Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Nine and Three-Quarters
September 1st, King's Cross Station.
A train conductor tiredly rubbed his forehead.
Every year on this day, he would tirelessly explain over and over again.
"Sorry, but we really don't have a Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!"
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be long after his explanation before the next person would come asking.
And they were always kids!
Not only that, but there were always some strange people appearing in the station.
Whether in behavior or dress, they were different from ordinary people.
Take the man in front of him, for example—a burly fellow with a full beard, inexplicably wearing a floral dress.
It made him want to throw up!
A girl with messy busshy brown hair felt equally speechless. Before encountering the magical world, she always thought such people were doing performance art.
It wasn't until today that she understood these were wizards who had no clue about the Muggle world!
"Wizards have a natural disdain for Muggles, and their inherent arrogance rarely drives them to understand Muggle life."
"It's not surprising to see such issues."
Hermione turned her head in confusion, looking at the gentle voice behind her.
"Hello, my name is Argus Grindelwald, a new student at Hogwarts."
"Hermione Granger!"
Just as he thought!
Argus's eyes smiled even more. "You're a new student at Hogwarts too, right?"
"Yes, yes! But I've been looking for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters for a long time and the train conductor here doesn't know where it is either!"
Hermione looked a bit distressed as she complained to Argus.
"Of course, the train conductor doesn't know. You should ask those who look odd; they are wizards!"
"Yeah! Why didn't I think of that!" Hermione seemed to have an epiphany, her eyes filled with some joy.
"No need for that trouble, follow me. I'll take you in."
Noticing the suitcase in Hermione's hand, Argus, taking advantage of the platform's cover, drew his wand and pointed it at her luggage.
"Reducio!"
The half-person tall suitcase instantly shrank to the size of a matchbox. Argus picked it up from the ground and put it into the astonished Hermione's pocket.
"Hurry up, we're about to be late!"
Finding the third pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten, with Hermione looking bewildered, Argus held her hand and ran straight into it.
It wasn't until she was seated in the compartment that Hermione realized what had happened.
"Did you just use the Shrinking Charm? Is that something we learn in the first year? Why don't I remember it at all?"
"No, I need to go over the first-year books again!"
Bookworm, please stop!
Although Argus was also a bookworm, he wasn't as crazy as Hermione.
If she wasn't careful, she would end up reading all the books again.
No wonder she could consistently maintain the top grades in the original story.
"You don't need to. The Shrinking Charm isn't part of the first-year curriculum; it's introduced in the second half of the second year."
"If you want to learn it, I can teach you."
"Really?" Hermione exclaimed in surprise, quickly covering her mouth, worried about what Argus might think.
Argus didn't mind. He took out his wand and began teaching Hermione how to cast the spell.
Before long, two identical red-haired heads poked in.
"Hey, George, it looks like we've interrupted a pair of lovebirds!"
"No way, who would have thought our dear Ron would leave his poor brothers to find new friends."
The two of them were grinning mischievously, their clothes a bit tattered and showing signs of having been singed by flames.
Argus didn't need to guess to know their identities.
The famous Weasley twins!
"Hermione and I met at the station and were just discussing spells."
"If you haven't found a place, feel free to join us."
Argus opened the compartment door for them, giving Hermione a reassuring smile.
"Oh, Merlin's beard! Are new students this advanced nowadays?"
"When we first started, we hadn't even read our books, and they're already discussing spells!"
Fred pretended to be astonished, then cheerfully sat down across from Argus.
George plopped down next to Fred and pulled out a bunch of parchment from his bag.
"Stop joking, Fred. Let's finish our homework quickly. I was hoping to borrow some from others, but who would have thought Percy would be watching us so closely!"
"If we don't finish, Professor McGonagall will definitely give us trouble."
"It's a shame we didn't finish our experiment. If Ron hadn't tattled, we would've been done!"
Hermione stared blankly at Fred and George, looking as if she was questioning her understanding of the world.
Before entering the compartment, the only wizards Hermione had been in close contact with were Professor McGonagall, who had taken her to Diagon Alley, and Argus.
Both were very elegant individuals!
Although the wizards at the station were a bit... eye-searing, it was because they didn't understand the Muggle world.
So, she had a misconception about the magical world, thinking that everyone here was like Argus.
Knowledgeable, polite, and elegant.
But these two...
"George, did you finish your History of Magic homework? Let me copy it!"
"I think I did, let me find it!"
George's frantic searching made Hermione unable to hold back any longer.
"That's not right! Homework is supposed to be done by yourself!"
"Another Professor McGonagall! If you're sorted into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, you'll see that this kind of thing is too common!"
George wasn't angry at Hermione's words, teasing her indifferently.
After giving Fred the History of Magic homework, he immediately started working on Potions homework.
"Hey, Fred, where does bezor come from again?"
"Who knows? Just fill in something. Who can remember where all these potion ingredients come from!"
"We'll have to do it that way..."
Hermione, sitting nearby with a thick book in her lap, subtly perked up her ears, as if trying to recall if she remembered what they were talking about.
"If I remember correctly, bezor should be extracted from a goat's stomach, and it's very effective for detoxification."
Argus's reply made George's eyes light up.
"Really? Mate, you better not be tricking me. This is stuff we learn in third year, Snape only assigns this early."
"If you're referring to Chapter 3, Section 2 of 'Advanced Potion-Making,' then I shouldn't be wrong."
"Chapter 3, Section 2? Mate, you didn't memorize the whole book, did you? That's a third-year textbook!" George exclaimed in disbelief, dramatically covering his mouth.
Even Hermione, sitting next to Argus, couldn't stay still.
When Argus had explained the second-year curriculum to her earlier, she had already sensed something was off!
Now, he even knew the third-year material inside out!
How could someone who prided herself on being a top student handle this!
"Memorized might be an overstatement, but I should remember most of the content."
"Savior, you are our savior!"
Fred and George looked at Argus as if seeing the light of the world.
Ignoring Hermione's pouting, which could hang a bottle of soy sauce, they squeezed her to one side.
"Help me with this. What are the ingredients for Shrinking Solution?"
"Minced daisy roots, Peeled Shrivelfig, Sliced caterpillars, One rat spleen, A dash of leech juice, A splash of cowbane... "
"And this one, the use of wormwood..."
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