Draco Malfoy leaned casually against the compartment doorway and spoke in his signature deliberately drawn-out tone.
“We meet again, Ivy.”
Ivy Doom glanced at him briefly before calmly finishing the sentence he had been interrupted in the middle of.
“And finally, the thing Slytherin values most—ambition.”
Draco clearly wanted to argue after hearing that, but in the end he merely pursed his lips.
Meanwhile, Ivy nodded toward him politely.
“Good afternoon, Draco.
And these two are…?”
He looked past Draco toward the pair of stocky boys standing behind him.
“Oh, this is Vincent Crabbe, and this is Gregory Goyle.”
Draco introduced them carelessly before tilting his chin toward the others inside the compartment.
“Looks like you’ve made some new friends too.
Why not introduce everyone?”
“The black-haired one is Harry Potter.
The redhead is Ron Weasley.
The young lady beside me is Hermione Granger.
And behind Crabbe and Goyle is Neville Longbottom.”
Ivy pointed toward each person one by one as he spoke.
Inside the already crowded compartment, the young wizards exchanged polite nods.
Ron and Draco, however, looked openly disgusted whenever their eyes met.
“Harry Potter,” Draco repeated slowly.
“Quite the famous name.
Everyone’s been saying you were somewhere in this carriage.”
Then he continued in a meaningful tone.
“But you should understand something.
Whether we’re talking about Houses…
or friends—”
At this point, Draco cautiously glanced toward Ivy.
“—you always have better choices available.”
“Hmph!”
Ron expressed his opinion through a loud snort.
“You talking about yourself, or Slytherin?” he shot back immediately.
“Everyone knows which House You-Know-Who came from.”
“Voldemort was from Slytherin?”
The moment Harry Potter spoke that name aloud, nearly everyone in the compartment inhaled sharply.
“What?” Harry asked in confusion.
Ron practically shouted:
“You said his name!
Everyone calls him ‘You-Know-Who’ instead!
I knew it…
only you would have the nerve to say it!”
“People believe Voldemort placed dark magic upon his own name,” Hermione Granger explained helpfully.
“That anyone who speaks it will be cursed.
That’s why people avoid saying it directly.”
“Harry!
You’re definitely getting sorted into Gryffindor!” Ron declared excitedly.
“Just because I said Vol—You-Know-Who’s name?” Harry looked unconvinced.
“That feels a little ridiculous.”
“Actually,” Ivy interrupted calmly, “I should probably clarify something.”
“The four Houses aren’t ranked above or below one another.
No matter which House we belong to, we’re all students of Hogwarts.
Slytherin also doesn’t deserve universal hatred simply because one infamous dark wizard once came from there.”
Then Ivy casually pulled out his wand and tapped his own shoulder.
“And besides…
over a hundred years ago, I myself was a Slytherin.”
His ordinary T-shirt instantly transformed back into the magnificent glowing Slytherin relic robes.
“Whoa—!”
A wave of shocked gasps filled the compartment.
“You didn’t even say a spell!” Hermione instantly noticed the important detail.
“Is that Ancient Magic too?”
“No,” Ivy answered while turning slowly in place to show off the robes.
“That’s simply one of the enchantments woven into these robes themselves.
Self-cleaning, temperature regulation, and automatic outfit transformation.”
“Wait!” Draco interrupted suddenly.
“You said you were a Slytherin over a hundred years ago?”
“Ha!
Bet you didn’t know that!” Ron immediately jumped at the opportunity to attack Draco.
“Ivy’s an Ancient Wizard who attended Hogwarts more than a century ago!”
“Idiot.”
Draco insulted him automatically before immediately returning his attention toward Ivy instead.
“Then you must know how the Sorting works!”
His eyes practically shined with desperation.
“I have to get into Slytherin!
If I end up in Gryffindor, I’ll withdraw immediately and transfer to Durmstrang Institute instead!”
“Oh, please!” Ron fired back immediately.
“Gryffindor wouldn’t take an arrogant narrow-minded idiot like you anyway!”
Then he hesitated slightly.
“Though…
if we could somehow learn the test in advance, maybe I could guarantee Gryffindor too.
Fred and George told me we’d have to wrestle trolls!”
“I think that would count as cheating,” Hermione declared firmly while glaring at Ivy.
“You shouldn’t tell them anything.”
“Oh, spare me, rabbit teeth,” Draco sneered before Hermione could continue.
“Nobody asked for your opinion.”
“Well…
if it guarantees I won’t get expelled…” Harry admitted hesitantly.
After growing up entirely in the Muggle world, the thing he feared most was being forced away from this magical new life.
Compared to that, House placement felt unimportant.
Even the usually silent trio of Neville Longbottom, Crabbe, and Goyle all stared toward Ivy expectantly.
Ivy sighed dramatically.
though I must say, it’s an experience I truly dislike remembering.”
He shook his head solemnly.
“Unfortunately, school regulations prevent me from revealing the exact details.”
Then his tone darkened slightly.
“But I can say this much—whatever happens during the Sorting will cause severe psychological trauma to certain individuals among us.”
“Not this again!” Draco complained irritably.
“Every single person who knows refuses to tell me the truth!
Mother only shakes her head, and Father keeps telling me not to ask!”
“So we really are fighting trolls?” Ron looked utterly horrified.
“That’s impossible,” Hermione immediately rejected the idea.
“It must be some kind of academic examination!
They sort students according to grades!”
“But Ivy already said the Houses aren’t ranked,” Harry pointed out logically.
“If they sorted by test scores, how would anyone guarantee getting the House they actually wanted?”
“Maybe students with top scores earn the right to choose,” Hermione theorized thoughtfully, “while lower-ranking students get assigned automatically?”
Then she shook her head.
“Although talking with you has been enjoyable, I really should return to studying.
I need to make sure I qualify for either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.”
Standing near the doorway, Crabbe and Goyle instinctively stepped aside out of pure respect for an academic overachiever.
That movement also revealed Neville still lingering awkwardly outside the compartment.
“Oh!
Neville!”
Hermione suddenly remembered their original mission.
“We were supposed to be helping you find your toad!”
She hesitated briefly.
“Maybe we could…
no.
We should keep looking for him first.”
After a moment of internal struggle, Hermione ultimately chose helping a friend over studying.
Surprisingly, Neville shook his head.
“Trevor’s somewhere on the train,” he said quietly.
“He’ll come back eventually.”
Then he added nervously:
“Studying’s probably more important…
if you wouldn’t mind letting me watch while you revise.”
Hermione’s entire face lit up instantly.
“Wonderful!
I’ll help you study!”
She happily grabbed Neville and began dragging him away toward their compartment.
Before leaving, however, she turned back and added one final reminder.
“We don’t have much time left.
You should probably change into your school robes soon too.”
(End of Chapter)