Leon headed toward the commotion.
He overheard Harry asking, "What's a Howler?"
Hermione was more concerned about the owl. "Ron, is that owl okay? Has it fainted?"
"Open it, Ron, quick!" urged a round-faced blond boy with slightly buckteeth.
"You've only got a few minutes before it…" The boy, who seemed to be Neville Longbottom, shuddered. "It's awful. You don't want to know."
Ron looked like he was about to fall apart, his trembling hands reaching for the red envelope the owl was clutching.
"Ron! Don't open it yet!" Leon shouted, scanning the table frantically.
He grabbed the biggest soup tureen he could find and started gathering nearby pitchers of milk and pumpkin juice.
"Quick, Colin, help me out!" Leon called, pouring every drink into the tureen.
Colin obediently followed suit.
"It's not enough—it won't fill up!" Leon said, panicking as the red envelope began to smoke.
It was halfway through breakfast, so the tureens were nearly empty, and most pitchers were only half full.
If the water wasn't deep enough, it wouldn't work.
"Do you need more soup? You can take this," came an airy voice from behind.
Leon turned to see Luna smiling, pointing to a tureen on the Ravenclaw table, still more than half full of broth.
"Thanks, Luna! I owe you one—er, I'll get you a little gift at lunch!" Leon said, hurrying to grab the Ravenclaw tureen.
He dumped its contents into the already brimming tureen, the mishmash of liquids nearly spilling over.
"Ron, the letter!" Leon urged.
Ron, holding the now-smoking, burning-at-all-four-corners Howler like it was a bomb, looked utterly lost. "What?" he stammered, his face a picture of misery.
Leon lunged forward, snatched the Howler, and tossed it into the tureen.
Just in time.
With a muffled boom, the Howler exploded.
Soup and juice sprayed everywhere, soaking half of Leon's sleeve.
Leon sighed—his new robe was having a rough day.
The Howler's explosion startled everyone.
Ron's legs nearly gave out, and he almost collapsed onto the floor.
"RONALD WEASLEY! Gurgle… CAR… Gurgle… YOUR FATHER… Gurgle gurgle…"
The Howler only managed to bellow Ron's full name before sinking.
The red envelope bobbed up and down.
Occasionally, a clear word or two surfaced, but nothing significant.
The curious onlookers, catching only fragments, went from confused to doubly confused.
The Howler's social-death crisis was effectively neutralized.
"Phew…" Leon and Harry let out a sigh of relief. Whatever the Howler was going to say, the fewer people who heard it, the better.
Ron, pale as if recovering from a grave illness, slumped into a chair, dazed and still reeling from the scare.
Hermione, full of suspicion, glanced at the bobbing red envelope in the tureen, then at Ron and the others, whispering, "So, you guys really flew to school in a flying car yesterday? That wasn't just Ron talking nonsense?"
Before they could respond, Percy swooped in.
"Ron, avoiding punishment is shameful. I'm going to write to Mum and tell her everything that happened today."
"Hey, ease up, mate," Fred said, slinging an arm around Percy's shoulders.
"We're brothers," George added, wrapping an arm around Percy's other side.
"Family's supposed to stick together," they said in unison.
Then the two burly Beaters forcibly dragged the scrawny Percy away.
Fred glanced back at Ron, winking and mouthing, "You owe us."
"Why's Percy…" Harry started, trailing off. He had a soft spot for the Weasley family, almost maxed out.
Leon chimed in, "Ron, your brother's a bit…"
Not the sharpest wand in the shop.
Percy was great at studying, aced his exams, and seemed capable enough. His weaker social skills weren't a huge deal.
But he seemed to lack a bit of… wisdom.
People steered clear of tattletales, not just because they didn't want to be betrayed.
Tattletales were untrustworthy.
If they spilled someone else's secrets today, they might spill yours tomorrow.
"Now that your family knows the car wasn't stolen, how about I get you a replacement?" Leon offered.
He figured the flying car's grand escape was mostly his fault for pushing it too hard on the final stretch.
The car couldn't take it anymore and bolted.
An old Ford wasn't that expensive; the magical modifications were the tricky part.
But Leon was sure the Weasley twins would jump at the chance to tinker with it for free.
A ready-made toy like that? They'd be thrilled in their sleep.
"No way!" Ron said weakly but firmly. "I drove the car almost the whole way. I can't let you pay for it."
Leon opened his mouth to argue, but Harry subtly tugged his sleeve.
Leon got the hint. Harry knew Ron better and was protecting his pride.
Harry hadn't mentioned compensation either.
He knew the Weasleys, despite not being wealthy, would never let Ron's friend pay for the car.
If Leon did pay, it might strain his friendship with Ron.
Leon understood… sort of.
Feelings were one thing, compensation was another. Two separate matters, right?
You shouldn't avoid talking money just because you're close.
Mr. Weasley had genuinely lost a car.
They could split the cost three ways, at least.
Then Leon realized the flaw in his plan.
Being the rich kid for so long, he'd forgotten that while Harry had some wealth, it was all in wizarding currency—he couldn't buy a Muggle car.
And Ron was flat broke.
Before Leon's clever brain could come up with a solution, a redheaded figure joined the chat.
"So, you three really flew Dad's car to school yesterday and then lost it?" Ginny's expression screamed, Why didn't you take me along for the fun?
Hermione, tagging along, said, "Harry, I thought you weren't the show-off type."
Her glance slid to Leon, clearly implying: Flying a car to school? That's totally a Leon move.
Leon threw up his hands. Why did everyone misunderstand him?
He was the most low-key person, okay?
Harry, ever the good guy, jumped in to clear things up.
He explained how he and Ron had crashed into the closed platform barrier, how they couldn't get through even when the train started, and how they ran into Leon, who was late because of a faulty watch.
With the platform sealed and no way to contact the Weasleys, they had no choice but to fly the car to Hogwarts.
"…Leon's a first-year. If he missed the train and couldn't come to Hogwarts, how awful would that be?" Harry finished, sighing.
Leon played along, putting on a touched expression, nodding wildly, and pulling Harry and Ron into a dramatic group hug.
"True brothers! So loyal! That's why I had to get into Gryffindor—for our bond!"
Hermione and Ginny, arm in arm, exchanged looks of disgust.
Boys could be so ridiculous sometimes.
So obviously dumb, yet somehow moved by it.
"But you have owls. You could've sent a letter," Hermione pointed out.
"Or, worst case, gone to Diagon Alley, used a Floo fireplace, and waited in Hogsmeade."
"…" x3
What?
There were people this smart in the world? And two of them?
Would this mess with Leon's plans to rule the earth?
As Harry and Ron questioned their lives, their choices, and their intelligence, Leon started scheming how to deal with these overly clever kids who weren't easy to fool.
Professor McGonagall's arrival broke the awkward silence.
She walked along the Gryffindor table, handing out schedules.
Seeing the group standing there, she told them to sit down.
Leon looked at his schedule, lost in thought.
He was sure he'd seen it yesterday.
With his photographic memory, he even noticed it was identical to the one from before.