Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

September 1, King's Cross Station.

The train attendant wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose.

On this day every year, he patiently explained the same thing over and over.

"Sorry, we really don't have a Platform Nine and Three-Quarters here!"

Unfortunately, not long after each explanation, the next person would arrive to ask.

And every one of them was a young kid!

Not only that, but all sorts of strange people kept appearing in the station.

Their behavior and their clothes were nothing like those of ordinary people.

Take the one in front of him: a burly, fully bearded man who, for some reason, was wearing a floral dress.

The sight made him want to throw up!

A girl with bushy, dark brown hair was equally speechless. Before encountering the wizarding world, she had always assumed people like this were doing performance art.

Only today had she realized that they were actually wizards who knew absolutely nothing about the Muggle world!

"Wizards have an inherent contempt for Muggles. Their deep-rooted arrogance means they rarely bother learning about Muggle life."

"It's hardly surprising that things like this happen."

Puzzled, Hermione turned toward the gentle voice behind her.

"Hello, I'm Argus Grindelwald, a new student at Hogwarts."

"Hermione Granger!"

Just as I thought!

The smile in Argus's eyes deepened. "You're starting at Hogwarts too, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes! But I've been looking for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters for ages, and I still can't find it. The train attendant doesn't know where it is either!"

Looking rather troubled, Hermione poured out her complaints to Argus.

"Of course the train attendant doesn't know. You should ask those odd-looking people instead. They're the wizards!"

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Hermione looked as though she had just woken from a dream, a hint of delighted surprise in her eyes.

"No need to go to all that trouble. Come with me. I'll take you in."

Noticing the trunk Hermione was carrying, Argus drew his wand while the platform screened them from view and pointed it at her luggage.

"Reducio!"

The waist-high trunk instantly shrank to the size of a matchbox. Argus picked it up off the ground and slipped it into the astonished Hermione's pocket.

"Come on, we're going to be late!"

Finding the third pillar between platforms ten and nine, Argus took her hand and charged straight at it under Hermione's bewildered gaze.

Only after they were seated in a compartment did Hermione process what had happened.

"Was that a Shrinking Charm you just used? Is that something we're supposed to learn in first year? Why don't I remember it at all?"

"No, I need to read all the first-year books again!"

Please, queen of grinding, stop grinding!

Although Argus was a king of grinding himself, he was nowhere near as fanatical as Hermione.

At the slightest provocation, she was ready to read every book all over again.

No wonder she had consistently held first place in the original story.

"There's no need. The Shrinking Charm isn't part of first-year magic. You won't encounter it until the second half of second year."

"If you want to learn it, I can teach you."

"Really?" Hermione exclaimed delightedly, then hastily covered her mouth, afraid Argus might see something.

Argus didn't care about any of that. He took out his wand and began teaching Hermione how to cast it.

Before long, two identical redheaded boys poked their heads in.

"Hey, George, we've interrupted a young couple whispering sweet nothings!"

"Can't be helped. Who could have guessed our dear Ronnie would abandon his poor brothers to find other friends?"

The two wore cheeky grins. Their clothes were somewhat shabby and bore traces of scorching.

Argus didn't need to guess who they were.

The famous Weasley Twins!

"Hermione and I met at the station. We were just discussing spells."

"If you haven't found seats, why not come in and sit down?"

Argus opened the compartment door for them and gave Hermione a reassuring smile.

"Oh, Merlin's black stockings! Are new students this good now?"

"We hadn't even opened our books when we first started, and they're already discussing spells!"

Fred feigned amazement, then sat opposite Argus with a grin.

George plopped down beside Fred and took a large pile of parchment out of his bag.

"Enough, Fred. Hurry up and finish your homework. I was going to borrow someone else's, but who knew Percy would be watching us so closely!"

"If we don't finish, Professor McGonagall will definitely be after us."

"It's a shame our experiment isn't finished yet. We'd have finished it for sure if Ronnie hadn't told on us!"

Hermione stared blankly at Fred and George, looking as though she was questioning the world.

Before entering the compartment, the only wizards she had interacted with closely were Professor McGonagall, who had taken her to Diagon Alley, and Argus.

Both of them had impeccable manners!

Although the wizards at the station were a bit... hard on the eyes, that was only because they didn't understand the Muggle world.

So she had always held a misconception about the wizarding world: that everyone here was like Argus.

Knowledgeable, polite, and elegant.

But these two...

"George, have you finished your History of Magic homework? Let me copy it!"

"I think so. Let me find it!"

Watching George rummage around, Hermione finally couldn't hold back.

"What you're doing is wrong! You're supposed to do your homework yourselves!"

"Another Professor McGonagall! If you end up in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, you'll find out this sort of thing happens all the time!"

George wasn't angered by Hermione's words and teased her casually.

After finding his History of Magic homework for Fred, he immediately got back to catching up on Potions.

"Hey, Fred, where do you get a bezoar from again?"

"A dog's stomach? I think so. Can't quite remember."

"Just put something down for now..."

Beside them, Hermione held a thick book, her ears quietly pricking up as though she were secretly considering whether she remembered what they were talking about.

Hearing their answers riddled with errors, she couldn't take it anymore.

"That's wrong! What do you mean, a dog's stomach!"

"A bezoar is taken from a goat's stomach!"

"Really?"

George's eyes lit up, then his expression turned doubtful.

Hermione puffed out her cheeks in anger. "I've told you the answer. Believe it or don't!"

"If I remember correctly, bezoars are indeed taken from goats' stomachs. They're very effective against poisons."

Argus's reply made George's eyes light up.

"Mate, you're not pulling my leg, are you? This is third-year material. Only Snape would assign it ahead of time!"

"If you're talking about chapter three, section two of the Book of Potions, then I shouldn't be mistaken."

"Chapter three, section two? Mate, you haven't memorized the whole book, have you? It's half a foot thick!" George covered his mouth in exaggerated disbelief.

Beside Argus, Hermione could no longer sit still.

She had already sensed something was off when Argus was explaining second-year coursework to her!

She had initially thought he was simply studying ahead like her, only covering a little more material.

She had never expected the gap to be this big!

She hadn't even finished memorizing the first-year books, yet Argus already knew third-year material like the back of his hand!

How could she, who had always been the queen of grinding, possibly stand that!

"I wouldn't say I've memorized it, but I should remember most of what's in it."

"A savior! You're our savior!"

Fred and George looked at Argus as though they had seen the light of the world.

Ignoring Hermione's pout, so pronounced she could have hung a bottle from her lips, they plopped down and squeezed her aside.

"Help me check this one. The ingredients for a Shrinking Solution."

"Daisy roots, skinned shrivelfig, caterpillars, a small drop of leech juice, and rat spleens."

"This one, the uses of wormwood..."