"Hogsmeade?" Fred repeated, his eyebrows climbing. "How exactly are you planning to go there when Hogwarts only allows students from third year and above?"
"We're in third year now," George added, looking very pleased about that fact. "That means we'll finally be allowed to visit Hogsmeade properly this term."
"You lot are first-years, though," Fred said, pointing between Tyler, Jamie, Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione. "Officially speaking, you can't go yet."
"But if you really want to go," George said, lowering his voice as though revealing a grand secret, "we could tell you about a few passages in Hogwarts Castle that lead straight to Hogsmeade."
"Strictly against school rules, of course," Fred said solemnly. His expression was so serious that it became obvious he was not serious at all.
"But that hardly matters," George finished. "As long as nobody finds out, then technically you haven't broken any rules."
"Yes," Fred said, nodding wisely. "That is exactly how responsible students should think."
The twins spoke one after the other, happily passing on their questionable experience to Tyler and the others. Ron looked both proud and exasperated, while Harry listened with the wide-eyed attention of someone who was only beginning to understand how many secrets Hogwarts might hold.
"I mean today," Tyler said, smiling faintly. "You heard Jamie correctly. We want to go to Hogsmeade today."
"Today?" Fred stared at him as if he had suggested flying the train into the lake. "That's impossible. By the time the Hogwarts Express reaches Hogsmeade Station, it'll already be evening, and the first-years will have to follow Hagrid to the castle."
"Exactly," George said. "There won't be any extra time for you to wander off to Hogsmeade, unless you plan to vanish in front of half the school."
"But what if we arrive at Hogsmeade Station early?" Jamie asked, his smile turning sharper. "Hogwarts probably won't know the train arrived ahead of schedule, so they won't have professors waiting for us right away."
He leaned forward slightly, clearly enjoying himself. "That would give us a bit of time. We could go to Hogsmeade, look around, and come back before the professors properly react."
Fred and George exchanged a look. It was the kind of look that said they both knew the idea was outrageous, which only made it more tempting.
"Interesting plan," Fred said slowly. "Very interesting."
"But how exactly do you plan to make us arrive early?" George asked. "The Hogwarts Express doesn't just speed up because we ask nicely."
Fred nodded, though excitement had already begun creeping into his face. "It's not as if the driver is going to decide he suddenly fancies setting a record."
"Then we make the Hogwarts Express speed up," Tyler said.
He and Jamie looked at each other, then laughed together. Their expressions were calm, but the confidence in their eyes made the compartment fall quiet for a heartbeat.
"Oh," Fred said, drawing the word out. "So you two really do have a way."
"If we can make the train faster," George said, his grin spreading, "then we really could reach Hogsmeade Station early."
"Do it," Fred said at once. "We have to see this."
"Yes, use it quickly," George urged. "For research purposes, obviously."
The Weasley twins were clearly the sort of people who feared boredom far more than danger. If something sounded fun, ridiculous, and likely to annoy authority, they were nearly guaranteed to be interested.
"Tyler, Jamie, you can't do this," Hermione said anxiously. "It's against the school rules, and you could be expelled before we even arrive."
She had always been a rule-following student, the sort who believed that school existed because order mattered. To her, the idea of tampering with the Hogwarts Express on the very first day was horrifying.
"Forget the school rules," Jamie said. "Rules are often written by people with power to keep everyone else in place. We were born free, and we shouldn't let ourselves be bound by every line someone else writes down."
"Oh, Jamie," Fred said, clutching his chest. "That was beautiful."
"Absolutely inspiring," George agreed. "We are free wizards, and we refuse to be chained by timetables and school handbooks."
Ron and Harry also looked rather moved by the line. We are born free and should not be bound by everything. To children who had both known pressure in different ways, it sounded bold, thrilling, and almost heroic.
Hermione looked even more anxious when she saw so many people agreeing. She had no desire to be expelled from Hogwarts on the very first day, especially not after spending weeks memorising textbooks and imagining what school would be like.
"Tyler," Hermione said, turning to him as if he were her last hope. "Aren't you going to stop him?"
"I don't think this is as serious as you imagine," Tyler said calmly. "We haven't arrived at Hogwarts yet, and we haven't been Sorted, so technically we are not full Hogwarts students."
Hermione stared at him, her expression slowly collapsing into disbelief. Tyler continued as if he had not noticed.
"And since we are not officially students yet, our actions can't properly be treated as breaking school rules. Besides, if the Hogwarts Express arrives early and we encourage the other students to visit Hogsmeade too, it becomes even harder to punish anyone."
He smiled slightly. "When everyone is involved, punishment becomes much less convenient. Hogwarts professors are powerful, but they can't expel half the train."
Hermione's final hope vanished. She had expected Tyler to be more reasonable than Jamie, but now she realised they were simply unreasonable in different styles.
"Fine," she said, standing abruptly. "Do whatever you like. But if you're expelled from Hogwarts, don't blame me for not warning you."
She stomped out of the compartment in anger, her curls bouncing behind her. The door slid shut after her with a sharp click.
"Leave her be," Jamie said lazily. "Hermione grew up in a Muggle family. She's used to a world where rules are treated as fixed walls, and she hasn't learned yet that in the wizarding world, many walls can be walked through."
"But are we really not going to be expelled?" Harry asked uneasily. His excitement had faded a little, replaced by a fear he could not quite hide. "I really don't want to go back to my aunt and uncle's house."
"Don't worry," Tyler said, his tone gentler now. "Hogwarts won't expel us for this. Remember, there is safety in numbers."
In truth, Tyler knew Dumbledore would never expel Harry. The Boy Who Lived was far too important, and whatever else Dumbledore might do, he would not send Harry away before the game had even begun.
"So," Fred said, leaning forward with bright eyes, "what exactly are you going to do?"
"We're ready whenever you are," George added. "We may be witnessing history, and we would hate to miss the best part."
"It looks like none of you can wait," Jamie said. "Then we'll start now."
He lifted his wand and pressed the tip against the wall of the train. His expression grew focused, and magic began flowing from him into the structure of the Hogwarts Express, spreading through the carriage and along the hidden magical channels beneath the old wood and metal.
The Hogwarts Express was powered by magic. Its movement, protection, and route all depended on stable magical support, and its speed was carefully fixed to match the amount of magic it consumed.
If that supply increased, the train's speed would increase with it. The drawback was simple: if too much magic was burned too quickly, the train might lose power before reaching Hogsmeade Station.
Jamie did not intend to let that happen. As long as he continued feeding magic into the correct nodes, the train could keep moving, and it could move much faster than before.
"Oh!" Harry suddenly leaned toward the window. "Look, the train really is speeding up."
The scenery outside had begun to blur. Hills, fences, fields, and distant trees flashed past far faster than before, and even inside the compartment, everyone could feel the train gathering speed beneath them.
"Cool," Fred breathed.
"Brilliant," George said, his eyes shining. "The train is really accelerating."
.....
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