Vincent walked to the very end of the Hogwarts Express.
The connecting door between the last two carriages rattled with every sway of the train.
He looked up.
Near the ceiling was a narrow maintenance vent that led to the roof.
Perfect.
After making sure no one was watching, Vincent slipped behind the partition.
With a silent leap—
He transformed into his least weasel Animagus form and squeezed into the vent.
The Hogwarts Express thundered across the countryside.
Wind howled across the roof.
Rolling green hills stretched endlessly beneath the enchanted train.
Keeping low against the powerful gusts, Vincent carefully made his way toward Harry’s carriage.
Soon…
He reached another ventilation opening.
Unfortunately, a metal grille blocked the passage.
A normal weasel couldn’t possibly squeeze through.
Vincent wasn’t an ordinary weasel.
He quietly cast Reducio.
The vent shrank to the size of a small metal badge, leaving a large opening.
After slipping through…
He cancelled the spell.
The vent immediately returned to its original size.
Vincent dropped lightly into the compartment below.
“…Huh?”
“Where did that breeze come from?”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked up in surprise.
Harry’s eyes immediately lit up.
He almost called Vincent’s name aloud.
Vincent quickly shook his head.
Not yet.
Ron still held a fat gray rat in his lap.
Scabbers.
Peter Pettigrew.
Revealing his identity too early could ruin many future plans.
He needed another name.
The owl that had delivered his Hogwarts letter suddenly came to mind.
“Call me…”
“Mr. Weasel.”
Hermione blinked.
“A talking weasel?”
“Who are you?”
“And how did you get in here?”
Harry understood that Vincent was hiding his identity.
He wisely kept quiet.
Vincent looked directly at Harry.
“I have something important to ask you.”
Then…
His eyes shifted toward Ron’s lap.
Scabbers was trembling violently.
To anyone else…
It looked like a rat terrified of its natural predator.
Vincent knew better.
Peter Pettigrew was only pretending.
“Take the rat outside.”
“I don’t like rats.”
He wrinkled his nose, making his dislike seem like simple animal instinct.
Ron stared.
“But this is Scabbers!”
“Percy only just gave him to me!”
“If I hand him back now, Percy will think I don’t want him anymore.”
Harry spoke before Vincent could.
“Ron…”
“Please.”
“Listen to Mr. Weasel.”
After everything Harry had witnessed on the island…
He trusted Vincent completely.
Ron reluctantly sighed.
“Fine…”
“I’ll be right back.”
A minute later, he returned alone.
“I gave Scabbers back to Percy for now.”
“I told him I wanted him looked after until we reached Hogwarts.”
Ron shrugged.
“Percy wasn’t exactly thrilled about carrying a rat around anyway.”
“He says it ruins his image as a prefect.”
Hermione remained silent.
But her curiosity was obvious.
She listened intently.
Vincent finally asked,
“Has Professor Dumbledore contacted either of you?”
Harry looked confused.
“You mean Professor Dumbledore?”
Hermione almost gasped.
“You know Professor Dumbledore personally?”
“He’s the greatest wizard alive!”
Harry shook his head.
“No.”
“I haven’t seen him.”
Vincent frowned slightly.
“What about Hagrid?”
“When did he come back?”
“Did he take you to Diagon Alley?”
“Did he mention anything unusual?”
Harry thought for a moment.
“He came very early on the third morning.”
“I was still asleep.”
“He woke me up.”
“He said everything had finally been sorted out.”
“The Aurors accepted that he was just collecting me when You-Know-Who attacked.”
“He also said Professor Dumbledore suspected that a few people inside the Auror Office weren’t trustworthy.”
“They kept trying to separate everyone during the investigation.”
“Professor Dumbledore thought they might have connections to former Death Eaters who were searching for You-Know-Who.”
Ron looked completely stunned.
“…Did you just say…”
“…You-Know-Who?”
His voice became little more than a whisper.
Harry continued.
“After that…”
“Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley.”
“He withdrew money from my parents’ vault.”
“Then he collected a grubby little package from another vault.”
“We bought my books…”
“My robes…”
“My cauldron…”
“My wand…”
“And Hedwig.”
He proudly pointed toward the snowy owl sleeping peacefully inside her cage.
Vincent barely noticed.
His attention had fixed on something else.
A grubby little package…
His expression became serious.
“Are you certain?”
“Hagrid collected it from a different vault?”
Harry nodded.
“Yes.”
Vincent’s thoughts raced.
The package could only be one thing.
The Philosopher’s Stone.
Originally…
Dumbledore had ordered Hagrid to retrieve it because Quirrell intended to steal it from Gringotts.
But Quirrell was already dead.
Voldemort had fled to Albania.
There should have been no immediate threat.
So why…
Had Dumbledore retrieved it anyway?
“Did Hagrid say why he needed it?”
Harry shook his head.
“No.”
“He never explained.”
Vincent slowly nodded.
“I understand.”
“I’ll ask Hagrid myself.”
If everything followed the usual schedule…
Hagrid would be waiting for the first-years after they arrived at Hogwarts.
“Thank you.”
“That information was important.”
He quietly nudged the compartment door open with a subtle Depulso, making it appear as though it had simply swung open.
Before leaving, he looked back.
“Please don’t tell anyone about this conversation.”
All three nodded.
Vincent slipped into the corridor.
A few minutes later…
He reached the rear of the train.
After making sure nobody was nearby…
He transformed back into his human form.
Then he started walking toward Neville’s compartment.
Three boys suddenly blocked his path.
One had pale blond hair.
The other two were broad, heavy-set boys.
Draco Malfoy.
Vincent recognized them immediately.
“Everyone’s talking about Harry Potter.”
Gregory Goyle sneered.
“They say he’s in one of the front compartments.”
Draco folded his arms.
“So…”
“The famous Harry Potter.”
“If he’s nothing more than another wizard inflated by rumors…”
“Someone ought to remind him how proper wizarding society works.”
“If he knows how to behave…”
“I might even consider becoming his friend.”
Goyle suddenly recognized Vincent.
His face darkened.
“It’s you!”
“The one from Diagon Alley!”
“You humiliated me!”
His small eyes narrowed.
“I’ve learned a spell now!”
“Densaugeo!”
“You’ll regret what you did!”
Draco frowned.
“You picked on my friend?”
“That’s unacceptable.”
Crabbe nodded enthusiastically.
The three boys simultaneously reached for their wands.
Vincent wasn’t interested in fighting.
With one smooth motion…
His wand flicked almost invisibly.
A silent Transfiguration spell struck the boys’ shoelaces.
The laces instantly stretched…
Wrapped together…
And knotted themselves into a tangled mess.
The three boys took one confident step forward.
Then—
Crash!
All three fell flat onto the corridor floor.
The moving train lurched slightly.
Unable to regain their footing, they slid backward together in one tangled heap.
Students all along the corridor opened their compartment doors to see what had happened.
Among them…
Vincent spotted Neville…
Seamus…
And Julianne.
Julianne stared at the pile of tangled Slytherins.
Her mouth slowly fell open in astonishment.