"Is this... Platform 9¾?" Looking at the historically rich (or, to put it less politely, dilapidated) station before him, and watching the steam-belching, vintage-style locomotive, Ye Feng couldn't help exclaiming in wonder.
Just as Ye Feng was marveling, Cho Chang turned back, smiled brightly at Ye Feng, waved, and said, "Xiao Feng, our compartments are separate from you newly enrolled young wizards, so I'll be heading off first. Good luck."
With that, Cho Chang walked toward one of the carriages without looking back. At the very moment she turned away, Ye Feng clearly caught a flash of disappointment in Harry's eyes.
Ye Feng: [?_??]
Seeing the look of disappointment on Harry's face, Ye Feng fell into deep contemplation.
"You know, could this guy already have a crush on Cho Chang? That shouldn't be right, though, he's only eleven years old. A little rugrat like that wouldn't understand these things. It's probably just the feeling of anxiety when a familiar and reliable adult leaves."
With that thought, Ye Feng said goodbye to Harry and walked toward the steaming train as well. But just as he lifted his foot to move, someone burst out from the entrance behind them with a whoosh. If they hadn't already stepped forward a few paces, that person would have crashed straight into them.
"Good grief, don't you people look where— cough, cough, well, I suppose you really can't blame them, since they genuinely couldn't see what was ahead when they came through."
"Come to think of it, the setup of this entrance is just a tiny bit unreasonable. Shall I give them a hand?" Musing to himself, Ye Feng's hand instinctively rose, and with a snap of his fingers, he made a sharp *crack* sound.
At that exact moment, Harry saw the light of the illusory brick wall at the entrance flicker once. But the light vanished in an instant, so although Harry felt puzzled, he could only assume he had seen things.
As for Ye Feng, he only came to his senses after using his immortal power to modify the entrance's magic. Finding that the magical effect was precisely what he wanted, he continued walking forward with satisfaction. Seeing Ye Feng move ahead, Harry hurriedly followed.
*Thump.*
They had barely walked ten meters when a muffled thump echoed from behind them. It left Harry, who was trailing behind Ye Feng, slightly puzzled. However, because the sound was a bit faint, Harry just glanced back, saw nothing amiss, and turned around to keep following Ye Feng.
As for Ye Feng walking in the lead, had Harry looked at him then, he would have seen the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.
"This modified magical effect is rather good. It neither causes harm to those trying to enter nor ensures they won't crash into people who are already inside. Perfect."
Meanwhile, back in the railway station outside Platform 9¾, a tall man with fiery red hair lay sprawled flat on the ground.
"Ouch! Who on earth did this? They actually turned the entrance into a solid wall!" Percy, caught completely off-guard and knocked flat on his back, wore an expression full of pain.
Although the collision hadn't caused him any real injury, and that 'wall' had felt somewhat soft, having a pushing trolley slam into one's stomach is enough to make anyone double over in agony. Consequently, Percy Weasley hurt too much to get back up right away.
On the other side, seeing their brother's miserable state, the Weasley twins first froze and then burst into uproarious laughter.
"Brilliant! Why didn't we think of that idea? If someone tries to run in and we suddenly cast a spell to turn this into a wall, the sight of it would definitely be a riot." As he spoke, George Weasley lowered his head slightly to glance at his brother still lying on the floor.
"No, no, no, I've thought of an even better method. We could let someone go in halfway, and right when they're stuck in the middle, we cast a spell to trap them in the wall, and—"
*Slap.*
Before he could finish speaking, Fred took a sharp smack to the back of the head, and at the same time, Mrs. Weasley's voice rang in his ear.
"Still laughing? Hurry up and pull your brother up! If you draw the attention of a bunch of Muggles, we'll be in real trouble."
Hearing their mother's words, the Weasley twins hurriedly stepped forward and hauled their brother to his feet. As he helped Percy up, George reached out to touch the wall.
Originally, George only wanted to confirm whether there really was a wall there, but as his hand went out, he discovered that his hand passed straight through it. In other words, the curse had likely already vanished.
Generally speaking, when a spell is cast, the caster stays nearby. Now that this 'wall' had disappeared, it meant the spellcaster was right across from them.
With that thought, George sprang up and lunged toward the entrance. The next second—
*Thud.*
"Ouch!"
A crisp impact sounded, followed immediately by George's cry of pain.
"Who is playing tricks on us?" Seeing this, Mrs. Weasley realized something was wrong. The first time, she could have dismissed it as a prank by her son's classmates, but happening over and over again was a bit much. Unable to hold back any longer, she spoke up, pulling her daughter Ginny behind her for protection.
However, after Mrs. Weasley finished speaking, the surroundings remained entirely silent, leaving all five of them wondering if they were simply being overly sensitive or if the culprit had truly left.
"What is... going on here?" Seeing that nothing happened after a long wait, Fred lost his patience. He walked up as well and reached out to touch the nonexistent wall.
Just like George, his hand passed right through the empty space. But benefiting from his brothers' earlier experiences, Fred had grown smarter. Instead of rushing blindly forward like George had done, he pulled his hand back and fiercely swiped at the nonexistent wall.
*Slap.*
A crisp sound rang out. Fred felt as though he had slapped into a slightly runny lump of dough. But that wasn't what shocked him most; what truly astounded him was that the moment his hand stopped hitting the 'dough' and continued forward from momentum, the 'dough' simply vanished again.
Discovering this, Fred's eyes lit up. He excitedly announced his findings to his family, and through further experimentation by the twins, they uncovered the true nature of this 'wall'.
This nonexistent wall did not prevent them from entering Platform 9¾ at all; the only thing it blocked were wizards charging at full speed toward Platform 9¾. In other words, as long as you didn't run in, the magic had no effect on you whatsoever.
"This magic is simply too marvelous! I must find the person who cast it and make them teach us!" Once he figured out what was going on, George grew immensely excited.
Eager as they were to find the spellcaster immediately, they were unwilling to miss the good show about to unfold. So, whenever another classmate bumped into the wall and ended up with a bruised head, the Weasley twins would 'kindly' remind them how one was supposed to enter Platform 9¾.
Meanwhile, watching through his divine sense as the underage wizards stopped running and instead entered Platform 9¾ in an orderly fashion through the passageway, Ye Feng nodded with satisfaction.
"Charging about blindly in crowded places like this is terribly dangerous, especially with so many newly enrolled young wizards around. A collision could easily lead to serious trouble. Ah, I simply can't break the habit of taking joy in helping others. If Dumbledore finds out, he'll surely have to hand me a Good Samaritan award."
Beside him, watching Ye Feng's inexplicable smile, Harry for some reason felt a sudden chill run down his spine.