Mysterious Journey
Chapter 41: Beginning at King's Cross Station
"Alright, let's say goodbye here. I don't want to sit on the train and bid you farewell," said Elena, holding a trolley, stopping between Platform 9 and Platform 10. She turned to face Benítez, patting her bulging chest as she spoke. "Reserve Ration, come out and say goodbye to Daddy."
The girl's chest stirred, and a sleepy little owl poked its head out from the collar of her top, chirping as if to say goodbye.
*Goo~*
Ever since returning to Las Town from Hogwarts that day, Elena had been forbidden from touching any books related to magic. She didn't even get to touch her wand until this day, when school was about to start.
Before that, the two black walnut wands sent by Ollivander had been kept by Benítez.
As the unsuccessful 819 coup d'état was launched as scheduled, Elena stopped paying attention to news from the Soviet Union.
The tide of this change had completely taken shape, and unless someone could overturn most of human civilization within three months, no one could stop the Soviet Union from gradually disintegrating.
Therefore, Elena spent most of her time and energy learning cooking skills and training (tiao) teaching (jiao) Reserve Ration.
After several rewards of taking hot baths, Little Reserve Ration quickly learned a series of very important survival rules, such as not bringing dead mice home, staying obediently in her little master's arms at night and not flapping around, and helping to finish off prey when it struggled (currently, the only opponents were lake fish)...
"You..."
Benítez shook his head helplessly, reaching out to pull Reserve Ration out of Elena's collar and placing it on the black suitcase on the trolley. He tidied the girl's somewhat disheveled silver hair, saying with affection, "After school starts, don't be so casual like you are at home. How can you always let Reserve Ration sleep in your chest?"
Although he had been mentally prepared, Benítez couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive as the moment of parting approached. He squatted down, touched the top of Elena's head, and earnestly instructed her again.
"Two large suitcases, one with clothes and quilts, and the other with books and snacks. After arriving at school, remember to take out the clothes and hang them up first, so that they don't get wrinkled and look bad. If it gets cold later, remember to add another layer of bedding on the bed."
"There are quite a few snacks I brought for you in the suitcase this time. You can share them with your classmates and make more friends. If it's not enough, let Reserve Ration send me a letter and I'll mail you some more."
"Also, be careful when using that set of imported German Zwilling knives. I took a look, and they're heavier than the knives you usually use. Don't hurt yourself."
"Pay attention to safety at school. If you have conflicts with classmates, or if classmates bully you..."
"Ah, I know, I know... I will try my best to get along with my classmates, and I will seek help from professors if there are any problems."
Elena sighed helplessly. Benítez had nagged about the same things countless times along the way, and her ears were about to develop calluses.
"Okay, relax... Daddy."
The silver-haired little loli grabbed the large hand on her head with both hands, gently patted it, and her lake-blue eyes reflected the man's stubble-covered face. She raised her voice slightly.
"Hogwarts is in the Scottish Highlands, not in Africa, and certainly not in Antarctica. Besides, it's not my first time going to school. When the orphanage was first built, the conditions were much more difficult than this."
Looking up at the clock hanging on the platform, Elena bit her lip, stepped past Benítez, and took the trolley towards Platform 9 and 3/4.
"It's getting late. The Hogwarts Express leaves at eleven o'clock, I'm going in first."
So, she was most unaccustomed to facing such scenes of parting. At this time, she should just leave without saying a word.
"Elena!"
Seeing the girl about to pass through the ticket gate between Platform 9 and Platform 10, Benítez suddenly shouted loudly.
"Hmm?"
The silver-haired little loli turned around, tilting her head in confusion as she looked at the man.
"I thought about it just now, and you shouldn't have to wrong yourself."
Benítez lowered his body slightly, clenched his fists and raised them in front of his chest, making a standard boxing movement. His fist, as big as a sandbag, punched powerfully in the air.
"Remember how I taught you to punch? If someone bullies you, just beat them up!"
Sure enough, he was still relying on force to subdue people first, beating up all the thickheads who didn't have eyes, and then reasoning?
This was the Storm Monk she remembered. Elena's mood instantly became brighter, the corners of her mouth quirked up, revealing a cute little tiger tooth. She turned her back, and waved her fair little fist.
"Don't worry, I will definitely not let you down, Daddy. I'll beat up even boys if I have to."
After Elena finished speaking, she didn't turn back, and pushed the trolley towards the ticket gate with light steps.
Behind her, Benítez raised his hand, as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end he didn't make a sound, and watched the girl's shaking silver hair suddenly disappear into the air.
Benítez rubbed his eyes. The barrier where Elena had passed through looked solid, and the surrounding pedestrians didn't seem to notice that a little girl had suddenly disappeared in the train station.
"Is that your daughter? She's a very sensible child, and it's her first time going to Hogwarts, right?"
At this moment, a gentle woman's voice sounded next to Benítez's ear. He turned his head and saw a short, chubby woman standing next to him with four red-haired boys. Each boy was pushing a suitcase like Elena's - and each of their suitcases had an owl on it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation."
Seeing Benítez turn his head, the woman blinked apologetically, "It's just that I think if you can, you should go into the station to see her off. After all, she's such a small girl."
"No, it might look bad, and..."
Benítez thought about it carefully, shook his head, and his eyes darkened slightly, "...I'm not a wizard. I can't teach her magic or other knowledge. She belongs to a wider world."
A month wasn't enough for Benítez to fully understand the situation of the entire magical world, but it was enough for him to roughly understand what a huge event Elena was planning.
Whether it was the magical powers that Dumbledore displayed, or the astronomical wealth, or the game across the entire world, each of them was enough to subvert all his experience and knowledge of the past few decades for Benítez.
For the first time in his life, Benítez felt a sense of powerlessness and frustration. He could clearly feel that his strong body and the orphanage, which he was once proud of for protecting the girl from the wind and rain, had now become shackles that hindered Elena from going to a wider world.
"Ah, men... they're just like mine, even worse."
The woman, also known as Mrs. Weasley, shook her head helplessly and patted Benítez on the shoulder gently.
"Children will eventually grow up, leave us, and walk their own path. However, this doesn't mean that the meaning of family will disappear. Children can choose to escape, but as parents, we have to try our best to stay with them until the last moment."
After a pause, Mrs. Weasley added softly, "Besides, I saw that child crying at the end, don't you really want to go up and comfort her?"
"Elena, crying?"
Benítez's expression changed, he raised his head and looked ahead, only to realize that the girl had long disappeared.
"Of course, this is the result of observation by a mother who has raised seven children."
Mrs. Weasley smiled proudly and patted Benítez on the back, "Go ahead, there should still be time. Just go straight through the ticket gate between Platform 9 and Platform 10."
"Thank you, madam."
Benítez nodded and hurried forward with an anxious expression.
"Mom, why did you say that girl was crying? I thought she seemed quite happy?"
The red-haired little girl on Mrs. Weasley's right raised her head and asked curiously.
"Oh, Ginny, maybe I was wrong. Now, don't talk."
Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly, touched her daughter's head, turned around and clapped her hands, "Children, let's go. Percy, you go first..."
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Luckily, I coded 500 words in advance yesterday, otherwise I would have almost faced the crisis of asking for leave and stopping the update.
The start of school plot is unexpectedly difficult to write. I originally wanted to write a good scene of a father sending his daughter to school in another place, but after thinking about it, when my family sent me, it seemed that they just told me not to bully my classmates, and then left me at the airport and left directly. QAQ~
Finally, please recommend votes.