Douglas cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"My place isn't far from London, about forty minutes by car."
His voice sounded clear and steady amid the bustle of the platform.
"So we'll need taxis."
He glanced at the redheaded Weasleys, whose eyes sparkled with curiosity at everything around them.
"Considering... well, some of you might not be very familiar with Muggle transport."
"We'll need to split up. It'll be more efficient."
"Taxis?"
Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up instantly, brighter than a brand-new Galleon.
"Are we going somewhere called a bus station? Honestly, I've wanted to see what one looks like for ages..."
Before he could finish, a gaze stabbed toward him like an icicle.
Mrs. Weasley interrupted him in her commanding voice.
"Arthur! Follow Douglas's arrangements. No wandering off on your own."
Her gaze shifted to the nearly identical twins.
"George... oh, no, Fred, whoever you are, take your fingers off that vending machine!"
Compared with the lively Weasley family, Mr. and Mrs. Granger seemed rather reserved.
Mr. Granger rubbed his hands together and asked cautiously:
"Professor Holmes, we..."
He glanced at his wife and daughter beside him, then summoned his courage to continue.
"I mean, could Hermione and the two of us come along too?"
"I drove here myself, so I could take a few people as well."
Douglas raised an eyebrow, looking at them in feigned surprise.
"Of course, Mr. Granger. I was inviting your whole family from the start."
He offered a gentle smile, trying to ease the man's nerves.
"Please don't worry. I'll be Hermione's teacher, after all. Relax."
With that, he turned to the children, who were already growing restless, and began giving instructions.
"All right, let me sort this out."
"Mr. Weasley and George, you'll go in Mr. Granger's car."
"Hermione, take a taxi with Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Fred."
"Harry, Ron, and Percy, you three are with me."
"Any questions?"
The moment he finished, two wails tore through the air like a duet.
"George!"
"Oh, no, Fred!"
"We can't be separated!"
They stretched out their hands theatrically, as though trying to reach each other across the crowd.
Douglas felt as though his next move ought to be taking out a begging bowl and chanting, "Amitabha."
He had deliberately placed the two "walking disasters" with one parent each to stop them from dismantling a taxi on the way.
"Professor!" Hermione's clear voice rang out just in time. "You haven't given us the address! My dad doesn't know where to drive."
Douglas slapped his forehead. The antics of those two clowns had nearly thrown him off track.
He gave Hermione an approving look.
"18 Rose Road, Surrey."
"We'll set off together. Mr. Granger, just follow our taxi."
He suddenly stopped halfway through speaking.
He had seen several of the children's expressions freeze, disbelief written all over their faces.
Their gazes darted back and forth between him and Harry, as though confirming something unbelievable.
Harry's voice trembled slightly, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
"P-Professor! I live at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey!"
"Rose Street... it's only two streets away from my house!"
This time, it was Douglas's turn to freeze.
He had never imagined that the place where Harry Potter had grown up was so close to his own home.
He only vaguely remembered 12 Grimmauld Place from the original books and had completely overlooked this more important address.
At that moment, Douglas bitterly regretted not writing down all the key information from memory when he first arrived in this world.
Privet Drive...
A dusty fragment of memory suddenly surfaced.
That sharp-tongued, spiteful distant cousin of his, who had called him a "jinxed monster," seemed to live nearby.
Too much time had passed for him to remember the exact house number.
Looking into Harry's green eyes, brimming with longing and anticipation, Douglas felt a corner of his heart soften.
After all, he was only a twelve-year-old boy.
He reached out and gently patted Harry's shoulder.
"Really? That is close."
"Whenever I'm home, you're welcome to visit."
Mr. Granger immediately chimed in.
"Professor Holmes, we live on the outskirts of London, not too far from Surrey either."
"Could Hermione visit you when she has time?"
Before Douglas could answer, several of the Weasley children began clamoring all at once.
"We want to come too!"
"Professor, can we come as well?"
Douglas felt a headache coming on.
"Hermione certainly can." He bluntly dashed the Weasleys' hopes. "But the Burrow is so far away. You lot can leave yourselves out of this."
"All right, stop standing around. Let's find some taxis and get going."
Couldn't you tell I was just being polite? he grumbled inwardly.
Should I give each of you an "Obliviate" right now?
They soon found taxis, and Douglas agreed on the fares with the drivers.
The little convoy drove smoothly out of London and finally stopped outside 18 Rose Road.
After Douglas paid the fares, everyone got out, their expressions varied.
The Weasley Twins hugged each other tightly the moment they stepped out, as though they had endured a life-or-death separation, until Mrs. Weasley ruthlessly slapped them apart.
Harry's gaze roamed over the familiar street around them.
He moved close to Ron and Hermione and lowered his voice.
"I've been here before."
"Before I went to Hogwarts, Dudley-that's my Muggle cousin-once chased me all the way here, trying to beat me up."
"When we got back, Aunt Petunia told both Dudley and me off, which hardly ever happened."
"She also strictly forbade us from going near Rose Street again."
Hermione frowned slightly and began analyzing it.
"Could it be because your aunt knows the professor lives here?"
"I remember you saying that your whole family absolutely hates you having anything to do with magic."
Harry immediately shook his head, his tone certain.
"Impossible."
"Look how young the professor is. How could they know him?"
Mr. and Mrs. Granger, meanwhile, were examining the house before them.
It was a very ordinary two-story English house with a tidy yard, completely lacking the mystery or eeriness they had imagined a wizard's home would have.
Especially after watching Douglas bargain expertly with the drivers and quickly work out each taxi's fare in his head, the practical couple's opinion of him had soared.
Everyone went inside and left their luggage by the door.
The interior was entirely different from the Burrow's mixture of magic and chaos.
This looked like the most conventional Muggle middle-class home imaginable.
A fridge, a television, a washing machine... it had every modern appliance.
There was even a latest-model games console in the corner.
Douglas announced that the children could amuse themselves and took several large plates of snacks from a cupboard.
"The study is off-limits," he emphasized.
It held not only the original manuscripts of his unpublished work, but also a computer he had paid a fortune to have assembled, the best currently available on the market.
He genuinely feared that, if he let his guard down for a moment, the curious Weasleys would reduce his precious machine to a pile of parts.
Then he went into the kitchen.
Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger followed him in to help.
Although Mrs. Weasley's household spells were masterful, faced with the breadth and intricacy of Chinese cuisine, she could only help out on the sidelines.
In the living room, the lingering weight of the professor's authority initially kept the Weasley children quiet for a little while.
But soon, as Mr. Weasley expressed his heartfelt admiration for a toaster and Mr. Granger enthusiastically explained the principle behind its heating elements, things spiraled completely out of control.
The twins and Ginny gathered around the fridge, earnestly investigating whether a "permanent freezing charm" was hidden inside, and began whispering about how to take it apart for a look.
Alarmed, Mr. Granger hurried over to stop them, bringing out every bit of physics he knew.
Harry, meanwhile, began playing on the games console with Ron, somewhat awkwardly.
He had secretly played on Dudley's when the Dursleys weren't looking, so it wasn't completely unfamiliar.
When the game appeared on the screen, Ron and Percy pointed at the television and argued loudly, insisting that there had to be a little goblin inside who could draw.
Hermione and Harry scrambled to hold them back.
Watching the chaos before him, Mr. Granger felt a trace of cold sweat on his back.
He had actually been thinking of inviting the Weasley family to his own home.
Good heavens, wouldn't that be the same as inviting a demolition crew?
Dinner was far more lavish than anyone had expected.
At the table, Douglas delivered a brief welcome as their host.
Then Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger each thanked him for his warm hospitality on behalf of their families.
Conversation unfolded in a curious atmosphere.
Mr. Weasley asked almost all the questions, ranging from "How do Muggles communicate over long distances without owls?" to "Can that thing called the 'Internet' really let you see the whole world?"
Mr. and Mrs. Granger patiently answered each question, with Douglas occasionally adding something.
They even discussed in depth the collapse of a certain superpower the previous year, from both Muggle and Wizarding World perspectives.
During dinner, Douglas expressed sympathy over the warning letter Harry had received from the Ministry of Magic.
Under the twins' gazes, filled with pleading and shattered hopes, he also solemnly assured Mrs. Weasley that he would give them "the strictest education" once term began.
The three-hour dinner gathering came to a happy close amid laughter and cheerful conversation.
As night fell, the Weasley family and the Granger family returned to London, then went their separate ways home.
Before you continue