Draco, I'll Flip You Over

The boy's tone was arrogant and conceited, his words drawn out in a grating way that instantly made him unlikeable.

Hermione frowned at once. "Who are you?"

"Draco Malfoy," the boy said slowly, deliberately emphasizing the Malfoy surname.

"Never heard of you. Please leave!" Hermione shot him a disgusted look.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, then curled his lips into a mocking smile. "I see. A Mudblood? Well, being allowed to attend school is already a gift to people like you. Naturally, you have no right to be picky."

"You!" Hermione did not know what Mudblood meant, but from Malfoy's words, it was easy enough to tell it was no compliment. Her eyes widened, and she bristled like an angry cat.

Sean stopped her, then slowly rose to his feet.

Mudblood was a derogatory term for wizards born to Muggle Families. Though it was not as vicious as the slur Mudblood, it still carried discriminatory undertones.

Both terms were widely used among Pure-blood Wizards to flaunt their "nobility."

"Malfoy? I've heard that name before." Sean wore his signature perfect smile.

Malfoy glanced at him. The other boy's flawless poise annoyed him somewhat, but hearing that Sean knew of his family still made him puff out his chest slightly.

"For a Mudblood, you're fairly well-informed." With his nose in the air, he responded blandly, without the slightest intention of offering a handshake.

Sean gave a slight bow, displaying the etiquette expected of a noble. "Allow me to introduce myself. Sean Wallop."

Malfoy searched his memory. There were no Pure-blood families named Wallop in the Wizarding World, and the disdain in his eyes grew even stronger.

Probably some lowborn nobody trying to cling to the Malfoy Family.

The look in Hermione's eyes changed as she looked at Sean. The disgust there flashed by for an instant. She had not expected this graceful, well-mannered boy to be such a spineless creep.

Unhurriedly, Sean took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands. "Don't remember? Our ancestors might have known each other."

Known each other? Malfoy withdrew some of his contempt. Could the other boy be Muggle nobility?

He had heard from his father that the Malfoy Family's ancestors had originally come to Great Britain alongside William I.

"Let me think. Some records preserved by my family once mentioned that William I received the aid of a Malfoy, so he rewarded him with a prime piece of land in Wiltshire."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. It seemed the other boy did have some background. His family had indeed lived on their Wiltshire estate for ten centuries, though the word "rewarded" made him rather unhappy.

Before Malfoy could speak, Sean smiled faintly. "If I remember correctly, two hundred years ago, your ancestors were still active among the highborn Muggle circles?"

"For what? To curry favor with the Muggles you look down on, all for profit?"

"The Malfoy Family really is as 'proper' as ever."

"Oh, right. William I was a Muggle too. Tsk, the glory of Pure-blood families had to be bestowed by Muggles? Is that all your nobility amounts to?" Sean maintained his proper smile, but the words from his mouth twisted Malfoy's face with rage.

"Mudblood! You're lying..." He tried to shout, only to see Sean swiftly draw his wand.

"Quietus."

In an instant, Malfoy's furious shout became a mosquito-like whisper. The sight of him wearing such a furious expression while only whispering made even Hermione laugh aloud.

"Draco, you're adorable," Sean praised with a beaming smile, though a dangerous gleam shone in his eyes.

Over the two months of summer, he had practiced quite a few spells. Though his Charms Talent was only average, his efforts had still paid off somewhat.

Malfoy's pale cheeks flushed red. He turned and shouted several orders at Crabbe and Goyle, but the two hulking idiots stared for quite some time before they finally deciphered his lip movements.

"Get him! Beat him up!"

Neither of them even thought to draw a wand. They immediately charged over menacingly.

"Watch out!" Hermione cried.

Sean tossed his handkerchief to Hermione, then held his wand between his teeth.

They looked intimidating, but to Sean, the two boys were slow and clumsy.

"Bang!" "Bang!" After two heavy, powerful punches, Crabbe and Goyle were already lying on the floor, clutching their stomachs and howling in pain.

Sean held out a hand to Hermione. The stunned girl froze for a moment before hurriedly handing the handkerchief back.

"Thank you for holding it for me." Sean elegantly wiped his hands and wand, then carefully folded the handkerchief and returned it to his inner pocket.

"Almost forgot. There's still you, Draco." Sean walked toward Malfoy, who had backed into the corridor with panic written all over his face. He looked as warm and enthusiastic as though he were greeting an old friend.

"Don't come any closer!" As Sean's smiling face drew nearer and nearer, Malfoy screamed loudly. Unfortunately, his mosquito-like cry was completely drowned out by the noise of the train.

"It's fine. This will be quick. I'll flip you over."

After the trio helped one another away, Hermione looked at Sean with shining eyes. But she immediately grew worried. "They're not seriously hurt, are they? Will you be breaking school rules by doing this? Oh no, we haven't even started school yet... No, if the teachers punish you, I'll definitely testify for you. Those jerks attacked first."

Sean spread his hands with a smile. "I didn't do anything. I merely gave my new classmates a full-body massage out of kindness. Besides, we haven't even entered the school yet. What's there to worry about?"

He was not worried in the slightest. Not to mention that the three of them, especially Malfoy, were vain "nobles" who cared deeply about their pride, but he had not even been Sorted yet. Were they going to deduct points from thin air?

After reassuring Hermione for a while, the girl eagerly fixed her gaze on his wand. "That was the Quieting Charm, wasn't it? I saw it in a book, but I haven't tried it yet. I've practiced some other magic on my own."

Sean nodded helplessly. "The Quieting Charm is relatively simple, so I gave it a try. Thankfully, it worked out."

"Have you practiced any other spells?" Hermione's eyes glimmered with curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

Sean thought for a moment, then stood and took two cans of cola from his trunk.

"You brought those too?" As the daughter of a dentist, Hermione hesitated for a moment before accepting the can he offered her.

Sean winked at her. "For happiness."

He pulled the tab open, clinked cans with Hermione, then set his opened cola on the table.

Sean cleared his throat and said seriously, "Have you ever heard of a theory?"

"What theory?"

He pointed at the can. "Suppose the value of a can of cola is ten. Once chilled, its value rises to fifteen. And the first sip, the most satisfying sip after you pull the tab, accounts for two-thirds of the can's value. Every sip after that is worth less and less."

Hermione held her can with a puzzled expression, but Sean's serious face seemed to insist that this was indeed a legitimate theory.

Sean drew his wand and pointed it at the can. "Reparo."

"Pssht~" Sean pulled open the tab of the repaired can, took a deeply satisfied sip, and said, "This way, every sip has the greatest value. I love magic."

Hermione: "...?"