Why So Confident, Your Excellency?

At Harley's words, Ron's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're Harley Potter, the girl who survived that attack?" Ron blurted out.

"So the papers were telling the truth. You're really a girl, and you're starting this year! Mum thought the Daily Prophet was making things up again!

"But why can't I see the lightning-shaped scar on your forehead?"

"That's right. It's me." Harley nodded, her expression turning slightly displeased.

"As for the scar, it was removed with a Potion. It was rather unbecoming, after all."

Ron clearly had a whole stack of questions he wanted to ask. But faced with a girl, he just couldn't bring himself to say them.

When Harley saw that Ron had fallen silent, she went back to eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She loved snacks with all sorts of different flavors.

Hedwig also flew back in through the open train window, rubbing her head against Harley and begging for food.

Before leaving the Dursleys' home, Harley had considered how conspicuous it would be to take an owl into the station, so she had let Hedwig fly ahead.

The intelligent bird had spent the whole morning playing outside and had finally remembered to return to her owner for a bite to eat.

After all, Harley fed Hedwig high-quality nuts generously donated by Dudley. An owl wouldn't find anything so delicious in the wild.

Ron watched Hedwig enviously. The Weasley family couldn't afford another owl, so Ron had ended up with his older brother's cast-off rat.

Ron had wanted to pull the rat out, but he figured girls hated rats, so he left his Scabbers curled up in his pocket.

After enjoying lunch, Harley had planned to get back to reading, but someone knocked on the compartment door.

"Come in!" Harley called, a little louder than usual, while silently giving the person a thumbs-up—

Now that was good manners! Knocking before entering—wasn't that one of the most basic rules?

A round-faced boy gently slid the door open and stepped inside. His eyes were red and swollen, and tears still streaked his face. He had clearly just finished a good cry.

"S-sorry!" The boy seemed a little nervous when he saw Harley.

"I wanted to ask if you'd seen my toad. It's a very ordinary-looking toad."

"I haven't seen it." Harley shook her head. Ron gave his head a vigorous shake too.

The boy burst into tears again. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bother you! I've lost it again!"

With that, he ran out, but not before gently sliding the door closed behind him. It didn't make a sound as it met the frame.

Harley felt a little regretful. The boy seemed so well-mannered, and he had made a good impression. If Harley could, she wouldn't mind offering him a hand.

But the Demoness Pathway's Potion hadn't given Harley any talent for Divination. She could force herself to learn, but her chances of success were truly dismal.

Harley had just lowered her head when the compartment door was suddenly flung open again. The newcomer was quite rough about it. The sliding door slammed against the frame with a bang.

Was this never going to end? And why was this one so rough? Harley felt her temper rising, but forced down her irritation and looked up at the doorway.

A little girl wearing a Hogwarts uniform was speaking to the round-faced boy from before.

"Neville, you need to be brave! They answered you so quickly, which obviously means they were just brushing you off. They didn't even look properly!

"Watch me. I'll help you get justice!" The girl turned to look inside the compartment.

Her buckteeth and bushy brown hair immediately caught Harley's eye.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one!" the girl said, hands on her hips. "Don't just brush him off. You should take your classmate's problem seriously!"

"We already told him we haven't seen it," Ron replied at once, his tone less than friendly.

But the girl ignored him and kept scanning the compartment. It seemed she wouldn't leave until everyone had turned the place upside down.

Harley didn't bother with the girl. After glancing at her, she went back to her book. There was no reason to be pleasant to someone so arrogant and rude.

"Then why don't you get up and check?" The girl was still acting as if she owned the place. She looked at Harley. "You're being so indifferent and casual. It's hard for me to believe you!"

For a moment, Hermione's tone stunned Harley. Was this girl an Arbiter?

No, no. Even a Sequence 9 Arbiter wouldn't be this confident. At the very least, they'd need to be in the right to talk like that.

She'd have to be at least a Sequence 7 Interrogator to make asking someone for help sound so self-evident and righteous.

Helping was a kindness; refusing was only natural. How could anyone force other people to do it?

Harley was just about to speak when more commotion erupted outside.

Two tall, sturdy boys suddenly appeared. They shoved the round-faced boy, Neville, aside, and Hermione was pushed straight into the compartment.

Then a pale-faced blond boy appeared between them.

"Red-haired Weasley. I suppose you're Ron Weasley."

The boy looked Ron over and spoke in a haughty tone. "Your whole Weasley family reeks of the same disgusting odor!"

"Draco Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Ron immediately stood up.

He had been about to curse, but remembering that the famous Harley was in the compartment, he managed to keep his language more civilized.

"Nothing. I'm just looking for Harley Potter. Then I happened to see you here, making friends with that Longbottom family fool, while a Muggle-born is sitting in your compartment."

Malfoy glanced at Harley's skirt and gave a mocking laugh.

"The Weasley family can only make friends with people like that to feel superior. Your family's so poor you can hear the coins rattling in your pockets, but at least you're still much better than Muggles."

At Malfoy's words, Ron's face first showed utter astonishment, then turned into a strange mixture of anger and amusement.

The anger came from Malfoy insulting his family. The amusement came from the fact that the Harley Malfoy was looking for was sitting right there in the compartment.

"Then, Mr. Malfoy, may I ask what you want with me?" Harley wore a polite smile, though a hint of impatience showed in her eyes.

"And, by the way, I'm the Harley Potter you're looking for."

"Oh, you're Harley Potter? The girl who survived that attack? When Dad told me about it, I thought he was pulling my leg!"

Malfoy's tone remained arrogant, but his gaze shifted to Harley.

"Then you shouldn't be wearing ridiculous Muggle clothes or making friends with people like this—"

Malfoy glanced at Ron and shook his head. "You should be making friends with a wizard of noble birth like me!

"You have to understand, even among those born to wizarding families, there are differences! People like us, the nobility, are at the top of the wizarding world."

Harley was struggling to keep her smile in place. If Ron and Neville, whom she'd met earlier, were still within the bounds of normal, then why were Hermione and Malfoy so... confident?