Both Sides

Luke and Hermione returned to their compartment.

"Ron really is too petty," Hermione complained irritably. "His rat wasn't actually eaten."

Luke, holding Book at his side, shook his head with a wry smile. "You can't put it that way, Hermione. If Book had been the one pinned down and nearly eaten, that guy definitely wouldn't have made it out alive today."

Hearing Luke's words, Hermione couldn't help raising an eyebrow. It seemed Luke cared deeply about the people and things around him.

"I don't blame Ron. If it were me, I'd only be angrier. But I think there's something off about that rat of his."

Luke sat back down in his seat and placed the slightly frightened Book on the table. He poked at his head while stroking his fur smooth.

He clearly felt sorry that Book had been frightened, but he was also dissatisfied with Book's rash actions.

Book tilted his head and tried to bite Luke's fingers, but Luke was too quick, and he couldn't catch them.

Watching the interaction between the boy and the cat, Hermione could clearly sense how little Luke cared about the incident itself.

"That Malfoy, he's one of those unfriendly people, right?"

Recalling Malfoy's arrogant, cutting words and his crude way of thinking, Hermione continued helplessly, "I thought all noble children were like you."

Luke looked up at Hermione's slightly displeased expression and smiled. "There are some, like the Malfoy Family. They're the hawks among the nobility. Of course, the Malfoy Family... can't really be considered part of any faction."

At Hermione's puzzled look, Luke gave a derisive snort. "I've heard of Lucius Malfoy, the current head of the Malfoy Family. When Voldemort was at his strongest, he did not hesitate to stand behind Voldemort. And when Voldemort was about to fall, he paid a great price to clear his own name."

"He can't be called loyal, nor can he be said to have any character. What the Malfoy Family values most is its own interests. They would even abandon their dignity for them."

"For a family like that to be one of the leaders of the nobility in today's British Wizarding World... it truly makes me feel the decline of the entire noble class."

Looking at the indignation on Luke's face, Hermione could tell it came from the heart, though it probably was not quite as exaggerated as he made it sound.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Hermione looked at Luke and asked seriously.

Luke smiled. "You're a very remarkable person, Hermione, both now and in the future. As for why, you'll find out later."

Looking at the smiling Luke, Hermione felt as though the mystery surrounding him was about to spill over. Hermione knew her looks were ordinary. Leaving aside anything else, that older student they had just seen, Cho Chang, was prettier than her.

So Luke had really noticed her talent? But how could that be possible? Could he see her future or something?

At that thought, Hermione suddenly shivered. She remembered that this was not an ordinary world, but a land of magic. If she remembered correctly, there really had been seers in history.

Could the boy in front of her be a seer?

The more Hermione thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The mystery surrounding Luke rose to another level in her mind.

Luke noticed the change in Hermione's mood. Though he had no idea what she had imagined, no matter how he looked at it, it probably was not a bad thing for him.

So Luke glanced out the train window. In the distance, a great lake was already visible.

"Get ready. Change into your robes first. We're almost there."

"Ron, I know you're angry because Book nearly bit Scabbers to death, but Luke did apologize to you."

Harry looked helplessly at his friend. Honestly, if the two of them had not just faced that "ferocious" group led by Malfoy together, he would have gone to find Luke already.

Ron held his big fat rat, looking troubled.

"I know, Harry, but I really couldn't control myself at the time. The moment I thought about Scabbers nearly being bitten to death, I just couldn't calm down."

The rat in his arms still looked terrified, struggling desperately in Ron's embrace.

Of course, no matter how Harry looked at it, it seemed more like it wanted to jump onto the table and keep stealing snacks, or perhaps Ron was holding it too tightly and it was having trouble breathing...

Naturally, Ron insisted it had been frightened by Luke's cat, and Harry had no way to convince him otherwise.

"How about we have a proper talk with Luke after we get off the train? You can tell he's not a bad person."

Harry made the suggestion cautiously. He truly did not want this newly met "comrade" of his to develop an irreconcilable conflict with his earlier friend. He did not have many friends to begin with, and he could not afford to lose any.

After hearing Harry's words, Ron hesitated. He felt there really was no need to fall out completely with Luke. Judging from what he had said and done before, he was not someone like Malfoy.

He would not look down on him for being poor, nor would he bully others because he was strong. After all, even if Ron really fought him, there was no way he could beat Luke. Harry did not know the level of that Fire-Making Spell, but Ron knew very well that even Percy, who was probably already a prefect, could not control the Fire-Making Spell with such precision.

Yet Luke had apologized to him immediately. That meant he was not an unreasonable Wizard. Someone like that really could become a friend.

After struggling with it for a moment, Ron said to Harry, "All right. Once we get off the train, let's go find Luke together."

Harry was delighted by the answer. He nodded vigorously, then said with a smile, "That's more like it, Ron!"

Taking advantage of Ron's momentary lapse while he was conflicted, Scabbers quickly wriggled free from the cramped embrace. He jumped onto the table again, took a deep breath, and then went back to stuffing food into his mouth like mad.

Harry watched the rat, his brows furrowing slightly.

He felt this rat was a little too human-like. But when he thought of Luke's obviously intelligent cat, he became uncertain again. Maybe all animals in the Wizarding World were this smart.

But for some reason, whenever he looked at the rat, he always felt an instinctive disgust.

"I can see the Black Lake, Harry! Put on your robes! We're almost there!"

The following is just me venting a little. Readers who do not want to see it can skip ahead.

I don't know whether any readers were going to bring this up, so I'll address it first. I can basically confirm that the female lead is Luna. But I can't make Luke avoid interacting with other girls. He will definitely socialize with boys, but correspondingly, he will not have little contact with girls either. As for intimacy, it absolutely will not cross the line. I don't believe that, based on the Luke established in the book, no other girls would like him.

The author is a person too, and a single guy at that. It's perfectly normal for me to yearn for sweet romance, right? It's also perfectly normal to wish that other people might like me, right? I hope everyone can understand.

And to those readers who think my writing is like that of an elementary school student—yeah, I admit my writing is fairly average, so there's no need to say it again. I truly think that if you believe someone else can't do it, then at least try it yourself. Writing a book isn't like going onto the field to play football or competing in esports. Writing is something you can actually sit down and do yourself. If you write one, I admire you. If you can't, that's normal. There are plenty of registered writers, but far fewer signed writers, and even fewer who can persist until they finish a book. I'm not bragging or anything. I think my previous book may have gone off the rails, but I did tell a story of over 1.6 million words.

I don't understand why some readers always want to teach authors how to write. Forgive the author, but I simply do not have that much time to learn and use those high-end methods of expression. I can polish words too. Back in high school, my essays could consistently score above fifty-five. But the time cost is too high. The four thousand words I write every day are already water squeezed from a sponge.

Since this is still a free chapter, I'll ramble to everyone a little. I'm sorry you had to see such a nitpicking author. But I genuinely have no intention of changing. After the story goes premium, you probably won't see me writing things unrelated to the story in the main text very often.

Sorry for wasting your time once again.

Since I've said this much, let me ask for some votes. And, o(??? )o