57: Chapter 57: We welcome everyone to register!

"That foreign traveler seems to have left. What a pity," Leon said to the friend beside him, holding up his phone. "He should have held onto this rare opportunity."

"You know, he might never come to London again."

"He doesn't understand harry potter, and even less the charm of magic." His friend's expression was also one of regret.

As they were chatting, another young lad crashed into the wall and fell, screaming, "Damn it, it's closed!"

Leon and his friend immediately dropped their somber mood and pointed their phones over there. "Another Muggle, next!"

"Excuse me, gentlemen, could you step aside? My train is about to depart."

"We were here first..." Leon and his friend turned their heads, snapping back with dissatisfaction.

But after seeing the person who asked, the two of them froze subconsciously. Their mouths hung open, and they forgot what they were going to say.

Before them stood an old man with white hair and a white beard. Of course, if that were all, they wouldn't have reacted this way.

The old man's attire was very familiar to them.

A large black robe enveloped his entire body, his wizard hat had a round brim and a pointed top, and the wooden staff in his hand looked very much like a pointer used by school teachers.

Oh, and with those small round glasses, he looked exactly like a Hogwarts wizard from the movies, as if he had stepped right out of a television screen and was standing right in front of them.

They glanced at each other, thinking to themselves, since when did harry potter have such an elderly loyal fan?

Besides shock, they also felt a bit ashamed.

They went around claiming to be die-hard fans of harry potter, yet they came to the event wearing ordinary T-shirts.

Forget about a full Hogwarts wizard outfit like the old man's; they hadn't even prepared a decent piece of merchandise or a poster.

All they knew how to do was hold up their phones and keep filming. What kind of die-hard fans were they?

"Gentlemen?"

"Could you let me through?"

"My train is about to depart."

Leon and his friend snapped out of it and hurriedly squeezed to the sides. In the crowd where people were packed so tightly their feet barely touched the ground, they managed to force an opening wide enough for the old man to pass through without even having to turn sideways.

They marveled in their hearts: This is what a real die-hard fan looks like!

Look at him; it wasn't just the superficial act of wearing a cosplay costume.

That tone, that expression—it was as if he truly were a wizard from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a hurry to catch a train.

"Hey, Leon." After the old man passed, the two squeezed back together. His friend's tone was a bit dejected. "I don't think we can call ourselves loyal fans of harry potter anymore."

"Compared to this old gentleman, we're just like stupid Muggles."

"That's true." Leon's mood wasn't great either. "We don't understand har— Oh my god, what is that old gentleman doing?"

His friend followed his gaze and saw that the old man had joined the end of the line waiting to run into the wall.

"Hi, sir!" They hurriedly ran to the old man's side. "We really admire your love for harry potter,"

"but please consider your physical condition."

"Crashing like that, you won't be able to handle it."

They took him by the arms on both sides, trying to help him out of the line, but to their surprise, they couldn't budge him.

They gradually increased the strength in their hands, but it remained the same. The old man was like a nail, firmly fixed in place.

"You two, since he doesn't care about his own body, let him try, haha..."

There was heckling from the surrounding crowd.

Leon turned his head and saw a slovenly young man standing at the front of the crowd. He cursed, "Idiot, show some respect for the elderly!"

After shouting, he and his friend continued trying to pull the old man away. The old man smiled and raised his hand, gently brushing their hands aside.

"Young men, you are quite good. If you're interested, you can submit an enrollment application to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"I will personally interview you, but not right now."

The old man raised a finger toward the wall. "I'm about to be late."

Leon and his friend let go in shock. Heavens, his movements were exactly like those of a Hogwarts wizard in the movies.

Just how much time had he spent practicing every move of the movie characters to be able to imitate them so closely?

Even if someone told me he was a real wizard, I wouldn't doubt it for a second!

The two were so dazed by the scene, which almost perfectly recreated the movie's atmosphere, that their minds felt a bit fuzzy. By the time they snapped out of it, the old man had already moved to the middle of the line.

More fans had joined the queue behind him, so it wasn't appropriate for them to go over and cause a scene anymore.

"Let's go over there." Leon pulled his friend to the right of the "station entrance." "We'll wait here. If he falls, we'll take him to the hospital immediately."

His friend nodded. "Don't worry too much, Leon. Neither of us could move him just now; his health must be excellent."

"As long as we act fast enough, it'll be fine."

Time passed slowly. Under their nervous gaze, the old man moved forward in the line.

After about three minutes, the old man reached the front of the line.

He walked slowly toward the gray wall. Seeing this, Leon breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the old gentleman knew what he was doing and would probably only bump the wall gently.

"Gentlemen, and ladies." The old man stopped just a step away from the wall and suddenly turned to greet the crowd.

Once everyone's attention and phone cameras were focused on him, his wrinkled face broke into a smile.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has finally passed its long period of closure."

"We will reopen the long-sealed school gates and begin recruiting magic students once more."

"I personally welcome everyone to apply enthusiastically, but unfortunately, not everyone will meet the criteria for admission to the academy."

This passionate speech, delivered with the full presence of a wizard, successfully drew the onlookers into the moment.

"Then, what are the criteria?" someone asked, sharing a smile with a companion and playing along.

"After you submit your applications, you will naturally find out," the old man said with a smile. "Additionally, there is one point you all need to note."

"The academy does not base admission solely on magical talent. For example, that Muggle."

The old man raised his wooden staff and pointed at the youth who had been heckling earlier. "Poor character. The gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be closed to him forever."

All eyes turned to the youth. He shrugged indifferently. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Are you all idiots? Do you really believe that old guy's words? What Magic Academy?"

Most of the people here were fans of harry potter, and his words clearly sparked public outrage.

The crowd became a bit restless, and several burly men had already rolled up their sleeves and were striding toward him.

The youth didn't care. He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking like he was ready to let them hit him just so he could sue.

"Please stop, gentlemen." The old man intervened in the impending conflict and turned back to the gray wall. "An ignorant Muggle is not worth your anger."

The old man raised his foot and walked straight toward the wall. Leon and his friend subconsciously moved closer to him, ready to catch him if he fell.

Over here, the youth curled his lip and stared at the old man's back, his tone nasty. "Old man, be careful not to break your nose... bridge?"

Seeing the old man's figure walk straight into the wall, his sarcasm cut off for a moment before he instinctively spat out the last word.

He wasn't the only one who saw this with his own eyes; the entire crowd was watching.

The scene, which had been noisy just a moment ago, was now as quiet as a classroom when the head teacher arrives.

*Slap!* Leon gave his friend a hard smack.

He used a lot of force. His friend clutched his face and screamed, "What are you doing?"

"Does it hurt?"

"No kidding!"

"Then, what I just saw wasn't a hallucination?"

"You bastard! Couldn't you have hit yourself?!"

The commotion from the two finally stirred the frozen air. The crowd also snapped out of it, crowding forward and rushing to the gray wall, pounding on it.

"What was that just now?"

"He just walked straight in? Did I see that wrong?"

"Hey man, unless everyone here and my phone all saw it wrong."

The speaker was staring intently at his phone screen, which was playing a video of the old man walking straight into the wall.

After watching it, he couldn't wait to upload the video to Facebook.

After a long time, the frantic people realized the wall hadn't opened an entrance for them and finally calmed down a bit.

Someone with a quick reaction said, "The old gent— the wizard said the academy is recruiting magic students, but he didn't say where to submit the application!"

"Uh, if you put it that way..." The person looked at the dazed youth who had been heckling. "He doesn't have a chance to sign up anymore."

Everyone was reminded and looked over together with mocking eyes. Leon, in particular, put on a heavily sarcastic face. "Muggle!"

"You can forget about ever entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"No... no!" The youth's dazed eyes regained focus. He screamed as he pushed through the crowd to the gray wall, pounding on it. "I was wrong, Mr. Wizard!"

"I understand my mistake now!"

His attitude was very sincere, but unfortunately, he pounded until his palms were raw and bloody, staining the wall, yet no one responded.

Instead, because he had dirtied the wall with blood, he was dragged aside and pinned to the ground by the burly men who had rolled up their sleeves earlier.

Even with a head full of bruises from the beating, he didn't care. He still tried to shout toward the wall, "I was wrong, Mr. Wizard! Please give me a chance to reflect!"