章 11: Chapter 11

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September 1st, 1991.

Ethan and his parents arrived early on platform 9¾ to avoid trouble. Although Ethan would have to wait longer, with less people Ethan wouldn't have to deal with too many stares.

Still, a few anxious parents had arrived ahead of time, but thankfully it would seem many of them were muggles accompanying their magical children as they didn't throw second glances at Ethan for the most part. Of course, there were a few magical families who stared, but Ethan ignored them.

Henry, who had been carrying Ethan's luggage, put it down as the family went for a group hug, Miyuki happily jumping from shoulders to shoulders as they did so.

Then, Ethan picked up his luggage, which was much smaller and lighter than the others here. This was because it had been enchanted by his mother.

Normally, expanded suitcases were heavily monitored by the Ministry of Magic, but Helene, as a famous Runemaster, possessed enough authority to legalize it herself.

After the group hug, Helene straightened Ethan's clothes and whispered, "Remember, don't let others influence your mood, okay? If other students or teachers treat you differently… ignore them."

Ethan smiled and said, "Don't worry mom, I'll be fine. If they go overboard, I'll just hex them, or send Miyuki in their room at night…"

Henry ruffled his hair, "I'm sure you will do fine. Learn well, aim for the top, and ignore the jealous ones below."

Ethan nodded, and with a heart full of eagerness, boarded the Hogwarts Express.

The train was nearly empty because of how early they arrived, so Ethan chose one of the compartments at the front of the train.

As he entered, his luggage floated to the rack above him as he sat down, Miyuki laying besides him.

Miyuki, just like Ethan, had grown, and much faster than she was supposed to. She was already too big to rest on Ethan's head, so she now walked beside him, much to her chagrin.

For a few years now too she had three tails, and seemed to not be too far from her fourth one. If she aged normally, she shouldn't even have her third tail yet, but for some reason she was growing faster than she was supposed to.

Ethan theorized it was because of their joint sessions of meditation and Occlumency, but he had no way of verifying it, so he simply accepted the fact.

Since he had nothing to do, Ethan took a few berries from his luggage and began playing with Miyuki, controlling the berries to make Miyuki run across the wagon.

As the minutes passed though, more and more people arrived and boarded the train. Some passed by Ethan's wagon, and while some did not react when they saw him, most of them reeled back in fear.

So Ethan decided to ignore them as he continued playing with Miyuki. However, at some point, two particular boys with more courage than the others stuck their head in curiously.

Looking over, Ethan spotted two heads covered in red hair, the two boys were a few years older than him, red haired and were twins. Their identity was pretty obvious.

"George, you reckon he would use one of the Unforgivable Curses if we pranked him?" One of the twins asked, and the other replied.

"Don't know Fred, we should ask him."

His attention fully on the twins now, Ethan smiled and said, "I won't. You seem to know who I am, would you care introducing yourselves?"

Fred and George looked at each other, before nodding resolutely as they jumped into the wagon and sat down in front of Ethan.

With a serious face, George presented them, "George and Fred Weasley, pleased to meet you."

Fred quipped in, "Fred and George Weasley, always start with the most important."

George shook his head and turned to his brother, "Why do you think I said George and Fred then?"

"Really? You think this is the time?"

Ethan laughed at their interaction, and said, "I think the polite way to introduce yourself is to start by the other one. This is Miyuki, and I am Ethan. Ethan Grindelwald, and yes, to everyone hiding outside, I am the grandson of Gellert Grindelwald, and no, I am not a serial killer or a psycho."

Rumbling sounds came from outside the wagon as the many students sneakily listening to the conversation ran away in fright, while the twins guffawed, "That was bloody awesome. Say, would you mind if we buy a Polyjuice potion and disguise as you to scare people?"

Ethan nodded, "I would. People are scared plenty of me already, I don't need your help to 'better' my reputation."

However, Ethan could see that neither brother really seemed to mind his words, though he didn't know whether they agreed with him, or were already thinking of where they would get their Polyjuice potion. So he decided to remind himself to be careful of any hair he could leave behind.

On that, the two brothers got up exactly at the same time, and one said, "Well, it was nice meeting you, oh Dark Lord from the deepest depths of infamy, but we'll have to go. If you ever need anything, and it doesn't involve starting a World War, call us."

The two left, but after a second their heads popped back up and they added, "Seriously, don't start a war on us."

Ethan smiled and nodded, and spoke to Miyuki in Japanese, "Funny people, aren't they?"

Miyuki, who could completely understand what they were saying, nodded while laughing herself. Ethan had decided to communicate with Miyuki in Japanese only while outside, both so that people wouldn't eavesdrop on their conversation, and so people would think Miyuki doesn't understand English.

After the twins, Ethan was left alone for a while, he could still hear some people whispering out of the wagon, but there were less people than before, and as the Hogwarts Express was about to leave, they all went back to their wagons.

So as the train started, Ethan was on his own, which wasn't very surprising as he half expected it already.

But life was always full of surprises, as after a couple of minutes, after they had already left the station, he felt Miyuki nudge his leg, and saw she was looking toward the door.

Looking over, he saw a head shyly looking over, it was a girl. She had medium length dark hair, and light green eyes. As Ethan looked over, her face turned red, and she fully revealed herself as she said, "I… The other wagons are full, so can I…"

Ethan, who hardly heard what she was saying, asked, "You want to come in maybe?"

The girl furiously nodded, making Ethan smile as he gestured toward the opposite sit.

Keeping her head down, the girl entered the wagon, and tried to lift her luggage to the rack, but it was obviously too heavy for her spindly arms.

Taking out his wand, Ethan asked, "Need a hand?"

The girl, who had her back to him, replied, "N-no, it's fine. It's a bit too heavy even for the two of us anyway…"

Ethan snorted slightly and with a wave of his wand, the luggage was raised to the rack, while the girl watched gobsmacked.

She turned around, and seeing Ethan's wand, commented, "You can use spells already?!"

Ethan nodded slightly, and said, "I can. My name is Ethan Grindelwald. What about you?"

The girl made no reaction to the name of Grindelwald, confirming to Ethan she was a Muggleborn.

"My name is Sophia Highburn. Nice to meet you."

Then, an awkward silence planned, before Sophia's eyes settled on Miyuki and she asked longingly, "A fox with several tails… You must come a magical family. Is that why you can already use spells?"

Ethan replied, "I do come from a magical family, but rest assured, most First Years arrive in Hogwarts without the ability to throw a single spell. I am the oddball here, not you."

The girl seemed to sigh in relief at his words, so Ethan reassured her, "You shouldn't be so nervous, Hogwarts is a wonderful place to be in. Have you heard about the houses?"

Sophia nodded, and after a couple of seconds said, "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and… Slytherin?"

"Yes. The first thing we will do once in Hogwarts will be our sorting. No matter which house you end up in, you will find out that everyone else will be about as lost as you are."

Sophia was somewhat relieved, but it was obvious she was still nervous, so for the rest of the way Ethan shared with her some of his knowledge about Hogwarts. It wasn't like he had anything else to do either way.