King’s Cross Station, September 1st

Wellinsia Thomas—Sia—a brown-skinned girl with thick, curly hair tied into a large bun, pushed a trolley loaded with a trunk and a cage holding her owl, Pit—a small Northern Saw-whet Owl. She walked behind her adoptive father, Calvin Thomas—a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin and a solid build.

Even though they had visited Diagon Alley a few weeks ago to buy Sia’s Hogwarts supplies, all of this still felt like a dream. Was the wizarding world really real? Yet at the same time, it felt so foreign—so far from the life they had always known.

Now, there was only one important question left…

How to find Platform 9¾?

Calvin stopped between platforms 9 and 10, his brow furrowing. “According to that old man, it should be right here, right?”

“His name is Professor Dumbledore, Dad…”

“Right… Professor Dumbledore.” Calvin sighed, glancing around as if hoping something would magically appear. Driven by curiosity, he even knocked on the brick pillar a few times—maybe it would turn into a hidden door? Sia shook her head, barely able to believe her father was actually doing that.

Oh, My…

Just then, a station guard walked by, and Calvin immediately approached him. “Excuse me, do you know where Platform 9¾ is?”

The guard sighed, clearly annoyed. “Platform 9¾? Are you kidding, sir?” Without waiting for a response, he walked off, grumbling, “There’s always someone every year…”

Sia chuckled. “Seriously, Dad? Asking the station guard?”

“Why not? He’s a station guard,” Calvin said, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.

Pit gave a soft hoo from inside the cage, sounding just as confused.

Before Sia could say anything else, a family with striking red hair and matching green eyes walked past them from behind.

“So many Muggles here,” one of the kids muttered.

Sia caught the word. Muggles. Professor Dumbledore had mentioned it—a term for those who couldn’t use magic.