4 Chapter 4: Platform 9, First Encounter with the Weasley Twins

The red flames were burning in the backyard. Lynn could feel waves of heat washing over him as he approached.

"These flames don't seem to hurt me!"

As Lynn stared at the fire, a thought suddenly occurred to him. 

Lynn reached out to touch the flames burning in the yard. He felt warmth, but that was all. The blazing fire couldn't harm Lynn.

This wasn't the intended effect of the Fire-Making Spell. While the spell summoned magical fire, it didn't discriminate between friendly targets, and could burn everything around it indiscriminately.

However, when faced with Lynn, it seemed to recognize its master and became docile. A small tongue of flame even climbed onto Lynn's palm and flickered gently at his fingertips.

Lynn was surprised by this.

You see, magic that confers immunity to fire isn't unheard of. The late Dark Wizard Grindelwald's Firestorm Curse could make Fiendfyre harmless to its caster. However, the Firestorm combined the Fiendfyre Curse and Flame-Freezing Charm, possessing defensive abilities. But Lynn's fire curse was just an ordinary conjured flame.

Moreover, this flame only had no effect on Lynn. When facing other flammable objects, it would still become a destructive force.

"So it's something about me?" 

Lynn wondered.

Lynn wasn't the type to blindly press on without understanding, potentially endangering himself and others.

When faced with something he didn't grasp, he naturally sought advice from those with greater magical knowledge.

So, after extinguishing the fire in the backyard, Lynn returned to the manor and sought out his mother, Rowena.

After learning about Lynn's condition, Rowena pondered for a moment and retrieved a beautiful willow wand from her robes. 

She raised her hand and waved it wordlessly, causing a ball of fire to appear between them. 

Rowena's control over the fire was excellent. It burned in the air without spreading.

"Try touching it. Will this fire harm you?"

Rowena said, directing the fire towards Lynn.

Lynn reached out and touched the flame, shaking his head. "Just like my Fire-Making Spell, it can make me feel warmth, but it can't actually burn me."

Rowena nodded slightly and extinguished the fire with another wave of her wand. 

Rowena looked at Lynn's dark red hair thoughtfully. "Since my flame can't harm you, it means that it's not the flame itself, but something about your physical constitution. However, it's unclear whether the root cause stems from your bloodline or other inherent magical abilities."

"But as far as I know, neither the Rowle family nor my own ancestry has ever encountered such an ability before. Of course, there's a possibility of it being an inherited trait from a distant ancestor, but any predecessors with this power aren't recorded in the family histories."

"At least, for now, this ability is beneficial to you, isn't it? In the wizarding world, it's not uncommon for young witches and wizards to possess special magical talents!"

Rowena smiled softly and reassured Lynn. 

Hearing this, Lynn nodded.

As Rowena said, it wasn't rare for wizards to have unique abilities in the magical world. There were prophecies passed down through generations, or allures inherited from Veela ancestry, among other gifts.

"Yes, my strong affinity for fire magic has allowed me to master non-verbal casting of the Fire-Making Spell in just three days, and it also renders me immune to burning."

Lynn no longer worried about the source of his talent. 

His powerful connection to fire magic allowed him to excel in that area, and what he needed to do was to fully utilize this gift and let his unique abilities shine.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by. 

That day, Lynn, carrying his black backpack, bid farewell to his mother Rowena, and asked Gale to Apparate him to King's Cross Station. 

With a soft pop, Lynn and Gale appeared in an empty corner of King's Cross.

Lynn walked out from behind the pillar that had concealed their arrival, observing the bustling crowd around him. 

To avoid attracting Muggle attention, Gale vanished upon their arrival.

After bidding farewell to Gale softly, Lynn, with his backpack and train ticket in hand, made his way towards the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, as per his memory. Nearby, many children accompanied by their parents were heading towards the same wall. 

Most of these children shared a common feature: they had owl cages on their carts. Standing beside this barrier was an adult wizard, his wand visible at his waist.

Obviously, this wizard was on duty maintaining the enchantments, and this area was clearly charmed to deflect Muggle notice of the strange happenings there. 

The young wizards passed through the barrier one by one, some of the Muggle-born first-years showing remarkable courage as they pushed their trolleys through the solid wall. Lynn found it amusing to watch. 

With his luggage charmed into his backpack, Lynn easily passed through the barrier as well. On the other side of the archway to Platform 9¾, Lynn saw a gleaming scarlet steam engine parked next to the crowded platform.

The sign on the train read: Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. Seeing this, Lynn couldn't help but chuckle. It was indeed the "Express" to Hogwarts!

With that thought, Lynn boarded the train and made his way to an empty compartment near the end. He sat down by the window and took out an old notebook from his backpack.

This notebook contained Rowena's notes on advanced fire magic theory from her days at Hogwarts. 

To Lynn, this notebook with its yellowed pages was a priceless treasure.

By learning from his mother's experiences, Lynn had mastered the non-verbal casting of fire spells, manipulating the flames to burn without fuel, and could freely control the size, shape and intensity of the fire.

"Excuse me! Are there any empty seats in this compartment?" 

Just then, a cheerful voice came from the door of the compartment. 

Two red-haired boys entered, looking nearly identical - obviously twin brothers. Their Hogwarts robes bore the Gryffindor crest.

Upon seeing them, Lynn knew their identities immediately.

Fred Weasley and George Weasley.

Red hair, twins, Gryffindors. 

These distinctive features made them unmistakable at a glance.

"There are empty seats here, please sit wherever you like!"

Lynn closed the notebook and gestured welcomingly for the twins to join him.

Fred thanked him, and he and George maneuvered their trunks to a corner of the compartment. 

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Seeing that the twins were struggling a bit, Lynn pulled out his wand and helped them levitate their luggage into the corner with the Levitation Charm.

Fred and George were stunned by this.

"Thanks, mate! We almost forgot we're wizards!" 

George said with a smile, as he used his wand to cast a Scouring Charm on his dusty robes. 

Fred did the same, and then the two sat across from Lynn.

"Fred Weasley, nice to meet you!"

"George Weasley, nice to meet you!"

The twins extended their hands to Lynn simultaneously. 

Lynn shook their hands and smiled. "Lynn Rowle, nice to meet you both!"

Upon hearing this, the twins were momentarily surprised, then relieved. 

George said, "We were just wondering. You're a first-year who's already so skilled with charms like the Levitation Spell. We didn't expect you to be from the Rowle family!"

Typically, children from old pureblood families were exposed to magic earlier than their peers, so George assumed Lynn had been practicing magic for years.

Lynn smiled and shook his head, opting not to disclose that he had only been learning magic for two months. 

Lynn glanced at the Gryffindor crests on their robes and said, "You're both Gryffindor students, right? I'm not sure which house I'll be sorted into yet."

Fred replied, "Yes, we're both second-year Gryffindors."

At that moment, George glanced at the notebook in Lynn's hand and said thoughtfully, "As far as I know, members of the Rowle family usually get sorted into Slytherin. But you, Lynn, you might end up in Ravenclaw." 

Fred nodded.

Here is the continuation with corrections:

"Yes, most studious wizards like yourself usually get sorted into Ravenclaw!"

Lynn chuckled at their observations, then said warmly, "Please, just call me Lynn."

Upon hearing Lynn's friendly overture, Fred and George exchanged glances and said in unison, "And you can just call us Fred and George!"

Just as the three were about to continue their conversation, the compartment door opened once more. 

A plump witch with a cheery smile entered, pushing a trolley laden with snacks. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Lynn glanced at the sweets on offer - Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, and Liquorice Wands, among others. 

Even the exotic and questionable Cockroach Clusters were displayed, complete with wriggling insects that made Lynn's stomach turn. 

Only a wizard with very peculiar tastes would have an appetite for such an unappetizing confection.

Faced with the array of treats, the Weasley twins fell silent. 

At the moment, they didn't have much pocket money from their fledgling joke business.

"Three Chocolate Frogs, please!" 

After some hesitation, Fred counted out some Silver Sickles from his pocket and handed them to the kind-faced witch. 

With just the two of them in the compartment, Fred would have opted for the sandwiches his mother had prepared. But with new friends present, Fred wanted to treat them to some wizarding sweets and snacks.

Lynn noticed the twins' momentary hesitation and impulsively said, "I'll take the lot!"

He opened his bag and retrieved a handful of Galleons, placing them in the plump witch's awaiting hand.

The kind witch's eyes widened in surprise at the sheer amount of gold, but she immediately set about gathering everything on the trolley onto the small table.

"Here you are, dears! Anything else I can get you?" 

"No, thank you. This is plenty," Lynn replied with a smile.

As the plump witch exited, shutting the compartment door, Fred and George stared at the veritable feast of sweets on the table between them. 

"You really shouldn't have, mate..." Fred started, looking abashed.

"This is far too much!" George agreed. "Let us at least pay you back for our share..."

Lynn waved off their protests easily. 

"Don't mention it. I have more than enough gold, and it's only polite to treat my new friends to a few snacks."

The twins exchanged a look, then George ventured cautiously, "Well...if you insist. Thanks for your generosity, Lynn."

"Yeah, you're a good bloke," Fred added with a grin.

Lynn returned their smiles as he opened a Pumpkin Pasty. "Please, help yourselves." 

As the three new friends happily dug into the sweets, making themselves sick on the variety of treats, Lynn felt entirely content.

He was on his way to begin a new chapter at the famed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Though the future was full of uncertainty, Lynn looked forward to whatever adventures awaited him in the wizarding world.

(End of chapter)