The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 143 The Magical Hogwarts Express

After Ryan changed into his school uniform as required, he kept thinking about the question he had asked before: What kind of transportation would Hogwarts use to transport students so that they could cross the vast Atlantic Ocean and travel halfway around the world to Castro Brussels in South America. He even discussed this issue with Hermione.

In the discussion, Apparition and Portkey were the first to be considered impossible, because Ryan recalled the style of the two schools during the Triwizard Tournament in the original book, and felt that Hogwarts would not take such a low-profile approach. After all, as a thousand-year-old prestigious school, it is impossible not to show off in such an occasion where you need to show off.

Not to mention that both Apparition and Portkey have their limits, otherwise the Quidditch World Cup spectators in the original book could have arrived at the same time in a short period of time, instead of some people having to arrive weeks in advance.

The second one is considered impossible to be flying carpets, flying brooms and Floo Network, for the same reason as the first one. These things are similar to Muggle motorcycles and trucks. Can you imagine that when a group of Cambridge and Oxford students go to other schools for exchange, professors and students ride motorcycles or sit in the back of a truck?
The schools in the wizarding world were not open to using Muggle transportation. Imagine a group of Hogwarts students taking a plane to Brazil, and Castro Brussels School sending people to pick them up at the airport with a sign. Ryan thought that the scene was too beautiful to watch.

In the end, it was nothing more than thinking that Hogwarts would have its own unique means of transportation, but Ryan really didn't expect that Hogwarts would choose the Hogwarts Express, which seemed to lack sufficient sense of history, as a means of transportation.

The Hogwarts Express stopped at the platform with the sound of steam. Ryan saw Headmaster Dumbledore, Minister of Magic Fudge, four deans of the colleges, several officials of the Ministry of Magic and reporters getting off the train.

Seeing them coming to the platform, the students quickly stood up and lined up on the platform. At this time, Ryan realized that there were only two Gryffindor and two Hufflepuff students on the platform, and the rest were four Ravenclaws and four Slytherins. Sure enough, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were still a little weak in the exam.

Then came Fudge's speech, which was full of nonsense about the importance of communication and the important role of the Ministry of Magic. Ryan almost fell asleep while listening to it.

Finally, Fudge finished his speech. Ryan was shocked and applauded with everyone, while the reporter from the Daily Prophet nearby quickly took pictures of the scene with his camera.

Next was Dumbledore's speech. The headmaster's speech was much shorter than the minister's, and it ended in just a few minutes. Naturally, Ryan gave more sincere applause to the headmaster than to the minister.

After all the speeches were over, it was time for everyone to board the train. This time the school sent Professor Sprout as the leader, and Kettleburn, who just retired this year, as the accompanying professor. Under their leadership, the young wizards boarded the Hogwarts Express with their luggage.

After everyone got on the train from the door of the first carriage, Ryan realized that the decoration inside the train was completely different from usual. The private rooms on the train disappeared, and the train became a small public lounge, decorated with four colors representing the four colleges. There was also a large Hogwarts emblem hanging on the wall.

When everyone just entered the carriage, they heard the dull thump of the door closing. With the sound of a whistle, the train slowly ran on the track. Suddenly, a feeling of overweight came, and several seniors next to him exclaimed. Ryan looked through the window in the direction of their fingers, and was surprised to find that the train had left the track and started to fly into the sky. Come to think of it, there is no railway in London that can go all the way to Castrobruzau, so the Hogwarts Express must have another way to travel. Everyone exclaimed, but they didn't know that the Hogwarts Express would use this method to travel, so they were surprised by the sudden take-off of the train.

As for flying itself, it is not that surprising. Mr. Weasley can make a flying car by himself. It is normal for him to come up with a flying mode as the crystallization of the wisdom of the entire British wizarding world.

A few minutes later, the Hogwarts Express reached the predetermined altitude and began to fly smoothly. At this time, Professor Sprout called everyone back from the window and began to make arrangements.

"Okay, everyone, pay attention." When Professor Sprout saw that everyone had walked into the lounge, he said to the little wizards below: "You can see that there are four doors representing the four colleges at the end of this common room. You go to the corresponding carriage according to your college. The rooms have been arranged, and everyone's bedroom door has your name on it. Before departure, go to your own house to put your luggage, and then gather here."

After listening to Professor Sprout's instructions, Ryan walked to the door representing Gryffindor and turned the brass doorknob with a roaring lion embossed on it.

The door opened, and Ryan was surprised to find that in front of him was the corridor of a train carriage, all decorated in gold and red. After dragging his luggage into the door, he found that on the right was the window glass, through which he could see the people standing on the platform. On the left was a wall panel with red velvet wallpaper, on which there was a row of oil lamps for lighting. Through the glass cover, he could see that there was no flame inside, but some transparent stones emitting white light.

There are two rooms in this carriage belonging to Gryffindor College, one for Ryan and the other for Hermione. Ryan opened the door with his name written on it in a bronze plate and walked into the room. He saw that this dormitory was similar to his own dormitory in Hogwarts, but a little smaller.

Neville's letter mentioned that the Hogwarts Express has two types of carriages, one of which is used for long-distance travel, but it has not been used for decades. However, Ryan found that neither the lounge just now nor the current room had the sense of being run-down after being left there for decades. Instead, it looked like it had just been cleaned yesterday. This should be attributed to the hardworking house elves. At least Ryan felt that the patina on the furniture in the room could only be formed after a long period of careful maintenance.

Obviously, this train is used as the facade of Hogwarts, but it is not as simple as it seems. Whether it is the lounge and dormitory that seem inconsistent with the external space, or the various furnishings in the whole train that give people a sense of harmony, all of them reflect the heritage of a thousand-year-old prestigious school.

When everyone had put away their luggage and rushed to the lounge, they were surprised to find that the coffee table and sofas that had been placed in the lounge were all gone. A long table occupied the center of the lounge, surrounded by a circle of high-backed armchairs, which made the lounge look more like the hall of Hogwarts.

Professor Sprout sat in a chair at the head of the table and said to the little wizards, "Okay, everyone take a seat. We still have a lot of things to do on this journey."

(End of this chapter)