If he weren't escorting a child, he would've already been practicing Apparition by now.
Honestly, taking Hermione to school felt unnecessary to Ian. Kids needed to learn how to handle things themselves. But the "red envelope" Mr. Granger had given him was just too thick.
Which made Ian reluctantly accept, once again proving the universal law of "at first you say no, but eventually you say yes."
"They should still be about ten minutes."
Glancing at the clock hanging in the station, Ian, finding himself idle, began wandering between the different platforms.
"That guy's definitely a doctor."
"Walking with such sass, must be from southern England."
"Huh? A group of little wizards? Oh, on closer look, they're just cosplayers."
While observing the passersby, Ian also took note of the destinations listed at each platform.
Platform 9 led to Aberdeen, Scotland. Platform 10 was bound for Glasgow, Scotland. Based on this arrangent, one could reasonably guess that Hogwarts was located sowhere in the north of the British Isles, probably in the central Scottish highlands, in so desolate, uninhabited area.
Over 600 kiloters away.
The train would run from morning until night.
"Hogwarts Express? More like Hogwarts Slow-press..."
Just as Ian was voicing his sincere disdain for the train's misleading na,
"Grandmother, I think I lost my toad again!"
A panicked voice rang out as an elderly woman and a timid boy entered Ian's line of sight. The older woman looked formidable, while the boy seed rather shy and unsure of himself. Both were wearing wizard robes, looking out of place amid the mundane crowd, yet no one seed to find their attire strange at all.
"Ribbit~"
Ian spotted a toad at his feet.
"If I'm not mistaken, the toad you're looking for is right here." He picked up the toad and waved at the old lady and the clearly destined-to-be Gryffindor sword saint.
"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Trevor, how did you end up over there?!" The sowhat slow-witted boy excitedly hugged his pet and imdiately thanked Ian.
"No need to thank ," Ian replied with a smile.
"Are you a new student at Hogwarts too?" Neville, who was about the sa height as Ian, grew curious when he saw Ian's luggage and asked without hesitation.
"…"
Ian suddenly understood the average Gryffindor emotional intelligence level.
Thankfully, the old lady, Mrs. Longbottom, recognized him.
"Oh heavens, Neville, look who we've run into, it's Ian Prince! He's your senior!" Mrs. Longbottom had clearly heard about Ian and likely seen his photo before.
She looked at Ian before her with great surprise and admiration.
"This is the role model you need to learn from! If you had even one-tenth of Mr. Prince's courage, I wouldn't be nearly as worried about your future." Her voice carried a tone of exasperated affection, clearly indicating how highly she thought of Ian.
"You flatter ," Ian said humbly at once.
"I think your grandson isn't lacking in courage, just in encouragent."
He even spoke up on Neville's behalf, imdiately earning a boatload of goodwill from him.
"Everyone says you're going to be the next Dumbledore. I think they're definitely right."
That was probably the highest praise Neville could co up with.
"I'm just speaking the truth," Ian laughed.
And in fact, he was.
The innocent little boy and his grandmother had no idea that the "courage" Ian spoke of referred only to the fact that Neville actually dared to speak to him like a normal person.
That alone already made him braver than 99% of Slytherin students.
"Would you like to enter the platform with us?" Mrs. Longbottom clearly wanted her grandson to get closer to Ian.
However, Ian checked the ti and politely shook his head.
"Sorry, I'm still waiting for a friend."
Ian's refusal was polite, so Mrs. Longbottom only nodded regretfully and didn't press further. She led Neville toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Look at him then look at you."
Along the way, Mrs. Longbottom continued her ntal PUA of Neville, a clearly disparaging style of education. It was hard to say whether Neville's personality was directly shaped by this grandma who pinned all her hopes on her grandson.
"Oof-!"
With his head down, Neville took the scolding in silence and didn't notice the path ahead. He pushed his trolley right into the corner of a wall, making intimate contact between his forehead and the cart.
Even from a distance, Ian could see a lump swelling on Neville's head.
"As expected of the future Gryffindor Sword Saint! Training his body through all kinds of physical trauma from a young age!"
Ian genuinely didn't know how to react to Neville's clumsiness and misfortunes, so he simply went all in on exaggerated praise.
After another long wait…
Ian finally saw his "escort targets" arrive. He was a bit surprised to see Hermione entering the station alone, without any parents. Apparently, she had even bumped into Harry Potter along the way.
"You two... did you lose your parents or sothing?"
Little wizards always had a way of ruining a warm greeting with sheer bluntness. Hermione had been waving excitedly at Ian just monts ago, but his words instantly wiped the smile off her face.
"I just had my mom and dad drop off at the station entrance and told them to head ho!"
Hermione, looking a bit huffy, pushed her trolley over to Ian.
"H-Hello, Mr. Prince." Harry also nervously greeted Ian.
Very politely.
Extrely politely.
He even bowed a little, like a true craftsman.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter. Just call Ian, then it'll be alright. You have lovely eyes… I think I have a relative who would be very happy to see you at school."
Ian returned the greeting with a smile to the young boy.
"Huh?"
Harry looked overwheld, unsure how to respond.
"I ran into Harry at the station entrance, so I figured he could co with us to school. You wouldn't believe how unreasonable his relatives are!" Hermione pulled out a fat red envelope and handed it to Ian, looking genuinely upset on Harry's behalf.
"Mr. Granger is too generous. This is a lot more than what we agreed on."
Just from weighing it, Ian could accurately estimate the amount of pounds inside.
This skill ca from his high-level alchemy training.
"So, could you help push this ridiculously heavy cart?"
Hermione was clearly struggling with her trolley and tried to enlist help from Ian, who only had two small suitcases.
"Hermione, you need to learn self-reliance." Ian showed no intention of lending a hand.
"But my dad gave you so much money!"
Hermione looked visibly frustrated. She stared at the thick red envelope in Ian's hand with envy, she had never received such a big one in her entire life.
"Mr. Granger simply wants to make sure you're not bullied by other students at Hogwarts, that's all."
Ian shrugged, giving a response that left Hermione feeling even more helpless.
"But he didn't say you had to help , or that you wouldn't bully either, right? Ugh! I told my dad he should've gone and gotten a law degree, but he never listens!"
She truly was a clever little witch.
Ian nodded with satisfaction.
A promising student indeed.
But then…
There was an even more astonishing child.
Ian swore he hadn't even looked directly at Harry Potter yet.
And yet,
"You an... you can pay for protection?"
Harry Potter suddenly pulled up his shirt and took out a heavy pouch of coins, handing it to Ian with hopeful eyes.
His practiced motion was so skilled, it was heartbreaking.
"Wait, there's such a thing!?"
Ian hesitated for a mont, then cautiously reached for the pouch.
In return, he saw Harry visibly relax with a deep sigh of relief. In this cold magical world, he had finally found sothing that felt... familiar.
And this ti, he was no longer the boy with an empty pocket.
"This is amazing!"
Harry Potter.
The Boy-Who-Lived chosen by Voldemort.
At this very mont…
Seed to be walking down a very... strange path.
(End of Chapter)
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