Lynn's plan won unanimous approval from the Young Wizards present; they waited at the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters until the hogwarts express pulled out.
After confirming they still couldn't get through, the seven of them walked straight out of King's Cross Station and into a nearby alley.
Harry scribbled a short note to Headmaster Dumbledore explaining the situation, handed it to Hedwig, and they simply stood where they were and waited.
Watching Hedwig disappear into the sky, Lynn's mind raced on instinct.
The magic sealing Platform Nine and Three-Quarters is maintained regularly by Ministry personnel.
And now, right at the start-of-term season, the Ministry would certainly have inspected the platform entrance in advance.
Even the Professors from Hogwarts should have checked it.
So the platform had shown no problems—until today.
Lynn mentally crossed out that conclusion and plugged in another line of reasoning.
No other Young Wizards were lingering in King's Cross besides their group.
Therefore the entrance must have been working normally before they arrived.
The only correct final conclusion: the platform had been sealed for those seven specifically.
Among the seven, only Harry had been warned by a House-elf not to return to Hogwarts.
Narrow it further: the sealing was because of Harry, and the culprit behind it becomes obvious.
The House-elf trying to stop Harry from reaching Hogwarts.
The magic at the platform entrance is jointly protected by the Ministry and Hogwarts; few Wizards in the entire British Wizarding World could affect it—let alone seal it.
But House-elves are different; their magic is nothing like a Wizard's, and for them such a feat should be simple.
Lynn worked through the entire chain of deductions in mere seconds, yet Hermione still caught the rapid flicker of her eyes.
Tilting her head in puzzlement, Hermione slipped an arm through Lynn's. "What are you thinking about?"
As soon as Hermione asked, the other five turned their gaze on Lynn.
By now all six Young Wizards, Hermione included, had more or less agreed: looking after Lynn ranked near the top of their priorities.
Lynn's face stayed blank as she recited her reasoning and its conclusion in a flat tone.
Harry felt dizzy listening, but he grasped one point: the most likely reason they couldn't enter Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was—him.
Though it wasn't his fault, he apologized sincerely to everyone.
Before he could finish, Penelope cut him off.
"It's not your fault, don't be like that—always apologizing isn't good."
"No need to stand on ceremony among friends, mate," Ron added, elbowing Harry twice until the grin returned to Harry's face.
Missing the train simply meant waiting a bit longer; they'd still get to school, so they cheerfully chatted and joked.
With Hermione hugging her arm, Lynn watched Harry and the others laugh together—and, incredibly, the corner of her mouth lifted the tiniest bit.
Catching the fleeting expression from the corner of her eye, Hermione spun around in disbelief; once sure she'd truly seen that minuscule smile and not imagined it, excitement ballooned inside her.
She fought with everything she had not to squeal aloud.
She was terrified that if she did, Lynn would realize she'd been seen and instantly revert to her blank mask.
Even so, and even without Hermione's squeal to disturb her, the smile on Lynn's face was gone in a flash.
In less than five seconds her lips had returned to their usual line.
Hermione felt a pang of loss, but also a huge surge of encouragement.
The smile had been faint—barely there—and lasted only an instant, but it had happened, and that was tremendous progress.
Hermione felt happier than if every Professor had given her top marks.
Admittedly, a tiny, tiny smugness crept in as well.
She was the only one who had seen Lynn's first smile—so didn't that make her special?
The thought that she might be different to Lynn left Hermione so giddy she felt bubbles rising inside her.
Owls in the Wizarding World fly fast and are highly intelligent.
Understanding her master's plight, Hedwig beat her wings even harder than usual.
She shaved the normal delivery time in half, and by the time Headmaster Dumbledore received the letter he merely lifted an eyebrow, smoothed his white beard, and glanced at Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, who happened to be with him.
McGonagall recognized Hedwig. "That's Potter's Owl, isn't it? What brings her here?" she asked, puzzled.
Dumbledore handed her the note. "Harry writes that they missed the train—the platform was sealed—and asks us to come for them."
"Missed the train?" McGonagall's eyebrows rose; nothing like this had happened in Hogwarts history.
"And by 'they'…" she paused, "you mean Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley as well?"
Reading on, she muttered, "Plus Miss Lin, Senior Penelopa, Miss Maranhao, and Miss Marietta—how did they all end up together?"
With a worried shake of her head she whipped out her wand.
They were still out there—just children, her students—and anything could happen; she itched to Apparate to them on the spot.
"Minerva, calm yourself," Professor Flitwick chuckled, patting his old friend's arm.
"With Miss Lin and Miss Penelopa among them, I'm sure the children are safe."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!