Harry crashed to the ground with a pile of strange objects scattered around him, while Adrian was tapping against what appeared to be an ordinary pillar.
This scene looked rather conspicuous and odd in the middle of the train station.
They attracted quite a few stares from passersby. Two men in suits even began pointing at Adrian.
Seeing this, Adrian had no choice but to use a small Obliviate charm, then cast a simple Muggle-Repelling Charm near the pillar.
This way, the Muggles would pay less attention to this area.
Soon, the surrounding pedestrians suddenly lost interest in this spot and hurriedly walked around it.
After studying the blocked passage for a while:
"Hmm... obviously, house-elf magic," Adrian murmured, drawing his wand.
"Finite Incantatem."
However, the spell had no effect.
Adrian frowned, the light at his wand tip gradually dimming as he thoughtfully examined the pillar.
It seemed that house-elf magic was far more troublesome than he had imagined. He needed a more powerful spell with better effects.
But what spell would that be?
The answer was Finite Incantatem Totalum.
The only problem was that this wasn't a spell that could be cast alone.
Under normal circumstances, Finite Incantatem Totalum required many wizards working together.
And Adrian happened to have a solution for that.
Devil's Snare tendrils quietly emerged from the hem of his robes.
Yes, the Devil's Snare that had learned to use wands could help Adrian cast Finite Incantatem Totalum together.
Moreover, the Devil's Snare could use three wands simultaneously.
One plant could be worth three wizards.
"Finite Incantatem Totalum!"
Adrian's quiet incantation rang out.
Harry had expected quite a commotion.
However, the pillar only flickered briefly, and the spell's effect was over.
You wouldn't even notice it unless you looked carefully.
"Alright, Harry," Adrian put away his wand and the Devil's Snare, turning to look at Harry. "You can go through now."
Harry nodded, reorganized his luggage, and rushed toward the pillar with his trolley.
This time, he passed through without any obstruction, and the familiar Platform Nine and Three-Quarters immediately came into view.
However, when he turned around, he found that Adrian hadn't come through.
After waiting in place for several minutes:
"Professor?" Harry asked in confusion.
Meanwhile, in the outside world.
Adrian had intended to follow Harry into the station, but his steps suddenly stopped at the entrance.
"Something's wrong—there's a situation!"
He suddenly sensed an unfamiliar magical fluctuation nearby—countless dueling practices had made him more sensitive to magical energy.
Adrian whipped around to look at the trash bin behind him, where a transparent ripple appeared in the seemingly empty air.
Obviously, this was a trace left by some kind of invisibility magic.
"Found you..." Adrian murmured, quietly walking toward it, his wand already sliding silently into his palm.
If he wasn't mistaken, that figure was most likely Dobby.
This was a reasonable deduction—Dobby had cast magic at the station entrance, which meant it must be somewhere nearby.
Facts proved that Adrian's speculation was correct.
At this moment, ten steps away, the invisible Dobby was trembling all over, its tennis ball-sized eyes reflecting the gradually approaching black-robed figure.
It knew that this perceptive wizard had already noticed it.
So, Dobby immediately chose the most sensible option.
The instant Adrian approached; it disappeared from the spot with a "pop."
It was Apparition.
Adrian immediately frowned. No matter how fast he was, he couldn't match a house-elf's Apparition.
They only needed to snap their fingers to instantly transport themselves to another location, unlike wizards who still had to speak incantations and focus.
Such an enviable talent—house-elf magic was truly naturally gifted.
Trying to find someone who had Apparated was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Perhaps he could research Anti-Apparition spells in the future.
Afterward, Adrian had no choice but to return to the station entrance and go inside.
However, what he didn't know was that after he entered Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, several obvious cracks quietly appeared on that pillar.
A few minutes after the cracks appeared, several red-haired figures also arrived at this location.
In fact, very few Hogwarts professors chose to take the Hogwarts Express to school—Adrian might be an exception.
He enjoyed gazing at the flowing scenery outside the window in a daze.
It helped him feel calm.
This time, he again chose to borrow the frontmost staff compartment.
After the train had been running for a while, two heads poked out from the doorway.
"Professor Westeros!"
Adrian turned to look and saw it was Harry and Hermione, both looking rather hurried.
"What's wrong?" he asked the two students with confusion.
"Have you seen Ron, sir?" Harry said, and then Hermione added, "And the other Weasleys? We've searched the entire train but couldn't find them."
"No," Adrian shook his head.
He had done a preliminary scan of the people on the platform earlier and hadn't seen any of the Weasley family either.
He had assumed that all the Weasley children had boarded the train.
Now it seemed that some kind of accident had occurred.
"They couldn't have missed the train, could they?" Hermione looked at Adrian. "Do they have any way to get to Hogwarts on time, Professor?"
"I think there shouldn't be a problem," Adrian said. "With Mr. and Mrs. Weasley there, they'll arrive at Hogwarts on time."
There was more than one way to get to Hogwarts besides taking the Hogwarts Express.
Seeing Adrian's completely unconcerned demeanor, Harry and Hermione also felt relieved.
When Harry and Hermione arrived at Hogwarts and entered the Great Hall, they were surprised to discover that Ron, the Weasley twins, and Percy were already sitting at the Gryffindor table.
"How did you get to Hogwarts?" Harry looked at Ron with confusion. "Hermione and I didn't see you on the train."
"Don't even mention it!" Ron sighed heavily.
"Somehow, the entrance to the station was broken," he said. "Dad found Ministry of Magic workers on duty at the station, they contacted Professor Dumbledore, and finally gave us a Portkey to Hogwarts."
Harry nodded stiffly.
Although he wasn't sure how the entrance had broken, he suddenly remembered that Adrian seemed to have cast a spell on that entrance.
"What about Ginny?" Harry shifted the conversation elsewhere.
"Ginny?" Ron glanced at Harry and said, "She was so upset—she had been looking forward to riding the Hogwarts Express. As soon as we arrived at Hogwarts, Hagrid took her away."
As Ron had said, Ginny was brought over by Hagrid shortly after, mixed in with the first-year group.
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