Express Train

"All right, Kreacher, I don't need all this stuff."

Canopus had to stop Kreacher from trying to stuff the entire house into his trunk. Kreacher was simply too excited.

"Just like when I sent Master Regulus off to school all those years ago. Good heavens, it feels like only yesterday."

Kreacher reluctantly saw Canopus off at London King's Cross Station, tearfully watching him vanish through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

The moment Canopus entered the platform, he was enveloped in thick steam. He pushed his trolley over to the Hogwarts Express, had his ticket checked, then carried his luggage aboard.

He had not appeared before Harry during this time, since he had matters of his own to handle.

He had applied to visit Azkaban, originally intending to check on Sirius Black's condition, give him a little hope, and perhaps bribe the guards into taking care of Bellatrix, the murderer of his mother.

Unexpectedly, his application had been denied on the grounds that Dementors would have a harmful effect on underage young wizards.

Canopus had not anticipated this at all. In the fanfics he had read before, Azkaban had been as easy to enter as the corner shop downstairs. Why was it impossible for him?

The reason even sounded quite convincing. Was this some kind of underage wizard protection law?

Then again, Sirius Black had not gone mad after all these years. Perhaps it was precisely because his heart had turned to ashes and he had become so utterly despondent that even the Dementors had no desire to approach him.

If Canopus gave him hope of clearing his name, only for that hope to get him killed in prison, wouldn't that turn good intentions into disaster?

Canopus could only let it go. As for Bellatrix, once Voldemort returned and she followed her master around the world, he could kill her himself.

Come to think of it, Bellatrix had also been a Black before she married. When the time came, he would certainly give this relative a proper welcome.

The whistle blared, and the scarlet Hogwarts Express was about to depart.

Canopus quickly found an empty compartment and sat down. Before anyone came in, he took off his double-breasted trench coat and pulled on his school robes.

The Express gave one last long whistle and slowly began to move. A round-headed, chubby boy opened the compartment door and timidly poked his head inside.

"Hello, is this seat taken?"

"Make yourself at home. It's just me in here."

The chubby boy squeezed through the doorway with some difficulty, because he had far too much luggage.

Canopus gave him a hand, and it took them quite a while before they could sit down again.

"You have quite a lot of luggage. Your family must care about you very much."

The chubby boy smiled awkwardly, though he looked much more relaxed this time. "Actually, Gran thinks I'm always forgetting things, so she prepared several sets of some items for me."

"Almost forgot." He slapped his forehead. "I'm Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you."

"Canopus Black. Nice to meet you too."

Neville's expression immediately grew tense again. His round face tightened as if he suddenly had no idea what expression he ought to wear around him.

After a long while, he asked nervously, "You mean, that Black?"

Canopus nodded helplessly.

In the wizarding world, almost everyone thought the Black Family was a bunch of lunatics.

Think about it. Regulus had been obsessed with pure-blood supremacy, joined the Death Eaters, then regretted it and vanished. The pure-blood families had looked down on him for it.

Sirius Black despised blood purity doctrine and had been inseparable from James Potter. But in the public's eyes, he had ultimately betrayed the Potters and caused their deaths.

Almost every parent told their children to stay far away from the unhinged Blacks.

Neville fell silent for a moment, his little round face tightening even more. At last, he forced out a sentence. "I think... you're different from what Gran said."

"Maybe things will be different starting with me?" Canopus smiled and held out his hand.

Neville took Canopus's hand and shook it, seeming to relax.

Before long, the two became familiar. Neville told Canopus about how his gran usually pushed him to improve, while Canopus complained about how much the house-elf Kreacher wanted him to experience the glory of pure-bloods.

A trolley full of food came by, and the two children immediately abandoned the meals they had prepared earlier and happily began their snack time.

Though Canopus was not a child inside, the joy of eating snacks on a train was completely different from eating food brought from home.

Canopus was happily munching on a Licorice Wand in one hand and a Chocolate Frog in the other when Neville let out a scream.

"Trevor! I forgot to take him out for some air."

Trevor was a toad, Neville's pet.

He hurriedly stood up and reached into the inner pocket of the robe that had just been under his backside.

Canopus took another bite of his Chocolate Frog and rolled his eyes inwardly.

If Trevor weren't clever, you'd have squashed him into a toad pancake by now.

Neville spun anxiously around the compartment when a girl with bushy brown hair stepped inside.

She had two large front teeth and looked a little like a beaver—the cartoon mascot from some toothpaste commercial, with her big incisors gleaming in the sunlight.

"I'm Hermione Granger. Are you in trouble?"

Her manner could not exactly be called polite, but Neville was already panicking. He immediately asked Hermione for help, begging her to help him find Trevor.

"Hey, Neville, why not ask me for help?"

Canopus put down his Licorice Wand and the half-eaten Chocolate Frog. With a shake of his arm, the wand tucked into the sleeve holster on the inside of his sleeve slid into his hand. He raised it into the air and clearly said, "Trevor, come here."

Trevor the toad flew out of the pointed hat Neville had set aside. Apart from Druidic incantations, Kano was still unfamiliar with other magic, and Trevor nearly smacked him in the face.

Fortunately, his reflexes were exceptional. He grabbed the flying Trevor and handed him back to Neville.

Neville thanked him happily, then sat back down and resumed wolfing down his food.

"I think that was the Summoning Charm, right?"

Hermione launched into an endless explanation of how she had memorized all the reference books before school started, as if she had found a kindred spirit.

In truth, Kano had little interest in simple memorization. He had come to Hogwarts because he wanted to compare the power of the ancient Druids with that of modern wizards, and ultimately forge his own path.

So no matter what Hermione said, Kano only gave mild, diplomatic replies. The poor girl thought he was genuinely interested and kept talking without pause, while Neville across from them was already growing dazed from listening.

Just then, voices came from the doorway again.

Kano turned and saw Harry, his eyes shining, along with a red-haired boy wearing a thoroughly unwilling expression.

"Hey, Kano, there are so many things you never told me."

"Cut me some slack, Harry. There were a lot of adult considerations on my side too."

The two greeted each other after more than a month apart. Thanks to the story Kano had made up, Harry had gained a considerable degree of freedom in Vernon's home. And after becoming a wizard, he had completely cast off the restraints that family had placed on him.

Ron Weasley, on the other hand, was acting rather strangely.

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