Lesson

Hermione Granger was very happy.

But just a few minutes earlier, she had been filled with urgency.

When Professor McGonagall appeared at her home and demonstrated several Transfiguration spells in front of her entire family, Hermione's worldview had been shaken. At the same time, she had quickly become fascinated by Magic.

She had believed in science since childhood, and science had always held one view—what existed was Truth!

But clever as she was, she also understood that being Muggle-born was her greatest weakness.

Especially that day in Diagon Alley, when she had seen Vaughn Weasley perform a trick with a Snap of his fingers.

And Professor McGonagall had told her that he was even a year younger than she was. Hermione's birthday was September 19; if she had been born twenty days earlier, she would have started school the year before.

That made Hermione's scalp tingle...

It was terrifying!

Students born into Wizard families had been practising Magic since childhood, while she had "wasted" nearly twelve whole years!

Rounded up, she was practically a century behind her classmates!

One could imagine her hiding in her bedroom, clutching her head in despair.

So throughout the summer, Hermione had hungrily absorbed knowledge and practised spells.

Without anyone to guide her, it was difficult to teach herself spells. As the start of term drew nearer, Hermione became increasingly anxious. So after boarding the Hogwarts Express today, she had eagerly gone around looking for classmates from Wizard families, hoping to exchange ideas with them.

It had to be said that things had gone quite well at first. In the compartment where she had rested, there was a girl named Susan Bones. She was cheerful and warm-hearted, and she did not bother hiding things. Nearly all the first-years in the carriage knew that her aunt was Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

The perfect person to learn from!

But when Hermione cast Reparo and tried to discuss their progress with Susan, the girl stopped paying any attention to her.

Then, near the back of the train, she ran into another Red-haired member of the Weasley family, Ron Weasley.

The boy she had met once before was showing off his new Wand to Harry Potter. In one tiny compartment, there were both the "terrifying Weasley" and the Savior recorded in Modern Magical History.

Hermione certainly would not miss such a perfect opportunity, so she urged Ron to cast a spell...

The result was better left unmentioned!

The last person Hermione encountered was Neville Longbottom. When she grabbed the round-faced boy, he was laughing and crying as he kissed a toad... Honestly, the sight made Hermione suddenly question the quality of education in Wizard families.

"I can't do Magic. If not for Hogwarts' letter, my family would have thought I was a Squib..." Neville said, trembling beneath Hermione's stare.

"You live in the magical world and have been exposed to it since childhood. How can you not know Magic?"

"Y-you... why don't you go find Mr. Vaughn Weasley? He's over there. He just helped me find Trevor."

Vaughn Weasley—the nightmare that had plagued Hermione Granger all summer.

But after all her attempts that day, after learning the level of her classmates, she could now raise her head with confidence.

Following Neville's directions, Hermione turned the corner and indeed saw that familiar tall, skinny figure with Red-haired hair. He was wandering through the train corridor, idly playing with a Wand in his hand.

"Vaughn... Weasley?"

For some reason, although Hermione had thought herself confident enough, the moment she called his name, saw him turn around, and that handsome face entered her vision, her heart suddenly began to race.

Thump, thump...

As though it might leap out of her throat.

Was this the presence of an opponent?

The girl whose mind had never contained anything but the word "study" felt her ears buzzing.

Vaughn was not surprised to run into Hermione. The Hogwarts Express only had so many carriages, after all.

He smiled and nodded. "Hello, Miss Granger."

Before coming to find him, Hermione had prepared an entire speech. She might challenge him to compare spells, or tell him that she had read many newspapers and knew he had already achieved something in Potions.

But when she truly faced his greeting, Hermione suddenly found her mind completely blank.

She could only reply stiffly, "H-hello to you too, Mr. Weasley..."

"Is something the matter, Miss Granger?" Vaughn asked.

"I..."

Hermione had just blankly begun to speak when someone coming from behind abruptly shoved her aside.

It was a pale-skinned boy with short platinum-blond hair, followed by two tall, burly lackeys. His expression was extremely arrogant, as though he were looking at people through his nostrils.

"Move aside, you little Muggle brat!"

Without even looking at Hermione, who had nearly been knocked over, the boy looked Vaughn up and down and sneered. "Another Weasley. I just saw one—a filthy, stupid one hanging around with that bespectacled Potter. And you... you're even stranger than him."

As he spoke, he finally glanced at Hermione from the corner of his eye, then quickly looked away, as though another second of looking would dirty his eyes. "Making friends with someone like that. Hair as messy as seaweed, front teeth as big as a rabbit's..."

Before he could finish, Vaughn interrupted, "Draco Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked surprised for a moment, but quickly lifted his chin. "Yes. It seems that compared to that idiot Ron, you have at least some sense."

Vaughn neither confirmed nor denied it, merely drawled, "If I were you, I'd get lost quickly. Your Parents aren't here to protect you on this train."

A faint flush rose on Malfoy's pale face. His eyes widened, and he waved his hand sharply. "What, you want to fight too? Crabbe, Goyle, beat him up!"

The two dull-looking lackeys behind him were quite interested in that sort of work.

With savage grins and angry roars, they lunged at Vaughn.

Hermione only had time to let out a cry before she saw Vaughn raise his Wand.

"Impediment Jinx!"

The air blurred for an instant. Goyle and Crabbe seemed to have suddenly charged into a transparent, sticky swamp. Their movements rapidly slowed as some invisible force restrained them, lifting them into the air with their limbs spread wide.

They looked exactly like two frogs pinned to a Lab Bench.

They cried out in terror, "Draco, save us!"

Unfortunately, they had called the wrong person. Draco had only just shown a frightened expression when he saw Vaughn calmly point his Wand at him. Red light flared.

"Expelliarmus!"

With a bang, Draco felt an enormous force strike his stomach. The train compartments on either side raced backward in his vision, and the next moment, he slammed heavily into the partition.

The violent impact had left his mind completely blank. Before he could react, another spell came: "Densaugeo!"

Draco felt an intense itch in his mouth. His eyes went wide as he watched his front teeth rapidly lengthen, jutting past his lips in an instant and even curling upward in a jaunty arc.

The successive blows made him burst into tears.

He no longer dared to stay. Not even caring about Crabbe and Goyle, he scrambled and crawled toward the back of the train.

At the same time, the students in the various compartments noticed the commotion outside and poked their heads out to watch.

Vaughn lifted the spell on Crabbe and Goyle, letting the two of them run away crying.