Can't Eat It? Take It With You

The noise was so loud that even the next compartment could hear it.

Hermione Granger, who happened to be passing by, yanked open the compartment door.

"What's going on?"

No one answered her.

It wasn't that the compartment was empty—rather, they were all busy, each with their own tasks.

Harry and Ron were responsible for staring in shock.

Goyle, Crabbe, and their ringleader Malfoy were responsible for lying on the floor and resting.

Of course, as train flooring went, this wasn't exactly a sleeping spot—just a more humorous way of putting it.

The real reason they were sprawled on the ground was that Glenn had cast a spell called "Petrificus Totalus," which had the specific effect of stiffening the target's entire body, rendering them unable to move.

Seeing this, Hermione was utterly stunned, to the point where she didn't know what to say for a moment.

"What are you all...?"

"Don't misunderstand, Miss Granger. They said they had nothing to eat and wanted some of our snacks," Glenn said.

Hermione looked over at Ron and Harry.

Surprisingly, though they were also a bit shaken, they nodded honestly.

"Unfortunately, they were so hungry they couldn't even hold onto their food." Glenn sighed, then picked up a Pumpkin Pie from the floor.

"So as fellow first-years, we had to show some spirit and feed them ourselves." As he spoke, he shoved the Pumpkin Pie into Goyle's mouth.

Normally, once a proper "Petrificus Totalus" is cast, the target can't move anything except their thoughts and eyes.

But for a student who hadn't even started school yet, not being able to pull it off perfectly was only natural.

As a result, Goyle could move his jaw up and down but couldn't make a sound. To avoid choking, he could only whimper as he chewed and swallowed the Pumpkin Pie.

Seeing this, Hermione's gaze darted back and forth between the terrified-looking Malfoy and the others and Glenn.

She wasn't sure what exactly she wasn't supposed to misunderstand.

"Stop..."

But before she could finish, Malfoy, lying on the floor, suddenly shouted.

"You stinking Mudblood from a Muggle family, do you have any idea what it means to provoke me..."

At those words, Hermione's open mouth suddenly went silent.

Though she didn't understand what "Mudblood" meant, that didn't mean she couldn't sense the discrimination in it.

Malfoy tried to say more, but Ron stepped forward.

As a boy raised in a wizarding family, no one knew better than him how vile that word was.

"Shut up!" Ron snarled, pointing his wand menacingly at Malfoy.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Hermione—though she didn't like, even loathed, the boy on the floor—could foresee that something irreparable was about to happen.

Thinking this, she decided to go tell an adult—if not for Glenn's next words.

"No need, Ron. He's just lightheaded from hunger." Glenn pushed down Ron's wand, which was aimed at Malfoy.

"As classmates, we need to be tolerant. Harry, here's one Galleon. Please go to the trolley and pick out a few packs of Every-Flavour Beans. Consider it my treat for these three classmates."

From the confused looks on Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy's faces, it was clear they had no idea what this meant.

But the other three present were all taken aback.

"Alright." Harry's face flushed with excitement. He didn't even take the money Glenn offered, instead heading straight for the trolley.

What was one Galleon?

He'd cover it himself!

The pleasant and friendly feeding time lasted about ten minutes.

Glenn picked out individual beans from the magical snack and fed them to his dear three classmates.

It had to be said, Every-Flavour Beans really did have a wide range of tastes. Aside from the "vomit"-flavored bean Neville had eaten, they'd encountered booger, dirt, earthworm, earwax, grass, rotten egg, soap... just about everything.

Even Ron, who had been the angriest earlier, wore a relieved smile after feeding Malfoy a few beans.

By the time they left, Malfoy and the others didn't dare to shout—they didn't even dare to look back. They could only leave with tears in their eyes, tears born of how hard-won their food had been.

"What a bunch of gluttons." Glenn clapped his hands.

"The remaining beans taste pretty good. You can take them with you when we get to Hogwarts—no need to save any for me." As he spoke, he sat back down in his seat.

As if nothing had happened at all.

"Nice one, Glenn!" Ron's excitement still hadn't faded.

"I've heard about the Malfoy family before. After You-Know-Who disappeared, they were among the first to come back to our side. They said they were bewitched, but my dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need any excuse to easily switch over to the dark side."

And Harry, following that topic, brought up his encounter with Malfoy in Diagon Alley—equally unpleasant.

The arrogance of pure-blood families had seeped into every corner of that conversation, even insulting Hagrid, who had led him into the wizarding world.

So what had just happened felt deeply satisfying to Harry as well.

Their shared dislike for the same person instantly drew the two boys closer.

But before that, there was still someone else in the compartment.

Ron turned around and said to Hermione by the door, "Is there something you need our help with?"

Hermione, however, ignored him entirely and sat down excitedly in her seat.

"...That spell you used—was it Petrificus Totalus?" she asked in a low voice, as if discussing something forbidden.

"I've read about it in books, but I've never seen anyone use it—I'm not saying it was right, I just..."

Before Glenn could answer, she went on by herself, "I saw it in Chapter Seven of Curses and Counter-Curses. It's a basic, low-risk spell. I've always wanted to try it, but I never had a target to practice on... How did you learn it?"

Looking at the expectant gaze of the girl before him, Glenn paused briefly.

"It's like this—I have a wizard friend, a bit older than us..."

"Oh! I get it—you read the book first, memorized all the spells, then asked him to be your practice partner, right?" Hermione clapped her hands delightedly.

In her mind, that was the best way to learn!

"No, I watched him use it once, and then I could do it."

"?"

That one sentence left Hermione at a loss for words.

Her mind had already been planning out a future study schedule based on that learning method...

Just then, a male voice suddenly rang out through the train, cutting off the conversation.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school for you."

"We need to change our robes. Could you step outside for a moment?" Ron said stiffly.

"Fine..."

Hermione stood up regretfully, then added disdainfully, "Oh, and by the way, you've got something on your nose, you know."

Leaving that remark as a counter to Ron's rude tone, she left the compartment.

"I absolutely do not want to be sorted into the same house as someone like her," Ron fumed, glaring at her retreating back.

"Glenn, are you nervous?" Now that he truly realized they were about to arrive at Hogwarts, Harry felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

"A little."

Glenn looked out the window. The sky had darkened, leaving only a stretch of mountains and forests beneath a deep purple sky.

As a majestic castle gradually came into focus on the horizon, many things flickered through his eyes.

Though that stint as a transfer student hadn't been long, a hundred years had passed, and everything felt like it was only yesterday.

"See you again, Hogwarts."