By Boat

The train gradually slowed, and an announcement came over the speakers reminding them that they would soon arrive at Hogsmeade Station.

Just then, the compartment door was yanked open. A girl with thick brown hair and large front teeth poked her head inside, speaking as fast as popping beans:

"You'd better put your robes on quickly. I just asked the conductor, and we're about to arrive! Has anyone seen Neville's toad?"

Her gaze swiftly swept through the compartment, landing on Harry and Ron's unchanged clothes before glancing at Skofot, who was already wearing a secondhand black robe and sitting quietly by the window.

Then her eyes settled on Harry's face—more precisely, on the battered glasses taped together across the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, what happened to your glasses?" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled out her wand, pointed it at them, and said clearly, "Oculus Reparo!"

A faint glow flashed, and the tape on Harry's glasses vanished. The frames were restored to perfect condition.

Harry blinked in surprise and murmured, "Thanks..."

"You're welcome." After saying that, the girl swept off like a gust of wind to knock on the next compartment door.

"Who was that?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Hermione Granger," Harry answered as he and Ron hurriedly began rummaging for their robes.

As for Skofot, since he had been wearing the secondhand black robe Professor McGonagall had bought him all along, he did not need to change and merely watched them quietly.

The train finally came to a stop.

The students surged toward the doors like a tide.

Skofot followed behind Harry and Ron, stepping off the train with the crowd.

The night air was cool, and voices filled the station. From afar came the rough shout of the gamekeeper: "First-years! This way!"

Amid the packed crowd, Skofot spotted a tiny, inconspicuous bump—perhaps a loose cobblestone. His foot caught on it at just the right moment, and he instantly lost his balance, pitching forward.

"Ah!" He let out a short, panicked cry.

Just as he was about to fall, a strong hand caught his arm in time and steadied him.

Still shaken, Skofot looked up and met Hermione Granger's face, filled with concern and a trace of reproach.

"Be careful! There are so many people here. Falling down is dangerous!" Hermione's tone carried her usual seriousness.

With her help, Skofot straightened up. The effect of the [Rabbit Rhymer] card quickly reddened his eyes, filling them with involuntary tears. Under the station lights, they looked especially watery.

He tilted his face up at Hermione and gave her a sweet smile that blended gratitude, shyness, and dependence. His voice was soft and gentle:

"Thank you, Miss Granger. You're so kind."

[Emotion Points +25]

[Emotion Points: 400/100]

Hermione had clearly never experienced such direct gratitude, especially gratitude carrying such a fragile sense of dependence.

She froze for a moment. Looking at the sincere, tear-bright smile on the boy's pale face, made even more striking by the stacked affinity buff, her cheeks grew slightly warm. Her usual know-it-all, little-adult composure was thrown off at once.

"It's, it's nothing!" She released his arm, and her tone unconsciously took on an eager, caring edge.

"Stay close. We're going to take the boats! Don't fall again!"

She even instinctively reached out as though to support Skofot's arm, signaling for him to follow her.

Then, almost leading him along, she somewhat flusteredly brought this new student who "needed special care" toward the boats by the lake, temporarily forgetting Harry and Ron, who were still standing behind them and looking around in confusion.

Skofot obediently followed Hermione. From an angle she could not see, the moisture in his eyes and his sweet smile quickly faded, leaving behind only calm calculation.

The lake lay shrouded in night. The black water rippled faintly as the new students boarded the little boats, each of which automatically carried three or four people.

Skofot deliberately slowed his pace, avoiding the boat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. His gaze swept over the shifting crowd, and he soon fixed on a boat that was mostly empty.

He silently climbed in, curling up in the darkest corner at the bow, almost blending into the shadows.

Not long after, a small boy with platinum-blond hair and a haughty manner approached with two followers who were obviously much larger than him.

"This one, then. It looks reasonably clean."

Draco Malfoy spoke in his distinctive drawn-out tone as he stepped into the boat first. Crabbe and Goyle clumsily followed behind him, making the boat rock sharply.

At first, Malfoy did not notice Skofot in the shadows.

He was busy straightening his brand-new robes, his eyes critically sweeping over the other new students around him, especially in the direction where Potter stood. His face held undisguised appraisal and a trace of contempt.

The boat slowly left the shore and headed toward the silhouette of the magnificent castle across the lake.

As the boat moved onward, the lights shining from the castle windows drew closer, gradually illuminating the inside of the boat.

Malfoy finally seemed to sense that something was wrong. He frowned and swept his gaze around the boat.

Then it stopped on the figure at the bow, nearly hidden in darkness.

He froze for a moment.

The boy was very small and thin, curled up there in an obviously secondhand old robe. His head was lowered, revealing only soft black hair and a small stretch of pale chin.

He seemed to be trying his best to diminish his presence, but under the growing light, that deliberate concealment instead gave off a strange, eye-catching vulnerability.

The "fragility" and "affinity" of the [Rabbit Rhymer] card intertwined and took effect at that moment.

The question Malfoy had prepared for the uninvited stranger on the boat caught in his throat.

Looking at that figure, an odd feeling rose in his heart for no apparent reason.

—It was not his usual disgust toward Mudbloods or poor wizards, nor was it the sharp hostility he felt toward Potter. It was something...

A mixture of curiosity and an indescribable urge to draw closer.

The feeling had come suddenly, leaving even him somewhat confused.

He cleared his throat, trying to recover his usual manner, but his voice came out unconsciously gentler than usual:

"You... who are you? Why are you on this boat?"

Only then did Skofot lift his head slightly as if startled, revealing a small, pale, delicate face that looked even paler in the dim light.

His eyes narrowed slightly as the light changed, carrying a hint of confusion and moisture from the fragility effect. He answered softly, "Skofot Leoqi."

His voice was very light, trembling almost imperceptibly, like a feather brushing against skin.

"Draco Malfoy."

Seeing him like this, the bit of displeasure Malfoy had felt at being "disturbed" completely vanished, replaced by an increasingly powerful possessiveness—the urge to bring this person or thing beneath his wing.

—That fit young Master Malfoy's way of thinking perfectly, though the target and method were somewhat unexpected.

He did not ask about family background or blood status again.

—Under normal circumstances, that would have been almost unimaginable.

Instead, he shifted closer to the bow, moving nearer to Skofot. Then, under Crabbe and Goyle's bewildered stares, he did something that even he might have found surprising afterward.

He reached out and, not exactly gently but with perfectly natural confidence, draped an arm over Skofot's thin shoulders and pulled him closer, bringing him out of the darkest corner.

"Why are you sitting so far over there? If the boat rocks, you'll fall out."

Malfoy's tone carried his usual condescending concern, but his actions held an unquestionable force. "Stay close to me and sit properly."

Skofot's body stiffened slightly, as though he was unaccustomed to the sudden contact, but he did not struggle.

He merely obediently shifted toward the middle with Malfoy's pull, lowered his head, and answered softly, "...Mm."

[Emotion Points +15]

[Emotion Points: 415/100]

Malfoy felt the thin shoulder bones beneath his palm, sharp even through the fabric. Looking at the boy's lowered neck, which appeared exceptionally obedient, an odd sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.

He completely forgot his original intention of finding trouble with Potter and ignored the confused expressions on his two followers' faces behind him.

The boat glided steadily toward the castle, the lake reflecting the stars, moon, and castle lights.

On one boat, two boys with entirely different thoughts leaned against each other in an unexpected way.