"Ah? Crash into it? Seriously?"
Harry sounded incredulous. He clearly had his doubts.
Devro, however, seemed extremely confident.
"Harry, trust me. We're classmates—why would I lie to you or try to trick you? Just focus and crash into it!"
Harry hesitated but, hearing Devro's assurance, let his guard down a little.
A blond-haired eleven-year-old boy with a toad on his shoulder—he looked like a fellow young wizard.
Harry took a deep breath.
He followed Devro's instructions.
And charged straight at the stone pillar.
Bang!
Unexpectedly, Harry slammed into the pillar headfirst, falling to the ground in a heap.
Devro was equally stunned.
"Ah? No way. Dobby shouldn't be casting spells this early in the timeline, right?"
Then, a noisy group of redheads walked past them.
"Mom, I need to go sit in the prefects' carriage, so..."
A tall red-haired teenager spoke.
"Oh! Percy, you're a prefect? How come we never heard about this?" a pair of twins teased.
"Mom, can't I please get on the train?" a small girl tugged at her mother's hand, pleading.
"No, Ginny. You're too young," the woman replied firmly, shaking her head.
Only then did Devro realize—oh. He'd counted the pillars wrong.
It wasn't this pillar.
He rushed forward to help Harry up, who looked completely annoyed.
"Uh, sorry, Potter. I may have miscounted the pillars. It should be that one over there."
He quickly helped Harry gather his scattered luggage.
Still, Devro couldn't help but feel it had been the right call to let Harry go first. If it had been him, he would've crashed straight into the stone wall. That might've disfigured him.
After they packed up, Devro led a now very skeptical Harry toward another pillar.
Clearly, Harry didn't trust him anymore.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's this one," Devro said, trying to reassure him. "Look, all those kids from that red-haired family are going this way."
As he said that, the red-haired children ran toward the stone wall, one after another disappearing into it.
Seeing this, Harry's doubts finally eased a bit.
"Oh dear, were you waiting for us? You can go in now," said the plump woman in front of them with a kind smile as the smallest freckled boy vanished into the wall.
She stepped aside, gesturing for them to go ahead.
Devro nodded and smiled politely. "Thank you, Madam. This is our first time going to Hogwarts. We weren't quite sure where to go. Haha, we almost crashed into the wrong pillar just now."
"Almost? I really crashed into it!" Harry chimed in indignantly, still visibly annoyed.
With Mrs. Weasley's encouragement, Harry took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and charged at the correct pillar.
Finally, he passed through it—successfully entering Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Devro thanked Mrs. Weasley and followed after.
As she watched Devro disappear, she frowned slightly and muttered, "Why doesn't that child have any luggage?"
—
"Wow... Is this the wizarding platform?"
Devro felt like he'd just passed through a veil of water—without getting wet.
He had arrived in a completely different space.
Wizards bustled about, many wearing traditional robes, giving Devro the same feeling he'd had in Diagon Alley.
But most people were still in Muggle clothes, since parents coming to send their kids off had to pass through the Muggle station. As per Muggle protection laws, they dressed as close to Muggle fashion as possible.
Devro looked around, wanting to find Harry.
But more importantly, he focused his mind—and started frantically loading entries from the passersby.
[Ding!]
[Wizarding Mystery Realm discovered, triggering the exploration function!]
[Current Wizarding Mystery Realm: London Wizarding Station!]
[Exploration progress: 1.1%]
Devro froze.
He hadn't expected this train station to count as a Wizarding Mystery Realm!
Then again, it made sense—it had been picking up Hogwarts students for over two centuries. After the Industrial Revolution, its magical history had grown long.
Thinking about this, Devro grew excited.
This place was different from Diagon Alley. It was vast, open, and didn't have something like Knockturn Alley limiting his exploration.
In other words—he might be able to max out his exploration progress right here and now!
He looked around the platform. It was bustling.
Parents helped their kids with luggage.
Students chatted excitedly about the upcoming school year.
Some carried owls, some cats, and some—even toads, just like Devro.
That one must be Neville. Probably had good entries on him.
But Devro didn't care right now.
He'd have plenty of time at Hogwarts to farm entries.
In the distance, the huge red Hogwarts Express train spewed white steam into the air, waiting patiently.
Devro, still carrying no luggage, suddenly took off running.
He sprinted from one end of the platform to the other.
Eyes locked on his system panel.
He watched his exploration progress jump.
0%… 1%… 5%… 15%…
30%!
[Ding!]
[Spell Proficiency Card has been issued!]
Still running—
60%!
[Ding!]
[Entry Upgrade Card has been issued!]
Almost there—
100%!
[Ding!]
[Gained the Wisdom of the Sage!]
Rumble!
Devro suddenly trembled as he stood at the edge of the platform.
A torrent of knowledge surged into his mind.
It intertwined and merged together, overwhelming him.
Even as a magical genius, Devro struggled to bear it all.
If it had been an ordinary eleven-year-old wizard, their brain might've melted from the overload.
Clutching his head, Devro took several moments to absorb and stabilize the influx of information.
Eventually, he straightened up.
He opened his system panel.
A brand new item had appeared:
[Possessing the Wisdom of the Sage: The Meditation Method of Venerable Buddhaghosa!]
[The Meditation Method of Venerable Buddhaghosa: Through continuous practice, one can increase both the intensity and recovery rate of magical power. More importantly, this ancient meditative technique deepens the bond between mind and magic. It grants calmness and strength during times of hardship or challenge.]
Devro's eyes sparkled.
This was no ordinary reward—it was a foundational technique. Something beyond simple stat boosts.
With this meditation method, his magical potential could increase drastically.
What excited him most was the phrase "inner peace and strength."
That kind of advantage could make a difference in critical moments—especially at Hogwarts, where challenges awaited.
As the Hogwarts Express whistled in the background and students began boarding, Devro took a deep breath.
This was only the beginning.
And he was ready.
—End of Chapter 12—