In 1785, Watt improved the steam engine, ushering in a new era for industrial production.
In 1814, Englishman Stephenson invented the first train, christening it the "Rocket".
For over a century since then, trains have become an indispensable mode of transportation for the English people.
Many people even commute to London by train and then transfer to other buses or subways to reach their workplaces.
From this perspective, the Ministry of Magic is actually quite in tune with the times.
Since the 1950s, the Hogwarts Express has been responsible for transporting young witches and wizards between school and London.
Before that, students could choose any way they found interesting to travel to school, which led to quite a few funny stories.
There were even casualties.
Until the then Minister of Magic, Ottiline Gambol, went against the grain and launched the most massive secret operation in the history of the British Ministry of Magic to build this railway.
It involved no less than 176 Forgetfulness Curses and a large number of Concealment Charm deployment records.
Most of the Muggles who worked on the construction of the railway felt like they had forgotten something important, but they couldn't remember what it was. This torment lasted for a whole year before it ended.
So, when you find yourself unable to remember something, don't doubt it, your brain must have been hit with a Forgetfulness Curse.
September 1st.
It is a special day for English students.
This marks the end of a two-month long summer vacation, countless students, either happy or sad, embark on their journey back to school. If it's a boarding school, it means that the next time they go home, they won't be able to come back until Christmas at the earliest.
King's Cross station is the terminus of London's railways. On this day, the station also welcomed its own climax, no, peak.
Throughout the station, students and parents carrying large and small bags could be seen rushing towards their platforms.
Wayne traveled light, only pulling a suitcase that wasn't too big or too small.
Obviously, this suitcase was enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, although it wasn't Wayne's own doing.
The Undetectable Extension Charm is an extremely advanced spell, recorded in the "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7," which means only seventh-year students are eligible to learn it.
He spent a whole morning mastering this spell and cast two on the pockets of his trousers.
As for the suitcase, it was obtained through his relationship with the "Uncommon Clothing" store, costing him 120 Galleons.
The use of the Undetectable Extension Charm is strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. It cannot be used for private purposes and must be registered and recorded to be legal.
Although Wayne strongly suspects that there is some kind of dirty deal between the Ministry of Magic and those manufacturers of tents and suitcases, which led to the creation of such laws.
But he is just a little newbie now, not qualified to go head-to-head with the Ministry of Magic, it's better not to stir up trouble.
Any trouble that can be solved with money is not a problem.
Walking towards Platform 9 3/4, Wayne observed the crowd around him.
He saw several men in black coats and bowler hats pretending to be patrolling casually nearby, and he guessed that they must be Ministry of Magic personnel sent to maintain order and deal with accidents.
After all, ordinary people are Muggles, they're not stupid. A group of people disappear after crashing into a pillar, it's bound to be noticed by someone.
This is when the staff needs to come out to clean up the mess.
Wayne first took a look and found that no one was paying attention to him. He pretended to be nonchalant and walked towards the third pillar between Platform 9 and 10.
It was like breaking through a membrane, initially extremely narrow, then walking dozens of steps, suddenly it became spacious and bright.
When he saw the light again, Wayne had entered a whole new world.
The old steam train emitted a whistle, its liveliness was no less than the outside.
Wayne quickly glanced around and cursed under his breath.
Rowling doesn't understand a damn thing about Harry Potter. She says there are only 3,000 witches and wizards in all of Britain. There are at least a couple of thousand here.
Do all the witches and wizards in all of Britain come here for the festival?
Young witches and wizards rushed to say goodbye to their families, their parents nagged them with endless advice, it seemed chaotic yet heartwarming.
But there were very few people with sad expressions on their faces.
For the wizarding world with the "Statute of Secrecy on the Use of Magic by Underage Wizards," the two months of summer vacation can't be considered pleasant.
Although school requires classes, they can at least use magic, and there are a bunch of like-minded friends, which is much better than being hated at home all day.
Of course, there were also some people with painful masks on their faces.
They probably thought of the summer homework they had forgotten.
Wayne didn't linger on the platform, he simply looked around and didn't find Hermione, the only witch he knew, so he boarded the Hogwarts Express.
There were only ten minutes left before departure, and the carriages at the front were basically full.
Carrying his suitcase, he walked until he reached the back half of the train and finally found a compartment with only one person inside.
The door was open, but he was still polite and knocked.
"May I sit here?"
The young witch in the compartment who was reading looked up, revealing a handsome face.
Both of them were startled.
"Damn, this guy's handsomeness is only second to mine." This was Wayne's thought process.
"Merlin, there are actually wizards who are more handsome than me." This was the young man's thought process.
"Of course, please feel free to sit." The man reacted very quickly, while sighing in his heart, he enthusiastically stood up and helped Wayne put his luggage on the rack.
Everything was in place, the two sat opposite each other, the young witch stretched out his hand and a gentle smile appeared on his face:
"Hello, I'm Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff third year."
"You must be a new student this year, right?"
He said with absolute certainty, even if he didn't memorize all the students, but with the appearance of the witch across from him, he would definitely become famous at Hogwarts, he couldn't help but know.
Wayne was also stunned, he didn't expect that this was actually the 'Hogwarts version of someone else's child'.
Only appearing in two books, but Cedric, who is extremely popular.
Wayne also stretched out his hand and the two shook hands.
"Hello, I'm Wayne Lawrence, and I am indeed a new student this year."