"Alright, little one, hurry inside."
He decided to let Ian through directly.
The young wizard, looking back every few steps, was skeptical that the security personnel was pretending to understand when he really didn't.
"Too bad I have no proof!"
Ian moved through the sparse crowd and headed near the ninth platform. He didn't enter the platform immediately but chose to wait at the entrance.
If not for needing to accompany the child, he would have practiced Apparition long ago.
To be honest.
Taking Hermione to school seemed unnecessary to Ian; children ultimately need more exercise, but the "red envelope" Mr. Granger gave was indeed quite hefty.
This forced the little wizard to experience the "true fragrance" rule again.
"I think we need to wait for them for another ten minutes." Ian glanced at the clock hanging in the train station and, with nothing to do, wandered between the various platforms.
"This person must be a doctor."
"Walking with such a strut, surely an English southern pass."
"Uh, a group of little wizards? Oh, upon closer look, they're from the second dimension." While observing the people, Ian also noted the information between the platforms.
The destination of the ninth platform is Aberdeen, Scotland, while the tenth platform heads to Glasgow, Scotland. Calculating the connections between platforms suggests Hogwarts might be located north of Great Britain, somewhere in the sparsely populated wilds of central Scotland.
A distance of over six hundred kilometers.
The train runs from morning till night.
"Hogwarts Express? More like Hogwarts Slowpoke..." Just as Ian sarcastically commented on the naming of the Hogwarts Express train.
"Grandma, my toad seems to be missing again."
A frantic shout pierced the air as an elderly lady and a meek young boy entered Ian's view. They both wore wizard robes, feeling out of place with those around them, though none found their attire odd.
"Ribbit ribbit~"
Ian noticed a toad sitting by his foot.
"If I'm not mistaken, the toad you're looking for might be right here." He picked up the toad from the ground and waved to the elderly lady and Gryffindor's true Sword Saint.
"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Leif, why did you run off to someone else!" The somewhat awkward boy joyfully hugged his pet and quickly thanked Ian.
"No need for thanks."
Ian smiled back.
"Are you a new student at Hogwarts too?" Seeing Ian's luggage, Neville, about the same height as Ian, curiously asked.
"..."
Ian felt the average emotional intelligence of Gryffindor.
Thankfully, Madam Longbottom had already recognized him.
"Oh my, Neville, look who we've encountered—he's Ian Prince! Your senior!" Perhaps Madam Longbottom had heard of Ian and seen his photo.
She looked quite astonished at the young wizard before her.
"This is the role model you must learn from! If you had just one-tenth the courage of Mr. Prince here, I wouldn't be worried about your future life anymore."
Madam Longbottom's tone was full of exasperated affection.
Her evaluation of Ian was evidently very high.
"You overpraise me."
Ian quickly displayed his humility.
"I think your grandson doesn't lack courage; he only lacks encouragement." He even said something nice for Neville, immediately gaining Neville's heartfelt goodwill.
"Everyone says you'll become the next Dumbledore; I'm sure those people aren't wrong." This was probably the best compliment Neville could think of.
"I'm just speaking the truth."
Ian laughed heartily.
And indeed, it was true.
The simple-minded young boy and his grandmother hadn't realized that the "courage" the cunning young wizard referred to was Neville's ability to interact with him normally.
This courage truly surpassed that of ninety-nine percent of the Slytherin students.
"Would you like to enter the platform with us?" Clearly wanting her child to get closer to Ian, Madam Longbottom glanced at the time and shook his head apologetically.
"Sorry, I'm waiting for friends."
His polite refusal made Madam Longbottom simply nod in regret without saying more, leading Neville towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Look at others, then look at yourself."
Along the way.
Madam Longbottom kept giving Neville mental PUA, evidently engaging in belittling education. It's hard to say if Neville's personality was directly related to the doting grandmother's educational methods.
"Ouch~"
Neville, with his head down enduring the PUA, didn't see the path ahead and bumped the cart into a corner, making intimate contact with the wall.
Even from afar.
Ian could see a small bump swelling on Neville's head.
"No wonder he's the future Gryffindor Sword Saint! Training his body in various forms since childhood!" Ian really didn't know how to comment on Neville's clumsiness and accidents.