The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 8 The Beginning of the Journey

In a blink of an eye, it was August 0st. Ada had a very fulfilling holiday. Every day, she was either reading or waving her wand to practice spells, working as hard as a bee flying among the flowers. The progress bar and proficiency, which were originally , were greatly improved. There is a reward for every effort.

The bright moon was hanging in the sky, and Ada's room was still lit. She was packing her things. She put her books and tools like the telescope in the same box, but she hadn't packed her clothes yet. Ada took out the clothes in the closet and picked out a few to take to school.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
"Ada. Are you still packing?" The person who came in was Mrs. Mary, the head of the orphanage.

"Yes, ma'am," Ada replied, putting down the clothes in her hands. "I'm going to school soon. I should have packed earlier."

Mrs. Mary was a little worried because the little girl in front of her was going to study and live in a boarding school that she had never heard of. Mrs. Mary looked at the clothes that Ada had picked out on the bed and asked, "Are these the clothes you picked out to take away?"

"Yes, ma'am. Although we wear school uniforms more often at school, it doesn't hurt to have a few extra clothes as backup," said Ada.

Before Ada finished speaking, Lady Mary had already walked to the bedside and started to help her fold clothes. While folding, Lady Mary said, "Ada, take care of yourself when you go out. When the weather gets cold, remember to change into thicker clothes to avoid catching a cold. You have had a poor appetite in the past two years and you don't want to eat. Even if there is no one to supervise you over there, you must remember to eat well..."

Looking at the increasingly thin Lady Mary, Ada felt a little sad. "Don't worry, ma'am, I'm grown up now and I can take care of myself. On the contrary, you are much thinner than before." In Ada's memory, Lady Mary was a little plump, but now she has become extremely thin.

The two of them packed their things very quickly, and soon even the boxes were packed. After everything was done, Mrs. Mary took out some money and put it in Ada's hand, saying, "Take this little money and keep it for yourself."

Ada returned the money to Lady Mary and said, "No need. The school has provided me with a scholarship. You don't have to worry." Hogwarts provides food and accommodation, so it doesn't cost much. Ada also exchanged some Galleons herself, which is more than enough.

Mrs. Mary held Ada in her arms and said in a trembling voice, "Poor child, may God bless you!" After that, she left the room, but her slightly twitching shoulders proved that she must have been crying.

The door of the room was not closed. Usually, Lady Mary would close the door. Ada looked at the empty corridor outside the door and whispered, "Hogwarts is under the care of old Merlin. God's words should not count... May... May God bless you, Lady Mary."

September 1st, King's Cross Station, a new journey, a new beginning.

Ada had gotten up early today, and she was going to leave secretly. She didn't like parting, and parting was always a cruel thing. However, Lady Mary got up even earlier than her, so her plan to leave without saying goodbye was dashed.

The two had breakfast together. This time, Mrs. Mary was in a very stable mood. She just kept reminding Ada of something, over and over again, without getting tired of it. These nagging words should have been annoying, but Ada felt very warm.

After breakfast, Ada did not leave the orphanage immediately because Mrs. Mary specially asked a friend, Mr. Cork, to take Ada to the station today, which saved Ada from the embarrassment of dragging two large boxes around.

Ida arrived at the station at almost ten o'clock. Mr. Cork helped Ida put the box on the cart and pushed it into the station before leaving. Ida pushed the cart to the position between the ninth and tenth platforms. There was no platform nine and three-quarters written on the ticket between the two platforms.

Ada had naturally thought of this situation. How could one of the entrances to the magical world appear so clearly in a place where Muggles intersect? Ada did not foolishly run to the Muggle guard to ask where the platform was. She could imagine that if she asked about Platform 9 3/4, the Muggle guard would definitely treat her as a retard.

Ada had seen the entrance to Diagon Alley, which gave her a good hint for finding the entrance to the platform. Since it was called Platform Nine and Three Quarters, it must be between Platforms Nine and Ten!

Leaning on the cart, Ada kept looking at the partition wall between the two platforms. Ada was a little entangled. She was not sure which partition wall she should choose. If she chose the right partition wall at the first try, that would be the best. If not, Ada estimated that she would fall badly.

Just then, a word or two from the bustling crowd reached Ada's ears and caught her attention.

"Mom, there are Muggles here..." The person who spoke should be a little girl.

Ada looked for the source of the sound. It was a little girl with flaming red hair, who was leaning against a short, fat woman, presumably her mother. Beside the fat woman were five boys with the same flaming red hair. They had the same suitcases as Ada, and they also had owls.

This gave too much information. If Ida didn't know they were wizards, she might as well just turn around and go back to the orphanage. Ida pushed the cart and followed the family forward.

"Okay, we're here." The fat woman stopped and pointed at the oldest child in the group and said, "Charlie, you go in front."

The boy named Charlie walked towards a partition between the 9th and 10th platforms. He had a broad face like a good gentleman, a solid body, and looked very strong. Charlie walked to the partition and suddenly disappeared.

"Percy, you're next."

A boy wearing glasses and neatly dressed pushed his cart towards the partition wall.

The platform entrance, that's the platform entrance, Ada thought to herself.

"What are you looking at?" "Are you looking for a platform?"

Two boys with fiery red hair suddenly came to Ada and said to her, "They are twins. They look so much alike that even the positions of their freckles on their faces are very similar."

"Uh, yes. But I just found it." Ada said to the twin brothers.

"So you're a freshman?"

“We are freshmen too.”

The twin brothers said. They seemed to like this way of speaking, one sentence each.

"Mom, there's a new student here."

"Besides, he looks like the kind of good kid you like."

If you only look at Ada's appearance, the twins are absolutely right.

Hearing the twins talking, the woman looked over. "Oh, dear, you are a freshman too. So are Fred and George. They are a little naughty." She pointed at the twins. Beside them were a tall and thin but clumsy-looking boy and the little girl who had just spoken.

"Yes, ma'am, I just saw..."

"Kid, let Fred show you another lesson." The fat woman pointed to one of the twins and said, "Fred, it's your turn."

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy who was being pointed at. "Honestly, ma'am, you said you were our mother, but why didn't you recognize me as George?"

"I'm sorry, George, dear," said the fat woman apologetically.

"Just kidding, I'm Fred." Fred smiled at the fat woman, as if he had succeeded in playing a prank, and then walked towards the partition wall. George urged him to hurry up, and the moment he touched the partition wall, Fred and his cart disappeared.

"Don't worry or be afraid, just walk straight towards the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Don't stop, don't be afraid, just keep going straight in, this is very important. If you are nervous, just jog. Come on, you go first, George will follow you." said the fat woman.

"Thank you, ma'am." Ida thanked the fat woman, nodded at George who was winking at her, and then trotted straight towards the partition wall with the cart.

A crimson steam locomotive stopped at the platform packed with passengers. A sign on the train read: Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. The smoke from the steam locomotive swirled above the chattering crowd, and cats of all colors darted around under people's feet. Amid the buzzing of the crowd and the noise of dragging heavy luggage, owls also hooted harshly, one calling the other.

After passing several carriages, Ada finally found an empty seat and was about to move her suitcase onto the train. However, the suitcase was a bit heavy and Ada had a hard time moving it. She thanked Mrs. Mary again in her heart for today's arrangements.

"Do you need help?" The person who spoke was one of the twin brothers, but it was not known whether it was Fred or George.

"Thank you." Ada was a little tired, and couldn't help but recall the words she heard when she was a child that some people used to describe exhaustion - if it doesn't work, hire someone!
"Fred, come here, hurry up!" Obviously the boy was George.

The twins carried Ada's box up first and placed it in the corner of the box, leaving Ada to watch the twins' box. Then they carried their boxes up and placed them in the box as well.

Because Ada was a girl, they were worried that it might be inconvenient. The two brothers originally planned to find another box, but Ada did not let the twins do so.

The Weasley brothers helped her, and they also had to drag their suitcases to find a seat, which was something Ada couldn't do. So the twin brothers stayed in this box.

"I'm Fred, Fred Weasley." The three of them were already sitting in the box, and one of the twin boys said.

"I'm George," said another boy.

Ada suddenly wanted to add, "I'm Peggy," but fortunately, she resisted the urge and said, "Esmeralda Drizzt, you can call me Ada."

(End of this chapter)