"It's all right. Come over here, so the people behind you don't bump into you." Jessica smiled and gently helped Harry push his luggage cart aside.
"What a beautiful snowy owl." Her gaze fell on the cage atop the trolley, and a trace of genuine admiration warmed her voice.
"Ma'am, her name is Hedwig," Harry said, his face turning slightly red. He was still not used to adults speaking to him so kindly, let alone praising something that belonged to him.
"Really? Then she must be a wonderful companion." Jessica smiled and glanced toward the train where Roger had disappeared. "My son also has a snowy owl named Sylph. We call her Sylph because we hope she'll be as fast as the wind."
Harry had only just moved away from the entrance when Ron Weasley rushed through the barrier behind him. He nearly stumbled into the platform, then turned back with wide eyes.
"Oh!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, looking at Harry as if the two of them had just survived some grand adventure. "Isn't that brilliant?"
"Yes, it's like a dream." Harry nodded, still looking at the scarlet train and the crowd of young witches and wizards around them. "The magical world is incredible."
Jessica watched the two boys talk with a gentle smile. Young wizards should have been cheerful and lively like this, not spending all day buried in magic and plans and experiments. Hearing the laughter around her, she thought of Roger and felt a faint ache in her chest.
"Ron, move out of the way. Don't block this lady's path." Mrs. Weasley entered with Ginny and immediately pulled Ron aside with practiced efficiency.
"It's all right." Jessica smiled and nodded politely to the Weasley family. "I wish you health and happiness at Hogwarts."
Mrs. Weasley watched Jessica's retreating figure, her expression turning thoughtful. Something about that woman felt familiar, though she could not immediately place where she had seen her before.
"What's wrong, Mum?" Ron looked up curiously, wondering why his mother had gone quiet all of a sudden.
"I feel as though I've seen her somewhere before." Mrs. Weasley thought for a moment, then shook it off and urged them forward. "All right, hurry up and get on the train."
Roger sat alone in a compartment and ate his breakfast. Because he had arrived early, the carriage was still quiet, and for the moment, he had the entire space to himself.
"Excuse me… may I sit here?" A round-faced boy stood at the door and asked shyly just as Roger began eating.
"Of course. Please make yourself at home." Roger nodded politely and studied the boy across from him. The child had a soft, round face and looked rather cute, though his nervous stammer made him seem even more timid.
"My name is Neville. Neville Longbottom." The boy lifted the toad in his hands with visible effort. "This is my pet toad, and his name is…"
Neville suddenly froze, clearly having forgotten his own pet's name. He scratched his head and stared blankly at the toad as though hoping the creature would introduce itself.
"Careful." Roger raised his voice in warning when the toad tried to leap from Neville's hands. "Your toad is about to run away."
"Oh, thank you." Neville snapped back to himself and quickly caught the toad. "I'm always a bit forgetful. Yes, his name is Trevor, and Uncle Algie gave him to me."
"Trevor is a good name." Roger nodded, though he had no particular fondness for toads. Neville himself, however, left an impression on him.
Neville's parents had both been members of the Order of the Phoenix. On the eve of victory, they had been captured by Bellatrix Lestrange and tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts until the Cruciatus Curse drove them into madness.
Neville had been only one year old at the time and had witnessed everything. The wizard who rescued him had been forced to use a Memory Charm to make him forget that horror, but the damage had left him painfully absent-minded.
"Perhaps you need a strong enough heart to face the truth again." Roger finished his meal and wiped his mouth elegantly with a napkin.
"The truth?" Neville looked at Roger in confusion. For a moment, his expression suggested that he had forgotten something terribly important.
"I need to rest now. Would you mind if I draw half the curtains?" Roger took out a small bottle of Blue Moon Essence and closed the curtains before Neville had a chance to answer.
"All right. That's fine." Neville looked at him in confusion. He had no idea why anyone would decide to sleep before the train had even left the station.
Roger ignored Neville's gaze and slipped the Blue Moon Essence into his mouth. A moment later, his eyelids began to droop, and he forced himself to stay awake just long enough to pull a blanket from his backpack and cover himself.
Neville stared in astonishment as Roger fell asleep almost instantly. His mouth opened slightly, and he could only wonder what kind of potion could make someone drop off so quickly.
"Hello, is anyone here?" A little girl with bushy brown hair stepped into the compartment, frowning when she saw Roger occupying the entire opposite seat under his blanket. She turned to Neville, who sat alone on the other side.
"Please, please sit down." Neville quickly stood and gestured for the young witch to come in.
"Thank you. My name is Hermione Granger." Hermione smiled a little shyly, then glanced back toward the corridor. "Everywhere else is full."
She looked at the boy asleep under the blanket and wondered whether he was also a first-year student. How could he have fallen asleep before the train even departed? Was going to Hogwarts really that boring to him?
"His… his name is…" Neville looked up at the ceiling of the carriage and scratched his head sheepishly. "I think I forgot to ask."
"Hermione, this is my pet." Neville hurriedly changed the subject and lifted the toad. "His name is Trevor."
Hermione looked at the toad with obvious discomfort but still forced a polite smile. "Trevor? What a lovely toad."
The sofa opposite them had been completely claimed by Roger, so Hermione had no choice but to sit beside Neville. Fortunately, Trevor stayed quiet for the time being and did not make the little witch too uncomfortable.
The train whistle blared loudly, but even that failed to wake the sleeping boy across from them. Hermione glanced at him, then joked, "It seems he isn't very interested in Hogwarts. Perhaps we should call him Sleeping Beauty."
"Sleeping Beauty? I think I've heard that name before." Neville hesitated for a moment, then tried to explain on Roger's behalf. "I think he's sleeping so deeply because of that potion."
Neville described the silver-blue potion Roger had taken. According to him, it was beautiful, with liquid that shimmered like a flowing galaxy.
"I haven't seen that potion in Magical Drafts and Potions." Hermione frowned and thought seriously for a moment. Could the young wizard opposite her have drunk some kind of advanced potion?
"What?" Neville looked at Hermione in confusion.
"Haven't you read our first-year Potions textbook?" Hermione asked, sounding as though the answer should have been obvious.
"Ah… aren't books for class?" Neville looked at her curiously, clearly not understanding why anyone would read them before the lesson began.
After talking for a while, Hermione quickly discovered that Neville was extremely forgetful. She stopped discussing magic with him and instead chatted about the funny things that had happened when they received their Hogwarts letters.
Not long after, however, Neville's toad disappeared. He began searching everywhere in a panic, lifting cushions and peering beneath the seats. "Trevor? Where are you, Trevor?"
"Maybe he's on Sleeping Beauty." Hermione pointed toward Roger across from them and signalled for Neville to check.
"Hey. Hey!" Neville called several times and even nudged Roger carefully, but Roger did not move at all.
"He isn't dead, is he?" Neville took a frightened step back, his face turning pale.
"No. Look, his chest is moving." Hermione rolled her eyes at Neville, thinking he was far too easily scared for a wizard. "He's just a very deep sleeper."
Then Hermione's eyes lit up, and a mischievous spark appeared in them. "In fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty needs a prince's kiss to wake up. Why don't you kiss him? Maybe that will do it."
"Ah!" Neville shook his head violently. "In the fairy tale, isn't it the princess who kisses the prince?"
"No, you must be remembering it wrong." Hermione looked at the forgetful little boy and had no choice but to abandon the joke. "Fine, just turn him over and check."
Neville followed Hermione's instructions and nearly tipped Roger onto the floor in the process. Even after all that awkward effort, they still failed to find Trevor.
"Maybe Trevor went into another carriage." Hermione thought for a moment and offered a practical suggestion. "Let's split up and look for him. If we each take one side, we'll surely find him."
Neville nodded, though this was hardly the first time Trevor had run away. The toad always seemed to disappear, then somehow come back on his own.
The train puffed white smoke like a hungry beast and sped toward the Scottish Highlands. Even with a sleeping companion occupying their compartment, fate still brought Hermione into contact with Harry and Ron.
In the end, they still could not find Trevor. As the lights in the carriages came on one by one, Hermione and Neville had no choice but to return to the compartment.
.....
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