[Lupin: Wizards are not allowed to use magic in front of Muggles. And many Muggle jobs, like accounting and car repairs, I have no idea how they work.]
[Lupin: Moreover, I have to take a few days off every month, which always makes my boss dissatisfied with me. Once a replacement is found, I will be dismissed.]
[Lupin: All in all, everything is getting better now, so those past things don't really matter.]
[Vid: You live in Hogsmeade Village, so when school starts, can't Harry go directly to school?]
[Lupin: Indeed he can. But Ron invited Harry to stay at the Weasley house for a few days, so he'll still take the train when school starts.]
[Lupin: Riding the Hogwarts Express across Britain is a valuable experience for students.]
Seeing Lupin's reply, Vid couldn't help but think: Will Harry be stopped by the brick wall again this time and then fly to school?
...
September 1st arrived quickly.
Vid arrived at King's Cross Station half an hour early, without needing his parents to accompany him anymore; he just boarded the train with his suitcase by himself.
After all, kids go home for Christmas holidays, so throughout the year, the Greys have gotten used to these farewells and are no longer as reluctant as they were the first time.
Vid found a compartment, and before long, Michael, Theo, and Leian arrived too.
While they chatted, Vid kept an eye on the window outside.
From their compartment, they could just see the students running through the brick wall.
It was almost eleven o'clock when the Weasley family appeared one by one.
Percy, Mr. Weasley, the twins, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley…
The smooth rhythm suddenly got interrupted.
"Woo woo———"
The train let out a long whistle, puffed out white steam, and began to slowly move.
A few seconds later, Lupin, holding Harry by the shoulder, along with Ron, emerged through the wall.
"Get on the train quickly!" Lupin shouted loudly, "I'll help you get your luggage to school."
Harry and Ron didn't have time to say much, and started sprinting, chasing after the gradually accelerating train.
The students on the train saying goodbye to their parents all stared in surprise at them.
The Weasley twins stood at a carriage door, stretched out their hands, and with a strong pull, dragged the two onto the train, all four of them tumbling into the carriage.
Leian let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but say, "They should have departed earlier. That was too thrilling."
Michael leaned on Vid's shoulder to look out and said, "No, the whole platform is full of wizards, as if they would let them fall off."
On the platform, Lupin also let out a long sigh of relief, seeing Vid, he smiled and waved at him.
It seemed that despite setting off with the Weasley family, he still made it to the station in time to see Harry off, just like other parents.
This coincidentally avoided the trap set by the house-elf Dobby.
In the original plot, the Malfoy family's house-elf Dobby would seal the brick wall, intending to prevent Harry from going to school and get expelled from Hogwarts.
Fortunately, the simple-minded house-elf didn't understand that as the savior of the British Magic World, not to mention being late, even if Harry skipped a semester, Hogwarts wouldn't expel him.
His actions just burdened the person he intended to protect with unnecessary penalties and exclusions.
...
The train clattered onward, arriving at Hogwarts after dark, followed by the Sorting.
Vid also saw a few familiar names —
Colin Creevey, who was overjoyed to be sorted into Gryffindor, deliberately took a long detour to shake hands with Harry.
The kid enthusiastically, yet timidly, said, "Harry Potter, I... I really admire you... Can we take a picture later? I have a camera."
"Uh..." Harry cast a pleading look at his friends, only to find them watching him with amused expressions, so he had to say, "Alright..."
Last school year, Vid also dragged everyone to take a few photos, some of which now sat on Harry's desk.
Previously, Dudley had many pictures, but Harry had none.
But now he had quite a few pictures... Only the boy's gaze in front of him always made him want to avoid it...
The last person to make him feel this awkward was Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harry glanced towards the teacher's table.
Wearing a shining, water-green robe, Lockhart suddenly turned to look with eyes as if on the back of his head, causing Harry to quickly avert his gaze.
"Great!"
Colin almost jumped up, excitedly saying, "I know so many books mention your name, I know everything about you..."
Harry watched his mouth open and close, hastily pressing him onto the seat next to him.
"Stop talking, we're still sorting! Professor McGonagall is looking this way." Harry said.
Colin turned his head to look and met the severe gaze of the Gryffindor head of house. He shrank back, finally quieting down.
"Luna Lovegood!" Professor McGonagall called.
"Ravenclaw!"
A girl with a wand stuck behind her ear and a dreamy expression walked to the Ravenclaw table, with applause gradually dying down.
Everyone looked at this blonde girl and felt she seemed a bit eccentric.
There was a kind of eccentricity similar to Dumbledore's.
The girl didn't seem to notice anything unusual and said in a dreamy tone, "Nice to meet everyone... Do you read The Quibbler?"
The Ravenclaw prefect shaking her hand looked somewhat awkward: "The Quibbler?"
"Yes, it's a magazine run by my dad." Luna said.
"Oh... Oh, I'll read it if I get a chance." The female prefect asked, "What's it about then?"
"Uh... stuff like Curved-Horned Snoring Beasts and so on."
"Curved-Horned Snoring Beast? I don't think I've read about that magical creature."
"They live in Sweden." Luna said, "When I'm older, I'll go to Sweden to find these magical creatures."
"Oh..." The female prefect's smile became a bit awkward, desperately trying to remember if she'd forgotten any part from a book.
"Don't bother." whispered another prefect to remind her: "It's a made-up creature."
"It's not made up." Luna's ears were sharp, she seriously emphasized, "My dad says they exist."
Both prefects were unable to keep smiling.
Then it was Rolf Scamander.
He was sorted into Hufflepuff but initially ran to the Ravenclaw table.
"Vid, now we're all in the same school! I'll come find you tomorrow to play..."
Before he finished speaking, he was pulled away by the disgruntled Hufflepuff prefect.
"This year's new students are really interesting, aren't they?" Michael smiled at Vid.
"Yeah, they are." Vid nodded, watching the last new student to be sorted.
Ginny Weasley.
She looked in good spirits.