for himself with a final sword strike? Oh, wow.
"Don't mention it, I'm Su Er Ellison." He closed the book and smiled. "She's Hermione Granger."
"Hello, Su Er, Hermione," Neville said nervously. Su Er saw beads of sweat glistening slightly on top of his head.
Su Er smiled at him, but Hermione ignored him, plunging the atmosphere into awkwardness all at once.
"Hermione's just too absorbed in reading," Su Er explained, using his elbow to poke Hermione in the waist.
This was something Su Er had learned from years of knowing Hermione: the only way to quickly pull Hermione's attention away from a book.
Well, Hermione's waist was exceptionally sensitive.
"What." Sure enough, Hermione looked up at Su Er angrily-and, of course, noticed Neville sitting opposite.
"Oh, sorry," she said. "I didn't notice just now. Hello, my name is Hermione Granger."
Neville smiled awkwardly and introduced himself all over again.
The atmosphere in the compartment instantly improved.
Yet after a little while, Hermione began a machine-gun barrage of questions.
"Are you a Hogwarts student too? I never knew magic existed in this world before. I was so surprised when I got my acceptance letter."
Neville nodded, but this was only the beginning...
"Do you know how the Sorting Ceremony works? I read in books that Hogwarts has four houses in total."
"I don't know how the Sorting Ceremony is held, and my grandmother never told me either," Neville answered honestly. "But my grandmother said she really hopes I get sorted into Gryffindor because my dad graduated from Gryffindor."
Hermione nodded. "Your grandmother? Is she a witch too?"
"Yes." When Neville mentioned his grandmother, a trace of unnatural fear appeared on his face. "My grandmother is a witch, and my whole family are wizards."
"That's wonderful. Neither my nor Su Er's parents can do magic-oh, our two families are neighbors. Since your family are all wizards, you must know a lot of magic, right?" Hermione asked immediately.
Hermione's questions came one after another. At first Neville could still answer a few, but the further it went, the more Neville started stammering, and the sweat on his head was visible to the naked eye.
They were both first-years; why should a first-year make things difficult for a first-year? Su Er mercifully put a stop to Hermione's barrage of questions.
"We'll know all about it when we get to the school. Isn't it good to keep a bit of mystery?" Su Er said.
"That makes sense." Hermione snapped her book shut, putting an end to her interrogation-like stance that seemed intent on digging up Neville's entire ancestry.
Neville gave Su Er a grateful look and breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the train let out a fierce clack-clack sound, accompanied by the whistling of steam venting rapidly.
With a slight shake of the train carriage, the scenery outside the window began to change.
People by the platform waved and surged toward the end of the platform, chasing the moving train.
A long whistle echoed above the tracks.
The train to Hogwarts School was starting to move.
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