Sean, taking notes on the side: Actually not.
[Wrist needs a flick and a swish.
Pronouncing the incantation correctly is also very important—don't say 'f' as 's'.
It should be 'Wingardium Leviosa', that 'ga' needs to be drawn out long and clear]
Sean looked at his notes, satisfactorily putting the quill back.
As long as he put it down fast enough, the ink wouldn't dry, allowing him to write a bit longer.
"I practiced a full fifteen times, Hermione, am I the dumbest little wizard?"
Justin's voice carried a hint of worry; facing an unfamiliar field, even the previously optimistic him felt a bit dejected.
Sean, putting away his notes: Actually not.
"I don't know either, with only me as a reference standard, it's hard to judge..."
Hermione furrowed her brows and shook her head, suddenly her eyes lit up,
"Sean, you... surely know the Levitation Charm too, right?"
Suddenly called out, Sean nodded, while flicking and swishing his wrist,
"Wingar—dium—Leviosa!"
[You have practiced the Levitation Charm once to Beginner standard, proficiency +3]
As Sean's incantation rang out, the feather wobbled and floated up again.
"Cool!"
Justin exclaimed in admiration; compared to his Levitation Charm that only flew for a second, Sean's was clearly a bit more proficient.
"You must have learned it quickly, right? I mean, for a little wizard from a wizarding family like you."
Justin's later words made Sean tilt his head slightly in confusion.
Looking at his big eyes full of inquiry, Justin also widened his eyes in surprise:
"You're not from a wizarding family? You're a Muggle-born wizard?
That means, you only started learning magic this summer... in two months, you learned a difficult magic like Transfiguration?"
Sean nodded calmly.
"What's that phrase? Mer... Mer?"
Justin seemed to want to say something, but the words stuck in his mouth.
"Merlin's beard."
Hermione reminded softly.
"Merlin's beard..."
Justin repeated it lowly, his gaze toward Sean suddenly becoming warmer,
"Hermione and I, both of us are... Muggle-born wizards, you know, the kind whose parents aren't wizards.
Oh, that also means all three people in this compartment are Muggle-born wizards,
that's wonderful... I heard that pure-blood wizards are more common in the wizarding world."
Just as he was sighing, the noise outside grew even louder, vaguely hearing "clang clang" sounds,
strangely, this sound not only didn't fade away like the other noises, but grew bigger and bigger,
before long, the compartment door was opened, in came a plump witch with an apron, her trolley in front drawing the three's gazes.
"Dear, would you like to buy some food?"
The plump witch had dimples, a beaming smile, even her voice carrying warmth.
Sean glanced at the dazzling array of shelves, then forcibly shifted his gaze away.
It had been a long time by now, and Sean was very hungry.
He knew the Hogwarts Express would run for quite a while, from morning till night,
but he had no way to bring food; Matron Anna wouldn't allow him to take even a single slice of toast.
It'll be fine once I get to Hogwarts,
Sean thought like this.
"One... two of each."
After Justin said the first word, the trolley witch's smile became even brighter.
"Alright, dear, here are Boggart Bubblegums, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, licorice wands... total one Galleon five Sickles." Her mood seemed better too, and she introduced these foods to Justin.
Hearing this price, Hermione jumped in shock; she was just about to dissuade him when she was blinded by the Galleons Justin took out.
Justin quickly paid, then explained with a slightly red face:
"This money was originally prepared for me to go to Eton College, but on the second day, I received the Hogwarts acceptance letter,
although my mother thinks Hogwarts isn't as good as the Eton I originally planned to attend,
but think about it, learning magic, that's way more tempting than lawyers or business elites..."
After he finished, he put a pile of Galleons into the box.
Only then did Sean remember who he was:
Justin Finch-Fletchley,
a sincere, kind Hufflepuff.
Had participated in the dueling club, joined Dumbledore's Army.
Worth mentioning was, when he learned he had misunderstood Harry as the heir of the Chamber, he even proactively shook hands and apologized to Harry,
braver and more sincere than the other little wizards who pretended nothing happened.
What made him memorable was refusing Eton College to attend Hogwarts.
In Britain, it wasn't just about good grades to enter Eton; those admitted were without exception children of nobility.
"My aunt's, son's, classmate's, uncle's nephew entered Eton! Ha, jealous aren't you country bumpkins! Wild seeds like you, don't even think about it."
This was what Matron Anna often mocked them with, which also reflected Eton's status from the side.
In other words,
Justin was Hogwarts' hidden rich kid.
Appraised as pure-blooded.
Sean thought like this.
The plump witch had already pushed her little trolley away, muttering "met two generous little wizards" as she disappeared outside the compartment.
In the compartment,
one could see Justin placing all the snacks on the table.
"Help eat some?"
The snacks piled into a small mountain, Justin's voice came from behind the pile,
"I definitely can't finish them, please."
"You're being too deliberate."
Hermione unceremoniously took a fruit pasty, then whispered toward Justin.
"Shh—"
Justin made a quiet gesture, then the two together sneaked a peek at a certain little wizard.
His clothes were somewhat worn, pilled, even slightly frayed at the arms,
if ignoring his slightly pale but handsome face, he looked just like one of those unwanted kids from the orphanage.
"Try this Chocolate Frog? I hear little wizards in the magical world all love this."
Facing Justin's devilish whisper and the lifted Chocolate Frog,
Sean quickly took it.
"Thanks."
His voice was very soft.
No difficulty can defeat me, but temptation can.
Sean fell to the capitalist's candy coating.
"My Chocolate Frog!"
Just as Justin successfully shared and happily unwrapped the candy, his Chocolate Frog suddenly jumped, about to leap out the window,
"Wingar—dium—Leviosa!"
A calm voice rang out; Sean, having anticipated it, waved his wand, and the Chocolate Frog fell back into Justin's hand.
"Chocolate Frogs jump once."
Sean explained slowly, then while taking small bites of the Chocolate Frog, looked at One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,
as the sky gradually darkened.