The Wandering Toad

"There!"

Each compartment of the Hogwarts Express was a separate, enclosed space. With the compartment doors closed, the aisle seemed relatively quiet, punctuated only by the rhythmic clatter of the train wheels.

Now, this quiet was shattered by Li Mu's shout.

Several people in nearby compartments cracked open their doors, peering out curiously, but upon seeing it was just a few people chasing a toad, they disinterestedly retreated back inside.

Li Mu and the others were in pursuit of Neville's toad.

Quite some time had passed since they began their search. They had split up, asking in almost every compartment, and finally, in the middle of the train, Li Mu spotted the mischievous little creature.

"Oh! Good fellow!" Neville, right beside Li Mu, rushed forward excitedly, but the toad hopped to the side, and he missed.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione, hearing the commotion, also ran over, only to witness a scene that left them dumbfounded—Neville, failing to catch the toad several times, stooped down and began hopping after it... looking remarkably like a large toad himself...

Why not just block the toad's path and grab it with his hands?

Li Mu felt speechless, wishing he could pull a few black lines down from his forehead.

But it seemed Neville was about to succeed, getting closer and closer to the toad—if not for a hand suddenly reaching out and snatching the toad away first, Neville would have surely caught it.

"Oh, thank you." Neville struggled to his feet, reaching for his toad, but the hand evaded his.

"Hey! Crabbe, Goyle, look here, a big toad!" The person holding the toad pointed at Neville with his other hand, his tone full of mockery.

Behind him were two short, stout boys, chuckling along with him.

Li Mu and Harry immediately recognized him as the pointy-faced boy from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Draco Malfoy.

"Give it back, that's my toad." Neville finally realized the other boy's ill intentions and grew anxious, his eyes immediately welling up with tears, shimmering with watery light.

It looked like he was about to cry.

Hermione, looking furious, rushed to Neville's side and shouted at Malfoy, "Give the toad back! How can you just snatch other people's things?"

But Malfoy merely curled his lip, not paying Hermione any attention. His gaze swept over the group, pausing slightly when he saw Li Mu and then Harry.

At this moment, he finally recognized them, and his eyes, usually looking up at the sky, lowered. He stared at Harry and said softly, "So, you must be Harry Potter, right? The whole train's been talking about Harry Potter being on this train."

Malfoy seemed to be trying to appear amiable, but his words were still full of arrogance, as if it were an innate trait of his family. He said, "My name is Draco Malfoy. This is Goyle, and this is Crabbe."

He gestured casually at the two hulking figures behind him, appearing nonchalant.

"Is that the 'Draco ferret'? (Draco means dragon, Malfoy means bad faith)" Ron muttered, clearing his throat, his face looking a bit strange, as if he was holding back a laugh. This drew Malfoy's attention to him.

"Of course, I know who you are. My father told me, the Weasleys all have red hair, freckles, and so many children they can't afford to feed them, and three of them have to share one set of clothes. Tsk, tsk, what a pathetic family..."

With just one sentence, Ron's smile vanished, an unnatural flush rising on his face. He clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding.

Malfoy didn't bother with Ron, turning back to Harry and saying, "Potter, if I were you, I wouldn't associate with the wrong sort."

His eyes swept over Neville, Hermione, Ron, and Li Mu, hesitating slightly when he saw Li Mu, but quickly returning to his indifferent demeanor. He continued, "It'll only drag you down. I think I can help you with that."

Now even Hermione's face was red, quite angry... Was she the wrong sort?

Malfoy extended his right hand, the one not holding the toad, to Harry, but Harry simply said coldly, "I think I can tell who's worth being friends with myself."

A flush rose on Draco's pale, haughty cheeks, and he glared at Harry. Before he could say anything else, Hermione, bursting with anger, stepped forward and shouted, hands on her hips, "What right do you have to judge people? Give Neville's toad back!"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed, and he sneered, "Neville? This little fatty is the Longbottom's good-for-nothing, the famous jinx, isn't he? Humph?"

With that 'humph,' Goyle and Crabbe behind him began to roll up their sleeves, striking a pose ready for a fight. Neville was so frightened that his legs twitched, and he stumbled back several steps. Hermione's face also turned pale, a little scared, but she stubbornly gritted her teeth and stood in front.

They were all just ordinary ten-year-old children in stature, and even Neville was just a bit chubby, but Goyle and Crabbe already looked like strong and powerful adults.

Just as they were confronting each other, Li Mu strode over and stood in front of Hermione, "Malfoy, if I were you, I would put down that toad and scurry back. Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences!"

"What? You want to fight... ah?!" Malfoy originally wanted to say a few tough words, but he couldn't help but scream halfway through, looking at Li Mu's left palm.

That left hand was upright, palm facing out, and from the palm to the five fingers, it was emitting a jade-green flame, looking extremely strange.

Malfoy couldn't help but wonder, could this person spontaneously combust? Countless thoughts raced through his mind in an instant, recalling some of the books in his family's collection that recorded Eastern magic, and remembering the terrifying effects of those ancient secret arts.

He couldn't help but take a step back, leaning against Crabbe and Goyle, only then feeling a little more at ease.

"Hand over the toad, or... I don't mind letting a nobody taste the feeling of being burned." Li Mu sneered, extending his left hand towards Malfoy.

Stumble, stumble, stumble... Malfoy retreated several steps in panic, as if he could feel the scorching temperature from the flame, and those swaying flames seemed to be about to splash onto his clothes. His pointed face became even paler.

Fortunately, Goyle and Crabbe were still commendable for their loyalty. They rolled up their thick arms and rushed up, looking like they were ready to fight at any moment. Then soon... they learned how powerful Li Mu was.

Goyle was slapped by the hand with fire, the flames on Li Mu's hand dissipated, but Goyle was rolling on the ground in pain. Crabbe was so frightened that he wanted to escape, but Li Mu quickly approached him, tapping and twisting his wrist. Then Crabbe felt like his bones were cracking, and the meridians in his wrist were out of control, so he could only hold his arm and sweat profusely.

"This is called Muscle Splitting Bone Dislocating Demon Capturing Hand." Li Mu even had the leisure to say a sentence to Crabbe. Beads of sweat also appeared on Crabbe's forehead, and he couldn't speak at all.

Malfoy was also dumbfounded.

Li Mu took advantage of the situation to approach again, grabbed Malfoy's arm and snatched the toad, then twisted it, making Malfoy turn around in place. Next was a flying kick, and Malfoy was kicked into a stagger.

"You... you just wait!" Malfoy wiped the footprints on his body, but seeing that Goyle and Crabbe were already down, he had no choice but to leave a harsh word and turn to leave.

Goyle and Crabbe also struggled to stand up, supporting each other as they walked away.

(End of this chapter)