The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 217 What to do if you miss the train

The summer vacation ended too quickly. The no-rules boxing match in Diagon Alley seemed like it was just yesterday, but the calendar has already been to the last page of August, and tomorrow I should board the train and return to school.

During this holiday, Ada paid more attention to the three watchers and ignored many people and things happening around her.

For example, Percy's love affair. Percy spent a summer in his room writing letters to the girl he liked. It was unexpected that Percy, a bureaucrat who read "How to Get Power as a Prefect", actually liked a girl.

There is also Ginny's transformation. The 11-year-old girl seemed to have grown up overnight and began to have her own thoughts. She would hide her diary from Ada and no longer pester Ada with questions like before. She also rejected her mother and Ada's offer to help her pack her luggage.

Ada didn't think too much about Ginny's transformation in the second half of the summer vacation. She simply thought that Harry's arrival accelerated the girl's growth.

With her idol by her side, Ginny naturally wanted to become a better person and would no longer behave like a little sister. If she continued like that, and her idol also treated her as a sister, what would she do?
This time, Ada thought she was standing in the stratosphere, but it turned out that she was standing in the basement.

On the last night, Mrs. Weasley prepared a large table of delicious food, and everyone could find their favorite dishes. Do you think Mrs. Weasley, who had been partial to some and others for half of the holiday, would treat everyone equally on the last night? No, Harry liked more food than others.

After the sumptuous dinner, Ada dragged Ron to play wizard chess again, but she couldn't play with Ron until dawn because the twins lowered the brightness in the room because they were going to start a fireworks show.

The fireworks that were set off included the original Filipino fireworks and the small fireworks they developed themselves. The room was filled with sparkling stars, with red and blue stars bouncing between the ceiling and the walls.

The flickering lights gave Ada the illusion of being in a nightclub. It would have been even more like that if there was a lively young man waving his hands and shouting "857, 857".

The next morning, Mrs. Weasley hurriedly woke everyone up, and everyone hurriedly stuffed their belongings into the car.

Nine people, seven large boxes, two owls, a dog and a mouse, this Ford Anglia bore a weight that it should not have borne at its age and mileage.

It was also the first time that Ada understood why people had to wish others good luck when they went out, because after Mr. Weasley drove away from the Burrow, they returned to the Burrow three times after losing some things.

Not only did Mrs. Weasley become irritable, but even Ada could hardly stand it anymore.

When they arrived at King's Cross Station, the Hogwarts Express was about to leave in a quarter of an hour, and the whole family rushed to Platform 9 3/4 at such a speed that sparks were coming out of the wheels of the cart.

Mr. Weasley and Percy rushed into the platform first, followed by Ada and the twins. The moment George passed the platform, Mrs. Weasley rushed to the platform with Ginny.

They boarded the train dangerously, and without even saying goodbye, the train spewed out thick smoke and headed towards the Scottish Highlands.

No one noticed that Harry and Ron, who were the last to come, did not board the train or even appear on the platform.

In a compartment in the last carriage, friends who hadn't seen each other for a summer vacation were greeting each other.

It seemed that many people grew up during this holiday. Angelina and Alia lost the childishness on their faces. Even Lee Jordan became more mature and no longer held up a bag of spiders to ask girls if they liked them.

Growing up is not just about the body. It does not mean that you have grown up when the hair around your mouth grows or your chest starts to swell. You have grown up from the day you understand what responsibility and commitment are.

"You all know that this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is Gilderoy Lockhart," Fred began. "The guy who laughs like an idiot."

Anyone who reads the Daily Prophet knows the news. Others stay away from this position, but Lockhart chooses to face the challenge. I don't know whether he is really ignorant and fearless, or he is confident and fearless.

"It's not as exaggerated as you say, right?" Alia said, "I think he looks okay, and he graduated from Ravenlock."

"Exaggerated?" George pointed at Ada. "After meeting Lockhart in Diagon Alley, Ada almost burned her clothes because her clothes were the same color as Lockhart's."

Angelina and Alia looked at Ada in disbelief. Ada was very polite to all professors except Snape and Quirrell.

Li Jordan is a straight man, so he didn't beat around the bush. He said, "Quirinus Quirrell is also from Ravenclaw. His courses are a disaster, and he was also dealt with by the great devil Ada." "It's different, okay? Quirrell is a special case. Not every professor from Ravenclaw is like this, right?" Alia retorted, "Besides, how many people in the magic world can be as good as our Ada? It's not shameful to lose to Ada."

"I think we should still trust Dumbledore. He must have his reasons for choosing Lockhart." Angelina said fairly, "It's a bit unfair to equate him with Quirrell without even taking a class."

Everyone has a bad impression of Gilderoy Lockhart, mainly because of his appearance, high-profile style of doing things and the list of items. In addition, although he has an outstanding record of fighting in the book, no one outside the book has ever seen him take action, so naturally people are suspicious of him.

In the coming year, the world will know how great Gilderoy Lockhart is. Is he as great as he is in his books, or is he just a liar who can only sell stupid laughs? Everything will be revealed in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Maybe he's planning a new book," Fred said disdainfully. "I've already thought of a title for him: A Year of Teaching the Savior."

Fred's words reminded Ada of herself. She once wanted to write "Under the Eaves with the Savior", but now a year has passed and she hasn't even written a title.

"His writing style is worthy of recognition. Those books are very well written." Ada said. She has read all of Lockhart's books. "I hope he can be worthy of every copper Knut I paid for it, otherwise this matter will never end."

It is normal for literary creation to be a little exaggerated, otherwise where is the selling point? As long as Lockhart is not too bad, everyone can accept it. Quirrell's existence lowered the students' requirements for this course. As long as Lockhart can perform like a normal wizard, he will pass.

Several people were chatting animatedly, but were interrupted by a knock on the door. Hermione opened the door, followed by an anxious Ginny. Ginny took a look inside the car, and her eyes instantly turned red.

"What's wrong?" Fred stood up and asked his sister, "Who bullied you? Was it that brat from the Malfoy family?"

George and Lee Jordan also rolled up their sleeves and stood up, planning to find this young man to discuss the mysteries of the human body.

"Where are Ron and Harry?" Ada asked. The three of them were always inseparable, but now only Hermione came with Ginny. This was obviously a problem.

"Ginny and I searched all the carriages, but we didn't see Harry and Ron." Hermione was also a little anxious. "Even you guys are not here... Ada, what should we do?"

Hermione Granger is only in her second year, and she is not yet the one who turned the entire book into "Hermione and Her Two Useless Men". Not being able to find Harry and Ron made Hermione a little flustered, and she subconsciously asked Ada for help.

After thinking about it carefully, I realized that I didn't see Ron and Harry again after entering the platform. Ada asked, "Fred, George, did you two see Ron and Harry enter the platform?"

"After us is you, and after you is Mom and Ginny..." Fred thought for a moment, "Could it be that the two of them didn't come in?"

Ginny, who had just been coaxed, had tears in her eyes again. The disappearance of her idol and her brother at the same time was too much of a blow. George was about to speak, but now he could only shut up and coax his only sister again.

"Hermione, Ginny, don't worry." Ada comforted the two young girls, "We'll enter the platform and the train will leave soon. Even if Ron and Harry fail to enter the platform successfully, as long as they wait for a while, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley will come out, and then they will naturally find a way to take them to school."

If Ada was Ron or Harry, she would wait there and leave the matter to the elders at home. If Ada herself missed the train, she would Apparate directly to Hogsmeade.

But Ada still has another worry. Dobby, the house-elf, had warned Harry that something terrible would happen at school and hoped that Harry would not return to Hogwarts. Now Ron and Harry did not enter the platform to board the train. Was it really just because they were late? Could the appearance of Dobby, the house-elf, really be regarded as a prank by a naughty child?

Ada drew out her wand and whispered, "Expecto Patronus!"

A ball of silvery, translucent steam came out of the tip of Ada's wand, and the steam gathered into a Chow Chow. This simple-looking, cute Chow Chow circled Ada twice, then rushed out of the window and headed north.

"What's that?" asked Hermione. She had never seen a spell like it before.

"The Patronus Charm," Ada replied. "I told Professor McGonagall about Ron and Harry's failure to board the train on time. She will find a way."

(End of this chapter)