The Fat Sheep That Got Away

Book looked at the four female bipedal creatures staring at him and silently hid behind Luke. He felt that, just like the one from earlier, all four of them wanted to pin him down on their laps and ravage him.

That was treatment reserved for Miss Luna! Even Luke was nothing more than a litter scooper!

Luke had no idea what Book was thinking. Smiling, he said to the four girls, "Sorry, he's a little shy. Since you haven't seen it, we won't disturb you any longer."

The girl with a classic Eastern beauty replied with a smile, "All right. If you're really in a hurry, you can seek help in the Prefect Carriage. As long as they aren't from Slytherin House, they should be willing to help."

Luke's smile did not change, but inwardly, he could only feel helpless about Slytherin House's already ruined reputation.

"Thank you for the advice, Senior."

With that, Luke prepared to close the door.

"My name is Cho Chang, a second-year Ravenclaw student."

Luke paused, then politely said, "Hello, Senior Chang. My name is Luke Gaunt. I'm a first-year."

Then he backed away.

Of course, Luke knew who Cho Chang was. She was the girl Harry had fallen for. Judging by her looks just now, that did not surprise Luke. However, he truly had little desire to get to know Cho Chang better.

He could not see many shining qualities in the girl.

Hermione had witnessed everything that had just happened and naturally noticed Cho Chang's enthusiasm. Hermione understood it well enough. After all, one important reason she had chosen to speak to Luke in the first place was that he had simply stood out far too much in the crowd.

He was handsome enough to make people sigh, dressed in elegant, classical attire, yet strangely, no one around him seemed to cast their gaze his way. That alone was odd enough.

"Come on, let's try the next compartment."

So Hermione followed Luke from compartment to compartment. Everyone said they had not seen Neville's toad, but whether they were boys or girls, students their age or older students, they would all subconsciously chat with Luke for a few extra sentences. And Luke could actually exchange a few random remarks with them, even if they were merely polite pleasantries. Still, it made Hermione feel envious.

Hermione knew that she had never been particularly well liked. But if she had to stop studying or caring about her grades and ranking just to earn other people's approval, she would be deeply unhappy. Between being liked by others and her own happiness, Hermione chose the latter with almost no hesitation.

They had not gone far before they reached a particularly noisy compartment. These train compartments had all been enchanted with soundproofing magic—not especially powerful, but sufficient for everyday use. Yet they could hear the commotion from outside the door, which showed just how lively it was inside.

Luke knocked lightly on the door. The inside fell quiet for a moment, then a red-haired boy with a bright smile stepped out. Seeing Luke, he smiled and asked, "Hello, first-year. What is it?"

The boy's smile was infectious, making Luke's own smile several degrees more sincere, though he had already appeared sincere enough.

"I'm looking for a toad. Its name is Trevor."

The boy looked him over, then glanced at Hermione behind him. He blinked and said, "Listen, I don't think girls like boys who play with toads. You'd be better off keeping a cat, or an owl."

"Meow!"

The moment he finished speaking, Book's voice came from beside Luke's feet. He seemed quite angry that the boy had ignored him.

Luke picked Book up from the floor and said with a smile, "The toad belongs to Neville. Neville Longbottom asked me to help him find it."

The boy suddenly understood. "You're a helpful person. But unfortunately, we haven't seen any toads. If you need to, you can ask in the compartment across from us. Trust me, as long as you call that red-haired guy in there 'Prefect,' he'll definitely help you turn this entire train upside down!"

His words drew another burst of laughter from the compartment behind him.

They also allowed Luke to figure out who he was.

Luke looked the boy up and down, then smiled. "All right, Mr. Weasley. If I truly need help, I'll definitely ask for it."

With that, Luke left with Hermione and continued onward. The final carriage was ahead. If they still could not find Trevor, then Trevor's stealth skill must have been maxed out.

The boy watched Luke's departing back with a puzzled expression.

But he did not think too much about it. He closed the door and returned to his seat.

"George, what did he say at the end? I was laughing at Percy and didn't catch it."

A boy who looked exactly like George spoke from a chair.

"He called me 'Mr. Weasley.' Bloody hell, Fred, are we really that famous?"

George spoke helplessly.

"Oh! I'm sure we're very famous. After all, we're poor, we have lots of children, and we've got red hair!" Fred joked in a strange tone.

His words made the other two students opposite them laugh again.

Fred smiled and said, "But that's the sort of thing only those families care about. For example, we know the Malfoy Family's defining feature is hair like corn silk. Do you remember anything distinctive about that guy?"

"He's very handsome!"

The words slipped right out of George's mouth.

Fred looked helplessly at his brother. "Is that a distinctive feature? George, did you lend your brain to Ron?"

George rolled his eyes at Fred, then said, "My first impression was that the first-year was very handsome. If you saw him, you'd probably say the same. As for distinctive features..."

"His eyes were beautiful, like green emeralds. And he wore a Crest with a snake on it."

The moment he finished, Fred cried out.

"Green eyes and a snake Crest! Merlin's beard! George, what have you done? We missed a major customer!"

George looked at Fred, who was making a huge fuss, and asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"If I tell Mom, you'll definitely get dragged off to make up your family history lessons. Those are the Gaunt Family's features and the Gaunt Family Crest. Dad and Mom mentioned the Gaunt Family heir during the last month of the holidays. He inherited a massive fortune!"

Fred said with a longing expression, "If we had that much money, we could start making little things right now instead of having to save for another year."

"You let a huge fat sheep get away, George!"