Frightening first-year wizards during the Sorting Ceremony was a tradition upheld by all witches and wizards since time immemorial.
Even wizards from magical families wouldn't receive any truthful information beforehand.
Having endured it themselves, they naturally chose to tear their children's umbrellas too. In unspoken agreement, this fine tradition had reportedly lasted centuries, with no one breaking the unwritten rule.
The twins intended to give Wayne a good scare.
"Ahem!"
George cleared his throat, quickly getting into character with an expression mixing gravity and fear that left Wayne rather impressed.
With acting skills like that, why bother being wizards? They could be Hollywood heartthrobs earning stacks of dollars!
"I don't like recalling that experience... it was terrifying." Fred chimed in with dramatic sighs.
"In our year, first-years had to survive ten minutes against a Troll while being evaluated for house placement."
"Wait, do you know what a Troll is?"
Wayne played along, nodding fearfully: "Yes, I bought a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
"Excellent!"
George inwardly rejoiced—this would make his story more immersive.
"The bravest charging ahead went to Gryffindor. Those using strategy went to Ravenclaw. The most persistent went to Hufflepuff."
"What about Slytherin?" Wayne asked curiously.
"Them?" Fred's eyes darted about. "They took the backdoor route."
Bloody 'backdoor route'—Cedric internally mocked the twins' nonsense while keeping a straight face.
"Exactly right," he nodded gravely.
The twins stared at him in surprise. They hadn't expected Cedric to cooperate with them—they'd have settled for him not undermining their efforts. Yet to their surprise, the bloke took the initiative to assist them.
Good lad, so even you with those honest-looking eyebrows have a belly full of mischief.
Cedric blinked innocently.
'What's the matter? Is there a problem? I'm merely upholding Hogwarts' traditions. Why are you looking at me like that?'
Wayne maintained his 'poor little me' act while inwardly sneering. Not bad at all—if it weren't for his cheat codes and transmigration, he might've been fooled by these lot.
"What should I do then? If all else fails, I might as well go home. I haven't mastered a single spell yet."
Wayne played the 'panicked and flustered' act to perfection. The trio were nearly doubled over with laughter inside but pretended to brainstorm solutions for his sake.
After a while, the three finally concluded that their term's entrance exam was likely defeating a Ghoul, stopping just short of overdoing it.
Had they not feared reducing Wayne to tears, the twins and Cedric might've spun tales until the train reached its destination.
The train sped past golden wheat fields, delving deeper into vast uninhabited lands at breakneck speed—easily a hundred kilometres per hour.
For a 'vintage carriage' that had been in service since the last century, it was rather impressive.
Wayne pulled a compass from his pocket, then fetched parchment and a quill to scribble notes.
"Wayne, what are you doing?" the twins asked curiously.
"Oh, I want to know Hogwarts' exact location."
"We'll probably reach Scotland in another two hours."
The twins exchanged glances and spoke in unison: "What's the point of knowing that?"
"Idle hands and all—got to keep myself occupied." Wayne hastily jotted down the compass's shifting angle.
"If you're bored, let's play Exploding Snap," Fred suggested cheerfully, producing a deck of red cards.
These cards looked no different from Muggle ones—except they exploded. When you slammed down four twos and triumphantly shouted 'Bomb!', it was quite literal.
"Aren't you two catching up on homework?" Cedric sighed. He was passing time with Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and card games would undoubtedly disrupt his reading.
Fred waved it off. "There's still the whole evening ahead. No rush. Come on, join us."
Soon, the compartment echoed with crackling explosions—unluckily, the cards always detonated in the twins' hands, nearly singeing George's eyebrows.
The twins were baffled. Why did the cards remain perfectly safe in Wayne's grip, only to turn into powder kegs for them?
Cedric eyed Wayne suspiciously.
He couldn't shake the feeling Wayne was pulling tricks, like those senior wizards who could predict when the cards would blow.
Surely Wayne couldn't—
No, impossible. He was just an unenrolled little wizard. Shaking his head, Cedric dismissed the absurd thought.
Knock, knock, knock!
The door rapped again. George, his face smudged with soot, hastily set the cards aside and swung the compartment door open.
"Have you seen Trevor? Oh—he's a toad. Wait, Wayne?"
Outside stood a girl accompanied by a chubby boy. The girl was none other than Hermione. Her face lit up with delight the moment she spotted Wayne by the window.
After returning his book, she'd visited Diagon Alley several more times but never crossed paths with Wayne again. After boarding the train, she searched around but ultimately didn't see the person she was looking for, so she settled for sitting in any available compartment.
"Hermione, long time no see." Wayne also smiled and waved at the little witch. Today, Hermione looked even more prim than before, her hair carefully styled, not left to its usual wild freedom.
"I looked for you after getting on the train, but couldn't find you," Hermione said quickly, though her tone shifted when she noticed the chubby boy hiding behind her. "Have any of you seen a toad?"
They all shook their heads, and Cedric reassured her, "Don't worry, toads are highly intelligent. Your Trevor probably just got bored and wandered off. He'll come back to you eventually."
"I hope so," Neville said, on the verge of tears. "If Gran finds out I lost Trevor before even reaching school, she'll kill me."
After telling them to find her after getting off the train, Hermione continued leading Neville from compartment to compartment to ask about the missing toad.
Once the two had left, Fred turned to Wayne. "You know that little witch?"
"We met in Diagon Alley. Why?" Wayne gave him a puzzled look.
"Nothing," Fred said, shaking his head before he and George chorused, "Seeing that little witch is like seeing a mini Professor McGonagall!"
Wayne: "..."