Chapter 31: The Chaotic Hogwarts Express
After a bumpy journey, at seven in the morning, they finally arrived at a hotel in the French town of Annecy and checked in.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Shafik discussed and decided to let everyone rest for the morning, then explore the town in the afternoon.
The Shafik Couple and Mr. and Mrs. Potter each had a room, while James and Gary shared one.
As soon as James entered the room, he threw himself onto the bed, his black-rimmed glasses still perched on his nose, and fell into a deep sleep within two minutes.
Gary was already tired, and with James sleeping soundly beside him, he also fell asleep shortly after lying down.
For the next five days, they explored the entire area around Annecy, finding themselves captivated by the pristine Lake Annecy and the beautiful Isle of Flowers.
It must be said that the Potter family truly knows how to have fun. James probably inherited this trait from his father, Fleamont Potter; a middle-aged man over fifty years old actually attached a powerful Levitation Charm to a snowboard to achieve the function of a simple flying broom.
James flew over steep slopes on the snowboard, the Levitation Charm lifting him into the air, where he performed freestyle tricks freely.
Unknowing Muggles thought James was a figure skating athlete, and the compliments from the crowd greatly satisfied James's vanity, a dazed expression appearing on his face that only showed when he saw Lily.
Leaving the beautiful town of Annecy, they returned to the ordinary and simple Godric's Hollow.
The next day was Christmas, fortunately, he had sent out the gifts on the night he returned home. For James, it was a copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages"; for Howard and Kona, it was a twenty-year special edition of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans; and for Alfrina, it was a foldable cauldron.
The first thing Gary did when he woke up the next morning was to unwrap the gifts placed under his bed.
James gave him a pile of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, Kona gave him a set of pure gold gobstones, Howard gave him a copy of "The Count of Monte Cristo," and Alfrina gave him her Potions notes from last semester, urging Gary to study hard.
The Shafik Couple gave Gary a professional wand care kit, complete with ointment, brushes, and everything else. This was probably the best Christmas gift he received this year. He cherished his vine wood wand, and the wand care kit was very much to his liking.
During the remaining two weeks of vacation, Gary, in addition to his own parents, also visited the Potter, Bones, and other Wizarding families living in Godric's Hollow, collecting a lot of information about the Hogwarts Express.
He informed his parents of his and Alfrina's ideas and received strong support. Many adult Wizards recalled a terrifying moment on the Hogwarts Express.
"I thought he was going to stab my throat with his sharp, long nails," Edgar Bones, a Hufflepuff student who had just graduated from Hogwarts, recalled with lingering fear the terrifying moment in his third year when he was almost killed by a Dark Wizard who wanted to go to Hogsmeade.
"I got separated from my family on the platform and missed the Hogwarts Express. I found a kind Mr. Scamander, who took me to Professor Dumbledore's office."
"There are too many irrelevant people on the platform. Many Wizards without children attending school also come to the platform to watch the excitement. Their identities are unknown, and I feel this is very unsafe." This was a complaint from Andre Nott, an employee of the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
Gary spent two weeks organizing more than a dozen interviews, and they had many complaints about the way the Hogwarts Express was operated.
The Shafik Couple watched, feeling very pleased.
James, who was determined to turn Godric's Hollow upside down every day, was not so happy. His mother would grumble about what Gary had done every night at dinner, then scrutinize him with a look of disdain, annoying him greatly.
As the Christmas holiday was nearing its end, Gary and James once again headed to King's Cross Station. This time, they did not ride in Mr. Potter's car, but were instead taken directly to a secluded alley next to King's Cross Station by Mr. Shafik via Apparition.
They emerged from the alley and merged into the crowded flow of people, moving with the crowd's direction into the station.
"Gary! James!" He heard Alfrina's shout from a distance.
The two bid farewell to Mr. Shafik and, carrying their luggage, followed the sound.
They found Alfrina on the second-floor platform of the station, sharing a bag of chips with Howard.
As they made their way to Platform 9, they shared stories about their holiday. Howard had traveled to Northern Europe with his parents, while Alfrina's parents were busy with work, so she had to stay in London and didn't go anywhere for the holiday.
"But it's fine," Alfrina said, a little envious of her friends, "I've pretty much organized the outline and introduction for the essay I need to write."
"I visited twenty Wizarding families during the holiday," Gary said, pulling out the organized materials from his bag. "These are fifteen recollections of Wizards about the Hogwarts Express that I collected."
"Mostly negative reviews," Alfrina said, quickly flipping through them.
"Exactly, most of them complained about the unregulated management of the Hogwarts Express," Gary said, stepping forward and turning his body to make an opening in the wall leading to the platform. "Go on, Howard."
Howard's plump body shrunk, and he ducked into the platform, followed by Alfrina, and finally Gary slipped in when no one was paying attention.
They found an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express and had just sat down when the train started moving.
Gary went out for a stroll and found Kona huddled at the back of the train, drawing herb identification charts. "Didn't finish your homework?" he teased.
Kona glanced at him, but her hands kept working, continuing to sketch a Christmas cactus. Alfrina noticed her eyes were a bit red.
"The three of us are waiting for you in the compartment," Gary said. "Come on, Alfrina must have finished her homework."
Kona packed up her bag and followed Gary back to the compartment, then began to recount her ordeal.
During the holiday, her mother took her to South America for a trip, and she had so much fun that she didn't do her homework. She wanted to find a quiet compartment on the train to dutifully catch up on her assignments, but unexpectedly, as soon as the train started, a group of adult Wizards heading to Hogsmeade crowded in. Seeing her small stature and easy to bully, they actually kicked her out of the compartment.
So when Gary found her, she was squatting in the corridor, drawing herb charts with a wronged expression.
"That's too much!" Alfrina put her hands on her hips, her eyes wide with anger. "Don't the Prefects do anything?" By rights, Prefects were supposed to patrol the corridors of each carriage after the train started moving.
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