Hogwarts Express (Part 2)

The fields rushing past outside the window grew more desolate. Farmland had vanished, replaced by woods, winding rivers, and dark green hills. Only at Lily's insistence did Snape deign to eat a sandwich, but he would not touch any of the sweets all eleven-year-olds loved before returning to his book.

While they ate, Pomona discovered that Lily did not actually like reading that much. If someone was willing to talk to her, she could be quite chatty. But Snape was the one at her side, so she had been forced into becoming a book lover. When she learned that Pomona had never been to the Muggle world, she enthusiastically began talking about everything Muggle-related, such as photographs that did not move and cars that could not fly, as well as her sister, Petunia.

"At least we won't be able to see each other until the winter holiday, and she didn't even come to see me off." Lily looked very upset, as though she cared deeply about her sister.

Pomona did not want to comment on someone she had never met, so she put a strawberry into her mouth. Then she inadvertently noticed that Lily's textbooks were brand-new, while the book Snape was reading was clearly secondhand. Looking more closely, she saw that even his robes were secondhand. Generally speaking, everyone only changed into their school uniforms when they were close to school, but he had put his on early, seemingly to hide the worn-out clothes beneath.

"Hey, Sirius, look whose card I got!" someone shouted loudly in the quiet corridor.

Honestly, he was rather noisy. Snape had opened the compartment door to let the air circulate, but now he shut it again.

Lily looked at Pomona as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Want to try your luck?" Pomona took out four Chocolate Frogs from the picnic basket. "Which one do you want?"

"I'll pick... this one!" Pomona handed Lily the Chocolate Frog she had chosen. The moment Lily opened the box, the frog inside sprang out. It took the two girls a frantic scramble to catch it.

"What is this?" Lily was utterly fascinated, though the commotion had left her hair in disarray.

"Like I said, a Chocolate Frog!" Pomona said, panting. "Every Chocolate Frog comes with a card. You can collect them and see who you get."

Lily opened the box and took out the card inside. It showed the face of a man wearing half-moon spectacles, with a crooked long nose. His grizzled hair and beard covered most of his face. The name written beneath the card was Albus Dumbledore.

"Who is he?" Lily handed the card to Pomona.

"You can read the back of the card." Pomona turned to Snape. "Would you like to try, Mr. Snape?"

As expected, Snape ignored her.

When she turned back to Lily, the joy had already faded from her face, leaving her looking somewhat sad.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"It says he defeated the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945," Lily said softly. "Someone told me Grindelwald wanted to wipe out all Muggles."

"Just like what you said earlier about wiping out all Dementors, Muggles really are a threat to wizards. Do you know about Druids?"

"I've heard of them."

"Druid means goddess of the forest. Before Christianity took over Britain, they held a dominant position in ancient Britain. They were not only priests, but also doctors, teachers, and judges, teaching young people through magic. Yet during Roman rule, they were slaughtered to the last. That is the conflict between wizards and Muggles," Pomona said sharply. "If you intend to join the wizarding world, you need to get used to keeping your distance from Muggles. They believe in science more than magic."

"So, you support Grindelwald?" Snape asked in a low, silky voice.

"No." Pomona shook her head. "I'm just tired of war, and I have no interest in making wizards the rulers again."

"You don't like using magic openly?"

"Could we not talk about something so depressing?" Pomona found the topic far too heavy. Compared to discussing this, she would rather improve the tiramisu recipe.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Snape asked perfunctorily.

"Are you two dating?"

"No, of course not!" The moment Pomona finished speaking, Lily immediately cried out, "We're just friends."

Pomona looked at Snape. His eyes were like a bottomless abyss, without the slightest emotional ripple, still fixed on the book in his hands.

"Besides, we're only eleven. It's too early to talk about that," Lily added, as if trying to salvage the situation. Who knew how much Snape had taken in.

Perhaps Lily and Snape had already decided that she was a girl whose head was filled with nothing but cakes and romance. But Pomona did not care what they thought. She could clearly feel that she was not one of them.

Hufflepuff represented mediocre talent. Lily was beautiful and would draw attention, while Snape, in another sense, was also eye-catching. Pomona had suffered enough from acting conspicuously last time. Over the next few years, she planned to keep a similarly low profile, and keeping her distance from them seemed like a good idea.

"Pomona," Lily said helplessly, "why did you prepare lunch for four people?"

"All Hogwarts feasts are prepared by Hufflepuff. We're used to sharing," Pomona said with a smile. "Food makes people happy."

"No." Snape lifted his gaze from his book. "Power makes people happy."

Pomona felt that she would never understand Slytherin. Compared to conquest and domination, was it not more important to learn how to get along with others amicably?

The rest of the journey became dull again. Lily took out her book and began reading once more, and Pomona no longer felt like talking. She watched the scenery flash past outside the window, watched the sky gradually darken, while her father's letter filled her thoughts.

Pomona, my dearest, forgive me for not coming to see you all these years. I cannot say much in this letter, but I hope you know that I love you and your mother very much. I never intended to abandon you. You are eleven this year, and the situation in Britain is not good. Perhaps you may want to return to France and study at Beauxbatons, but I must tell you that even if you go to Scandinavia, do not go there. Hogwarts is the best choice. Love, Dad.

Pomona did not know why Beauxbatons had become dangerous, but she still chose to believe her father, a man she had always hated.

Many people believed that beautiful girls should not be intelligent, that they were easy to fool. But she would rather believe that her mother had truly loved her father and then given birth to her.

Madam Sprout's home was far from human society. Perhaps that was to protect her, or perhaps it concealed some secret. And to keep them safe, her father had to stay away from her.

She felt a small thrill about the life ahead, but before she could enjoy it, she had to learn to keep secrets, because this was the world of wizards.