Still Ron

The whistle howled again, the train was really about to leave.

Suddenly, a head popped into the compartment. Li Mu recognized him at once—wasn't that Ron Weasley, who had just been helping to move luggage? Li Mu and Harry had already looked around, and the other compartments were almost full. Ron was a step late and apparently hadn't found a seat either.

It seemed that destiny was destiny; Harry Potter was destined to sit in the same compartment as Ron Weasley.

Sure enough, the freckled boy was stunned, recognizing Harry and Li Mu. His expression became a little strange. Li Mu thought this was probably because his Prefect brother, Percy—Percy was sitting in the Prefects' compartment, leaving Ron outside, but was willing to eagerly invite Harry Potter into the compartment.

But in the end, Ron still spoke, pointing to the empty seats opposite Harry and Li Mu, he asked, "Hi, can I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Of course," Harry answered first, and Li Mu nodded as well.

"Oh, thanks!" Ron stepped into the compartment, closed the door, and sat down. Then he asked almost immediately, "Are you really Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded, his face noticeably stiffening. But Ron didn't have the knack for reading faces. He suddenly reached out and pointed at Harry's forehead.

"So you really have..." He stared intently at the scar vaguely visible under Harry's hair, "It's really like that, oh!"

Harry's face flushed slightly, a little embarrassed and at a loss. Li Mu also frowned.

Reading the books and watching the movies hadn't made him feel anything, but at this moment, he found Ron a bit annoying, not much better than Malfoy. Was he treating Harry like a monkey in a zoo?

But Li Mu quickly relaxed. He had lived two lives; there was no need to hold a child's behavior to heart.

"Alas, as the Celestial Dynasty's old saying goes, people fear fame as pigs fear fatness..." He reached out and patted Harry's shoulder, then turned to Ron and asked, "Is your whole family wizards?"

Ron nodded, "I guess so..."

His expression was very helpless.

Li Mu originally wanted to say something, but Harry immediately interjected with envy, "Oh, that's great! I wish I had some wizarding siblings too."

"I don't think so!" Ron looked rather sad and desolate. "By the way, I'm Ron Weasley, and you are?"

"Li Mu. A student from the Celestial Dynasty."

With that, all three had exchanged names. Ron then continued on the previous topic, elaborating, "Have some wizarding siblings? Heh... everything is what's left over from them... old wands, old robes, even old pets!"

He bitterly complained about his miserable situation as the youngest in the family, even producing ironclad evidence—from his jacket pocket, Ron pulled out a plump, gray-furred rat.

"And I'm always bullied by Fred and George..." He shook the gray rat in his hand, but the little rat seemed to be asleep. "This is Scabbers, my only pet... it used to be Percy's. All it does is eat and sleep, a useless waste!"

Ron became more and more depressed. But Li Mu's attention was drawn again. He carefully examined the rat, thinking: This is no waste. If a skilled Animagus is a waste, then most wizards in this world are worse than waste.

But just by looking at it, Li Mu couldn't tell the difference between this "Scabbers" and other rats... it just looked older and weaker.

In the interval while he was observing Scabbers, probably to comfort Ron, or perhaps Ron had stirred up his own sad past, Harry also said indignantly, "What's that? They never celebrate my birthday. So far, the best birthday present I've ever gotten was my uncle's pair of old, smelly socks... Dudley always bullies me too..."

Once the floodgates were opened, Harry was as eloquent as Ron.

September in Britain, a crowded carriage, why did the surrounding air feel colder... Was this a "Britain's Got Misery" audition?

But listening to the famous Harry Potter also pouring out his bitterness, Ron's face really improved a lot. But this way, everyone would only become more and more depressed. Ron couldn't wait for Harry to finish speaking and wanted to change the subject.

So he suddenly asked Li Mu, "Oh, Li Mu, you're Chinese, right? Are you from a Muggle family too? Did you grow up with Muggles?"

Li Mu shook his head, not wanting to bring up these questions. "I've never met my parents... I was picked up and raised by Old Man, a professor at a magic academy in the Celestial Dynasty..."

Saying this, he suddenly sighed softly, unwilling to say more. He thought of himself in his previous life. At that time, there was no magic or cultivation. He was immersed in the ordinary society of high-tech development, and as the most ordinary member, he felt okay.

But now, he had arrived in a brand new world, cultivated Daoist arts for more than eight years, and truly arrived in the magical world of Harry Potter that he had once yearned for. Yet, he suddenly didn't know where to go or what to do? He knew the major events that would happen in the future, but what should he do during these events?

The atmosphere froze for a moment, becoming somewhat awkward. This was not good. If it went on for too long, everyone in the compartment would feel embarrassed.

Harry probably wanted to ease the atmosphere, so he said to Ron, "By the way, can you use magic now? People from wizarding families must be especially powerful, right?"

Ron's cheeks flushed slightly, but he still pulled out a wand that looked very old and pointed it at Scabbers, saying, " George taught me a spell a few days ago that's supposed to turn it yellow... but I don't know if it will work. Let me try it now..."

Seeing that Ron was about to cast a spell, Li Mu also came back to his senses and sat up straight. He had never seen real Western magic before.

"Ahem..." Ron was being watched and felt a little proud, clearing his throat affectedly.

But before he could even say the spell, the door of the compartment was pulled open. A little girl wearing a brand new Hogwarts uniform walked in, followed by a round-faced boy.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's toad is missing." The girl's tone had a sense of arrogance, as if she was giving orders to the people in the carriage.

Li Mu understood and carefully looked at her—the girl had a head of bushy brown hair, looking fluffy like a little lion, and her front teeth were a little too big, almost becoming buck teeth.

If it weren't for these shortcomings, this girl could be called a first-class beauty.

(End of this chapter)