1 01

"Crowded with Muggles of course..."

Holding her husband's arm, Mrs. Smith passed through the partition wall between platforms 9 and 10 of King's Cross Station, standing in front of the scarlet steam train, looking around while continuing the conversation with her husband.

"After all, today is also the first day of school for Muggle students, isn't it? There are more students over there."

"Of course, all schools in the UK start today, and it's the same as a normal school, my dear." Mr. Smith affirmed his wife's statement and couldn't help but look behind him - there is now a tunnel , From time to time, students and parents came out with their luggage, and the owl's cage was placed on the top of the luggage cart. Such a rare pet, with so many passengers at King's Cross, no one has really noticed it for so many years.

It's amazing magic. Mr. Smith sighed sincerely again, and couldn't help agreeing with his wife's opinion that Muggle eyes were not good enough. This made him feel a subtle betrayal of the organization, and he couldn't help raising his hand and pushing his glasses.

"Eli, remember to write home when you get to school, remember what I told you, look for a postbox in your school - your mother said she didn't pay attention to these details when she went to school, I'm sure you can Tell me a solid answer."

Mr. Smith reiterated his request expectantly for the fifteenth time since the holiday. He turned his head and looked at his son standing beside him, only to find that he was standing a few steps away from him, looking not far away, and did not respond in time.

Is it an acquaintance? Mr. Smith never heard that his son also has friends here. Because of his connection, the family lived near the university where he worked and had no wizarding neighbors. The son's personality is not very lively. Rather than going out to visit with his mother, he prefers to read books with his father in the study. There are only a handful of little wizards he knows.

Mr. Smith followed his son's gaze curiously, but Eli turned his head at this moment, obviously heard him, and nodded to him: "Okay dad. But I don't think so - "Hogwarts" "A School History" said that the castle of Hogwarts is a ruin in the eyes of ordinary people. Who would put a mailbox in the ruins? It is impossible for a postman to pick it up."

Son's logic is very reasonable, and Mr. Smith doesn't really believe that it has, but just wants an exact answer. This kind of research spirit regardless of time and place seems to be a common problem among professors and scholars.

He no longer bothered about this topic, and instead asked his son curiously, "What were you looking at just now?"

"There's a quarrel over there." Eli replied, paused and then added, "In this day and age, do ordinary people fear and reject the existence of wizards? I think that with the development of the times, people's ideas will also improve, so that Same as in the Middle Ages."

When he spoke, his brows were slightly raised questioningly, and there was a hint of inquiry in his tone, which made him look more serene and gentle, setting off a handsome man with a bookish temperament, standing out among the little wizards whose emotions were written on their faces.

"The unknown and the mystery bring unease, and the disparity of power creates fear. The power of wizards and ordinary people is like the European soldiers who set foot on the American continent and the Indians. When these superpowers are not friendly, things will change. It evolves into a kind of disaster, which has nothing to do with the development of the times, it is the instinct of people when faced with difficult things."

Mr. Smith, a history professor, said gently, patting his son on the shoulder.

"So even if you become such a superpower now, you must remember not to look at people with a condescending attitude - wizards and ordinary people are coexisting on an equal footing without interfering with each other, and no one is superior."

Eli blinked, nodding without hesitation in her father's gaze.

"I won't." He assured, "I know that the cause of fear is not well understood. "

"Almost, your dad is right, Muggles can't be underestimated." Mrs. Smith chimed in, "Muggles can't live by magic and are doing pretty well – I went to the cinema with your dad last month to watch a movie, and the special effects were great and the plot was funny, and it was a perfect date." "

Mr. Smith coughed softly with a little blush, and smiled as he recalled the scene of that day.

Eli looked at his parents who were smiling at each other in front of him: "?"

His face showed some incomprehension belonging to an eleven-year-old boy, and he expressed indifference and untouched by his parents' show of affection. However, he did not say anything, politely maintaining respect.

The lively Mrs. Smith did not mean to take care of his thoughts, she saw her former classmates in school, immediately waved her wand, floated Eli's luggage down the train window, stacked it on the luggage rack by herself, happily walked over with her husband, left only a word of advice for her son to get on the train as soon as possible, and then dashingly left.

Eli, who was left in place: "..."

He had to go to school for four months and come home for Christmas, expecting to get some more reluctant treatment.

But that's not bad. Eli retracted his gaze from the back of his parents, and was about to get on the train, when he turned around, he saw that the two sisters who had just quarreled fiercely ended the dispute, one covered the corner of his eye with the back of his hand, ran onto the train regardless of it, and did not even say a final goodbye to his parents; The other, panting, with a mixture of pleasure and anger on his face, pulled his mother's arm hard.

"Mom! Let's get out of here!" She blushed and said in a sharp voice, "It's all here—monsters—"

Being groundlessly accused of being a member of the monster, Eli couldn't help but frown.

The girl was noticeably less beautiful than her sister, she was thin and her face was a little too long in proportion, which made her face look unapproachable. At this moment, this not very good-looking face is full of anger and hatred, and it is even more demeanorous, making people need to look at it more.

Although her words may be excusable, it does not mean that others will have to endure her rudeness because of this. Eli's moral education made him very critical of the girl's behavior, but he did not want to come forward to protest. He was frowning secretly, and then he saw that the girl's mother finally made a move.

She shook off her daughter's hand, her face mixed with confused anger.

"Penny!" She said reproachfully, her voice uncontrollably louder so that Eli could hear it clearly, "It's all wizards here!" How can you be so rude? They will make a bad impression on Lily! Lily went to school alone, with no one to take care of..."

The girl named Penny was stunned by her mother's reproach, and the expression on her face was blank for a moment. She looked at her mother stunned, and then slowly turned her gaze to her father, who did not speak, but also looked disapproving.

After a brief lapse, her emotions exploded even more violently.

"What's wrong with me?" She screamed, so angry that it almost broke her voice, "I'm rude to those monsters? You hear what they call us, ignorant Muggles! Lily went to school alone – so did I! I'm also going to girls' high school by myself and coming back for Christmas! Just because I didn't study with some eccentric maniac—she even had that Snape monster—"

"That's Lily's friend." Her father couldn't help but open his mouth and said to his daughter, "Penny, you can't do this—you have to be kinder to your sister's friends." "

"Friendly?" Penny asked in a strange tone, as if desperately trying to endure some emotion, her voice trembling.

In fact, not only the sound, her whole person is shaking uncontrollably at the moment. Her eyes widened, desperately showing a hideous expression.

"Friendly?" She snorted and said harshly, "Is he kind to me?" A monster with no manners at all, born in that kind of dirty place. Why is he? He even looked at - "

She stopped abruptly, as if she had been choked by someone, first pale, then slowly red.

Although her parents were angry at their daughter's rudeness, they still showed concern when they saw her like this.

"What's wrong? Penny? What did you see?"

Penny blushed, pursed her lips tightly, and refused to reveal a word. She trembled even more, her voice almost unsteady, and she looked at her parents again insistently, even with a little pleading.

"Let's go—get out of here—it's all here—it's all monsters—"

Eli sighed softly.

He didn't understand why he was abruptly interjecting, to be honest, it was actually not very polite, and it was not very in line with his parents' requirements for his upbringing. But the urge to speak was a little strong, and after only a brief thought, he decided to follow his heart.

"It's actually not that scary." He said, "Although sometimes my mother would call me a little troll... But I think what people say when they're angry is always a little too much. "

The family of three was taken aback by him, and Qi Qi turned his head to look at him, and he was able to see the girl's face clearly for the first time.

It is indeed very ordinary, far less cute than her sister.

But...

Eli pulled out the wand he had just bought from Ollivander's store in Diagon Alley a month earlier.

He is skilled in the use of wands, and when you have a wizard mother, you can be forgiven for waving your wand around from the age of six. What's more, he just wants to cast a simple magic, and of course, the effect is exactly as expected.

Eli handed the handkerchief she had conjured to the girl in front of her.

"I think you need this—do girls always pay so much attention to image? When you can't wipe your tears, you can even bear the feeling of wanting to cry. "

That's probably why he would even interject, Eli thought silently.

The girl in front of her was angry and sad, and her emotions were so extreme that they were almost a little distorted. She quarreled with her sister, argued with her parents, did not hesitate in her parents' persuasion, and still had to push back after being reprimanded, stubborn and stubborn to the extreme.

But even though her whole body was trembling, her voice could not be stabilized at all, and the accumulated emotions seemed to reach the limit in the next second, she still opened her eyes wide, and fought back with open teeth, and there was not a single tear on her face, only a very hurtful vitriol.

This kind of injury will never affect only others, but also stab yourself. But she chose to do so without hesitation, not leaving herself the slightest way back, nor did she want others to see her half weak.

Eli didn't like such extreme personalities, but he was surprised to find that he didn't feel very annoying either.

"My name is Eli. Smith. His expression of disgust froze on his face, glaring at the handkerchief he handed him, like a girl who was glaring at something extremely terrifying, "Don't worry, there are no teeth in the handkerchief." "

The girl looked at him and then at the handkerchief, back and forth several times, her face changing several times, wandering in vigilance and trepidation.

In the end, perhaps Eli's clean appearance and neat clothes helped, she finally raised her hand and took the handkerchief, holding it vigilantly in her hand for a few seconds before looking at him again and laughing dryly.

"You don't have to, sir, I don't need your pity. As you can see, my sister is a wizard, and my mom and dad and I are here to take her to school today. It doesn't matter what you think of us Muggles. When I go back, I'll go to a better school and live a normal and decent life, with people like you-"

"What's your name?" Eli asked politely.

The girl seemed to be choked by someone, and the words just now stopped abruptly, opened her mouth, and looked at him carefully again, her eyes were aggressive, as if to find the mask of hypocrisy from his face, and then fiercely tore it off and stepped on the soles of her feet.

But in the end, she found nothing, so slowly, slowly, slowly withdrew the sharp edge and lowered her head.

"Penny." She whispered, "Penny. Evans. "