Hogwarts platform.
As Lucien stepped off the train, he heard a familiar booming voice:
"First-years! First-years, over here!"
Hagrid stood holding a lamp, calling out loudly to the new students. He quickly spotted Lucien and strode over.
"Ho ho, another new school year. Time really flies, doesn't it?"
Lucien smiled and nodded.
"Yes, this year might be quite interesting."
"Well then, I hope you have a great time learning. Oh, by the way—aren't Harry and the others with you?"
Hearing Hagrid's question, Lucien suddenly glanced up at the night sky.
"Hmm… they'll be here soon. Very soon."
Busy with gathering the first-years, Hagrid said goodbye and left.
He still had to follow tradition, leading the first-year students along the path once taken by the four founders.
As for the older students, they didn't need to—they could simply take the carriages.
Riding in a Thestral-drawn carriage, Lucien arrived at Hogwarts Castle, which he hadn't seen in two months, and stepped through the familiar main gates.
It had to be said—Hogwarts truly possessed a special kind of magic that gave young witches and wizards a strong sense of belonging.
By the time he reached the Great Hall, there weren't many people yet. A few older students sat in small groups at the long tables.
Lucien walked straight to the Ravenclaw table, preparing to watch this year's Sorting Ceremony.
But when his gaze drifted toward the Gryffindor table, he spotted two people who shouldn't have been there.
Looking more closely… they really shouldn't have been in the Great Hall at this time.
"Harry, Ron—when did you get here?"
Yes, Harry and Ron were already sitting at the table.
Lucien looked down at them. They seemed wrapped in a grayish pallor, utterly exhausted.
Wait—according to how things were supposed to go, shouldn't these two have driven a flying car to school in a very "impressive" fashion?
And they should have arrived late, missing the opening feast. So how had they gotten here so early…?
When I helped Mr. Weasley modify the car, I added a function to make it invisible while flying. I also reinforced it, optimized its magical energy reserves, and set up automatic return navigation.
Logically, that should have let these two have a small adventure while reducing the original risks.
But none of my modifications should have made the car arrive early… right?
Hearing Lucien's voice, Harry and Ron both looked up. Harry looked relatively fine, but Ron wore an expression of complete despair.
Ron muttered:
"Lucien, I'm finished. Can you make me beef stew with potatoes, Mapo tofu, and boiled chicken again? I don't want to leave any regrets in this world…"
Although he didn't understand why Ron was listing dishes as if naming his last meal, Lucien still asked patiently, a hint of curiosity in his voice:
"What did you two go through?"
Harry adjusted his glasses and weakly ran a hand through his hair.
"Let me tell you…"
Time went back a few hours earlier…
Harry and Ron had crammed their luggage and pets into the old Ford Anglia. Harry still spoke with some unease:
"Ron, can you really drive?"
Ron opened the car door and patted his chest.
"Don't worry. Dad and Lucien modified this car during the summer, and I picked up a bit as well. I'm very familiar with it!"
The engine started. As soon as the wheels left the ground, the entire car instantly turned invisible. The surrounding Muggles noticed nothing unusual.
"Hehe, convenient, right? Lucien helped modify the invisibility function—it activates automatically. Dad keeps praising Lucien, saying there aren't many young wizards who understand Muggle car mechanics and are also skilled in magic."
"Thanks to Lucien, Dad said he can make even more improvements."
Ron gripped the steering wheel, guiding the car steadily through the air while chatting casually with Harry.
"But Lucien only stayed at our house for a few days, so all the later modifications were done by my dad."
Seeing Harry clutching the handle on the car door with a tense expression, Ron reassured him:
"Relax! The excellent Conductor will definitely deliver the great Saviour of our Wizarding World, Harry Potter, safely to Hogwarts!"
Hearing Ron's teasing, Harry wanted to point out that in the Muggle world, trains have conductors, but cars only have drivers.
However, Ron was the one holding the steering wheel, so Harry could only offer an awkward smile.
Just like that, the two of them ate toffees, weaving through the clouds and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
"George and Fred will definitely be jealous of us. Just imagine—driving down from the sky, then… tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Ron chewed his sweets, shaking his head as he spoke.
Harry nodded in agreement, at the same time admiring the miniature, beautiful landscape spread out below them.
But after a few hours, both Harry and Ron began to feel increasingly bored.
Even adults would grow tired after driving for several hours, let alone Ron, who was still just a teenager.
Moreover, aside from chatting, they had nothing else to do.
"If only we could get there faster…"
Harry leaned against the window frame, staring blankly at the endless clouds he had already grown tired of.
Hearing his friend's complaint, Ron suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Oh! I've been driving so long I got stupid—how could I forget that!"
Holding the steering wheel with one hand, Ron tapped the dashboard several times with the other.
A complex mechanical panel unfolded, and Ron began sliding and pressing various controls, making Harry a little dizzy just watching.
Soon, a bright red button appeared.
Harry's interest was immediately piqued.
"What's that?"
"Hehe, this is the acceleration device my dad modified—and I even helped!"
Ron looked proud as he pressed the red button.
Immediately, two long flames shot out from the rear of the car.
Both Harry and Ron felt a strong push pressing them back into their seats.
"Oh ho, this is brilliant! We might even get to school early. Ha, we'll give them a surprise later!"
Hearing Ron's excited shout, Harry couldn't help but grin as well, feeling a rush of exhilaration.
Before long, they had left the Hogwarts Express behind, speeding along the railway toward Hogwarts.
It wasn't even dark yet when the flying car entered Hogwarts' grounds.
With the setting sun behind them, Harry could already see the outline of the castle. He reminded Ron:
"We're almost there—shouldn't we turn off the acceleration mode?"
Ron nodded and pressed the button twice.
But the car showed no sign of slowing down.
A sudden unease crept over Harry.
"Ron… why isn't it slowing down?"
"I turned it off, but it seems… it didn't work?"
Ron's voice grew tense as he quickly slammed the brake pedal, but there was still no response.
"We can circle around first…"
However, before he could finish, the car suddenly lost control, swerving wildly through the air!
"Ah—!"
The two boys had never experienced anything like this and screamed.
Moments later, the car crashed straight into a massive tree.
Just as Harry and Ron thought they were about to be smashed to pieces, a faint but solid glow lit up across the car's surface.
Boom!
The thick trunk was torn open, its branches and leaves shaking violently.
Before they could even react, the car, still at full speed after slamming into the tree, lurched forward and hurtled toward one of the castle's towers.
________
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