"Oh, that's wonderful!" Molly clasped her hands together, thanking Sullivan gratefully.
Sullivan stepped behind Ron and Harry, placing a hand on each boy's shoulder. He looked at Harry and said, "I'm a Hogwarts professor too. On the count of three, you guys just push the trolley straight ahead. No hesitating, no doubting—got it?"
Both Harry and Ron nodded. "Got it, Professor."
"One, two, three!" On three, Sullivan pushed hard, sending the boys rushing toward the solid-looking wall.
As the trolleys hit the barrier, both kids squeezed their eyes shut in fear. Then they felt like they'd crashed into a stretchy membrane.
Half a second later, it gave way, and they passed right through. When they opened their eyes, the scene had completely changed. An old-fashioned steam train stood in front of them, with a sign on the platform reading "Platform 9¾."
Sullivan's hands were still on their shoulders. He gave them a pat and grinned. "See? Told you it was no problem."
"That's amazing, Professor!" Harry said excitedly, taking in the bustling crowd of witches and wizards.
Sullivan pointed at their luggage. "All right, need a hand with that?"
Harry's stuff was pretty heavy for a kid his size, but he didn't want to bother anyone. Politely, he shook his head. "No thanks, Professor. I can manage."
Seeing Harry turn it down, Ron decided to handle his own too. Watching them struggle, Sullivan chuckled, pulled out his wand, and cast, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Instantly, all their luggage floated up and, guided by Sullivan, sailed smoothly onto the train.
"Can I sit with you guys in the same compartment?" Sullivan asked with a smile once everything was stowed.
Harry, still buzzing with excitement, said right away, "Of course, Professor! We'd be honored! Hey, are you teaching us this year?"
"Unfortunately, my Muggle Studies class is only an elective starting in third year," Sullivan replied.
Harry didn't look disappointed—instead, he seemed confused. "Muggle Studies? What's there to study about Muggles?"
This wasn't the first time Sullivan had heard that question. Seeing Ron looking just as curious, he explained, "Don't you think Muggle technology is pretty incredible?"
"Cars that drive themselves, airplanes that fly, televisions that let you see people and events from thousands of miles away, bombs that explode... Top-level tech is basically indistinguishable from magic."
Harry had grown up in the Muggle world, so he'd never really thought those things were special. But now that Sullivan pointed it out, he realized just how many amazing inventions Muggles had come up with.
Sullivan dropped the Muggle topic and shifted gears. "No need to be so formal with me. Tell me about yourselves."
With no parents around, Ron loosened up a lot and started chatting about his family, his brothers, and some fun stories.
Harry opened up too. As he began sharing, Sullivan noticed the progress bar for Main Quest 2 inching forward—slowly, though. After half an hour of talking, it was only at about 10%.
Just then, the snack trolley lady came by and slid open the compartment door. "Anything from the cart, dears?"
As the adult, Sullivan wasn't about to let the kids pay. He pulled out a Galleon and said, "A bit of everything, please—and a copy of the Daily Prophet for me."
She piled a huge assortment of sweets on the table. Sullivan grabbed a pack of Chocolate Frogs, opened it just as one leaped into the air, and snapped it up in one bite.
"Wow, cool!" Harry clapped, impressed.
Sullivan tossed a pack to each boy. "Your turn—give it a try!"
Harry mimicked him, tearing open the wrapper. The frog shot out, and he lunged like a tiger pouncing on prey.
But this frog was strong—it dodged Harry's bite and headed straight for the window. Quick as a flash, Coalball—Sullivan's cat—leaped from his lap and swatted it right back with one paw.
The boys were happily munching away when Sullivan picked up the Daily Prophet to check the news. The front-page headline was still about the Gringotts break-in.
Harry noticed the paper and spotted the interviewed goblin in the photo. It reminded him of his trip there with Hagrid. "Oh wow, that morning I went to Gringotts with Hagrid too. He took something out of a vault. Guess even Gringotts isn't totally safe."
Ron shot back, "Harry, Gringotts is super safe. Look—the article says nothing was actually stolen from the vault."
Listening to them, Sullivan drifted into memories. It had been over thirty years since he'd crossed over, and while he remembered the broad strokes of the Harry Potter story, a lot of details were fuzzy. This jogged his memory, though—it had something to do with the legendary Philosopher's Stone.
As the two debated, the compartment door slid open again. "Has anyone seen a toad? Oh! Professor Sullivan ! What are you doing here?"
It was Hermione Granger, her bushy hair as wild as ever. Back in August, she'd sent Sullivan several letters asking about little issues she'd run into while teaching herself magic.
He'd answered each one in detail. Seeing him now, she was clearly thrilled.
"Hermione, remember—I'm a professor. Of course I'm heading to the school!" Sullivan said with a laugh.
"I thought you'd take some other way there. Wow, is this your cat? She's gorgeous—can I pet her?"
Hermione had spotted Coalball right away. She loved cats, but she'd spent all her Galleons this year and couldn't afford an extra pet.
"Her name's Coalball. If you want to pet her, you'll have to ask her yourself," Sullivan said—he couldn't speak for the cat.
"Coalball? What kind of name is that for a girl? Professor, you really phoned it in on the naming!"
As she spoke, Hermione leaned in, cooing softly, "Pretty kitty, can I give you a little pet?"
Coalball rolled her eyes in a very human way, then burrowed deeper into Sullivan's lap—a clear no.
Hermione looked a bit let down. She straightened up, pointed behind her at a boy, and repeated her question. "Professor, have you seen a toad? Neville Longbottom lost his."
"Sorry, we haven't," Sullivan said with a shrug.
A gust of wind from the window blew Harry's hair aside, revealing the lightning scar on his forehead. Hermione's eyes went wide. "It's really you? You're Harry Potter?"
Harry was used to this by now. He smiled and said, "I guess that's me."
Hermione launched into a torrent of words. "I know all about you—of course. I bought a few extra reference books: Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. You're in all of them."
"In them?" Harry looked baffled.
"Goodness, you don't even know? If it were me, I'd track down every single book that mentioned me."
"Any idea which House you'll be in? I've been asking around—I hope it's Gryffindor. Everyone says that's the best. I hear Dumbledore himself was in Gryffindor. Though Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Hey, Professor Sullivan , which House were you in?"
Sullivan, who'd been enjoying the show, got pulled in unexpectedly. "Me? Ravenclaw."
"Ha! I knew it—a knowledgeable wizard like you had to be a Ravenclaw. Anyway, I need to help Neville find his toad. You two should probably change into your robes soon—we'll be there before long." With that, Hermione dragged Neville off.
As soon as she left, Ron groaned. "Blimey, what a bossy girl. She's just like my mum. I really hope I don't end up in the same House as her."