Malfoy Pinned Against the Wall (?)

"Excuse me, have any of you seen Neville's toad?"

The girl who spoke had a head of bushy brown hair and large front teeth.

"Uh, no, we haven't," Ron said awkwardly, spreading his hands.

"Then sorry to bother you."

The girl was about to leave the compartment with Neville, but Ron suddenly felt the urge to show off in front of Harley. "Wait! I might have a way to help him find his toad."

Five minutes later, they watched Ron take a battered old wand from his trunk. A rat inside the trunk squeaked unhappily twice.

Ron soothed it, "All right, all right, Scabbers. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead. The girl and the crying boy called Neville had sat down as well.

"Hermione Granger," the girl said.

"Ron Weasley."

"Neville Longbottom," Neville said, sounding as though he wished he had never existed.

"Harley Potter."

The air in the compartment froze for a moment. Hermione said in surprise, "So it's you! I just read about you in a book."

"Really? What did the book say?" Harley asked calmly.

Hermione had wanted to answer immediately, but then she stopped, as though realizing she was being a little too blunt. Still, she eventually spoke hesitantly.

"You're called the Girl Who Lived, because Voldemort learned of a prophecy that you would kill him and end his dark rule. So he came to your home."

Ron hurriedly interrupted her. "All right! All right! I'm starting the spell!"

Harley still looked calm, but her left hand beneath the table had clenched so tightly it had turned white.

Ron raised his wand with exaggerated solemnity. He cleared his throat and chanted something that sounded more like nonsense than a spell. "Toad! Come!"

Nothing happened.

Hermione cupped her face and stared at the wand. "Is that a wand? But this year's admission letter clearly said we didn't need wands anymore."

Ron tried again. When nothing happened, he dejectedly tossed the wand onto the table. "Yeah, but my mum insisted I bring it. She said it would be useful, though I don't know what for."

"Why don't I give it a try?"

Harley picked up his wand and asked Neville, "What's your toad's name, Neville?"

Neville did not even dare look at Harley. Ron was quite sure he was about to faint, but he still managed to say two words. "Trevor."

"Okay, let me try."

Imitating Ron, she raised the wand and gave it a flick. In a firm, unquestionable voice, she said, "Trevor! Come!"

A fiery red beam of Magic Power shot from the tip of the battered wand, then vanished without a trace. A toad flew in from outside the compartment at astonishing speed. It seemed not to understand what was happening before Neville grabbed it and held it tightly in his arms.

"Wow!" Ron and Hermione cried in surprise.

"Trevor!"

Neville sobbed as he hugged the toad even tighter. Ron thought that might be why it had run away.

Hermione praised her sincerely. "It looks like you're very talented, Harley."

"Maybe."

Harley absentmindedly handed the wand back to Ron. There was a knock on the compartment door, and a smiling trolley witch with dimples at the corners of her mouth pushed it open. "Children, would you like something tasty to eat?"

Harley was not hungry. Ron refused, saying he had brought sandwiches, though his eyes clearly wanted the food badly. Neville said nothing, still immersed in his own world with his toad. Hermione politely said goodbye to them, and the two left the compartment.

So Harley simply said to the trolley witch, "I'll have some of everything, please."

To Ron's astonishment, they began sharing the strange but delicious food while chatting. Harley learned about all sorts of magical things, such as Quidditch and wizard cards. Time passed quickly as they talked.

Just then, the compartment door opened again. A pale blond boy entered with two large, burly boys behind him. Without even looking at anyone, he introduced himself casually. "I'm Draco Malfoy. These two are Crabbe and Goyle."

Malfoy looked up, and his eyes lit up when he saw Harley.

But when he saw Ron, he gave a soft laugh. "Oh, so you're a Weasley."

His deliberately drawn-out tone made the mockery obvious even without seeing his expression. Besides, his face held undisguised ridicule.

Ron's face immediately turned bright red, and he stood up.

Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward as well, blocking Malfoy from view. Only his voice could be heard. "What? You want to fight?"

Harley rose slowly to her feet, shoved Crabbe and Goyle aside, and held out a hand to the boy. "Harley Potter."

Ron watched in surprise as Malfoy's face quickly changed from pale to flushed. He stepped forward and took Harley's hand, his previously arrogant attitude changing at once. "Oh, Miss Potter, hello."

But his attitude was clearly selective. Just as now, he turned to Ron and smiled like a victor. "My father told me that everyone in the Weasley family has red hair and freckles. And they have so many children they can't afford to raise them."

He turned back to Harley. "But you'll soon discover that not all wizarding families are alike. We're not all like the Weasleys. I'm sure you don't want to make the wrong friends. I can help you with that, Miss Potter."

Harley smiled, shook off his hand, and shoved him against the compartment door. His head struck it with a bang.

Crabbe and Goyle seemed not to understand what had happened and stood there stupidly. Ron's expression was even more blank. He looked exactly like a Wall-nut.

"I have red hair too. And I don't need anyone telling me who I should be friends with, Mr. Malfoy. I hope you can show some manners instead of barging into the compartment my friends and I are in like some damn thug and interrupting our pleasant time."

"Your arrogant attitude and tone don't make you any more charming. They only make you look disgusting."

Harley's sharp words were like blades. Ron could tell Malfoy had wanted to get angry. But when he met Harley's eyes, he could not say a word. His eyes reddened, and he actually began sniffling.

"So now you're going to cry?" Harley said coldly.

"No, no, I'm not. I'm not crying!"

Malfoy shouted tearfully, forcing his tears back. Harley suddenly smiled again, as though the person from before had not been her at all, though her tone was still cold enough to freeze someone to death. "Leave, okay?"

Without saying a word, Malfoy left with Crabbe and Goyle. They even remembered to close the door. Ron could still hear his suppressed sobbing outside the compartment.

Harley sat back down, picked up a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and tossed it into her mouth. Her face scrunched up. "...Remind me not to eat these things again next time. God, this tastes as awful as spider legs."

Ron stared at her blankly without blinking, his mouth hanging open like a statue. Harley picked up a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and tossed it into his mouth. Ron instinctively chewed it and said, "Oh, honey flavor."

"Looks like you got lucky."

Harley laughed. Ron seemed to recover from his short circuit all at once. He leaped from his seat and shouted excitedly, "You were so cool just now! God! You shoved him into the compartment door. And... and..."

Ron began babbling incoherently, and Harley smiled helplessly. She did not want to talk about that sort of thing.

An orphan. A foster orphan. An orphan no one cared about, one who was often threatened with being sent to an orphanage. If she wanted to avoid being bullied in the neighborhood, she could not show any weakness.

To her, it was not even worth mentioning. She had dealt with worse than this.

Making up for yesterday's missed update.