A sharp Hogwarts

Kingsley Shacklebolt didn't chat much with Dalia and the others.

After briefly explaining how to enter the platform, Kingsley continued to patrol the platform.

As the Auror on duty today, his duty is to drive away Muggles or suspicious wizards who may stray into Platform 9?.

Obviously, Dalia and Harry, who are new students at Hogwarts, and the Dursleys, the parents of the new students, do not fall into this category.

"So, who comes first? What is this 9? You have to enter the platform one by one, right?"

Vernon Dursley looked at Kingsley who was gradually walking away, and the muscles in the corner of his mouth twitched.

As he spoke, he patted the cart next to him with his palms, as if he was depressed and irritable as he patted the steering wheel in a traffic jam.

Wizards have penetrated the non-magical world too much. It would be better if it was a fake policeman, but if it was a Scotland Yard policeman with a staff and entry system...

Vernon had even thought about how one day in the future, when Harry and Dalia accidentally set No. 4 Privet Drive on fire, the police and fire brigade who came to put out the fire suddenly took out a cold chef's knife from their arms and pointed it towards them. The scene of the rising fire waving - oh no, that was too scary - and Dalia was too well-behaved to do such a thing.

Mr. Dursley shuddered, came to his senses and glared at Harry viciously.

"You, kid - you go first. Your sister, aunt, I, and I will keep an eye on you from behind."

"But..." Harry looked at the thick wall in front of him, feeling a little scared.

"Don't worry, Harry," Dalia patted him on the shoulder, "Didn't Mr. Shacklebolt just say that?"

"We just need to go straight towards the pillar between the ninth and tenth platforms. Don't stop, don't be afraid, just go straight in. This is important."

"If you are nervous, just run all the way - even if you hit the wall, won't there be a trolley in front as a buffer? You can go first, and I will come to find you later."

Dalia ruffled Harry's hair and pointed to the leather scabbard hanging on the inside of the coat, "Don't forget, I will accompany you to Hogwarts."

"However, I still have something to talk to my dad alone—"

"Oh - okay," said Harry.

Harry turned the car around and stared hard at the wall, which still looked solid.

He began to walk slowly towards the wall, faster and faster, until it turned into a trot, the cart lost control - he closed his eyes and prepared to hit it.

At the same time, Vernon Dursley was staring at Harry intently, not daring to blink for fear of missing something.

However, just as Harry rushed to the wall - suddenly, it disappeared.

Vernon raised his hand and rubbed his eyes vigorously.

He walked over quickly and walked around the wall several times, but there was no sign of Harry anywhere.

The wall was still extremely solid, showing no sign of softening or showing any hidden secret door.

"Okay, mom, dad - it's your turn..."

Dalia clapped her hands gently, and then explained without waiting for her parents to ask.

"I'm a wizard. I can definitely get through, but I'm not sure you can successfully enter Platform 9."

"If you can't pass, then I will take you there with me - if I pass first, it will be bad if you stay here."

"It can pass——"

Penny suddenly said.

Mrs. Dursley glanced at her confused husband and shrugged uncomfortably.

"When Lily was in school, my parents and I would see her off every time. Anyway, in my memory, I just rushed there..."

"Dalia, after you two whisper, come over quickly - I'll wait for you over there."

After she finished speaking, she took the cart from Dalia and walked straight forward, just like Harry just now, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Wait--"

Before Vernon could express his opinion, Petunia disappeared from the platform.

The hand he stretched forward froze in the air, he retracted it helplessly, and turned his head to look at Dalia.

"Okay, sweetie - is there anything you want to talk to Daddy about alone?"

"Well - it's nothing actually."

Dalia said, looking up at the big clock above the arrival train timetable.

It was now ten forty-eight, and in twelve minutes she would be on the train bound for Hogwarts.

But there was one agreement she had not fulfilled, and even though Vernon seemed to have forgotten about it, she had to prove it.

"Did you forget about the bet in the living room? Regarding the future, um, 2 minutes, 1 minute... it should be almost..."

"Well, they're here -"

At this moment, Dalia suddenly pointed behind Vernon.

He turned around in confusion, just in time to see a short, fat woman leading a group of children walking towards this side.

Just as Dalia had "predicted" before, there were four boys with fiery red hair, and a little girl with fiery red hair holding the woman's hand.

What's more, each boy was pushing a suitcase like Dahlia's or Harry's - the tallest boy even had an owl on his suitcase.

"The Weasleys are one of the few wizarding families who do not discriminate against non-magical people. They are very good people."

Dahlia took out the box from Vernon's arms and carefully placed it in her little pink school bag.

"If you have time later, Dad, you can actually get to know them..."

"No. No time - I don't want to deal with those weirdos."

Vernon muttered, shaking his head rapidly.

"But……"

Dalia took a deep look at the noisy Weasley family and whispered meaningfully.

"At some point in the future, they will arrive at No. 4 Privet Drive to protect our family - magic can drive out magic, right?"

"Huh?! Isn't this what you saw-" Vernon Dursley was stunned for half a second.

"Some...distant fragment."

Dalia raised her index finger in front of her lips and shushed, a hint of cunning flashed in her lake-blue eyes.

"Remember to keep it a secret, Dad - and if you don't know how to start, why not try selling a drill?"

"D-Drill?"

Mr. Dursley raised his eyebrows in confusion.

Before he could speak, Dalia grabbed his wrist and walked quickly towards the wall in front.

"Wait a minute, Dalia - slow down, don't rush too fast..."

Vernon looked at the wall getting closer and closer, subconsciously speeding up his pace and rushing forward, past Dalia who was originally holding his wrist.

Although it was all magical, he had seen a lot of strange things these days, and besides, Petunia and Harry had also gone there first.

but……

Vernon Dursley looked at the wall in front of him, took a deep breath, and tensed his muscles in preparation for hitting it.

But nothing happened... they kept running... and the surroundings became noisy.

A dark red steam locomotive was parked next to a platform packed with passengers.

A sign on the train read: Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock.

Vernon looked back and saw that the place where they had just come out was now a wrought iron archway. The sign on the archway read: Platform 9?.

Thick smoke from steam locomotives lingered over the noisy crowd. Cats of various colors walked around people's feet. Owls also chirped harshly in response to the buzzing chatter of the crowd and the noise of hauling heavy luggage. .Mrs. Dursley was pushing an empty trolley, squeezing past wizards and approaching them.

"Oh, I thought you were in some kind of accident! Come on, Dursley, the train is about to leave—"

"Why are you alone? Where is that kid?"

"I put Harry in the car first - we found an empty compartment at the back of the car."

Petunia said quickly, snatching the cart from Mr. Dursley's hand and hurriedly pushing it towards the back of the cart.

"We should come earlier next time. All the good seats in the front are occupied. The rear of the car is a bit bumpy, but at least we don't have to squeeze in with others."

Although she specifically told Harry to help Dalia occupy the remaining space before leaving, she was not sure how long Harry could occupy it.

After all, the train is full of wizards walking around with knives. If he encounters some unreasonable senior students, Harry's small body alone will definitely have no hope.

…………

Dalia and the others squeezed through the crowd and walked straight towards the tail of the train.

Only then did Vernon realize that the train was longer than he thought, almost twenty knots.

Just as my wife said, the first few carriages are now crowded with students. Some of them lean out of the windows to talk to their families, and some of them are playing in their seats.

Through the window glass, Vernon could roughly see the display in each box - very comfortable soft seats with a small table in the middle.

"One, two, three, four...two, four, six, eight——"

Vernon muttered softly as he walked.

Each carriage has a total of eight boxes, and each box can seat four to six people.

A rough calculation shows that there are roughly 800 to [-] students on the Hogwarts Express.

"There are less than 100 people in a grade? There aren't many wizards either-"

Vernon raised his eyebrows. He remembered that Hagrid said that most underage wizards in Britain would go to Hogwarts.

It seems that the competitive pressure in the magic world will indeed be slightly smaller?