Harry looked down at the card in his hand.
It depicted an elderly man wearing half-moon spectacles, with a crooked nose and long silver hair and beard.
Albus Dumbledore.
Turning the card over, he found a short biography listing Dumbledore’s achievements: defeating Grindelwald, discovering the twelve uses of dragon’s blood, and his groundbreaking work in alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel…
“Our Headmaster really is incredible,” Wade remarked as he pulled the exact same Dumbledore card from his own Chocolate Frog box.
“I doubt there’s a single person in the wizarding world who doesn’t know who he is.” Harry flipped the card back over.
“Dumbledore’s gone.” “You can’t expect him to stay trapped inside the card forever.” “Ahem.” Wade cleared his throat.
“Harry, there’s something you need to understand.” “The wizarding world is different from the Muggle world.” “A lot of things that don’t make sense to you can simply be explained with magic.” Squeak…
squeak…
The large gray rat sprawled across Ron’s lap, half its body buried inside a snack box as it happily munched away.
1 “This is Scabbers.” “Poor thing, isn’t he?” “I suppose.” “Fred taught me a spell that turns him yellow.” “Want to see it?” “Sure.” Harry nodded eagerly.
Ron took out his wand and cleared his throat.
“Wait.” Wade stared at the wand, noticing the faint silver unicorn hair already peeking through the worn wood.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Using a wand in that condition…
the chances of casting a successful spell couldn’t be very high.
Embarrassment flashed across Ron’s face.
“It used to belong to my brother Charlie.
The unicorn hair’s almost sticking out, but…” Before he could finish, the compartment door slid open once again.
A girl in Hogwarts robes with thick brown hair looked around the compartment before asking helplessly, “Have any of you seen a toad?
Neville’s lost his.” “Nope.” Wade shook his head immediately, hoping to send her away.
At this rate, they’d have enough people for a game of mahjong.
But when the girl noticed Ron holding his wand, her eyes lit up.
“Are you about to do magic?” “Let’s have a look.” Ron cleared his throat once more and solemnly waved his wand.
“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.” He pointed the wand at Scabbers.
A few wisps of smoke curled from the tip…
And absolutely nothing happened.
“If I’m not mistaken,” Wade said with a chuckle, “this is your first time trying that spell, isn’t it?” Anyone who had tested it even once wouldn’t embarrass themselves like this.
“Are you sure that’s even a real spell?” the girl asked.
“It doesn’t look very impressive.” “I’ve tried a few simple spells myself, and they all worked quite well.” As if to prove her point, she stepped into the compartment, drew her wand, and pointed it at Harry’s glasses.
“For example…” “Reparo.” Snap!
The strip of white tape wrapped around the bridge of Harry’s glasses fell away, revealing perfectly restored silver nose pads beneath.
Harry took off his glasses in astonishment, staring at them in disbelief.
“Much better, don’t you think?” As she spoke, she noticed the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
“Oh my goodness…” “You’re Harry Potter!” “I’m Hermione Granger.” “And you are?” “I’m Ron.” “Ron Weasley.” “Wade Moreya.” Wade answered, inwardly on the verge of tears.
He had to admit it.
He was ready to give up resisting fate.
On the very first day of school, ending up in the same compartment as these three…
He genuinely couldn’t decide whether it was a blessing or a curse.
“Nice to meet you.” “Do any of you know which House you’ll be sorted into?” “I want Hufflepuff.” The answer came from Wade without a moment’s hesitation.
Hermione blinked.
“Why would you want Hufflepuff?” “Because Hufflepuff is the best House.” “It has an excellent learning environment, a great atmosphere, and a Head of House who’s incredibly tolerant of the students.” “But everyone says Gryffindor is the best.” “Even Dumbledore graduated from Gryffindor.” “Every House has outstanding graduates.” Wade immediately shot back.
“Newt Scamander graduated from Hufflepuff.” 2 “And besides…” “I’m willing to bet every person who told you Gryffindor is the best was a Gryffindor.” “If you asked Hufflepuffs instead, I guarantee they’d tell you Hufflepuff is the greatest House.” “One more piece of advice.” “Gryffindor is absolutely the most exhausting House to be in.” “No contest.” Hermione frowned.
“Why do you say that?” “Gryffindor breaks more school rules than any other House.” “You look like someone who enjoys studying.” “Ravenclaw would suit you much better.” “Professor Flitwick is Ravenclaw’s Head of House.” “A talented student can fully develop their abilities there.” Hermione considered his words for a moment.
“I’d better go help Neville find his toad.” “You should all change into your robes.” “We’ll be arriving soon.” With that, she turned to leave.
Just as she reached the door, she looked back at Ron.
“You’ve got something on your nose, by the way.” “Right there.” Ron rubbed his nose and found a black smudge on his finger.
“Why didn’t either of you tell me?” “Sorry.” “I thought it was a birthmark,” Harry admitted.
“Me too,” Wade said.
Ron rolled his eyes before digging out a clean handkerchief and wiping his face.
“Don’t you think she’s a bit too arrogant?” Harry remained silent.
Judging by his expression, he clearly agreed.
“Doesn’t she have every right to be?” Wade smiled calmly and pointed toward Scabbers.
“That…” “…was your spell.” Then he pointed at Harry’s repaired glasses.
“And this…” “…was hers.” “The difference speaks for itself.” Was it excessive for an excellent student to act a little proud around a poor one?
Not really.
She had earned that confidence.
“It wasn’t my fault.” “Fred gave me a fake spell.” Ron stubbornly defended himself before changing the subject.
“By the way, you seem to know quite a lot about Hogwarts.” “I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley for over a month.” “There were lots of witches and wizards there.” “Quite a few had graduated from Hogwarts.” “So that’s why.” Harry nodded in realization.
“I should’ve rented a room in Diagon Alley too.” “You’ve no idea how awful my aunt and uncle are.” “Anyway,” Ron said, “you were absolutely right telling her to go to Ravenclaw.” “I definitely don’t want to end up in the same House as her.” “Ron,” Harry asked curiously, “which House do you want?” “Probably Gryffindor.” Ron looked a little gloomy.
“My dad, my mum, and all five of my brothers were Gryffindors.” “Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff aren’t bad…” “But who knows what my family would think?” “If I got sorted into Slytherin…” “My mum would probably break my legs.” “You seem to have quite a prejudice against Slytherin,” Wade observed.
“As far as I know, Slytherin accepts students with exceptional talent.” “Don’t you know?” Ron hesitated nervously before quickly correcting himself.
“That’s the House You-Know-Who belonged to.” “Hogwarts is also the school You-Know-Who attended.” “And we’re still going there.” “That’s different,” Ron protested.
Harry nodded in agreement.
“Hagrid told me that lots of Dark Wizards came from Slytherin.” “I’d rather go to Hufflepuff than Slytherin.” “…Hmm?” Wade’s expression instantly darkened.
What exactly is that supposed to mean?
Is Hufflepuff some kind of consolation prize?
I refuse to let anyone insult my dream House.
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