The next morning, Wade was woken by his father an hour before his alarm was set to go off.
"It snowed last night, Wade," Ferdinand said, a chill still clinging to him. He urged, "Hurry up and get ready. We need to leave early today."
Wade sat up in bed, ruffled his messy hair, and pulled open the curtains. Outside, about two inches of snow lay on the windowsill, and the yard was a blanket of white. A ring of footprints circled the car, left by Ferdinand when he cleared the snow that morning.
Wade quickly dressed and went downstairs for breakfast, hearing his parents arguing in the kitchen—
"Listen, dear, it's too cold today. There's no need for all of us to go to the station. I can take Wade by myself—"
"But I want to see Wade off too. He won't be back from school for another six months—"
They talked for a while, but in the end, Ferdinand insisted that Fiona stay home. He usually doted on Fiona, but once he made a decision, no one could sway him.
When they emerged from the kitchen, Wade pretended not to have heard their argument. After breakfast, he asked, "Mom, can you take care of Miss Eva for me first? Once the weather gets better, you can let her fly to Hogwarts herself."
"Of course!" Fiona happily agreed and immediately began planning: "I can make her owl food myself. General Bard's rations are almost gone anyway, and Millie… I think she might need to lose some weight. Her running wheel got chewed up too—"
Millie was Fiona's pet hamster, a shy little thing that usually didn't require much fuss.
Seeing her no longer dwelling on the farewell and instead focusing on the pets, Ferdinand also breathed a sigh of relief. They quickly finished breakfast. Ferdinand picked up Wade's large suitcase and put it in the trunk.
"Goodbye, Mom." Before getting into the car, Wade turned to wave goodbye. Fiona stood at the door, waving vigorously.
The car slowly drove away.
Just as Ferdinand had expected, the snowy roads were slippery, and cars moved very slowly. Even so, there had been a collision; two cars were pulled over to the side of the road, and scattered parts lay on the snow.
The car was quiet. Wade looked out the window when suddenly his eyes blurred, and a gray car seemed to squeeze out of thin air and appear beside them.
"Ah!"
"What's wrong?" Ferdinand looked into the rearview mirror, catching sight of his son's startled expression.
"Nothing... I think I saw a car get rear-ended..."
"Hmm, happens all the time." Ferdinand didn't get distracted, focusing intently on the road ahead to avoid sudden accidents and having to brake too late.
Wade watched as the gray car drove parallel to them for a few minutes before suddenly disappearing from view. When he found it again, it had just barely followed the car in front through the intersection. The next second, the green light turned red.
No one on the street seemed to notice, and Ferdinand didn't even notice the car that seemed to be moving by leaps and bounds.
If an ordinary person could see that, they'd probably think it was a ghost story, wouldn't they? Wade couldn't help but think.
The slowly moving car finally arrived at King's Cross Station, with just over ten minutes until departure. Ferdinand took the suitcase from the car, placed it on a trolley, and pushed it all the way to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Once there, Ferdinand walked slower and slower, finally having to stop.
Wade took his hand.
"Come inside with me, Dad," he said.
Ferdinand gave a wry smile. "I can't, Wade—I'm not a Wizard, I can't—"
"You can," Wade interrupted him, saying, "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters has no magical restrictions; even Muggles can enter. It's just that the Ministry of Magic has cast a spell here, so Muggles usually overlook it."
"So—I—" Ferdinand took a deep breath, staring at the brick wall in front of him with an expression like he was looking at a monster. "I can—enter this platform—"
"You can. Come with me."
Wade took his hand and led him forward. Ferdinand looked nervous, and as they were about to hit the brick wall, he couldn't help but close his eyes—
Nothing happened.
But suddenly, the noise around them increased.
A deep red train stood by the platform, all its carriage doors open. Children in Hogwarts uniforms leaned out of the train windows, bidding farewell to their parents below. The platform was also crowded with people; some children ran hurrying, others embraced their parents reluctantly.
Cats roamed freely on the ground, and Owls in cages turned their heads, looking around. Older students gathered together, already discussing holiday homework, and some students struggled to get out of their mothers' arms, saying, "Don't kiss me like that, Mom—I'm not a little kid anymore—"
"Is your Book of Friends all packed?" a stern-looking old woman asked a child next to her. "Don't lose it, and remember to keep in touch every day."
The somewhat silly-looking child beside her dutifully said, "I know, Grandma."
"Can I have another Book of Friends, Dad?" a girl pleaded, clinging to her father's arm. "I have a lot of friends at school—my sister hasn't started school yet, you can buy her one in a few days—"
"No way—" A clearly younger girl nearby jumped up and shouted, "No way—that's mine—"
Looking around, among the travelers, at least one in every three people was discussing the Book of Friends. Some couldn't wait to pull out paper and start writing, engrossed in "online chatting"; others took out their Book of Friends every now and then to see if there were new messages. To reply promptly, they even clipped a portable pen to their chest pocket or ear.
Ferdinand watched this scene almost obsessively—Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was different from Diagon Alley. This was once the starting point of his magical dreams, yet it had ultimately shut him out. He had often fantasized about the journey he would embark on here as a child, but it wasn't until he was thirty-two that he first stepped onto it.
After a long moment, Ferdinand pulled his gaze away and said in a suppressed, slightly trembling voice, "Let's go, Wade—we'll find you a carriage."
They walked along the platform for a bit and found an empty carriage. Wade put away his suitcase, then got off the train to say goodbye to his father.
"Wade—"
Ferdinand placed his hand on Wade's shoulder, wanting to say something, but couldn't.
Should he tell him to study hard?
—Wade already studied harder than anyone else.
Tell him to build good relationships with others?
—Ferdinand had already said that many times himself.
Tell him... his parents would always be there for him, and he could ask his family for help with any problem?
—But Ferdinand knew perfectly well that he and his wife were completely powerless against wizards. Even if Wade truly asked for their help, what could they do for him besides share in his pain?
After a long moment, Ferdinand's hand tightened slightly. "We're always proud of you, Wade—no matter what challenges you face, don't be afraid, don't hesitate. If you get into trouble, ask your teachers for help right away—okay?"
Wade nodded, looking into his father's eyes, and quietly asked, "Dad, back then—you actually didn't want me to go to Hogwarts, did you? Why didn't you stop me?"
"…I couldn't, Wade." Ferdinand gave a bitter smile. "I really wanted to, but I couldn't—because I once heard that if an underage wizard can't learn to control their magic, a dark force called an Obscurus will form—it destroys them—it destroys everything—"
So, filled with worry, he could only watch his son step into what, in his eyes, was a slaughterhouse, like a reaper of death…
Unable to stop him.
Couldn't stop him.
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