Time passed quickly. Half a month later, September arrived right on schedule.
Charlie dragged a massive suitcase almost as tall as he was with his right hand while carrying a small leather briefcase in his left. He left the attic where he had lived for the past two years.
By the time he reached King's Cross Station, he was already panting and exhausted.
"Damn it. I really need to get one of those magical briefcases. Assuming I'm not still broke, of course."
Just thinking about the suitcase from Fantastic Beasts—the one that contained an entire world—made his heart burn with envy.
It was basically like carrying your home with you.
For someone like Charlie, who had always drifted through life like a piece of floating duckweed, that would be the ultimate treasure.
The good news was that King's Cross had luggage trolleys.
A kind staff member helped him lift his suitcase onto one, and Charlie finally felt free.
He soon reached the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 and found the wall Dumbledore had mentioned.
Luckily, just as he arrived, he saw an entire family push their cart straight through the wall.
At least he wouldn't have to worry about smashing face-first into solid brick.
Once he confirmed the mysterious platform was real, Charlie didn't hesitate. When no one was looking, he pushed his trolley and ran straight into the barrier.
Whoosh—
It felt like diving into water.
A soft but unstoppable pressure wrapped around his entire body, absorbing all the momentum from his sprint.
Before he could fully process the sensation, the feeling of breaking through the surface came next. Suddenly, the meowing of cats, the hooting of owls, and the shouts of parents all rushed into his ears at once.
Just like his first time entering Diagon Alley, it was an explosion of noise—like stepping into an entirely different world.
A deep-red train sat quietly on the tracks. The platform was packed with people, and cats darted constantly between feet.
Charlie stopped for a moment, taking in the sight of Platform 9¾, and a small smile crossed his face.
Beep-beep-beep—
A sharp ringing sounded above his head. He looked up to see a small bronze cuckoo clock sculpture urgently calling out.
Was it warning him?
He turned around. Behind him was the view of King's Cross Station. While you couldn't see inside from the outside, from here you could clearly see the Muggle platform.
Right now, someone was about to run through from the other side.
The bird was clearly telling him to move.
Pushing his trolley, Charlie walked to the edge of the platform and found an empty carriage entrance away from the crowds.
Following the corridor, he reached the rear of the train and found an unoccupied compartment.
Once inside, he pulled out his wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa—"
So far he had learned three spells: Lumos, the Levitation Charm, and Reparo.
He had secretly used Reparo to fix many of the old, broken things in Granny Martha's attic and house.
Unfortunately, neither the Levitation Charm nor Reparo could be specialized by his system. Whether it was because he didn't have enough Wish Dust or for some other reason, Charlie still didn't know.
He took off his hat and tossed it onto the table. With a soft pop, it transformed back into Alice.
The rabbit twitched her nose curiously, looking around at everything.
Alice was a bold rabbit, endlessly curious and surprisingly clever. Charlie never had to worry about her disappearing like that chubby kid's toad.
He pulled out A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration and half-lay on the seat, slowly reading.
He didn't need to master every single concept in the book right now. That would be too difficult anyway, since he still only had a vague understanding of many magical principles.
Instead, he preferred to treat it like a fascinating encyclopedia of magic—something to enjoy and spark his interest.
Gamp's Five Principles of Transfiguration, important notes on casting, basic concepts… all the important stuff was hidden in the preface. If he had approached it like a normal textbook, he probably never would have read any of it.
Time drifted by slowly. The noise from the platform never seemed to die down—it remained loud and crowded the entire time.
The only thing that changed was the activity in the carriages. At first no one passed by Charlie's section. Now people frequently walked up and down the corridor outside, laughing and messing around.
Some were even snogging.
Hogwarts was an all-ages school. Teenagers returning after summer had found their "darlings," and the rear carriages were the perfect place for a little privacy.
An hour later, Charlie looked up.
He thought he might have misheard, but it sounded like someone had knocked.
Knock knock—
The soft knocking came again.
"Please come in," Charlie said politely.
The compartment door slid open, revealing a round, very red face. The boy carefully scanned the inside before speaking in a quiet voice, "Excuse me… is anyone sitting here? Can I sit with you?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "I should count as someone, right?"
"I—I—"
The boy looked terrified and immediately started to pull the door shut.
"Of course there's someone. But you can still come in."
Seeing the boy's panicked expression, Charlie smiled. "Relax, mate."
The round-faced boy blinked, then stepped inside. Once in, he gave a small bow and introduced himself. "I'm Neville Longbottom."
He set his suitcase down behind the door.
At the same time, something dark and lumpy fell from the top of the case with a wet slap.
It was bigger than an adult's hand. You'd need both arms to pick it up properly.
It had a bumpy back and a yellow belly.
No guessing needed.
"Is that your pet?" Charlie's eyelid twitched.
"Yeah. His name's Leif," Neville said.
"Looks… decent. Yeah, decent. Why does Hogwarts even allow toads? Is there some special connection between wizards and toads?"
If Charlie remembered correctly, Neville came from a wizarding family. Maybe he'd know something.
Unfortunately, Neville shook his head. "I don't know. My gran chose him for me. But I like him anyway."
He lifted Leif onto the table.
Charlie reached out and stroked the toad's back. It didn't feel gross or slimy like he expected—just normal skin.
"Chirp chirp—"
Alice called out twice, staring at Leif with great curiosity.
"Oh, right. This is Alice. She's my mate—a transfiguring rabbit."
The moment Charlie finished speaking—
Bang!
The compartment door was yanked open violently, slamming against the frame and making both Charlie and Alice jump.
"Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" asked a rather bossy voice.
Charlie looked up. A girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth stood in the doorway.
"Looks like it's just the two of you. Can I sit here?" She dragged her trunk inside without actually waiting for an answer.
"If you don't mind," Neville muttered, shrinking back a little as if pushed away by her strong presence.
"Oh, a rabbit and a toad," the girl said, parking her trunk behind the door. "Toads… well, the books say they're quite useful to wizards. But a rabbit? That's against the rules, isn't it!"
Charlie shook his head with an exaggeratedly scared expression. "Please don't report me, friend. I'll get kicked out on my first day. Then I'll be homeless and forced to wander the streets again."