Ambush

"Let me see that, Nelson."

The compartment door slammed open, and an uninvited guest barged in. He plopped down beside Nelson, casually ruffled the kitten napping in Nelson's lap, then stretched out his legs and crossed them atop the chair opposite. Tom glared at the newcomer, suppressing his anger. The kitten leaped onto the table, arched its back, bared its teeth, and hissed at him.

"Professor Dumbledore...?" Tom looked shocked when he recognized the man.

"Ha ha ha, I look just like him, don't I?" Dumbledore smugly raised his index finger at Tom while snatching the photograph from Nelson's hand to inspect it. "Oh? Is this the orphanage where you grew up? Are orphanages in the United Kingdom this well-funded now?"

"Mr. Aberforth?" Nelson studied the "Dumbledore" beside him, his brow relaxing as he asked.

"Looks like you're not completely stupid." Aberforth turned to Nelson and raised an eyebrow. "Polyjuice Potion. Handy stuff, isn't it? This way, I don't have to waste my breath explaining to a bunch of little idiots why the esteemed Albus has disappeared."

"Are you Mr. Aberforth?" Tom caught on as well, and the kitten retreated to where it had been hiding before.

"What a silly boy." Aberforth burst into laughter, then hurriedly added when he saw Tom's wounded pride, "You won't encounter Polyjuice Potion until your fourth year. It's also a restricted Potions brew under the Ministry of Magic, so it's normal not to know about it."

"Oh, and you need to call me Professor Dumbledore~" Aberforth seemed to be enjoying his current identity, adding brightly, "You must greet me properly when you see me at school."

He lowered his head to examine the photograph again. Nelson handed him another magical photograph taken at the same place, and his previously flippant expression grew solemn. Now, he looked exactly like the real Albus Dumbledore.

"Let me see that camera." He held out his hand for Nelson's camera, rubbing the inscription on it as he slowly asked, "Nelson, do you know the Mirror of Erised?"

"What is that?" Nelson said nothing, but Tom could not help asking.

"Looks like you do know." Aberforth watched Nelson's expression, then explained to Tom, "The Mirror of Erised is a mirror brought back by one of the school's teachers several centuries ago. Its origins can no longer be traced."

"What is it?"

"Since it's a magic mirror, it must differ from other mirrors somehow, and I happen to know it very well." He spoke slowly in a calm tone that was almost gritted through his teeth. "It does not show your reflection, but the desire in your heart." (Note: The inscription atop the Mirror of Erised, read backward, is "I show not your face but your heart's desire.")

"It's a magic mirror that reflects the deepest desires in a person's heart," Nelson said from the side, looking worriedly at his camera. "I took some photographs with it. Could that..."

"Don't worry too much. It's too small," Aberforth said seriously. "But never trust anything that can peer into your mind unless you can hide your mind away."

Tom gave Nelson a subtle smile. Since their first day at school, the two of them had been practicing Occlumency.

"So I was thinking—"

BOOM!!! Aberforth's words were cut off by a tremendous roar from the front of the train. The entire carriage lurched forward under the immense inertia of the sudden stop. Nelson was thrown forward, and the kitten agilely sprang onto his back. But he was only a human whose reflexes were not quite that fast. His entire weight crashed chest-first into the small table in the compartment, as though he had been struck by a sledgehammer. His vision went black, and he collapsed across the table.

"Wake up, Nal! Are you all right?!"

Tom shook Nelson's shoulder anxiously. Nelson, hazily hearing someone call his name, opened his eyes and tried hard to swallow the stifling pressure in his chest, only to feel nauseated from the shaking.

"Bleurgh—!" Fortunately, it was only dry heaving. Tom hurried closer and patted his back.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked worriedly.

"Ugh... cough, cough. I'm fine. Stop shaking me, stop!" Nelson weakly raised his head. "What happened?"

"I don't know. The train suddenly stopped, and a few carriages up front even derailed. Aberforth told us to hide here while he went to check the front." He opened the window and looked ahead. A red beam suddenly flew toward him, startling him into pulling his head back. Still shaken, he said, "Now I know. We're under attack."

"Let's go take a look too!" He pulled out his Wand and tightened his shoelaces.

"Come on, Nal!" Seeing that Nelson was still sitting there without moving, he said, "He told us to hide here, but we can't just sit around and wait to die!"

"I know... can you wait a moment?" Nelson fished his Wand out of his pocket. "Bleurgh!"

Tom could only walk over and continue patting his back.

"I'm fine now." Nelson cleared his throat, stood up, and stretched his limbs. "Do you know the Disillusionment Charm?"

"No." Tom looked completely matter-of-fact.

"..." Nelson forced himself to think for a moment. "That's probably for the best. At least our allies won't accidentally hit us."

Tom pulled open the compartment door and stuck his head out to survey the corridor for a few seconds. "No one's outside. Let's go." He looked ready for battle, but when he turned around, he saw Nelson using his schoolbag to make a simple cat bed beneath the seat, rubbing the kitten under its chin as he set it inside.

At the connection between two carriages, Nelson hid by the doorway. He took out a tissue, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it to the floor. His Wand never stopped moving. The instant the paper ball hit the ground, it turned into a gray mouse that scurried ahead in pursuit of freedom.

Tom pressed his ear against the wall beside the door hinge, holding his Wand up with one hand and aiming it at the anticipated target.

Squeak! With a miserable cry, the gray mouse pursuing freedom broke free from the shackles life had placed upon it.

"We finally ran into someone." Nelson shrugged and whispered to Tom across from him. This was already the third carriage they had passed through. Two more, and they would reach the front. In the first two carriages, they had only seen a few scattered lower-year students hiding in compartments. According to them, Dumbledore had arranged for all the older students to evacuate the younger ones toward the rear carriages, and they were heading back there as well.

"The next carriage looks like the dining car," Tom whispered. "How are we supposed to get in? Also, why haven't I run into Alphard or his sister? There isn't a single Slytherin student here!"

"They might be in the rear carriages." Nelson pulled a treasure from his pocket that he had just taken from an empty compartment. "I'll count down from three, then we rush in and hide behind the storage racks. Three... two..."

"Wait, Nal, shouldn't we—"

"One! Go!" Nelson grabbed the Poké Ball-like bead in his hand and threw it through the door ahead. With a poof, it turned into a tent that slowly unfolded. It was actually a portable tent. Who knew why its owner had brought it to Hogwarts, but the safety of such luxurious everyday magical equipment was quite trustworthy. Nelson and Tom followed behind it, charging into the dining car with their heads down before rolling across the floor and hiding beneath the meat racks.

Tom quickly crawled over from beneath another rack, keeping low as he carefully said, "I've thought about it for a long time. Aberforth did this. I really can't think of anyone else who would do something like this."

"Uh..." Nelson did not know what to say, so he pretended to inspect their surroundings, only to suddenly grab something furry.

"Take your hand off that." Aberforth's voice sounded beside him. It was a goat, and Nelson had assumed it was an ingredient in the dining car. "Riddle, you'll have a lot of homework for the next half of the school year. I guarantee it."

The goat slowly crawled out from under the meat rack, revealing a pale-faced, black-haired man it had been sitting on.

"Disgusting rats." Aberforth cursed as he changed back into human form. "The headmaster isn't here, the powerful Albus Dumbledore isn't here, and they immediately crawled out of their holes."

"I have to say, we really do have good coordination. I was lying in ambush beneath the meat rack, then you threw in a mouse to distract him. Once he went over to check it, you threw out a tent and covered his head!" Realizing there were still two students beside him, he stopped swearing after a full minute and praised them instead. "What a genius idea. I'm buying two tents to carry around with me when we get back!"

"..."

Aberforth finally fell silent after realizing that his praise had not improved the mood and had only made the air more awkward. He discovered that Tom had already circled the dining car and checked it over, while Nelson had nearly stripped the attacker lying on the floor naked.

"Mr. Aberforth!" Nelson crouched beside the attacker, raising a necklace with an ugly expression. A delicate ornament hung from the golden chain, exquisitely shaped—a vertical line inside a circle, piercing through a triangle. "Look at this..."

"So it really was him. I %&...%&&*!" The moment Aberforth saw the Locket, he began cursing again. After a while, he seemed to have exhausted himself. Shaking his head, he explained, "That's Grindelwald's symbol. Looks like this man is one of his followers. This is no ordinary attack anymore. You need to hide in the rear carriages!"

Tom tugged on Nelson's arm and shook his head. Nelson could only smile bitterly and shake his head as well.

"All right, I won't waste words." Aberforth spread his hands, suddenly looking rather decisive. "There are three of them in total. One is lying over there."

He pointed his Wand at the shirtless man on the floor, and a rope shot from the Wand and bound him tightly.

"There are two more by the front of the train." As he walked toward the door leading to the next carriage, he quickly explained the situation. "They're fighting a teacher I don't recognize and three students."

Aberforth led the two of them into the last carriage. Every table, chair, and bench there was broken or overturned; not a single thing remained intact. He sighed, "Boys, you really aren't 'weak people.'"