While Draco complained that he would ask his father to have the minister abolish the law against the breeding of dragons, Rigel, feeling his patience running out, watched as the train finally began to move. They looked out the window and saw their family members saying goodbye, Rigel even saw Calypso waving to him, and he waved back.
The train accelerated and soon maintained a steady speed, it was at this point that Draco remembered his other 'friends'.
"Come on, let's go see Zabini and Nott, they must have gone in, it would be hilarious if they'd missed the train." He spoke as he stood up, Crabbe and Goyle following him immediately, but Rigel knew his chance had arrived.
"Actually, I didn't sleep well last night, I was so excited about Hogwarts, I'm going to get some sleep." Rigel said.
Draco didn't think much about it, waving his hand. "Whatever, I didn't sleep well either, but I'm not tired now, maybe I'll sleep later."
He left immediately, clearly not caring enough about Rigel after finding something more fun to do.
Rigel watched the trio leave and finally sighed with relief.
Jack made some noises, flipping Draco the middle finger as he left.
Rigel rolled his eyes at the monkey, but this time he had to agree with Jack, however, taking advantage of the time Draco was gone, he finally looked at the Adventure Book.
[Achievement unlocked: A Magical Journey (Fragment - 1/4)]
[How to obtain: Follow these steps to unlock the achievement: First Fragment -> Board the Hogwarts Express / Second Fragment -> A Boat Trip / Third Fragment -> ??? ...]
Rigel stared at the achievement for a moment, well, another fragmented achievement, he would have to wait and see what he would receive.
This achievement seemed quite easy to unlock, although he can only see the next step currently, it probably just involves 'moving forward' without much thought.
So, Rigel set aside this achievement, easily picked up his suitcase, and left the cabin, heading in the opposite direction from which Draco had exited.
He passed two carriages before stopping, satisfied, he began to look for a place to hide, Rigel opened the first carriage, a group of teenage girls laughing stopped for a moment, staring at him.
Rigel saw her eyes go from irritated to surprised and from surprised to bright, but before they could speak, Rigel slammed the door shut and hurried out, heading for the next carriage.
He recognized that look, the look of someone who wanted to pinch his cheeks and elicit high-pitched screams. Rigel vehemently refused to accept this torture, so he fled quickly.
He repeated the process, this time he found a group of older students, clearly in their sixth or seventh year, they were wearing Hufflepuff and Gryffindor robes, Rigel just looked for a moment, over his confused eyes, seeing that the place was crowded, he left without asking questions.
This happened three more times before he finally found a place.
There were three people there, three boys. Rigel quickly recognized the Weasley twins, the other one seemed familiar, but he didn't recognize him at first.
"Look, Fred, a lost freshman." George said, glancing at Rigel's clothes, which still lacked his house colors.
"He seems lost, George."
"Should we help him?"
"Would you like some candy? We have some really good ones."
"Yes, sweets even more delicious than those from Honeydukes!"
Rigel watched the twins talking nonstop, clearly trying to deceive him. Jack put his head above Rigel's at that moment, before hiding behind him again, leaving the twins surprised.
"George, is it just me, or does that newcomer have a monkey-shaped wart on his head?"
"No, Fred, I think it's a real monkey."
"That can't be, what kind of student brings a monkey to school?"
"I don't know, but he seems like our type of student."
...
The boy in front of them had already rolled his eyes and spoken to Rigel, though he also cast curious glances at Jack.
"You can sit down if you like, I'm Oliver Wood, these are Fred and George Weasley, believe me, you'll remember them." Oliver shook his head, amused by the situation.
"He'll definitely remember us, right, Fred?"
"Of course, we're known as the best-behaved twins at Hogwarts."
"The professors' pride."
"Parents' pride."
"Good with animals and children."
"Except for our youngest brother, Ronnie."
"Did you classify him as an animal or a child?"
"Both"
"Well, we're just helping him build character, nothing more."
"Yes, a man of character, firm and strong, he should thank us..."
Rigel glanced at the chatty pair, they always seemed to have something to talk about, it was impressive. He considered continuing his search, but paused for a moment. If he really got into Gryffindor, should he also join the Quidditch team?
Would that result in a reward?
Rigel felt that his monotonous and safe life was beckoning to him from afar...
Taking a deep breath, he accepted Oliver's invitation, entering and securing his trunk with a levitation spell, then sitting down next to Oliver.
"Very good for a new kid." Oliver nodded in surprise.
"Thank you, my name is Rigel, by the way." Rigel thought it best not to mention his last name, although he doubted any of them would recognize it, it was better not to risk it. Finally, he remembered to introduce the monkey on his shoulder. "This is Jack."
"How did you manage to bring a monkey?" Fred asked, approaching, only for Jack to squeal in his face, sticking out his tongue and the middle finger.
Fred not only wasn't scared, but his eyes lit up, even George had an unusual expression.
"George, I already know what I'm going to buy on vacation."
"Fred, it seems we had the same idea."
Rigel's lips trembled, for a moment, he wondered if the twins' patrons would still be magpies in the future. It was more likely they would be monkeys.
In fact, he should suggest that the twins learn Animagus. If they were monkeys... it would be hilarious, they would really give Filch more trouble. Rigel wasn't too worried about the twins failing either, the two were certainly talented.
Of course, there's no better time than the present.
"You two are really funny. If you were Animagi, you'd probably be monkeys like Jack, or the way you talk, maybe you'd be magpies." Rigel shrugged.
The siblings seemed a little confused and bewildered by Rigel suddenly touching on Animagus, but they quickly dismissed it once they realized the implications.
Animagi? Monkeys? Magpies? Isn't that fun?
Furthermore, how much would that help with his mischief?
If they could transform into animals, wouldn't it be easier to escape?
The twins looked at each other, they saw the same idea appearing in each other's eyes, and a smile appeared on their faces at the same time.
Oliver shook his head, he just wanted to be alone. He hadn't slept well, but the Twins had found him and wouldn't stop talking. He was tired, having practiced Quidditch until late yesterday, he barely slept, but he knew that with the twins there, he wouldn't have any peace, so he endured it.
He looked at Rigel and asked. "So, which house do you want to enter?"
The twins also looked at Rigel with curiosity.
"He looks like he belongs in Slytherin."
"100% Slytherin."
"1,000%!"
"10,000%!"
...
Rigel ignored the twins, he knew he couldn't transform into a smiling boy overnight, so he didn't think the twins were just teasing him. He clearly had a Slytherin bent.
Even Oliver just raised an eyebrow at that, clearly thinking they were right.
"I don't really care, as long as I'm not going to Ravenclaw, everything else is fine." Rigel shrugged.
The twins were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, even Oliver seemed amused.
"Did you hear that, George? Anyone but Ravenclaw." Fred said, wiping away tears.
"That's the first time I've heard of that, but yeah, judging by how those ravens walk around with their noses in the air, I wouldn't want to go to Ravenclaw either."
"Perhaps our little friend thinks he's not smart enough."
"Don't worry, Rigel, there's always Hufflepuff."
"Or Gryffindor."
"Damn it, Fred, don't put us in the line of fire!"
"Hey, have you ever seen Peter York? One day, I saw that boy chewing on a feather."
"...very fair."
"Okay, let's hope you end up in Gryffindor, you're interesting enough."
"Of course, another Gryffindor to cause trouble slowed McGonagall's breathing down our necks."
"Or Filch."
"Or Hagrid."
"Although Hagrid is nice."
"McGonagall isn't bad either, she's just too harsh."
"Okay, but Filch... we have some presents prepared for him, right, George?"
"Us? Fred, we have nothing! We're the best behaved ones, remember?"
"You're right, George, I misunderstood."
Oliver and Rigel:...
Jack: These guys are interesting.