Time passed unnoticed, but ptform 9 ? slowly began to be filled with people.

  His mind raced like a whirlwind. How was it possible that he had turned McGonagall's hair into feathers? Not even the seventh-year students would dare to do something like that. Something was wrong with this reality where he apparently had spent a year at Hogwarts.

  "Strange, very strange…" he murmured to himself, absentmindedly running his fingers over the pendant on his neck.

  So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he didn't notice the passage of time nor the gradual arrival of more students at the ptform. He also didn't notice the girl with messy hair who had been watching him curiously for several minutes until she finally approached.

  "Excuse me, do you need help?"

  Ethan looked up, meeting inquisitive brown eyes that he instantly recognized. Hermione Granger was looking at him with an expression of genuine concern mixed with curiosity.

  "I'm fine, thank you," he replied without thinking, but something in the way she looked at him gave him a really bad feeling. Especially bad if he didn't even had the time to admire her, since she was one of the main characters of the books and movies.

  Hermione frowned slightly, pointing at his trunk.

  "It's just that… I saw the Gryffindor crest on your trunk, but I don't remember seeing you before. Are you a first year? It's unusual to already have a house assigned."

  Ethan felt his heart and lungs tighten at the same time. The feeling he had before only grew stronger with each passing second.

  "Actually, I'm in my second year," he responded haltingly, because it felt like he was out of breath, although he never stopped carefully observing Hermione's reaction. "Just like you, Hermione."

  The genuine surprise on the girl's face only intensified the pressure in his chest.

  "How do you know my name?" she asked, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. "I'm sure we've never been introduced."

  "We're housemates," Ethan admitted, keeping his calm despite the growing anxiety in his chest. "I was in Gryffindor st year. We shared csses."

  Hermione shook her head, her expression becoming increasingly confused and alert.

  "That's impossible. I know all the Gryffindors in our year. We are Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, me and…" Hermione paused, as if trying to remember something that was escaping her. "No, there's only us."

  "My name is Ethan Rhylen," he introduced himself, extending his hand while his mind worked at full speed. "Perhaps I wasn't very noticeable, I was quite focused on my studies."

  He didn't know what to believe or do, since this situation was completely out of his expectations. There was a ton of questions but also little time, sincce this problem could escate quickly the moment he arrived at Hogwarts.

  Hermione shook his hand automatically, but her frown remained.

  "That doesn't make sense. I was also focused on my studies and I know everyone. Besides, we sleep in separate gender dorms, so the boys should know each other well and talk about it. I don't remember Harry or Ron mentioning your name..."

  "I don't know what to say," Ethan began, his mind still searching for a pusible expnation, "maybe some kind of magical accident erased their memories?"

  Ok, this is the magical world, a crazy expnation was ok too.

  Hermione's eyes lit up a little at the mention of a possible magical mystery.

  "That would be very advanced magic," she murmured, more to herself than to Ethan. "But not impossible, I suppose. Do you remember anything specific from st year? Something that could corroborate?"

  Ethan thought Hermione still didn't fully believe he was a second-year student, and he didn't bme her. Still, this was the best opportunity he had to connect with her in his current situation. He didn't need a perfect excuse, but it had to be dramatic to help Hermione sympathize with him.

  Of course, he could lie completely and say he was friends with the "Golden Trio," but frankly, he had no idea what the repercussions could be if something went south.

  "I don't know how you can corroborate something you can't remember, but…" He finally said. "I remember wanting to teach Ron a lesson when he was talking behind your back after css, when we learned Wingardium Leviosa."

  Ethan didn't even know if the teachers or Dumbledore would remember Ethan, but it would eventually become the headmaster's problem in one way or another. He was a little over 70% sure nobody remembered him.

  Now this also meant that he had a dozen more problems piling up in his head. Problems that now faded into the background compared to what he had in front of him: the possibility of befriending Hermione, who now looked at him with a glimmer of surprise.

  "Setting aside that that's not the way to treat a girl, talking about someone behind their back is simply cowardly." He admitted as the lies continued to pile up.

  "Unfortunately, I also know that violence is not the answer to everything, so I preferred to follow you…" Ethan feigned hesitation, as if it were difficult to admit his next words. "… to comfort you and see if you wanted to be my friend."

  Hermione only breathed through her mouth trying to speak, but for a moment words didn't come out. Moments that Ethan took advantage of to continue.

  "In the end, I couldn't do it when you went into the girls' bathroom, and although I tried to wait for you, you never came out." He recounted as if he was really there. "I ended up running away when Parvati probably went inside bathroom."

  Since he was only acting and couldn't blush at will, Ethan decided to put his hands to his face, as if he wanted to hide under a rock for all eternity.

  "In the end, I went to celebrate Halloween with the others when the troll attacked, and although I wanted to help you, seeing that Harry and Ron were heading to the same pce, I simply left it in their hands." He finally recounted while tensing his body enough to tremble.

  "The good thing is that you were safe and the three of you ended up being good friends, but I could only feel guilty for not going with them, even if I was just a stranger," Ethan finally rubbed his eyes all this time to the point that they became a tearfully red .

  "And well, now if I am a stranger… Maybe not being remembered is what I deserve."

  Ethan watched as Hermione's face went through various emotions: surprise, confusion, and finally something that seemed like understanding. Her brown eyes softened slightly as she processed his story, and for a moment, Ethan could see a glimmer of vulnerability in them. The girl bit her lower lip, a gesture she used to do when something affected her deeply.

  "That is... very specific," she finally said with a slightly shaky voice. "No one could know those details unless they had been there or Harry and Ron had told them." Hermione tentatively extended a hand, as if wanting to touch Ethan's, but stopped halfway. "It must have been horrible for you... wanting to help and feeling unable. I... didn't know anyone else cared about me at that time."

  The train whistle blew, indicating that they would be leaving soon, the shrill sound cutting through the air charged with emotions between the two.

  "We should go up," Hermione suggested, still looking at him with a mixture of emotions. "We can continue talking on the train while I look for Harry and Ron."

  Ethan nodded, relieved to have overcome the first obstacle. He picked up his trunk and Hermes' cage, following his new travel companion. As they walked, he noticed that she kept watching him out of the corner of her eye, and he thought they were trying to remember him. He couldn't be more wrong.

  That aside, did he feel bad about maniputing Hermione? Maybe a little, but it wasn't as if he was doing it with bad intentions, especially since part of him was really excited to befriend one of the characters from the books he had read a long time ago.

  They finally found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Ethan stored his trunk in the luggage rack, mentally thanking that his current body was strong enough to lift it without problems.

  "So," Hermione began once they sat down, "if you were in Gryffindor st year, why don't I remember seeing you during the Philosopher's Stone incident? Or when Gryffindor won the House Cup?"

  Ethan was at least much calmer now to answer her.

  "Thank you for worrying, but it's obvious that you don't remember me at all, no matter how hard you try."

  Ethan simply feigned tiredness while smiling sadly. If everyone forgot him at all, it was useless to try remembering. The memories wouldn't return just because you wanted to… Especially since a part of him even suspected that both the events and Ethan himself never existed in the first pce.

  Since he wasn't even from this world, everything was possible.

  "After the troll incident I just got depressed and continued to be a normal student, trying to go unnoticed… Although if you ask me, Dumbledore definitely gave us the House Cup instead of expelling all of you for the Philosopher's Stone incident," he admitted with a enigmatic smile. "Because I don't know how I would have reacted in his instead if something had happened to you three, especially to you, Hermione… Always respecting the rules and suddenly risking your life in that way."

  The train began to move with a gentle jolt. Hermione jumped at Ethan's words, her eyes widening in surprise. A light blush colored her cheeks as she processed his comment about her respect for the rules and her sudden foray into dangerous adventures. She seemed momentarily speechless, divided between feeling fttered by his concern and disconcerted by the familiarity with which he spoke about events that, according to her, he should not know in such detail.

  "I-I'm going to look for Harry and Ron. They should be around here somewhere. Maybe they remember you."

  "I'll accompany you," Ethan offered, standing up before Hermione could run away. "Four eyes see more than two."

  SpoilerNakusyer

  [colpse]