The scene before him was blurry.
It was as if the future could no longer be predicted by Ian.
As if fate itself had arranged all this, sending him on his magical journey a semester earlier than the trio, so many things seemed to have quietly shifted beneath the surface.
They were destined to stir up unpredictable butterfly effects.
But—
"It's not necessarily a bad thing."
Ian lifted his hand and gently wiped the train window.
The hazy scene outside grew a little clearer beneath his touch. As the train approached the platform in London, he began to gather his things with the twins, heading toward the door.
"Don't you want to come visit our house?"
George and Fred spotted their parents waiting for them.
They turned around and invited Ian along.
"There will be another chance."
Ian waved goodbye.
As the twins walked toward the Weasley couple, he shoved the reluctant Black Phoenix into the small suitcase and, trailing his luggage, strode toward the wall leading to the Muggle Train Station.
One step through,
And the world changed completely.
In the bustling Muggle train station, it was jammed with ordinary people waiting for trains, none of whom noticed Ian's arrival or anything unusual about the station.
"See you next term."
Ian glanced back at the stone wall leading to the world of Magic and wonder, left the train station, and walked over to an eighteen-year-old battered car waiting for him.
An elderly woman with snowy white hair was scanning around in front of the car.
"Long time no see, dear Professor Yelena." Ian stepped forward to give the orphanage director a hug, suddenly flooded by a sense of familiar warmth he hadn't known for a long time.
"You've certainly grown taller, little one."
Director Yelena helped Ian put his luggage into the trunk.
"The food at school is pretty good."
Ian grinned as he stuffed a big bag of small cakes into her hands.
"And you even brought gifts for the other little ones, ha ha." Yelena, delighted, set the cakes carefully on the front passenger seat.
"That's your gift. I got something for everyone else too." Ian remembered the orphanage director loved cake, though she seldom had the chance to eat it. There were kind donations sometimes, but the frail old lady would rather save whatever she could for the children.
"And what about your school's professor? Didn't he say he'd bring you back to London?" Director Yelena ruffled Ian's hair, voicing her dissatisfaction toward the Hogwarts Genius Youth Academy.
"He left as soon as he saw you were here. He has other students to escort as well." Ian chose a small lie so Lady Yelena wouldn't worry unnecessarily.
"Even now I can hardly believe it—our little Ian actually got into a good school. The rich kids at school didn't pick on you, did they?"
Lady Yelena gently pushed Ian into the car's back seat.
She circled to the driver's side and started the car.
"My classmates are all easy to get along with. There's no bullying at Hogwarts—at least, I haven't seen any." Ian blinked, sounding relaxed and bright.
"That's good! Means your school must be managed very strictly."
Yelena sighed in relief, content.
The battered old car rumbled down the road, heading home under her control.
"You don't have to worry about my studies. Right now I just want to know—did my younger brothers and sisters miss me?" Ian let thoughts of the Magic World slip away for now. Whatever the future held, what was meant to happen had already happened—good or bad.
Life must always go on.