King's Cross Station.
The wall between Platforms Nine and Ten was the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, hidden away by magic.
Yawning, Dawn Richter tugged his luggage along, ignoring the crowd of Muggles around him, and walked straight into the wall.
A flash of light and shadow swept past him.
When Dawn looked back, he saw that the scene behind him had turned into a long wrought-iron archway.
He walked forward a few steps and arrived at a spacious platform capped by a domed ceiling.
A deep red, old-fashioned steam locomotive stood waiting there.
A glance at the clock—
It was 10:50.
Only about ten minutes remained before the train's departure.
He had arrived a little later than planned. Only a few parents saying their goodbyes to their children still lingered on the platform. The massive chimney of the engine was puffing out thick white steam, making its final preparations for departure.
Fortunately, he had made it.
Dawn let out a breath of relief and boarded the train.
Most of the compartments near the entrance were already full. Many young wizards of various ages were still running and shouting excitedly in the corridor.
Dawn caught snatches of their conversation: "The Savior," "The lightning scar," "He's in one of the front compartments," and realized they were eager to get a look at Harry Potter.
But Dawn had no interest in joining them. He walked in the opposite direction without hesitation.
Near the rear of the train, he finally found a compartment with fewer people.
"Sorry, the other compartments are too crowded. Mind if I sit here? Thanks," Dawn said politely.
But he didn't seem particularly interested in waiting for an answer. He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and by the time he finished speaking, he was already leaning comfortably against the seatback.
Inside the compartment, two boys sat across from each other, one blond and the other brown-haired.
"Uh, hello..."
Hearing the door open, they had intended to greet him. But seeing Dawn's behavior, whatever words they meant to say were caught in their throats, and the smiles on their faces froze.
Watching Dawn settle in without a care, they exchanged glances in silence. After a long moment, they both understood the same thing—
This guy must have a terrible personality. He would be hard to get along with.
"Uh... hi, my name is Abel Davies, and this is Aemon Carter. We're both first-years... May I ask your name?" the brown-haired boy Abel tried to break the awkward silence.
"Dawn Richter," Dawn replied, rubbing his throbbing head.
Looking at the boys' complicated expressions, he had no energy for pointless chatter. He said bluntly,
"There's no need for us to get to know each other. It's unnecessary. If we're sorted into different houses, we probably won't have much to do with each other anyway, so there's no point."
With that, he closed his eyes.
The boys were stunned once again by his blatant disregard.
Once he recovered from his shock, the blond boy Aemon grew angry.
"Hey! What's with your attitude..."
He opened his mouth to argue, but Abel quickly tugged at his sleeve and pointed at Dawn, who had already shut his eyes.
Aemon was furious.
This damned bleeding-heart idiot! The newcomer was being so arrogant, and he wasn't even allowed to argue back just because the guy wanted to rest?
Aemon glared at Abel, feeling personally insulted.
But faced with Abel's pleading gestures, and knowing what kind of person Dawn was, Aemon could only swallow his anger and fume silently, shooting death glares at the side of Dawn's face.
Abel gave a helpless smile, pulled out a book, and handed it to Aemon, trying to distract him.
When Aemon refused to take it, Abel lowered his voice, whispering words of comfort.
....
The soft, murmuring voices around him felt like a lullaby. Dawn felt his head growing heavier and heavier, his consciousness sinking into a haze.
*Bang!!*
Suddenly, the compartment door was flung open!
Startled, Dawn's eyes snapped open.
"Sorry! Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's toad is missing..." a girl said hurriedly as she stood at the doorway.
When she spotted the cage by the seats, her eyes lit up. "Oh! A toad! Did you catch it on the train?"
"Not sure... but why don't you ask him?" Aemon said, surprised by the girl's sudden entrance but clearly amused. He pointed gleefully at Dawn, who had been jolted awake.
Dawn turned to look at the unexpected visitor.
A head full of thick brown curls, slightly prominent front teeth... with a little grooming, she would probably be quite pretty.
Dawn had a good guess about her identity.
The girl quickly introduced herself, "Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Hermione Granger, a first-year."
Dawn nodded. Thanks to his knowledge of the original story, he wasn't surprised to meet her.
Still, he had no particular interest in the "brains" of the main group right now. His head was pounding worse than ever after his brief sleep.
"I didn't see any other toads on the train. This one is mine—I bought it at Diagon Alley."
"I see. Sorry to bother you."
Hermione looked disappointed and was about to leave.
But then—
Aemon suddenly called out, "Wait! Miss Granger, I don't think you need to worry so much."
Seeing Hermione's confused look, he stood up and explained:
"As far as I know, magical pets form a bond with their owners. Even if they get lost, they will usually find their way back before long."
"Really? Where did you learn that? From a book? Was it in the first-year textbooks? Why didn't I ever read about that?" Hermione's voice grew rapid and anxious.
Aemon hadn't expected such a strong reaction. He faltered slightly before answering,
"Uh... my father told me."
He quickly added, "My father's a great wizard. He knows a lot of things. Some of his articles have even been published in the Daily Prophet!"
"Oh! I know it! The most famous wizarding newspaper in Britain, right? I bought a few copies when I went to Diagon Alley!" Hermione was clearly intrigued.
Aemon seized the opportunity to keep talking with her, trading words back and forth.
His plan was simple—
Since that guy wanted to sleep, Aemon was determined to make sure he couldn't.
Abel was too much of a nice guy to help him make noise deliberately, and making a racket by himself would have seemed too petty.
But now, with Miss Granger here, as long as she stayed and chatted, let's see how that guy managed to sleep! Aemon shot a secret, gleeful glance at Dawn, feeling a satisfying sense of revenge.
........
"Oh! What are you reading? One of the first-year textbooks?"
Suddenly, Hermione spotted the book Abel had pulled out earlier and lit up with excitement.
"Which one is it? Herbology? Charms? Potions?"
"Have you finished reading it? What spells have you learned? Is there anything you need help with?"
"Uh, I mean... if you have any questions, you can ask me! I memorized all the first-year books over the summer!"
"By the way! Since your father's a wizard, did he teach you any advanced spells? Can you show me?"
.......
Hermione's words came faster and faster.
Aemon's face grew stiff. He tried to cut in several times, but couldn't find an opening.
What was happening?
Why did he suddenly feel like he couldn't handle her? When it came to books, this girl seemed to transform completely, becoming forceful and relentless.
Aemon felt like his luck had taken a serious nosedive—
On this joyful first trip to school, aside from Abel, every other person he met turned out to be the kind he found impossible to deal with.
______________________
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