Chapter 9 "Three and Quarter"

Matthew thought he would go insane trying to figure out the origins of the mysterious book. Thankfully that is not the case; three days later, he is still alive inside his room at Leaky Cauldron.

That book is still where he left it, in the glass box. Once belonged to the innocent toad…

Matthew thought it would be much better to leave the glass box in this room when he departed for Hogwarts.

On 31st August, when Matthew packed his belongings, he purposely left the box containing the book untouched. Only to find out the glass box is empty… he searched for it repeatedly, but the book was nowhere to be found.

He was happy until he saw what lay under the bottom of his suitcase… the book was there…

Several days passed since then, and Matthew couldn't resist the urge to open the book. Matthew keeps convincing himself only a peek won't hurt. Just a bit won't hurt, right?

Fortunately, he could still retain his sense and keep it together. He never touched the book, even though the voice in his head kept getting louder.

Matthew's guts keep telling him if he were to open the book, a disaster would follow. The tragic death of the innocent toad is simply a tiny bit of what it's capable of. With the picture of the toad lying upside down and lifeless burned into Matthew's head, he never dared to touch the book.

...

The following morning, Matthew woke up at 6 o'clock.

He feels excited, curious, nervous, and honestly a little bit scared thinking about Hogwarts.

After getting up from the bed, he put on his robe; although the outside is still very bright, the thick robe was somewhat comfortable. "Do they imbue this robe with magic?" Matthew thought to himself.

Then he sees the letter Miss Penelope left to him before she left.

Inside the envelope is a ticket with this written, "London to Hogwarts, For One Way Travel, Platform 9 ¾, Kings Cross Station, 11:00 AM, 1st September, Hogwarts Railway."

There is nothing else written or anything besides the ticket.

Matthew remembered that Miss Penelope said to wait till Mr. Tom came and guided him to the station, so Matthew just waited in his room quietly.

Ten thirty arrives, and someone knocks on Matthew's door.

Matthew then walked to the door and opened it; behind the door, Mr. Tom had already waited for him with a smile. "Good morning Mr. Wickfield!"

"Good morning, Mr. Tom! Please come on in, sir." Matthew gestured to Mr. Tom to come inside while holding the door.

Tom walked inside and slowly made his way to the fireplace; with a snap of his finger, the fireplace suddenly blazes with a wild dark-green flame.

"We will go to Kings Cross Station with Floo powder, Mr. Wickfield." Tom explained, "Just go into the fireplace and say the Kings Cross Station name; as long as you don't get it wrong, you won't pop up in another fireplace."

He then continues to explain how to use the Floo powder in great detail, describing it. Matthew is actively listening to it.

After confirming it again to Matthew, Mr. Tom took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, "I'll demonstrate it to you." All the while, he snatched Matthew's luggage off him.

Mr. Tom then threw the powder into the flames. With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Mr. Tom. "Kings Cross Station!" He shouted while walking toward the flame, then he vanished.

Matthew took a deep breath, took a pinch of the glittering powder out of the flowerpot, threw it into the flame, and shouted, "Kings Cross Station!"

He felt like he got sucked into a huge washing machine; his whole body was spinning, the noises in his ears were deafening, and the green flames in front of him were dancing beautifully.

He looked around, finally realizing he had arrived.

He is now in a vast hall; the walls are all lined with dark shiny wooden boards, and many fireplaces with emerald flames are embedded in the wooden boards. Occasionally, he could hear a soft pop, indicating a wizard just arrived from the other fireplace.

"Mr. Wickfield! I wish you a pleasant stay at Hogwarts!" Mr. Tom said while handing his luggage back to Matthew.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Tom." Matthew smiled and then bowed slightly.

The owner of Leaky Cauldron smiled back at him and started to line up in front of the fireplace to get back at the bar.

…..

Finally, a black steam locomotive with a crimson stripe arrived, parked on a platform with many passengers. The sign on it says "Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock."

On the side of the platform reads, "Platform 9 ¾."

The smoke from the steam locomotive could be seen filling the air; it was crowded and noisy. All kinds of cats could be seen walking around people's feet, a few toads can be seen jumping around, then there are owls with their unique voices.

The station was not only filled with the chatters of people but it was also filled with the sound of animals and heavy luggage being dragged.

Matthew made it through past the crowd. He remembered everything happening exactly as it was at the station.

Someone called him when he was about to enter the train.

"Hey, hey, hey!" A girl called to him from behind.

Matthew turned around and seemed puzzled; he saw a girl with thick bushy brown hair and front buck teeth resembling a rabbit. She's holding a big cat in her arms while running toward Matthew.

"Hello?" Matthew frowned; he didn't seem to know this girl from his memory.

"You are the thirteenth, right?" She asked curiously.

"Thirteenth?" Matthew asked back before realizing it was his room number back at Leaky Cauldron, "Ah, yes, that's right." He nodded.

"At the Leaky Cauldron Bar, I saw you several times. I always wanted to say hello to you, but unfortunately, I haven't had the chance yet… by the way, I was staying in room eleven. Guess that makes me the eleventh." The girl grinned, showing her two rabbit teeth in front.