Hermione's Anxiety

Matthew said with a smile, "Is he special?"

Jerry's face fell. "Not at all. If I hadn't heard the Weasleys talking, I wouldn't have even noticed he was Harry Potter. He doesn't look anything like the Boy Who Lived."

"You know, he's the one who defeated..." Jerry paused. "Defeated the Dark Lord!"

"Maybe that was his parents' achievement." Matthew took a sandwich out of his pocket. "Want one? I've got more."

Jerry took the sandwich, looking a bit surprised. "This is the first time I've heard that theory."

Matthew pulled out another sandwich, took a bite, and said, "The night the Dark Lord disappeared, his parents were there too. The Potter couple was killed by the Dark Lord that night."

Jerry perked up, as if he'd uncovered some hidden secret: "After that night, the Dark Lord vanished. So that actually makes sense—maybe the Potters took the Dark Lord down with them. That's way more believable than a newborn baby being the Boy Who Lived. But why does everyone think Harry Potter is the savior?"

"Who knows? Maybe people back then needed a living savior." Matthew didn't remember the details. In his previous life, he'd only watched two episodes of the movie, and some of his knowledge came from the internet.

When he first transmigrated, it was still during Voldemort's active years, but he was too young back then to get involved in those events.

At this moment, a bushy-haired young witch pulled open their compartment door. Holding the handle, she poked her head in and looked around.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" She gestured to the round-faced boy behind her. "Neville lost his toad."

Matthew and Jerry both shook their heads. Seeing Neville's expression like he was about to cry, Matthew comforted him, "Don't worry. Familiars always find their way back to their masters."

The young witch nodded, a little disappointed. "Sorry for the trouble."

She was about to move on to the next compartment to look for the toad, but before she could close the door, a black shadow darted past her feet.

The shadow slipped into the compartment and dove straight into Matthew's arms.

Once she got a clear look, the young witch's eyes lit up. It was a black cat with a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

"Preserved Egg, what's in your mouth?" Matthew had a bad feeling. He spotted a frog-like leg dangling from the corner of Preserved Egg's mouth.

Preserved Egg rubbed his back against Matthew, then dropped what was in his mouth onto the table. It was a toad!

Neville saw the toad lying belly-up on the table, completely still. His expression began to shift wildly.

Matthew watched as Neville's face cycled through grief, blankness, shock, anger, and back to grief—all in just a few seconds.

If this had been recorded and posted online, it would probably end up as a Beijing Film Academy textbook in some corner of the internet.

Matthew quickly checked the toad.

The toad had been playing dead, but when Matthew picked it up, it started kicking its legs. There were no visible injuries.

"Preserved Egg didn't hurt it." Matthew sighed in relief. Thankfully, Preserved Egg was smart enough not to harm these young wizards' pets.

"Familiars always return to their masters." He handed the toad back to Neville. "Though sometimes the way they come back is unexpected."

Neville noticed the toad wasn't dead, and his tears turned into laughter. He hugged the toad tightly, repeating, "Thank you, thank you."

The young witch also breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. She'd been terrified that Trevor had been killed by the beautiful black cat.

Cats might be cute, but hunting small animals was in their nature.

She stepped forward and crouched in front of the black cat.

"Is this cat called Preserved Egg? His eyes are beautiful." She paused, then added, "And his fur is lovely too."

"Yes, you can pet him. Preserved Egg won't bite you." Matthew saw what the girl wanted and smiled.

The young witch's face lit up with joy. She reached out and stroked the fur on Preserved Egg's back.

Preserved Egg glanced at her, then flopped over and started licking the fur on his front leg.

After petting him for a while, the young witch seemed to remember she hadn't introduced herself. She looked up and said, "I'm Hermione Granger. I'm a first-year."

So that's who she was. This bushy-haired girl was the Boy Who Lived's companion—Hermione Granger.

"Matthew Black, and this is Jerry Abbott. We're both third-years in Slytherin House." Matthew pointed at Jerry, who had been sitting across from them watching the whole show.

Jerry gave an awkward wave. As chatty as he was around Matthew, he was actually socially anxious and usually quiet around strangers.

Neville had just sat down, but when he heard "Slytherin," he flinched and shot back up. "Sly... Slytherin!"

Matthew found it amusing. "Neville, sit down."

Neville glanced nervously between Matthew and Jerry, then stammered, "My grandmother always says Slytherin has the most Dark Wizards..."

Matthew chuckled and said to Jerry, "Looks like Slytherin's reputation precedes us."

Jerry rolled his eyes and didn't respond.

"Actually, Gryffindor doesn't have fewer Dark Wizards than Slytherin." Matthew smiled. "To be precise, proportion-wise, Slytherin now has the fewest Dark Wizards of any house."

Seeing Hermione's confused look, Matthew explained: "It's been peaceful for years since the Dark Lord fell. The number of wizards has grown a lot compared to a decade ago.

Every year, less than a tenth of Hogwarts graduates get into the Ministry of Magic. It's the same for other careers—not every student finds a job after graduation.

In peacetime, the wizards who can't find work are the ones most likely to become Dark Wizards.

And most Slytherin students come from wizarding families, so they have an easier time finding jobs than Muggle-born wizards."

Hermione felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She'd never even thought about finding a job in the future. She started to agonize over whether, if she couldn't find work, she'd have to go back and inherit her father's dental clinic.

Neville argued, "But my grandmother says most Death Eaters are from Slytherin!"

"The Dark Lord has already fallen. The Death Eaters among the Dark Wizards are either dead or locked up in Azkaban." Matthew looked meaningfully at Neville. "Those who aren't in Azkaban aren't Dark Wizards."

Neville's face flushed red. He wanted to retort to Matthew but couldn't find the words.

"How does the Sorting work? Do different houses have different course settings? Is there a difference in education quality? Will it affect job prospects?" Anxious Hermione fired off a string of questions.

"There's a test during Sorting. As for the rest..." Matthew played the riddler. "You'll find out after you pass the test."

"There's an entrance exam too???" Hermione grew even more anxious.