When the two of them saw Neville’s somewhat embarrassed smile, they both laughed without the slightest restraint.
“All right, it’s getting late.
We’d better eat something first, then change into our Hogwarts uniforms.
We should be arriving soon, so we’d better get ready in advance.” Ternas came to Neville’s rescue.
Hermione, being very considerate, said, “Mm, that sounds good.
Once we get to school, can we continue studying like this?” The slightly pitiful look in her eyes made Ternas’s heart soften.
How could he possibly refuse?
He readily agreed, nodding so enthusiastically that his head bobbed like a rattle drum.
“By the way, what food did you bring?
I don’t think I saw any luggage with you.” Hermione asked another question, clearly curious.
“Oh, this?
Our luggage is all inside here.” As he spoke, he took out a dragon-hide bag.
It was only a palm-sized square pouch, made from exceptionally high-quality dragon hide.
Not only did it have a powerful capacity for containing magical power, it could also withstand extremely powerful magic without being damaged.
Its resistance to flames and high temperatures was likewise exceptionally high.
Seeing the puzzled look in Hermione’s eyes, Ternas opened the little leather bag and took out several lunch boxes.
They contained dishes prepared by Kali, some Eastern and some Western.
The only thing they had in common was that they were all exquisitely prepared.
Neville did the same, taking out serving after serving of food from a similar leather bag.
Warming charms had been placed on them, so wisps of steam were still rising from the dishes, making them look especially appetizing.
Hermione swallowed.
Whether she was hungry or simply astonished, she looked completely stunned.
“This is a fairly common magical item in the wizarding world.
It has a permanent Undetectable Extension Charm inside, so it contains a lot of space and can hold plenty of things.” As he spoke, Ternas raised the leather bag in his hand.
Hermione looked at the bag enviously but said nothing, doing her best to shift her attention toward the food.
However, Ternas still noticed her gaze.
Every now and then, her eyes would drift toward the leather bag hanging from his waist.
Ternas knew exactly what she was thinking.
He did not point it out, instead placing the various dishes onto the table in the compartment and inviting Hermione to eat with them.
Hermione had been talking with Ternas for so long that she was already very hungry.
She had simply been too distracted to notice it before.
Now that she saw the table covered with delicious food, her stomach immediately began growling as well.
Although she felt a little embarrassed, they were already friends, so there was no need to be overly polite.
She sat down at the table and began enjoying the food with them.
By the time they had eaten their fill, it was about time to get ready.
There was nothing particularly complicated for Ternas and Neville, but Hermione was a girl, so they needed to give her some privacy.
The two boys left the compartment first and waited outside while Hermione changed into her Hogwarts uniform.
Once they stepped out of the compartment, however, they suddenly noticed several people gathered around another compartment.
Two very tall and burly children were standing behind a boy with short, pale-blond hair.
The boy seemed to be having a verbal dispute with the people inside.
Seeing this, Ternas had a pretty good idea who was inside the compartment.
It should be the boy known as the Chosen One, Harry Potter.
Just as Ternas and Neville were watching curiously, the conflict between the two sides seemed to escalate.
The people inside the compartment appeared to have lost their tempers and were about to rush out and have a real fight with Malfoy.
However, they had clearly underestimated their opponents.
Even though Draco was not particularly strong physically, the two followers behind him were certainly not pushovers.
Their powerful physiques were more than enough to overpower someone of his smaller build.
Sure enough, the red-haired boy was quickly pinned down by Crabbe and Goyle.
Ternas could not simply stand by and watch.
Although he had been so annoyed while watching the Harry Potter films that Ron had eventually ended up with Hermione, he could not possibly sit back and watch this happen now.
Besides, Hermione was still inside their compartment and would be coming out soon.
If she saw him standing there watching the spectacle without doing anything, it might not exactly ruin her impression of him, but it certainly would not improve it either.
It was better to intervene now and let Hermione see his heroic side.
With that pleasant thought in mind, Ternas drew his wand.
“Separate!” It was a rather interesting spell that could force two people struggling with each other apart, essentially making it an excellent spell for breaking up fights.
Under Ternas’s spell, Harry and Ron, who had been pinned down, were easily separated from Crabbe and Goyle.
As for Draco, who had mostly been standing around and watching until then, the spell did not affect him, so he did not end up looking particularly disheveled.
At the same time, he finally saw who had interfered with their “fight.” Well, it could be called a fight for the sake of argument.
“Who are you?
Why are you interfering in my business?” Draco sounded somewhat aggressive, but he was not overly impulsive.
Anyone capable of stopping them like this clearly was not an ordinary person, especially since the boy had used magic.
That made Draco wary.
Even Draco could barely use magic at this point.
Whatever little magic he knew amounted to nothing more than playful tricks.
He certainly could not accomplish what Ternas had just done, separating several people who were grappling with a single wave of his wand.
“I’m Ternas, Ternas Longbottom.
You’re from the Malfoy family, right?
This little farce ends here.
We’re about to arrive at school, so go change your clothes.” Ternas spoke calmly as he slipped his wand back into the inner pocket of his clothes.
Draco had not expected to encounter someone his own age who was already this capable.
Judging from what the other boy had just demonstrated, he was clearly much stronger than Draco himself.
That surprised him, and he also restrained some of the pride he had been carrying inside.
He had heard a little about the Longbottom family.
Their family might indeed not be as powerful as the Malfoys, but they were hardly far behind.