Toot toot—
"Are there any empty seats in there?"
Hearing the knock and the question, Lucien and Hermione, who were both reading, looked up simultaneously.
Before they could reply, the door slid open with a whoosh.
Standing at the doorway were two young boys. One had messy black hair and round-rimmed glasses with a noticeable crack. He peeked into the compartment with emerald green, almond-shaped eyes.
The other had a shock of red hair, a large nose, blue eyes, and a face full of freckles. He was just as slender as the black-haired boy.
The two boys exchanged glances, and finally, the red-haired one spoke up.
"Ahem, excuse me for bothering you, but all the other compartments are full. Could we… could we sit in here?"
His expression was awkward, and his tone soft.
Hermione didn't reply immediately.
She thought it was quite nice having just Lucien and her reading together, and she didn't really want the quiet atmosphere disturbed.
She glanced at the two boys standing at the door. The black-haired one with glasses seemed fine, looking rather quiet. As for the red-haired one…
He just seemed so boisterous.
Even though it was their first meeting, Hermione felt that the red-haired boy was bound to cause trouble.
However, instead of answering, Hermione turned to look at Lucien, wanting to hear his opinion.
But Lucien was currently sizing up the two boys at the door, a half-smile playing on his lips, not noticing Hermione's implied question.
Black hair and round glasses, green eyes, a shock of red hair and freckles.
Oh, isn't this the Boy Who Lived and his good bro?
What a coincidence, the trio finally reunited.
Good, I'll observe them in advance. Later, I'll have to keep an eye on Harry to find the Philosopher's Stone and then brew Potions.
To repay the Qilin loan, Lucien needed to brew a Potion using the Philosopher's Stone.
The easiest way to find the Philosopher's Stone was to follow Harry and advance the plot.
Lucien believed that Dumbledore had everything arranged, and Harry would definitely obtain the Philosopher's Stone.
At that time.. Hmm... could I encourage Harry to find the Philosopher's Stone sooner? Then I could start brewing Potions earlier and pay off the loan as quickly as possible.
Just as Harry was beginning to feel uneasy under Lucien's scrutiny, Lucien shifted his gaze, his smile deepening, though still polite.
"Please come in."
Hearing Lucien's words, Harry and Ron both quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Hermione stood up and moved to sit on the seat beside Lucien.
Harry and Ron quickly stowed their luggage.
"Hello, I'm Ron Weasley."
Ron ruffled his messy red hair as he introduced himself.
Lucien and Hermione returned the greeting and introduced themselves as well.
Finally, all three of them turned to look at Harry, the seemingly thin and introverted boy who was the only one still silent.
Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, Harry hesitated. He had always been ostracized and mistreated by his aunt's family and those around him. This was his first time meeting kids who were, like him, freaks.. ehm.. 'kindred spirits', able to use that strange ability called magic.
Harry adjusted his glasses and mustered his courage.
"Hello, I—I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
Hearing Harry's name, Lucien merely nodded, having already expected it.
But Hermione and Ron's reactions were much bigger—especially Ron's.
"You're Harry Potter!"
"You're the Boy Who Lived!?"
Hermione, after all, came from a Muggle family and had only read some books about the Wizarding World over the summer, learning that such a person existed.
But Ron was different. His last name was Weasley. No matter how poor they were, they were still one of the Twenty-Eight Sacred Houses.
Harry's name was truly legendary to Ron.
"Do you really—really have that scar?"
Ron looked at Harry with shining eyes.
"Mn," Harry nodded, pushed back his fringe, and revealed the thin, lightning-shaped scar.
Ron grew even more excited, eagerly recounting the many rumors surrounding Harry.
Most of them left Harry himself bewildered, completely unaware of these stories.
Hearing Ron's incessant chatter, Hermione pursed her lips. At first she found it a bit interesting, but the more she listened, the more exaggerated it all seemed. Now she just wanted to read her book in peace.
This red-haired boy was indeed very noisy!
Just as Hermione was about to interrupt Ron, a saleswoman appeared at the compartment door.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?"
Gulp.. Ron stared wide-eyed at the array of snacks on the trolley, swallowing hard.
But then he turned his head and pulled out a lump of unidentifiable food from his pocket.
He mumbled softly, "No, thank you, I brought my own."
The Weasley family was indeed an ancient pure-blood family, but their poverty was just as real.
With five older brothers—three of whom were still at school—and a younger sister, Ron's pocket money was truly limited.
"I'll have some."
It was Lucien who spoke. He pulled out a few Galleons and Sickles and handed them to the saleswoman.
Ron's eyes went wide. What Lucien casually produced for snacks was more than his entire year's allowance!
"Then… then I'll have some too."
Harry also took out a few Galleons, leaving Ron even more bewildered.
How could he not even have a Sickle or a Knut? Did he really know the value of a Galleon?
Is the Potter family really that rich? Is selling shampoo that profitable?
Actually, Ron wasn't wrong. Selling shampoo really did make money—especially since the Potters' shampoo was so effective that it practically monopolized the Wizarding World's shampoo market.
If you hold a monopoly, what can't you make money from?
Of course, the main reason was that Harry was the last remaining heir of the Potter family, and all the family's wealth was concentrated in this one boy's hands.
Lucien and Harry basically bought an entire trolley full of snacks.
Looking at the pile of snacks on the table, Ron swallowed again.
He really wanted to eat, but he was too embarrassed to ask.
"Help yourselves."
As Lucien spoke, he gave a light wave of his wand, and the snacks floated toward Harry and the other two.
After all, children are easily won over. Give them some food, some toys, and you can draw them in.
First, I'll build a good relationship with the three little ones. Then, when they find clues related to the Philosopher's Stone, they'll think to discuss it with me.
Any progress they make, I'll be able to keep track of right away.
In Ron's ears, Lucien's voice was almost heavenly.
Especially his generosity in sharing snacks, combined with his handsome face—he was simply an angel!
So much so that Ron subconsciously overlooked Lucien's casual use of wand magic, forgetting how rare it was for first-year Wizards to skillfully cast the Levitation Charm.
Harry also shared his snacks with Lucien and the others, but since he couldn't use magic, he had to hand them over one by one.
Ron accepted Harry's snacks and thanked him, but he still wasn't as moved as he had been by Lucien, who had offered him treats first.
Lucien opened a box of Chocolate Frogs.
The frog inside immediately leapt from the box, trying to make its escape—Crunck! Crunch!
—but was caught in an instant and devoured!
Chewing the Chocolate Frog, Lucien flipped over the card inside the box.
Each Chocolate Frog came with a card, featuring a portrait of a famous Wizard along with details of their achievements and contributions.
He glanced at the portrait on the card.
Uh, Snape.
Snape's cold, dark eyes peered out from beneath his greasy black hair, meeting Lucien's gaze.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, time to wash his hair.
Lucien smirked, wondering if he should send Snape a bottle of shampoo sometime in the future.
He flipped the card over and read Snape's listed achievements: systematic improvements to Veritaserum, optimization of bezoar extraction techniques… etc..
"Um, um…"
Lucien turned toward the voice. A chubby boy with a round face and a sturdy build stood nervously at the doorway.
"Have you seen my toad? His name is Trevor."