“Woooooo—”
The Hogwarts Express had finally departed.
Hermione had just stepped out of her compartment when she stumbled slightly, nearly falling into the corridor.
“Just my luck…”
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked on Compartment V.
Just as expected, Vincent and Cho were both inside.
Still alone together.
“Sorry to bother you—”
She stayed by the doorway instead of entering.
“Have either of you seen a toad?
It’s Neville’s gift for starting school.”
Vincent, who had been resting his chin in one hand while staring out the window, finally looked away.
Cho offered a dried fish snack toward Cuckoo, who was enthusiastically flapping his wings.
“You can come in and look if you want.”
Only after hearing that did Hermione step inside.
She wasn’t curious about the relationship between the two.
Instead, she silently added another label to Vincent:
Playboy.
“Can I check your suitcase?”
“Of course.”
Vincent unzipped it himself.
Honestly, a toad crawling in there wasn’t impossible.
Hermione didn’t rummage through his belongings.
She simply glanced through the opening—
Then suddenly froze.
“This is…”
She immediately zipped up a hidden compartment.
That hard silver object inside…
It absolutely looked like one of the Wayne family’s products sold all over Europe.
“I had no idea that was in there.”
Vincent had expected his parents to prepare a little self-defense tool.
A few years later, carrying something like that would probably be illegal.
“I didn’t see anything,” Cho quickly said while pulling Hermione by her thin arm.
They had already seen things they should and shouldn’t have.
“Me neither,” Hermione replied almost immediately.
Her parents were dentists.
She also had all kinds of strange dental tools packed away.
Was it weird for the son of an arms dealer to have a gun?
Not really.
As thanks for keeping quiet, Vincent generously decided to let Cho hold and pet Cuckoo until they reached school.
As for Hermione, he volunteered to help search for Trevor.
“Let’s go together,” she said.
She still felt a little worried.
Who knew if there would be another Neville somewhere on this train?
Vincent casually stood up.
“Fine.
But this is going to take forever.”
Cho hugged Cuckoo tightly.
“I’ll check the back compartments for you.”
The last few compartments mostly contained students who had barely made it onto the train in time.
People like Vincent and Hermione were rare.
After politely knocking on several doors, the two eventually reached the middle of the train.
“Excuse us, have you happened to see—”
“Oh?
Are you practicing magic?
Mind if we watch?”
Inside Compartment J, two boys who looked like they were having a feast both froze.
The older boy standing behind Hermione had been staring at them the entire time.
The red-haired boy holding a wand swallowed his food and cleared his throat.
“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow—turn this stupid fat rat yellow—”
Clack.
The snack box the rat had been eating from dropped onto the floor.
The bespectacled boy and the red-haired one exchanged awkward glances.
“Are you sure that was—”
“Let’s go.”
The older boy grabbed Hermione and immediately dragged her away.
Back in the compartment, the two boys slowly resumed eating.
For one terrifying moment, both had thought those two were here to start trouble.
“Harry, ignore them.”
“Okay, Ron.”
In the corridor—
Hermione shook Vincent’s hand off.
“What was that for?”
“Don’t forget we’re supposed to find Trevor.”
Missing a chance to introduce himself to Harry Potter was unfortunate.
But Vincent really didn’t want to relive another dramatic, show-off style entrance.
Walking behind him, Hermione narrowed her eyes.
She wasn’t trying to show off.
Whenever classmates struggled with problems back home, she always happily explained the answers.
But Vincent’s behavior made it obvious.
Helping find Trevor was just his version of hush money.
Another label silently attached itself to his back:
Snob.
By the time they reached Compartment D, neither realized the other’s impression had worsened.
“Sorry to interrupt—”
Vincent opened the door and instantly leaned aside.
A black blur shot toward his face.
Inside, a pale blond boy drawled loudly:
“Bloody hell!
Don’t let that toad escape!”
Two chubby boys immediately jumped up.
“It’s Trevor!”
Hermione watched the toad bounce farther down the corridor.
Excitedly, she grabbed Vincent’s arm.
“Hurry!
I’m not searching all over again!”
“Wait—”
The blond boy stopped them.
“Trevor?
You mean that ugly toad that ran into my compartment?”
That irritating tone made Vincent stop.
Standing in the doorway, he looked down at the two stocky boys already nearing five feet tall.
“I don’t think Trevor’s ugly.”
He glanced at them.
“At least not compared to these two.”
The blond boy hopped off his seat, dragging out every word.
“What?
Is that ugly toad your pet?” This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
“Hah.
Ancient junk.”
The contempt in his eyes made even Hermione uncomfortable.
People like this practically belonged in Slytherin.
“No.”
Vincent stepped into the compartment.
Sooner or later, they’d meet at school anyway.
Might as well teach him some reason now.
Two oversized bodyguards and one loud little brat shouldn’t take too long.
The blond boy arrogantly stepped forward.
“Ever heard of the Malfoy family?”
Vincent and Hermione shook their heads at the same time.
“So you’re Muggle-born.”
He raised his head proudly.
“Go back home.
Hogwarts isn’t a place for people like you.”
The two chubby boys snickered while bragging about pure blood superiority.
The three of them looked exactly like medieval nobles trampling commoners.
“Vincent, don’t—”
No matter how angry Hermione felt, she still held down his clenched fist.
“Pathetic.”
Vincent’s expression turned cold.
“Is bloodline really the only thing you have to brag about?”
The blond boy looked disappointed.
He lazily waved his hand.
“Throw them out.”
The two grinning boys ignored the height difference and placed their hands on Vincent’s shoulders.
Hermione finally let go.
“Get out—”
Vincent instantly grabbed both wrists.
“What are you?
His pet guard dogs?”
Twisting their thick arms behind their backs, he slammed them together.
“Ever heard of the Wayne family?”
BAM!
BAM!
After two heavy crashes, the blond boy took a small step back.
“So you’re a coward.”
For every step Vincent took forward, the boy stepped back twice.
“Go back home.”
“Even Muggle-born wizards are better than you.”
Every insult the boy had thrown earlier—
Vincent returned calmly, word for word.
Eventually, the boy backed against the train window with nowhere left to retreat.
Then Vincent suddenly smiled and shook his head.
“What are you laughing at?!”
“What do you think?”
Outside the compartment, Hermione’s eyelid twitched.
“Hiss—”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“AHHHH—!”
The scene that followed…
Was far too bloody.