To our great endeavor

Gerald certainly remembered this Hufflepuff student, who had taken hold of the Goblet of Fire alongside Harry Potter, only to be killed by Peter Pettigrew with the Avada Kedavra curse.

He had been kind, loyal, hardworking, and diligent, possessing every quality a member of Hufflepuff House should have.

Yet he had fallen in that cold graveyard, never to rise again.

Gerald could not help giving the boy another look.

Right now, Cedric was not yet the Hufflepuff Champion who would forge bravely ahead through the maze. He was just a first-year about to board the Hogwarts Express for the very first time.

Gerald did not linger. He looked away and walked straight toward the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten.

Just as he passed through the wall, he heard a faint murmur.

"Dad, look at that person..."

Then every sound was swallowed by a strange humming.

Gerald opened his eyes, and the scene before him had changed completely.

A scarlet steam engine stood beside the platform, great clouds of white steam billowing from its front.

The platform was packed with people.

Adults gathered in conversation while children laughed and played.

The sign at the end of the platform read: Hogwarts Express, departing at eleven o'clock.

Standing at the entrance, Gerald looked at the bustling scene before him, and an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up inside him.

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. To think I would actually get to board this train one day.

He had read that name countless times in his previous life and seen this scene just as often in the films.

But only when he actually stood here did he realize that everything he had imagined fell woefully short of reality.

"Hey, Green!"

A familiar voice came from behind him.

Gerald turned to see two identical redheaded boys squeezing through the crowd toward him.

Fred and George Weasley.

They wore matching mischievous grins, their hair like two dancing flames on the steam-filled platform.

Behind them, Mrs. Weasley held Ginny in one arm while her other hand gripped Ron, who was trying to burrow into the crowd.

Percy was not there. In his place was a rather sturdy-looking young man.

"How's it going, partner?" Fred draped an arm over Gerald's shoulders.

"Ready for Hogwarts?" George leaned in from the other side.

The corners of Gerald's mouth lifted slightly.

"Of course."

"Dear, did you come here alone?" Mrs. Weasley walked over and looked Gerald up and down.

"Mrs. Weasley, my uncle brought me. As you know, my family are all Muggles, so once he dropped me off at the station, I told him he could head home."

"What a considerate boy."

Mrs. Weasley patted Gerald on the shoulder, then addressed the sturdily built young man.

"Charlie, Bill has graduated. That makes you the oldest of our children at Hogwarts now, and you're a prefect too. Make sure you look after this boy at school."

"Got it, Mum. Hello there, young first-year." Charlie held out his hand.

So this was Charlie Weasley, the Weasley family's second son, who would later go off to study dragons.

"I'll be counting on you, then." Gerald quickly shook his hand.

The train whistle sounded.

Mrs. Weasley began hurrying them along.

"On you get, on you get! Charlie, find them some good seats. Don't block the corridor."

Gerald picked up his trunk and followed Fred and George toward the train.

The doorway was rather narrow, so the three of them took turns lifting their trunks aboard.

Gerald's trunk was heavier than the twins' combined, but in his hands it seemed as light as paper.

A flicker of surprise crossed Fred's and George's eyes as they watched him lift the trunk over his head with one hand.

"You're really strong."

"Impressive, right? Want to call me your big brother?"

"We've got enough older brothers already. Besides, what year were you born?"

"1977."

"Merlin's rotten socks, you really are older than us."

As they chatted, the carriage had already filled with quite a few people. Most of the compartments on either side of the corridor were half full.

Fred and George made their way confidently through several carriages before stopping outside a compartment toward the rear.

George slid the door open. It was still empty.

"This one will do."

The three of them stowed their luggage on the rack above the seats and sat down in the compartment.

Fred and George sat close together, while Gerald took the window seat opposite them.

The compartment was small, but the scarlet seats were surprisingly comfortable.

The train had not left yet, and people were still coming and going on the platform outside.

Watching the families saying goodbye outside the window, Gerald suddenly remembered Grandpa Henry standing at the courtyard gate, waving to him.

"All right, time for proper introductions."

One of the twins clapped his hands.

"I'm Fred."

"I'm George."

Gerald looked at the one on the left, then the one on the right, and nodded earnestly.

"But which of you was which just now?"

The two exchanged a glance and grinned in unison.

"You really are interesting, partner. Hardly anyone admits they can't tell us apart when they first meet us."

"Most people pretend they can, then get our names wrong the whole time."

"So we've decided to give you special treatment."

Fred pulled a crumpled paper bag from his robe pocket and opened it to reveal a pile of brightly colored sweets.

"These are toffees from Honeydukes. Charlie bought them last Christmas. They're a little past their best."

"But they probably won't kill you. I had some last week."

"Probably."

Gerald picked up a sweet, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.

It was a little hard, but it certainly tasted like toffee.

Without changing his expression, he chewed it a few times and swallowed.

"Not bad."

"You actually ate it." Fred looked astonished.

"Actually, we have other sources of snacks too," George added.

No sooner had he spoken than the compartment door was yanked open.

A Black boy stood in the doorway, his hair in thin braids and a brilliant smile on his face, carrying a bulging bag.

Ger-

-ald recognized him immediately.

Lee Jordan, Hogwarts' resident jokester.

"Fred! George! When my dad brought me here, I got him to give me loads of pocket money. I bought-"

He spotted Gerald and broke off.

"Who's this?"

"Gerald Green. He's starting this year, just like us."

"And he's our partner too."

"Partner? Has he joined our great endeavor too?"

The Black boy raised his eyebrows, sat down beside Gerald, and set his bag on the table.

"I'm Lee Jordan. I'm starting this year too."

Gerald nodded. "Hello."

Lee Jordan looked Gerald over, then turned back to the bag on the table, his eyes lighting up.

"Guess what I bought?"

He pulled something out of the bag.

It was a square box bearing a picture of a witch riding a broomstick. A line of small print in the corner read: "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Every bite is an adventure."

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Now that's the good stuff." George rubbed his hands together.

Lee Jordan also took out a box of Chocolate Frogs, several Licorice Wands, a packet of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and two boxes of Pumpkin Pasties.

"Did you spend all the pocket money your dad gave you?"

Fred sounded a little surprised as he looked at the pile of snacks on the table.

"Save some. We'll still need to buy materials for our experiments once we get to Hogwarts," George added.

"It's fine. Dad said I should have a good, filling meal to start the school year."

Lee Jordan waved a careless hand, then tore open the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and pushed the box into the middle of the table.

"Here, try some."

Fred needed no further invitation and promptly picked one up.

"Come on, everyone! To our great endeavor!"