"Would you like a reading? It’s only one Galleon," Vade said, looking at Harry expectantly.
Harry swallowed the words that had nearly reached his lips.
He was curious, but only enough to try it for fun. He was not interested enough to spend money on it.
His parents had certainly left him a considerable inheritance, with piles of gold and silver coins and mountains of bronze ones. However, given the rather haphazard exchange rates of wizarding currency, even if all the silver and bronze were converted into gold, he had inherited only a few thousand Galleons.
It was an enormous sum to him, but he was still only a child with no source of income. He also had seven years at Hogwarts ahead of him, so he needed to spend carefully.
Paying one Galleon for a single divination seemed far too extravagant.
"All right."
Vade could naturally tell that Harry was declining, but he did not mind.
He had considered making money through divination, though for now it remained nothing more than an idea.
The train began to move, gradually gathering speed as the scenery outside rushed past.
Both boys turned toward the window, filled with excitement for the promising future ahead.
"Vade," Harry said, taking the initiative to start a conversation. "How much do you know about Hogwarts?"
"Not much." Vade shook his head and deliberately adopted a melancholy tone. "I’m different from you. I grew up in an orphanage. If an owl hadn’t delivered a letter to my house, I would never have known I was a wizard."
"What? You too?"
"What?"
Vade froze for a moment, then quickly put on a surprised expression.
"Too?"
"You’re the famous Harry Potter. How could you have only just learned that you’re a wizard?"
"I grew up with my aunt and uncle. They’re all Muggles, and they never told me anything about my parents."
Vade opened his mouth in astonishment, as though he could hardly believe that the saviour of the wizarding world knew even less about magic than he did.
At that moment, the image he had built around Harry Potter completely shattered.
His revered idol had become nothing more than an ordinary classmate.
This was the perfect opportunity to put some distance between them.
After several seconds of silence, Vade looked at Harry seriously.
"Harry, as a diviner, I can offer you one sincere piece of advice right now.
Prepare yourself. The next few months may not be easy for you."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Isn’t it obvious? Too many people have placed their hopes on you. But if you turn out not to be the person they imagine, their expectations will become disappointment."
As Vade spoke, he felt that the Boy Who Lived could use some encouragement.
"Still, that will only be a minor setback for you. You may know little about the wizarding world, but that doesn’t stop you from being a genius."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Isn’t it obvious? Both of your parents were exceptionally talented. You inherited their blood, so you can’t possibly be ordinary. Not just anyone can become the Boy Who Lived.
The wizarding world chose you, Harry.
You may encounter a few setbacks at the beginning, but no protagonist’s journey is ever completely smooth, is it?"
Harry nodded thoughtfully, feeling a little more confident.
"Excuse me."
A red-haired boy with a smudge on his nose opened the compartment door.
"Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
Of course you can’t. Go away!
Vade complained furiously in his mind.
If he could turn back time, he swore he would choose a different compartment.
One that was already crowded, preferably with only a single empty seat.
As that thought crossed his mind, he felt the Clown potion digest a little further.
"Of course," Harry said warmly, inviting the boy inside and making room for him to sit beside him.
"I’m Ron. Ron Weasley."
"Vade Moria," Vade replied expressionlessly, his tone carrying a faint sense of distance.
"I’m Harry. Harry Potter."
Ron’s eyes slowly widened.
"So it’s true. You really have..."
"Have what?"
"The scar."
"Yeah."
Harry brushed the hair from his forehead, revealing the lightning-shaped scar.
"Brilliant! Did You-Know-Who give you that?"
"Yes, but I don’t remember anything except a flash of green light."
The two boys began chatting casually. The more they talked, the better they got along, and a friendship quietly began to form.
Vade silently watched the scenery outside, making himself as inconspicuous as possible with no intention of joining them.
This was perfect.
They could simply pretend he was not there.
By noon, the train had left London behind, and the houses outside had given way to fields and pastures.
A rattling sound came from the corridor outside as a middle-aged witch pushed a trolley piled high with sweets past the compartment.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?"
"No, thanks. I brought something."
Ron’s ears turned red as he awkwardly took out a wrapped sandwich.
The Weasley family was famously poor, and his pocket money had never amounted to more than a single Galleon. Even this lunch had been prepared for him in advance by his mother.
Harry, on the other hand, generously pulled several Galleons from his pocket, drawing an envious look from Ron.
He bought a little of everything, spending eleven Sickles and seven Knuts in total.
Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, and Liquorice Wands formed a pile on the empty seat, though Harry did not recognize any of them.
"Would you like some?"
"Can we?"
"Of course. I can’t eat all of this by myself."
Ron immediately abandoned his dry sandwich and picked up a Pumpkin Pasty. Even his pet, a gray rat, received a small tub of popcorn.
Vade did not stand on ceremony either. He took two Cauldron Cakes and a box of Chocolate Frogs.
"What are Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans?" Harry asked.
"They come in every flavour," Ron explained between bites. "There’s chocolate, peppermint..."
Halfway through Ron’s explanation, Harry placed one of the beans in his mouth.
His expression immediately became strange.
"There’s also spinach, liver, and tripe. George says he once got a bogey-flavoured one."
Harry silently spat the bean out, then picked up an elegantly decorated box.
"Is this a real frog?"
"It’s just a charm. The main point is collecting the cards. Every pack comes with a card featuring a famous witch or wizard. I’ve collected nearly five hundred of them."
Harry opened the box.
A frog made of chocolate leapt out and landed against the window.
"Watch it."
The Chocolate Frog climbed upward, then jumped through the open window and was swept away by the rushing air.
"Bad luck. They’ve only got one good jump in them."
Vade shook his head and opened his own box.
However, the moment his Chocolate Frog leapt into the air, he caught it tightly and tossed it into his mouth.
It tasted quite good, even better than ordinary chocolate.
(To be continued.)