"Harry, let's go together. There's only one minute left," Ron looked at Harry nervously and said.
"I think I saw Lockhart..." Harry's gaze froze, as he seemed to have spotted a figure that gave him a headache. But he didn't have time to think, as the train was about to depart.
So, together with Ron, they crouched and pushed the trolley firmly towards the wall. Behind them, a blond man in a blue suit, with a troubled expression, glanced at his watch and hurriedly ran towards the wall.
They reached the wall and then—*Bang!* The two's hands pushing the trolley hit the wall firmly and bounced back. Their suitcases flew into the air, crashing onto the ground. Harry fell backward, colliding with someone behind him.
"Ouch!" For a moment, chaos ensued on Platform 9.
The commotion also attracted the station staff, but luckily, they were deceived by Harry. The crucial issue was not dealing with the station staff but realizing that they couldn't pass through the platform wall at all! Even if they could, they couldn't move now. Ten or more Muggles were staring at them, with at least ninety percent looking because of Hedwig.
After the suitcases were knocked over, Hedwig had been screeching angrily, drawing attention wherever they went. If they disappeared instantly now, it would surely cause a huge stir, resulting in a severe security breach.
However, just as Harry and Ron were in a daze, they saw a familiar figure rushing past them, then rigidly crashing into the wall.
"It's really Professor Lockhart..." Ron's face drooped, but suddenly, he thought of something. "No, he should be able to solve this!"
The man in the blue suit was indeed Lockhart. He had originally planned to take the train to Hogwarts—he could interact with fans on the train. However, the rumors he heard at Flourish and Blotts were too terrifying. It left him in a dilemma: whether to ditch Dumbledore?
This emotional struggle kept him wandering outside the station. In the end, he decided to go to Hogwarts. After all, if the sky fell, there was a tall man to hold it up—Professor Dumbledore. He believed that everything could be handled by him.
The reality, however, gave him a heavy blow: the wall of the platform indicated that this way was blocked.
Lockhart was completely frozen. He heard Ron's words, but he had no idea what to do. He was completely bewildered—what had happened? Since graduating, he hadn't walked through this passage for a long time—nor had he heard that the entrance to Platform 9 had changed?
Seeing the onlookers, Lockhart suddenly had an idea. He quickly walked over to Harry and Ron, signaling them to leave this place.
"Let's leave here first. There are too many Muggles here, and we can't go in anymore—although fixing this wall issue is a piece of cake for me, I can't do it. It would violate the 'Statute of Secrecy,'" Lockhart said to the two with a righteous tone.
Harry didn't want to pay attention to Lockhart. He glanced at the time, despairingly realizing that it was already past eleven, and the train had left.
"Let's go back to the car over there—"
"Yes, the car! We can fly to Hogwarts by car—" Hearing the word "car," Ron's eyes lit up.
Harry instinctively felt that this was the worst option among all, and he was about to refuse, but Lockhart on the side interjected, "Fly? Fly to Hogwarts by car? Merlin above, this is soooooo cool!"
"Kids, don't worry, let's set sail and fly straight to Hogwarts!"
Encouraged by Lockhart's support, Ron's morale soared, and he immediately pushed the trolley towards the exit of the train station. Although he had a mediocre impression of Lockhart, at this moment, Lockhart was radiant, almost like an idol to him.
Lockhart continued to chatter, "This is really headline material... Oh no, I mean, don't worry, in truly urgent situations, young wizards can also use magic, as stipulated in Regulation 19 of the Restriction Code." In Lockhart's view, this incident was too sensational. Since the founding of Hogwarts, who had ever performed such a feat?
If he could drive a car in front of the entire school staff and students, descend from the sky, and stop in front of them, it would undoubtedly become the center of attention! So, his focus immediately shifted to inciting the two young wizards, preventing them from giving up. He casually cited a regulation, not caring that he had just used the Statute of Secrecy as an excuse. But this statement did have an effect; Lockhart successfully won over Harry, prompting him to agree to Ron's idea.
They briskly shook off the onlookers and reached Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia. Ron opened the trunk and put the suitcases inside. However, his next actions shattered Lockhart's fantasies.
Ron unhesitatingly took the driver's seat.
"I've actually learned how to drive," Lockhart cleared his throat. According to his plan, if he couldn't be the driver, it would be almost meaningless.
However, Ron couldn't possibly entrust a life-threatening position to a stranger. Even if Lockhart blew his own trumpet resoundingly, Ron still believed in himself more. So, he directly ignored Lockhart.
This left Lockhart greatly disappointed.
During the struggle between him and Ron, Harry seized the opportunity and sat next to Ron. As a friend, he felt it was too cruel to let Ron sit with Lockhart all the way. Moreover, from Harry's perspective, allowing others to distract the driver with conversation was dangerous driving, right?
So, he and Ron occupied the two front seats, leaving Lockhart to sit in the back with Hedwig.
Ron had some sense; he didn't take off immediately but pressed a silver button on the dashboard. They, along with the car, became invisible—or rather, transparent.
"Oh, a very nice Disillusionment Charm. I used to—"
"Take off!" Ron stepped on the accelerator, and the ground fell away beneath them. However, it was clear that the invisibility button wasn't very effective. They occasionally appeared in the air.
This somewhat relieved Lockhart: if they remained invisible the entire time, he could only write about this plot in the next book. Lockhart never considered the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. In his view, gaining the spotlight was much more important than that—no problem, he could cooperate with the Ministry's employees to erase the memories of the witnesses! He was very skilled at that.
Soon, Harry and the others soared into the clouds. The transparent carriage allowed them an unobstructed view of the surrounding clouds, giving them a sense of oppression coming from all directions. Even Lockhart closed his mouth. Of course, he firmly stored all this in his memory. He was determined to vividly depict this experience in his next book.
He looked at Harry and Ron, and his gaze gradually became dangerous.
"The memories of these two also need a little adjustment... After all, the best driver is me, Gilderoy Lockhart!"
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(End of this chapter)