Time passed like a blur, day after day.
August 31st.
The first day of school had finally arrived.
In the past month, besides taking Aliya or Rick to Diagon Alley every week, Victor had read all the magical books he could get his hands on and had made new discoveries about the power of spells.
To be honest, Victor was shocked. Even with Origin, and even though he worked day and night, he had only managed to modify eight or nine of the spells that a first-year wizard would need to learn. The complexity of the spells' power was far beyond his imagination. The more difficult the spell, the more its magical structure increased exponentially in complexity, often leaving him dizzy.
Fortunately, over the past month, his spell modifications had gradually confirmed his earlier theory: that the strength of a spell in the Harry Potter world was indeed directly proportional to the wizard's mind and will.
Now, even without using a magic circle, he could control the power of the spells in the books. For example, he could cast a Lumos charm so bright it could blind someone, or use the Levitation Charm to make a rock weighing several tons fly around in the air.
The only unfortunate thing was that a few exceptions to his theory had emerged over the month.
The one or two exceptions were Transfiguration spells.
To put it simply, this magic could change the shape and structure of objects. But a spell that could turn a rock into a banana was one thing; why could it also turn a chair into a pig? And a living one at that! A pig that could oink and jump!
Victor felt that this was completely illogical.
Not in the slightest!
He could understand a rock turning into a banana, as he could perceive it as a simple alchemical process maintained by magic, meaning the essence of the rock hadn't changed at all, only its physical form.
But what was with a dead object becoming a living creature? The pig could not only run and jump but also eat!
Victor had personally witnessed the chair he had accidentally Transfigured into a large red pig run out of the room and go downstairs to eat the potatoes Mrs. Julie was going to use for mashed potatoes.
At that moment, Victor was stunned. On top of that, the dazzling magical structure of the Transfiguration spell, with its thousands of magical lines, was driving him crazy. Even Origin said it would need more energy to modify this kind of spell, or it would go on strike.
So, for now, the modification of the Transfiguration spell was still in its early stages. If he wanted to further explore its potential, he would have to wait until he got to Hogwarts. Maybe Professor McGonagall's class would give him some inspiration and make his research a little easier.
Of course, while he had proven that his theories on the magical system of Harry Potter were mostly correct, Victor couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. It didn't make sense that even with the power of the mind, a spell could transform a lifeless object into a living creature.
After much thought, Victor concluded that the answer might lie in souls. Soul magic was one of the fields in the Harry Potter world that was more advanced than in Earth Land.
In Earth Land, magic involving souls was extremely rare; only Zeref had any relevant research. The first master of Fairy Tail, Mavis, was a soul, and Victor had tried to find her on Tenrou Island many times, but she never revealed herself. So, after being reborn, Victor had no opportunity to research soul magic.
However, in the world of Harry Potter, not to mention Voldemort's Horcruxes, Hogwarts had a large number of ghosts. Besides not having a physical body, they were no different from living people.
Victor also remembered that among the many souls at Hogwarts, there was a professor who had been teaching for many years. So he guessed that the existence of ghosts might have a special meaning for Hogwarts or the entire wizarding world.
Lost in thought, Victor and the Swinton family arrived at King's Cross Station on the Underground.
"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters? Is there even such a platform in the world?" Aliya asked, craning her neck to look at the ticket in Victor's hand.
"Aliya, you've been to Diagon Alley many times this month. You should know by now that things in the wizarding world are very different from the Muggle world," Victor said with a helpless sigh. "Follow me. I think I know how to get to the platform."
With that, Victor led the group to the third pillar between platforms Nine and Ten.
"This is it!" Victor said, pointing at the stone pillar in front of them. "We should be able to go through this pillar to get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."
In truth, Victor didn't know where the entrance was, but there were a few people with wands skulking around the pillar, so there couldn't be any other entrance.
"Ha, I get it! So that's it!" Wilson said, suddenly enlightened. "The third pillar between Platform Nine and Platform Ten is Nine and Three-Quarters!"
"Let's go! Grab on to me, and I'll take you through!" Victor looked around but didn't see the main character, Harry Potter, so he decided to just enter the station.
Aliya and Mrs. Julie each held one of Victor's arms, while Rick and Mr. Wilson grabbed his shoulders from behind.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Victor said, "Don't stop in the middle. If you're scared, just close your eyes!" With that, he led the group through the stone pillar. He felt a cool breeze pass through him, followed by a strong smell of oil.
"We're here!" Victor said.
The four Swintons slowly opened their eyes, and the first thing they saw was a very old-fashioned steam train. It was standing on the tracks, and its chimney was billowing out hot steam. The words Hogwarts Express 5972 were clearly visible on the front of the train.
The platform was bustling with students and parents. Every one of them had a trolley with luggage, and a sign that read 9¾ was hanging high on the stone pillar.
They had finally arrived, the legendary Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!
When Victor saw this, he suddenly remembered the excitement and longing he felt when he was a child watching the movie. He recalled that the scenes in Diagon Alley and the station were the ones that left the deepest impression on him, and now that he was actually here, he felt an uncontrollable desire to see every last detail of the place.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
As soon as Victor and his group arrived at the station, they heard a loud bell ringing.
"Attention, ladies, gentlemen, and Hogwarts students! The train departs in thirty minutes! Please, all students who have not yet boarded, do so as quickly as possible!" A loud announcement came from a train conductor standing on the platform, holding a wand to his throat.
"Alright, Uncle Wilson, Aunt Julie, you've brought me far enough. I can take it from here," Victor said with a smile after double-checking his luggage.
"Dear, send a letter home as soon as you get to school. Don't do anything dangerous, and study hard, alright?!" Mrs. Julie said, hugging Victor with a worried expression.
"I will!" Victor said, nodding. "Don't worry!"
"If you don't feel at home at Hogwarts, you can always come back. I promise you can go to the best schools whenever you want," Wilson said, patting Victor's shoulder.
"Victor, make sure you write often, and tell me lots of stories about school if you can," Aliya said, also hugging Victor.
"And if you can, would you send me a Golden Snitch from Quidditch?" Rick asked with a simple-minded expression.
The others just rolled their eyes at him.
The boy had been staring at that miniature Quidditch pitch for a month and was just short of sleeping with it. When he watched the matches, Rick was most fascinated by the Seekers and the thrill of their chase.
After waving goodbye to the Swinton family, Victor picked up his small, refurbished suitcase and boarded the train.
Once on the train, Victor found that the corridors were incredibly narrow. Students squeezed past each other, almost kicking each other's heels.
Victor used the same skills he had once used to get on a crowded train back home during a holiday rush, and after a lot of effort, he finally found an empty compartment at the end of the train.