Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 91 Everyone Gets on the Bus

Chapter 92 Everyone Get on the Bus (Seeking first subscriptions and monthly votes)

Fred and George were soon called away by Lee Jordan, who seemed to have gotten his hands on something good again; his pockets were bulging and moving.

Hermione and Ginny didn't go back to their original carriage; instead, they sat down here. Hermione was listening intently as Ron described the trouble they had encountered at the station.

She arrived early and was unaware that the entrance to 9% of the platform was blocked, so she was quite alarmed when she heard about it.

She simply couldn't imagine how terrible it would be to be late on the first day of school.

"Why was the platform blocked off?"

"Good question, that's what I wanted to know too." Ron rubbed his forehead; like Harry, he had bumped solidly into the wall.

If it weren't for the stroller blocking his way, he might have had another scar on his forehead.

"This is a mistake by the Ministry of Magic; the school cannot expel you."

"Of course the school can't expel us, because we've caught the train."

"Have you thought about what to do if you miss your train?" Hermione suddenly asked.

This question immediately piqued everyone's interest.

"Let's go home and go tomorrow," Ginny said first, glancing quickly at Harry.

If everyone goes home, will Harry have to go back to the Burrow too? She wondered to herself, too afraid to look up.

"Let Dad drive us there," Ron continued, beaming. "I've been wanting to try out that car's flying function for ages."

Mr. Weasley owned a Ford Anglia and added many special features to it, such as expanding the interior space and adding flight capabilities.

During the holidays, Fred and George flew it to Little Huigkin on Privet Drive and rescued Harry from the attic.

Ron had always wanted to drive it himself one more time.

"Hmm, take the Knight Bus?" Harry said quietly. That was all he knew, from what Siron had told him before.

"Oh, honestly, I'd rather be late all day than take the Knight bus to school," Ron said, frowning. "Silon, isn't there any other way?"

"Yes," Siron said. "Go to the Ministry of Magic and apply for a Portkey to Hogsmeade, or just use the Floo Network. After explaining your reason, they certainly won't refuse."

"This is good," Ron said with a smile.

This is currently the most reliable method.

"Wait a minute, hasn't any of you thought about writing to the professors?" Hermione looked at them in disbelief, then glanced at Hedwig in the cage.

"Harry, you have an owl, don't you?"

"I...I forgot," Harry said somewhat awkwardly, genuinely not expecting to ask the professor for help.

Afterwards, everyone continued to discuss enthusiastically, thinking that these experiences might come in handy if they encountered a similar situation again in the future.

Around noon, a plump witch pushed a cart past their carriage, and Harry quickly bought a huge amount of snacks, more than last year, piling them all over the table.

He really liked these snacks, but they weren't available at school, so he had to buy more on the train.

But this wasn't exactly lunch. Mrs. Weasley had prepared ham sandwiches for them in advance, and Siron was also given one, which tasted pretty good.

"You're lucky, Mom didn't make a bacon sandwich today," Ron said, seemingly disliking bacon.

Silen also took out the butterbeer he bought at the Leaky Cauldron. He had originally wanted to buy lunch, but he couldn't stand the smell of garlic throughout the carriage, so he gave up.

Butterbeer was clearly more popular than chilled pumpkin juice, and the three full bottles were quickly devoured by the five people. Paired with ham sandwiches and crucible cake for dessert, it could be considered a decent lunch.

After lunch, everyone played Wizard Chess and Bomb Blast together for a while.

Xilun wasn't initially interested, but after losing to Ron twice in a row at chess, he gradually got a little hooked.

The sky outside grew darker and darker, and the temperature inside the carriage dropped considerably.

Outside the window, one could already faintly see the corner towers and turrets of Hogwarts Castle atop the high cliffs on the dark horizon in the distance.

Yellow lights illuminated the dimly lit carriage.

"We're almost there," Hermione said, recalling that the train arrived shortly after the lights came on last year.

"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train."

The familiar broadcast sounded, and Harry and the others quickly tidied up the table and put on their Hogwarts school robes.

The train arrived at the station, and they were pushed and shoved off the train by the crowded passengers.

"First-year students, first-year students, come this way—"

Harry instinctively followed Ginny toward Hagrid, only to be met with the clear eyes of the new students and Hagrid's questioning gaze.

"Harry, you're in the wrong place." Sirens grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "You're a second-year student now, you don't need to take a boat."

"Sorry, I forgot." Harry ran to Ron's side with his head down. "Why didn't you remind me?"

"I didn't expect you to be so quick," Ron said. Harry got out of the car and walked straight to Hagrid; Ron really hadn't realized what was happening.

After parting ways with Ginny here, they followed more people toward another rugged, muddy path, where at least a hundred carriages, or rather, carriages, were parked.

"Looks like we should take this to the castle." Hermione noticed some older students boarding the carriage.

A carriage can carry just four people. Once they are all seated, it begins to sway and move forward.

"That's amazing, it can actually move on its own," Harry exclaimed in surprise.

"It must be magic," Hermione said. "Just like the ship last year, not many of us can row, right?"

Harry nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

The carriage passed through two imposing wrought-iron gates and drove up a long uphill driveway, getting closer and closer to the castle.

Finally, the carriage stopped, and Xilun was the first to get off, just in time to see the Man-Beating Willow not far away.

The willow tree under the moonlight was still quiet, occasionally shaking its leaves as if it were stretching.

Xilun suddenly realized something.

If Harry and Ron hadn't boarded the train that morning, they would probably be driving that flying Ford Anglia and crashing into the Whomping Willow by now.

"That could break so many branches, and maybe even the main trunk. If I'm there watching, I can collect them all."

Oh no, I can't think about this anymore.

Siren felt his heart was bleeding. He stood there in a daze until Professor McGonagall came over and urged them to go in quickly. Only then did he walk into the castle, looking back every few steps.