章節 8: Chapter 8 - Hogwarts express
September 1, 1991, King's Cross Station, 10:20 AM
Asmodeus stepped out of the taxi grandmother Anna, had arranged for him and headed toward the station entrance.
Upon finding the coveted entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4, he heard a girl's voice shouting,
"Mom, Dad, hurry up, we're going to be late for the train!"
In response, they said, "Take it easy, dear, your dad is carrying the bags, and besides, I can't see Platform 9 and 3/4."
Asmodeus turned around and saw an eleven-year-old curly-haired girl, followed by what seemed to be her parents with two suitcases on a trolley.
He approached and said, "I heard you're looking for Platform 9 and 3/4; it's right here," pointing to the third column from the ninth platform.
The woman, presumably the girl's mother, said, "Oh, thank you. Are you a little wizard too? What year are you in? You look older than our Hermione."
Asmodeus, having understood who this family was, immediately replied, "Yes, I'm also a student at Hogwarts, but like your daughter, I'm a new student. I transferred from another school," as Dumbledore had instructed him to say if asked. Anyway, over the past week, he had read most of the books for the first year.
"Oh, from another school. I didn't know there were other magical schools," said the middle-aged man.
"Yes, there aren't many, but there are about a dozen or so scattered around."
"Alright, let's not block the way. Repeat after me, and you, Mr. and Mrs., hold hands with your daughter if you want to get to the other side."
Saying this, he turned around and ran toward the column. But the expected collision didn't happen. In front of the family's eyes, he passed through the wall and disappeared.
Hermione turned around, looked at her parents, and said, "Let's go," taking their hands and leading them through the passage.
Hermione's parents hadn't expected their daughter to be so determined, and before the collision, they closed their eyes, but feeling no pain, they opened their eyes again, finding themselves feeling as if they had traveled back 50 years. An old red steam train stood at the platform, and conductors were shouting, "Train departing in 30 minutes, everyone who hasn't taken a seat on the train, board now!"
"Wow," sighed the Grangers and headed towards the train. As they approached, they saw Asmodeus already boarding.
Mrs. Granger said, "Dear, look at that boy who helped you. You can go with him."
Hermione also spotted the boy and decided to sit with him in the same compartment. She thought she could ask about magic and compare her knowledge with his.
After finishing loading their luggage onto the train, the Grangers said goodbye to Hermione and waited for the train to depart on a bench at the platform.
Meanwhile, Hermione, with two suitcases on wheels, slowly walked along the aisle of the train, looking for the boy she had met at the station.
In one of the compartments, Hermione finally found Asmodeus.
Opening the compartment, she saw a boy with long black hair falling to his shoulders, leaning on a two-meter staff, and gazing out of the window with his reddish-orange eyes.
"Beautiful," she whispered and entered the compartment.
"Hi, can I sit here? My name is Hermione Granger. You helped me and my family find the entrance," she said.
"Sure, go ahead, it's free,"
Actually, the compartment was designed for four adult wizards, so even if four young wizards sat here, it wouldn't be too crowded.
Seated, Hermione wasn't sure where to start the conversation, so she focused on the enormous staff and asked,
"What is this? It's definitely not a wand. How can a wand be larger than a wizard?"
Asmodeus gave a bitter smile and replied, "Why not? This is a staff. Ollivander doesn't have a wand that could withstand my magic, so I have to use this."
This conversation that ensued continued until the departure of the train.
As the train started moving, Hermione quickly stood up and walked to the window. She saw her parents waving her farewell, and her mom holding back tears.
Hermione never thought she would leave home at 11 for almost an entire year. Her eyes reddened, but out of pride, she also held back the tears.
Waiting for Hermione to calm down, Asmodeus took Athena out of the cage and began petting her. Athena, in turn, purred like a cat, though without wings, she might be mistaken for a large feline.
Hermione, now composed, observed this and couldn't identify the creature. So, she asked, "What kind of animal is this? I haven't seen it in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.'"
Well, she had already finished reading the book....she's called "All-Knowing" for a reason.
"Yes, it's a rare new species, a wyvern. But don't worry, she's completely tamed and won't attack anyone without my consent. Her name is Athena, she's a girl. Be gentle with her," Asmodeus said, handing Athena to Hermione.
Holding the little wyvern, Hermione had already forgotten her concerns about leaving home just ten minutes ago. However, now she was thinking about something else.
"But, Asmodeus, the school only allows cats, owls, or toads as pets. Are you sure there won't be any problems?"
"Don't worry, look at her, apart from the wings and beak, she's just a big cat."
Actually, Asmodeus had informed Dumbledore about Athena three days ago. He mentioned that after returning to the shelter, he went to the forest to practice magic, and this creature attached itself to him. Dumbledore said it was fine as long as she didn't attack students.
"Alright," Hermione said hesitantly. She thought that rules shouldn't be broken, but since Asmodeus stated it so confidently, she believed nothing bad would happen.
Together, they began petting and playing with the poor wyvern. Athena was saved by the fact that they heard a knock on the door and a hesitant voice saying,
"Um, sorry to bother you. My name is Neville Longbottom, and my toad is missing. Have you seen a toad?"
Asmodeus opened the sliding door to the compartment and said,
"Your toad was missing already on the train? Or before that?"
"On the train. I sat with him in the carriage."
"Then don't worry; he'll come back."
"How will he come back?"
"Students are allowed to bring three types of pets because, among non-dangerous species, they can sense magical power well and can find their owner by following that magical trace."
"So go back to your compartment, don't worry, your toad will come back on its own."
"Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know. I always lose Trevor and constantly look for him. Now I know he'll come back on his own."
"Good job," Asmodeus thought to himself as Neville left, and a system notification sounded.
"Ding, congratulations on completing the first achievement - 'Prevent the first encounter of the Golden Triangle.' For completing this achievement, you receive 10 points. You now have a total of 110 points. Carry out tasks to quickly level up the world!"
Asmodeus sighed, "A mosquito is also meat, it worth 10 points, and for the minimal world enhancement, I need 1000 points. If you're so keen on leveling up the world, you better pay me more."
But there was no response from the system.
"Well, whatever," Asmodeus thought, slightly frustrated.
Just as he approached to close the compartment door again, he heard an older student walking through the train shouting, "We're approaching Hogwarts! Change into your robes and be ready to disembark in half an hour!"
In fifteen minutes, both Hermione and Asmodeus had changed into wizarding robes and were ready to disembark.
Asmodeus wore a regular robe, not the one the system had given. Dumbledore had mentioned that for official events, he should wear a black robe.
After a couple of minutes, a group of children stood at the hogsmeade railway station.
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