He Was Just a Passing Little Badger

September 1, 1991, King's Cross Station.

"Remember to stay safe on the way."

"Remember to write to Grandpa!"

After handing the luggage to Adam, Old Reed and his wife watched him board the Hogwarts Express.

"I know, Grandpa, Grandma, goodbye~"

Waving goodbye to his grandparents, Adam patted his suitcase, picked up his feather-light luggage, and headed down the corridor. He passed through two carriages before finding an empty compartment.

"Phew— I was about to suffocate!"

As soon as Adam had put away his luggage and sat down, Kero's head poked out of his pocket.

"You two have worked hard, Kero, Suppi."

Adam lifted Kero into his arms and scratched beneath his chin with his index finger. Kero immediately narrowed his eyes.

After teaching himself a few spells whose pronunciations he knew, he had not dared to learn any more at random. He was afraid of getting a syllable wrong and summoning a cow or something, so he had turned to studying the magic of the Clow Cards.

After all, he had the Sorcerer's Stone. Any magic he learned could be cast without consuming anything.

Kero and Suppi were currently under magic he had learned from the Illusion Card and Voice Card. To everyone else, they looked like two little cats, and anything they said only sounded like meowing.

"I really don't understand why wizards have to take a train to school too..."

Suppi crawled out of Adam's other pocket, flapped his wings, and flew onto the table. He paced over to the window and watched the students and parents saying goodbye outside.

"Um, Kero, I still want to make sure. Can the Shield Card's magic really block the Sorting Hat?"

"Don't worry, Adam. Shield Card is protective magic. It covers both the physical and mental levels."

As Adam rubbed the base of his wings, Kero gave them a shake.

"To pierce Shield Card's protection, either the caster's heart must waver, or the attacker must possess magic far beyond the caster's. Otherwise, Shield Card's protection is unbreakable."

Adam let out a sigh of relief.

He had only just remembered the matter of the Sorting Hat. There were too many things in his head that could not be known... Though Godric Gryffindor's hat probably would not use Legilimency on students to sort them, what if it did?

After that final confirmation, Adam relaxed and took a book from his shoulder bag.

Adam became absorbed in his book, and he did not know how much time had passed when the compartment door suddenly opened.

"Hello, may I sit here?"

"Of course. There's no one here..."

Adam looked up from his book, and the sight of the newcomer left him speechless.

Wasn't this Hermione?

And she actually looked exactly like she did in the movies... So did that mean the plot followed the movies too?

Though the novels and films did not differ too much, there were still differences in some parts, especially in certain installments.

Hermione did not notice that he had drifted off. After receiving an affirmative answer, she brought in her luggage and sat across from Adam, letting out a long breath.

"The school really should provide supervision and guidance outside Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. I found the place earlier, but I had no idea how to get in. If I hadn't seen a few people walk straight into the wall..."

As she spoke, Hermione noticed the book in Adam's hands, and her eyes lit up.

"Oh, are you an older student? Is that one of your textbooks for this year? I'm a first-year student. I've already read through all this year's textbooks, but I don't think I've seen that one."

"Um, I may have to disappoint you, but I'm also a first-year student."

Adam held up the book so Hermione could see its cover.

"'One Hundred Household Spells You Must Master'... What is this?"

"Some everyday spells, like cleaning and repairing."

"Like the Restoration Charm? I saw it in Standard Spells: First Year, and I even tried it on a glass cup at home."

As Hermione spoke, she looked around as if searching for something to practice on.

"The Restoration Charm is indeed a versatile spell, but in some special cases, it needs to be adjusted accordingly."

Adam turned the book toward Hermione and pointed to one of the entries.

"Like a floor corroded by potions... and so on. Also, Scourgify is a general cleaning spell, but when you need to clean something like formal robes, you often need more delicate methods."

"Wow! I never considered situations like that!"

Hermione's eyes brightened.

"Wait, what was this book called? 'One Hundred Household Spells You Must Master'... All right, I'll remember that!"

"Ah, then I really missed out on so much! There were so many books at Flourish and Blotts. I shouldn't have been satisfied with buying only the textbooks I needed!"

Hermione looked thoroughly annoyed with herself, as though she wished she could rush to Flourish and Blotts right now.

"Oh, right! When I was boarding earlier, I heard a new student asking about the Sorting Ceremony... Do you know what that is?"

Adam was about to answer when he suddenly remembered something.

"I'm not too sure either. It seems parents and older students have all reached a tacit agreement about keeping it secret."

It was not that he took malicious pleasure in hiding things from others. The main issue was that if he told Hermione about the Sorting Hat, he would inevitably have to introduce the characteristics of the four Houses.

If Hermione learned about Ravenclaw in advance, this top student might well go to Ravenclaw.

After all, even if the Sorting Hat saw the courage in Hermione's heart, if she subjectively wanted to go to Ravenclaw, then given that she also possessed Ravenclaw's qualities, the Sorting Hat would probably still follow the student's wishes.

Wouldn't that leave the trio one person short?

Although Harry Potter was jokingly called "Hermione and Her Two Useless Men" by some fans, every member of the trio was actually extremely important. Without any one of them, they probably would not be able to defeat Voldemort in the end.

Oh, no. The prophecy in this world should be the sort, under Western magical concepts, that was destined to come true once made. Voldemort would probably still die at Harry's or Neville's hands. It was just that, for Adam, who knew the plot, the process had become far too uncontrollable.

Before he had fully developed, it was best not to get too involved in the Chosen One's troubles, lest he bring disaster upon himself.

Thinking this, Adam casually responded to Hermione a few times, his attention clearly returning to the book in his hands. After noticing this, Hermione considerately stopped disturbing him.

After a while, there was suddenly a knock on the compartment door. When it was opened, a little boy with a tearful face appeared outside.

"E-excuse me... Have you... sniff... have you seen my Trevor? He's... sniff sniff... a toad... I can't find... sniff... him..."

Helpful and somewhat bored, Hermione immediately left the compartment to help Neville look for the toad.

As for Adam, after the two of them left, he silently pulled the compartment door shut again.

He was just a passing little badger. The Chosen One, Voldemort, and all that—this badger knew nothing~