Brainwashed Before School Even Started

Ron somewhat sheepishly pulled out his Wand. It looked old and worn, nothing like what a new student would use. It was probably secondhand—perhaps even thirdhand.

But considering the Weasley family's "poverty," it was hardly surprising.

His Wand had probably been passed down through the family. As for how many generations it had gone through, that depended on the circumstances.

Ron cleared his throat and lightly raised his Wand. "Sun..."

He had only uttered the first word of the spell when a girl in black robes appeared at the compartment door, looking slightly out of breath.

"Hermione?"

"Hm?" The girl froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting anyone here to recognize her. Then she looked toward the source of the voice.

"Aaron? You're here too?" Hermione said happily.

"Where else would I be?" Aaron rolled his eyes. "I'm a new student at Hogwarts too. It's perfectly normal for me to be on this train!"

"That's true." Hermione said somewhat embarrassedly. "By the way, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost one."

"Woo..." Abei let out a soft whimper, then proudly patted his own belly.

Hermione's expression changed slightly. "Don't tell me it ate it."

Aaron smacked Abei on the head. "Don't misunderstand. It only ate a Chocolate Frog.

As for that toad you mentioned, we really haven't seen it."

"All right!" Hermione said, then turned her gaze to Ron's Wand. "You're casting magic. Can I watch?"

Ron cleared his throat again, trying to make his voice as clear as possible as he cast the spell.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow.

Turn this stupid fat rat yellow."

The Wand swung down, but nothing happened. Not even a single hair changed color.

Ron awkwardly looked at the three people in the compartment, his face turning slightly red.

Aaron's mouth twitched. "Ron, your brother must really like pranks, doesn't he?

I consider myself fairly well-read, and I know quite a few spells, but this is the first time I've heard one like that.

Are you... sure that's a spell?"

"Uh..." Ron did not know what to say. He had realized that Fred had most likely tricked him.

"Indeed, your spell doesn't seem very effective." Hermione said. "Of course, I've tried a few simple spells myself, and they all worked quite well."

As she spoke, Hermione drew her Wand and sat beside Aaron. She aimed it at Harry's battered old glasses. "For example..."

Before she could finish, the black Wand in her hand was pressed down by Aaron.

"Aaron, what are you doing?" Hermione said unhappily, much of her enthusiasm for casting the spell gone.

"I just think that when testing spells, it's best not to point them at people. Or at the very least, you should get their permission first.

It might be rude and dangerous to just do it like this. It would be fine if it worked, but if it failed..."

Only then did Hermione notice that the boy opposite her was staring at her nervously, his eyes holding both wariness and a trace of fear.

"I'm sorry. Can I have your glasses?"

"Oh, no problem." Harry sighed in relief, then took off his glasses and handed them to Hermione.

Hermione gently waved her Wand and recited the spell, "Oculus Reparo."

The tape on the bridge of the glasses suddenly popped off, and the nose pads became brand-new.

"They're fixed already," Hermione said.

Harry widened his eyes and took the glasses. He exchanged a look with the astonished Ron, as though neither had expected this proud girl's magic to be so effective.

Hermione also noticed the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead and said in surprise, "That's incredible. You're Harry Potter."

"Wait, Hermione, how do you know him?" Aaron asked in surprise. It was normal for wizards to know Harry Potter. After all, the Boy Who Lived was a household name in the Magic World.

But Hermione was a child from a Muggle Family, yet she knew the name Harry Potter as well. That was somewhat unusual.

Muggles probably knew only slightly less about the Magic World than Harry Potter himself.

"From books! His name appears in several books that record modern History of Magic." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"I see. You're so studious that you'll probably be sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw?" Hermione raised an eyebrow slightly. "But I want to go to Gryffindor. Dumbledore graduated from that House, which shows just how excellent it is.

What about you, Aaron? Which House do you want to go to?"

"Me? I don't care, as long as it isn't Hufflepuff.

Though there's a good chance I'll be sorted into Slytherin!"

"No, you can't go to that House!" Harry hurriedly said. Then his face reddened, and he lowered his head to explain, "I heard Hagrid say that almost everyone who comes out of that House becomes a Dark Wizard."

"Ha?" Aaron frowned, then gave a disdainful laugh. "If I'm not mistaken, this Hagrid must have graduated from Gryffindor!

Only Gryffindors would be so hostile toward Slytherin."

"But my parents say there aren't any good people in Slytherin either," Ron said.

"Hm? Don't tell me your parents graduated from Gryffindor too?"

Ron said nothing, silently confirming it.

"My God! You two really are... You've been brainwashed before you've even started school.

If Slytherin were really so terrible, why would Hogwarts keep that House around?

Wouldn't tearing down Slytherin directly greatly improve public safety in the Magic World?

And as far as I know, Slytherin has the best Grades of all four Houses."

"No matter what, Slytherin is the worst," Ron muttered. "Voldemort came from that House."

"Ugh!" Aaron sighed. "Fine, we'll wait and see!

I don't think Houses can be called good or bad. Only people can. You can't say that there isn't a single good person in all of Slytherin, can you?"

Harry and Ron were left speechless. Although they disliked that House, they truly could not condemn everyone in it simply because they did not like it.

"That's true." Hermione smiled and stood up. "I still need to help Neville find his toad, so I'll be going.

Oh, and a reminder: you should change into your uniforms. We should be arriving soon."

Hermione paused as she stepped out of the compartment. She turned back to glance at Ron, then pointed at her own nose. "You've got a bit of dirt on your nose, you know? Right there."

Ron glared at her lightly, then began wiping at it with his hand. When he saw the black stain on his hand, he looked indignantly at the other two. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry, you were on my left, and my eyesight isn't very good, so I didn't see it," Harry said.

"Dirt?" Aaron could not help laughing. "I thought it was a birthmark."

Ron: ...

As night fell, the train drew closer and closer to its final stop, eventually coming to a halt amid a long whistle.

Students of all years in black robes got off the train one after another, and the previously empty platform quickly became crowded.

Still, it was not too crowded, since the students' luggage remained on the train and would be packed and delivered to Hogwarts by staff.

"We're here! First-year students, this way.

Come on, first-years, don't be shy. Hurry up and follow me." A rough-looking giant with a thick beard was holding a lantern and calling out loudly.

"That's Hagrid," Harry excitedly introduced to Ron and Aaron.

"A giant?" Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Giants are fairly rare these days. I've only seen a few in Diagon Alley. I didn't expect Hogwarts to have one too."

"He's the gamekeeper," Harry said, then waved and greeted Hagrid.