"The Hogwarts Express is coming to pick you up for school?"
Could that be right? Usually, students went to the station to catch the train. What did it mean for the train to come to you?
Then there was that pitch-black envelope, radiating a chilling, sinister aura...
Mrs. Marlow was certain that at the time, no one had heard or seen an owl arrive. The letter had simply appeared out of thin air on their dining table! It was as if it were whispering: No matter where you hide, it's useless~
The terms offered in the letter were unprecedentedly generous. Yet, they triggered an instinctive shiver, as if a gingerbread house meant for devouring children stood just down the path.
The ticking of the wall clock echoed through the deathly silent living room.
Tick, tack. Tick, tack.
Mrs. Marlow clamped her hand over her son's mouth, her eyes bloodshot and her entire body trembling. She couldn't make a sound... she absolutely could not make a sound! She would never let her precious son be taken away to such a wicked school!
"Don't worry, don't let that madman scare you," her husband whispered, his voice laced with forced confidence. "I've placed several layers of protection around our house."
"Salvio Hexia, Protego Totalum, Cave Inimicum... we won't be found!" He squeezed her shoulder. "Besides, there are the Aurors! How could they possibly let that lunatic run wild?"
"I suppose you're right..." Mrs. Marlow replied, but a nagging sense of dread pooled in her stomach. It felt as though something beyond their imagination was about to descend upon them.
...Anyway, what did the letter mean by saying the "train" would come for him?
At that moment, her young son suddenly tugged at her sleeve. "Mommy, I hear a rumbling sound!"
"Shh!" Mrs. Marlow hissed, her voice a sharp, terrified whisper. "Be quiet! Do you really want to be taken away?"
"But... but," the boy whimpered, his lip trembling. "There really is a rumbling sound..."
"What sound? I don't hear any—"
Mrs. Marlow froze. Her pupils dilated, and her entire body turned to stone. Because this time, she heard it too—that heavy, rhythmic thrum-thrum, thrum-thrum.
It was coming from outside. At first, it was a faint vibration, but it grew louder by the second! By the end, it sounded as if ten teams of horses were galloping directly toward them. The furniture and dishes in the living room began to clatter and dance!
"Merlin's beard! We're on the second floor!" the husband cried out. He stared at the swaying curtains, his eyes wide with disbelief.
This was the second floor of a residential district. How could there be the sound of a steam engine?
The next second—
WHOOOOOOOO!
With a deafening blast of a steam whistle, the curtains were blown inward! A gale swept through the room, and blinding golden light pierced the darkness like a volley of brilliant arrows. The Marlow family was forced to shield their eyes.
"Merlin! What is happening?!" Mr. Marlow screamed, squinting against the wind.
What he saw made him freeze in his tracks. A "steel beast" had appeared, occupying the entire span of their windows. Unlike the traditional scarlet engines, this train looked like it had been driven straight out of hell. Its surface was obsidian black.
Upon closer inspection, the exterior wasn't smooth. It looked as though it had been constructed from countless skeletons, covered in fine, jagged grooves and bone-like textures.
Hiss—
Clouds of white steam billowed out, shroud-like, around the carriage. This was a train—hovering in mid-air!
[Name: The Hell Express]
[Rank: Tier 4 · Blue (Rare)]
[Type: Enchanted Sculpture]
[Description: "Welcome aboard the Hell Express. No matter where you are, we will find you... Excuse me, passenger, your suitcase is leaking blood. Do you need a hand?"]
[Effect: A Tier 4 artwork fused with the extraordinary material 'Black Bone.' Under the influence of Apparition and 'Point Me' enchantments, it can ignore all spatial constraints and protective barriers to appear beside its passengers and transport them to their destination.]
"Am I dreaming..."
Mr. Marlow stared slack-jawed at the monolithic entity hovering outside his window. He could feel his protective barriers—the spells he had been so proud of—shattering like wet tissue paper.
The train had actually come to pick them up!
K-chunk.
The Marlows jumped as the sound of a door opening echoed. The very wall of their house, positioned at the front of the train, began to slide open. It merged eerily with the interior of the train, emitting a bright, crimson glow.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A figure stepped down onto a red carpet that extended into their home. The figure stood on their living room floor, raising a hand clad in a white glove to adjust a crisp, dark red uniform. Its eyes, carved into a wooden face, stared at them without emotion.
Its mouth clicked open and shut as it spoke in a flat, monotone voice:
[Welcome to the Hogwarts Express. I am Attendant No. 444. It is a pleasure to serve you.]
In the midst of a terrifying silence, the puppet's head snapped around, its gaze landing on the youngest son, Joel, who was looking on with a mix of curiosity and excitement.
[New Student Joel Marlow, please board the train.]
The moment the words left its mouth, a pitch-black hole appeared beneath Joel! He plummeted into it instantly, vanishing before he could even let out a cry.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
[New Student Joel Marlow has been confirmed as boarded,] the puppet attendant stated flatly.
"...No! No!" Mrs. Marlow shrieked. She lunged forward, wand raised, sprinting toward the puppet. "Give me back my son! You monster!!"
Bang!
Her spell hit a barrier, erupting in a cloud of thick smoke. From behind the shimmering, soap-bubble-like shield, the puppet remained expressionless.
[I shall now relay a message from my master, Ethan Vincent:]
["Parents, please rest assured. At Hogwarts, your children will receive an education and protection far exceeding anything previously offered. They are perfectly safe—"]
"Liar! You monster!" Mrs. Marlow's eyes were bloodshot. She gasped for air as she screamed, "Hell-bound liar! Give him back! Give me back my son—"
Before she could finish, the normally expressionless puppet suddenly split its face into a wide, jagged grin. A surge of pure malice erupted from it like a physical hand, seizing Mrs. Marlow and cutting the words from her throat.
[The following is the second half of my master's message:]
The puppet stared at the terrified couple, its eyes gleaming with a cold, playful light.
["If you still want your child back, come to Hogwarts and fetch him... you had better hurry, though."]
["Before I finish my largest puppet gallery to date~"]
[Message concluded.]
Faced with the Marlows' hollow, fear-stricken stares, the puppet gave an elegant bow. It turned and clattered back into the train.
The doors slammed shut.
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