Red Alert
The morning of the day they were supposed to go to King's Cross to catch the Hogwarts Express was not very different from any other.
The boys woke up, packed their things ready to load them into the car, and then had breakfast with their mother while waiting for the knights who would accompany them to the station today.
Who turned out to be Luther and Arthur this time, since it seemed the other knights were quite busy. The problems caused by the Ministry of Magic in the magical world were leading some dark wizards with dangerous objects to try hiding them in the non-magical world, forcing the knights to intervene in order to protect civilians.
The Ministry had probably wanted to prevent exactly that from happening, but they had only made it worse.
Though how could they not?
The Ministry was notoriously incompetent at many things.
Things they had never even realized were problems only because the knights had always been there cleaning up their messes on this side.
And even so, the wizards still dared to fear the knights who were responsible for civilian safety.
It was understandable why the knights did not particularly like wizards or the Ministry, aside from the fact that they were always the source of their problems.
As always, the trip to King's Cross was made in a military vehicle, one that seemed to be constantly watched by the Dursleys.
The Dursleys had tried spreading rumors that the military vehicle came to pick up the brats from the neighboring house and take them to some militarized school because they were a danger to society and all the other nonsense they used in an attempt to make the family look bad in the neighborhood.
The problem was that it was difficult to spread that kind of gossip when most of the people living on the block were literally the same soldiers who drove the children to catch the train.
The only reason the Dursleys had not moved away already was because they couldn't.
If it had been up to them, they would have gone as far away from this place as possible.
"So, are you excited to go back to your magic school?" Arthur asked cheerfully from the passenger seat.
Luther was driving, his eyes fixed on the road.
"A little. Though going back to school after spending a summer vacation fighting monsters and trying to survive feels kind of strange," Harry said.
"Besides the fact that it's a magic school," Percy added.
"Oh, yes. I heard some of the things that happened in America. It must have been crazy. It's a shame I had so much work here and couldn't go," Arthur added, sounding slightly disappointed.
Luther, who had actually been there when Echidna and hundreds of monsters had tried to attack the boys, and who along with his group had given his life to protect them, glanced at his coworker for a moment and felt the urge to hit him.
But he restrained himself since he was still driving.
"What work?" Harry asked with interest.
"Oh, not much. Remember the list of students born to non-magical parents that you gave Dorien and Adrien? They asked me to speak with their parents, offer protection and assistance if needed, and provide some support. After all, learning that a dangerous magical world exists isn't exactly fun for parents," Arthur explained.
"Well, I can't really say much more than that," he added.
Percy looked at his brother for a moment.
"What did you trade that list for?" Percy asked.
"I traded it for your sword, Riptide, which was being kept in the Veil," Harry said casually.
"What? You could do something like that?" Percy said in surprise.
Though now it made sense how Harry had been able to give him Riptide.
"What is the Veil?" Tyson asked.
Harry and Percy did not answer immediately.
Instead, they looked at Luther for a moment as though asking permission.
Luther thought about it briefly before glancing at Sally through the rearview mirror, where she was simply enjoying the conversation.
After all, Sally had helped take care of Tyson on behalf of the knights.
More than anyone, she knew the young Cyclops's personality.
She nodded confidently, as though saying Tyson could be trusted.
"The Veil is a secret place where dangerous magical weapons and objects are hidden away from those who can't control their power. We are responsible for protecting that place. We also recover those objects wherever they appear. Along with a few other things, like dealing with wizards who cause problems for non-magical people. Though we work together with some others on that part," Luther explained, more or less.
"Wow," Tyson said with interest.
As the vehicle continued moving forward, they had plenty of time to talk.
Especially because today there seemed to be a lot of traffic, to the point where it felt like they would never reach the station.
And they had left a little earlier specifically to avoid traffic.
But apparently that had been unavoidable.
Fortunately, they arrived at King's Cross at 11:45.
Perhaps enough time before the Hogwarts Express departed.
The good thing was that they did not have to run around with carts, since Harry and Percy had magical bags containing all their belongings.
And Mor had given one to Tyson as well, since he had been a great help these past few days while she seemed to be creating something.
Even so, they each had a cart with an empty trunk on it for appearances.
Though technically those bags were illegal without the proper registrations.
That only mattered if someone caught you.
Besides, they could simply pull their belongings out quickly if anyone asked and leave everything in plain sight.
Meanwhile, Hedwig had probably already reached Hogwarts on her own, since Harry had let her fly free early that morning so she could stretch her wings a little.
After all, she had spent the entire summer vacation living quite comfortably, being fed and cared for alongside the other owls at Camp Half-Blood, where owls were especially loved because they were associated with Athena.
When they got close to Platform 9, they could see some familiar faces in the distance.
The Weasleys.
Who also seemed to have arrived somewhat late.
"Ron!" Harry shouted when he spotted his friend, who stopped for a moment and looked back to wave at Harry, Percy, and Tyson.
Mrs. Weasley also noticed Sally arriving and greeted her enthusiastically.
"Oh dear, looks like we all arrived late today," Arthur said with an amused smile, greeting Sally and the two knights he didn't know, though he could easily guess who they were.
The Weasley twins seemed to guess as well and were about to approach excitedly, but Mrs. Weasley stopped them.
"Go through first, it's getting late. Percy is already on the other side," she added while glancing at her watch, seeing they only had five minutes left. "We'll have time to talk once we're through," Molly immediately added.
The twins could only let out a small complaint before running toward the wall and passing through it.
"Mum, I'll go with Harry," Ron said immediately.
"Fine. Don't waste time or you'll be left behind," Molly said, nodding and granting permission without hesitation, since there was nothing wrong with it.
They were supposed to go through two at a time.
Mr. Arthur went through with Ginny, while Molly crossed with Sally, who looked back toward Luther and Arthur, since they would be the last ones through in order to make sure the boys crossed properly.
But there was more than enough time, so it wasn't a concern.
As soon as Sally and Molly crossed, Harry and Ron, already standing ready, prepared themselves.
"You two come right behind us," Harry added toward Percy and Tyson.
Though Tyson looked a little nervous, Percy seemed completely confident.
Without saying anything else, Harry and Ron ran toward the wall, pushing their carts fearlessly, since this was far safer than Floo Powder.
Because they had to leave room for Percy and Tyson, both boys ran a little faster to create some distance.
Then, just as they were about to pass through the barrier, Harry felt something.
A strange feeling.
As if something was wrong.
But that feeling came too late.
Because suddenly the solid wall in front of them remained exactly that.
Solid.
It hit them.
Or rather, they hit the wall.
Both carts slammed into the barrier, and the boys were thrown through the air, sending trunks flying everywhere.
Immediately afterward, the two carts following right behind crashed into the overturned carts.
Even more trunks went flying, scattering all over the place.
Meanwhile, Tyson and Percy landed on the ground not far from Ron and Harry.
And they were writhing in pain just like them.
The crash was loud enough to make everyone nearby turn and stare, watching four teenagers sprawled across the floor among luggage and carts.
"Are you alright?" Luther asked as he hurried over, helping them back to their feet.
Meanwhile, Arthur had intercepted an angry security guard who was approaching.
He was talking to him while briefly showing some sort of badge, causing the guard to become slightly nervous and start moving people away from the area.
"I think so," Harry said while holding his aching ribs.
Ron had already gotten up and rushed over to check on his pet rat.
Percy also climbed to his feet, wincing.
"What the hell just happened?" he asked as he turned to make sure Tyson was alright.
But there was no need to worry.
Though Tyson was lying on the ground, he didn't seem to feel any pain at all.
He even looked at his cart for a moment. It had only been slightly bent by the Cyclops's strength, so Percy didn't even need to ask.
Luther let out a sigh after seeing that aside from some bruises, they were all fine.
And he didn't ask any more questions.
He walked up to the wall and pressed his palm against it.
He even knocked on it a few times.
"It seems to be closed," he said while looking at his watch and noticing there was still time before the Hogwarts Express was due to leave.
But even so, the barrier shouldn't have been closed.
After all, there were people who still needed to come through from the other side.
"What do we do? We'll miss the Hogwarts Express," Ron said, already starting to panic.
"Don't worry," Luther immediately replied calmly. "We're still here," he added as he slipped a hand into his pocket.
But his face immediately filled with confusion.
Before he started checking every single pocket he had.
"My... my medallion?"
The question sounded so strange that even Harry and Percy froze.
Because it was the first time they had ever heard genuine concern in Luther's voice.
Arthur, who had approached after hearing Luther's question, also started checking his own pockets.
But only a few seconds later, his expression also shifted into confusion.
The two men looked at each other for a moment before becoming completely serious.
"You don't have yours either?" Luther asked.
Arthur shook his head.
Both men stood motionless for an instant.
Then, at the same time, they began scanning their surroundings.
They no longer looked relaxed.
Now both of them looked like they were searching for a threat.
Harry and Percy immediately felt that something was wrong.
Then, without saying a single word, both men moved one hand toward their waists.
A metallic sound echoed through the air.
Shing.
Percy blinked in confusion because that sound was familiar.
The sound of a sword being unsheathed.
But until that moment, neither of them had seen any swords.
Or at least they hadn't.
Because out of nowhere, two silver blades slowly emerged into view, appearing little by little in Luther's and Arthur's hands.
Even Harry was surprised that he had failed to notice the concealment enchantments his mother, Sally, had undoubtedly placed on the knights' weapons.
He also remembered Adrien pulling a sword seemingly out of nowhere during their shopping trip in Diagon Alley.
But this wasn't the time for Harry or Percy to be impressed by their mother's achievements.
Because both knights continued scanning the area with extreme focus while keeping the younger boys protected between them, ready for any attack.
"Stay behind us," Luther said seriously.
"What's going on?" Harry asked.
"Something stole the medallion," Luther replied. "And whatever it was, it got close enough to do it."
The problem was that nobody had seen anyone approach them since they arrived at the station.