On the evening of August 31, the family gathered in Ethan's room as the Joneses helped check that he had all his belongings.
"Changes of clothes, school uniform, brass balance scale, large pewter cauldron, collapsible telescope…" One of the suitcases contained his clothes and other necessary equipment.
"Very good, all of these are complete." Sofia nodded in satisfaction and zipped up the suitcase.
"The books are all there—all the books on the list are here, but son, are you sure you want to bring all the extra books?" Albert looked at the suitcase, which was much larger than the other and stuffed with books, and was a little worried.
He tried to lift it, but found that his body, not used to heavy work, struggled to raise the suitcase. He used all his strength, but could only hold it for a dozen seconds before he had to put it down.
Ethan tried it too, and indeed, he couldn't lift it at all.
Sofia looked at the father and son with some concern and suggested, "How about we change to two smaller boxes? You can choose a few more books to keep at home?"
Ethan glanced at the box on the ground, then at his father's not-so-robust frame, and finally at his own thin arms and legs, figuring that even two people would have trouble lifting it. He nodded and began to rummage through the books.
Finally, he managed to fill the second box of books, completing the preparations.
Looking at the dozen or so books that had been taken out, he felt a little regretful that he couldn't take them with him.
Sofia couldn't stand it anymore: "Alright, they won't get lost if you leave them at home. If you miss them, you can take them with you when you go home for vacation."
His mother gently kissed his cheek and left his room with his father.
He went to bed early tonight, but he didn't sleep very soundly, as he kept having dreams about Hogwarts.
In his dream world, he was a powerful and influential figure, defeating Voldemort and Grindelwald with his fists and kicks, and even Dumbledore treated him with utmost respect.
"Heh, what a wild dream." He woke up early the next day and, recalling the dream, chuckled to himself.
After breakfast, the family of three was driven by their driver to King's Cross Station.
Although he had lied and said Ethan was going to a city in the north to attend school, the driver was still curious why his employer's son was taking the train instead of driving. However, his good professional ethics and generous salary kept the question to himself.
In the car, because there were outsiders around, Sofia didn't say much, only telling Ethan to take care of himself.
A little after ten o'clock, the three of them were already standing between platforms nine and ten, waiting for Hermione to arrive. They had agreed to meet here at ten-thirty.
At ten-thirty, Hermione and her family arrived, carrying just as much luggage as Ethan.
Pushing the luggage cart, the two observed the possible Platform 9¾ between the two platforms.
Soon, they saw several children of similar age pushing carts and disappearing into the solid-looking barrier.
The two looked at each other and then said goodbye to their parents.
Sofia kissed his cheek, and Albert patted him on the shoulder.
Amid the reluctant gazes of the four adults, he and Hermione each pushed their carts, took a deep breath, and ran straight at the barrier.
The possibility of an impact made him close his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw a gleaming dark-red steam locomotive.
He looked at Hermione behind him, who was equally surprised, and said happily, "We did it, Hermione."
"Yes, that's right!" Hermione smiled happily as well.
He first carried the luggage onto the train, then helped Hermione carry her luggage up as well. The two of them then began looking for seats.
Soon, the two found an empty compartment in the middle of the train.
With Hermione's help, he placed several heavy leather suitcases filled with books on the luggage rack in the corner of the compartment and sat down to rest, panting.
"It seems parents aren't prohibited from entering here. I should have let them come in and see the train to the magic school," Hermione said with a hint of regret.
Ethan thought so too, and he nodded: "There will be another chance. When we come to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters again, we must bring them to see it."
Ever since his parents went to Diagon Alley, they had been incredibly curious about the magical world.
Hermione smiled warmly as she thought of her parents: "My parents are the same, especially my mom who got some beauty potions—she has a very good impression of the wizarding world now."
"Haha." He drew his wand, tapped the small table in front of him lightly, and chanted the spell, "Scourgify!" A film of water covered the table, making the already clean surface sparkle even more.
"You used that spell well! Watch this." Hermione also drew her vine-wood wand and cast the same cleansing spell.
The two exchanged a smile, took out books they hadn't finished reading during their vacation from their backpacks, sat facing each other, closed the compartment door, ignored the noise in the corridor, and began to read and exchange their thoughts.
During the two-month vacation, except for the first month when Ethan stayed in Croydon and did not see Hermione, he often had Pierre-Nico drive to Hermione's house to exchange books and discuss details such as spell-casting techniques.
After a month of spending time together, the two had become very familiar with each other, and Hermione was no longer so easily embarrassed.
This was partly due to the closer and more familiar relationship between the two, and partly because Ethan had become more adept at controlling his abilities over the past two months. Now, on the surface, he was probably just an average-looking guy, and his charm had diminished considerably compared to before.
"Hello, is anyone else here?" A hesitant voice came from the compartment as the door was pushed open.
"No one's here, please come in." Ethan glanced at Hermione, who hadn't noticed anyone, stood up, and enthusiastically helped carry the luggage onto the rack.
"Thank you very much. I am Neville Longbottom, and the woman outside the window is my grandmother." He pointed to the old woman standing outside their compartment.
The old woman on the platform looked at Neville and sighed helplessly.
"Augusta Longbottom—you are all new students at Hogwarts, right?"
"Yes, Mrs. Longbottom, Ethan Jones, and this is Hermione Granger."
"Good boy," the old lady said only, and continued to lecture Neville, who was standing by the window.
Ethan listened for a while; it was mostly just reminders not to forget this or that—very commonplace words.
Before Grandma could finish speaking, Neville cried out in terror, "Grandma, my toad is gone!"
"Oh, Neville." This was the second time she had sighed in those few minutes. "It was right at your feet—I watched it jump."
"Ah!" Neville looked down, searched around his feet, and picked up the toad that had just hopped two steps away.
"Alright, you can chat with these two students. I'm leaving now." Seeing Neville's performance, the old lady didn't want to waste any more words or give unnecessary advice. She nodded to Ethan and Hermione and headed toward the exit.
Neville stood by the window until his grandmother's figure disappeared from sight, then he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, took a few steps back, and plopped down in a seat.
Meeting their gazes, Neville stammered as he explained, "I… I'm a little afraid of Grandma. I always forget things and disappoint her."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and nervously stroked the bumpy toad in his hand.
"It's okay. I sometimes forget things too, but as family, they won't blame you." Ethan felt great sympathy for this sensitive and vulnerable boy.
Throughout the series, he had always had a good impression of the boy who appeared very few times but left a deep impression on him, even though his performance in the movies was a bit clumsy.
Soon, the train was full, and with a whistle, it started moving.
The students on the train stretched out of the windows and waved goodbye to their families who were still on the platform.