Laughter and Joy

"Wow! You're amazing, Li Mu." Watching the backs of Malfoy and his two companions recede into the distance, Ron clicked his tongue in amazement.

Ron had naturally heard of the Malfoy family long ago.

In fact, his father Arthur Weasley and mother Molly Weasley had mentioned more than once in front of the children that the Malfoys were a family of vipers, vampires, and people who had done every kind of evil. He both hated and feared the Malfoys, so seeing Draco get put in his place made him especially excited.

"What kind of kung fu was that... Oh, you actually cast magic without using a wand! Is this that thing from your Heavenly Dynasty... I mean, Heavenly Dynasty magic?"

"That wasn't magic." Li Mu shook his head with a smile. "It's a secret."

Only then did Harry recover from what had just happened. He looked delighted as well and joined in the praise. Neville took the toad from Li Mu's hands and thanked him over and over.

Amid the jubilant atmosphere, only Hermione frowned.

"Oh, this isn't good." She spoke softly, but unfortunately, no one paid attention to her.

In the end, at Li Mu's suggestion, the five of them, who had become somewhat familiar through facing a common "enemy," squeezed into the compartment where Harry and the others had originally been sitting.

After sitting down, they began chatting about their previous lives. Of course, most of the time, Harry and the others were asking Li Mu about the magical world of the Heavenly Dynasty.

Although the famous Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, drew more attention, everyone had already heard his story countless times. In comparison, the magical world of the Heavenly Dynasty interested the students more. To them, everything about the Heavenly Dynasty was simply too distant and mysterious.

Li Mu also learned from them that magical communities were extremely isolated from one another, perhaps no less divided than the magical world and the Muggle World.

Time flew by amid their chatter and laughter when the compartment door suddenly opened again.

A smiling saleswitch whose cheeks dimpled when she smiled leaned halfway into the compartment and said, "It's lunchtime, children. Would you like to buy something tasty?"

Li Mu saw that she was pushing a trolley loaded with a dazzling assortment of things that looked quite good.

Ron's ears inexplicably turned red. "I... well, I brought sandwiches."

Meanwhile, Neville searched frantically through all his pockets. "Ah! Where's my wallet?... Oh no... I left my wallet with my grandmother when I got on the train!"

Everyone stared at Neville speechlessly, and the little unlucky boy's face turned red too.

"Harry, you rich man... I think you should treat us." Li Mu grinned at Harry.

"Oh..." Harry honestly began reaching for his money pouch, then suddenly realized something. "You seem to be rich too. Why should I be the only one paying?"

"Because you're more famous than I am..."

In the end, Harry and Li Mu paid together. To the saleswitch's delighted smile, they bought a huge pile of food, mostly cakes, pies, and sweets like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs.

"Oh, thank you, thank you..." Neville and Ron mumbled their thanks. Ron's gaze remained fixed on the snacks, carrying a rather complicated emotion.

He couldn't tell whether there was more envy or jealousy in that feeling.

Hermione was also staring at the food. She still frowned slightly as she tried her best to warn them, "You shouldn't eat too many sweets!"

But in the end, even Hermione, whose parents were both dentists, couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food and began taking huge bites out of a Red Bean Pie.

With food around, the compartment became even livelier. Ron and Neville heatedly discussed their experiences collecting Chocolate Frog cards, and every so often someone would say something like, "Oh! I've got at least seven Dumbledore Cards already!"

The remaining three listened while cautiously tasting these strange foods they had never even heard of before.

Yes, it wasn't just Hermione and Harry, who had grown up in ordinary families. Though Li Mu had grown up rooted in the magical world of the Heavenly Dynasty, he had only eaten ordinary foods like vegetables, tofu, and twice-cooked pork.

He knew about some of these bizarre foods from the Western magical world, but he had never tried them himself.

"Ptui, ptui, ptui! These Every Flavor Beans are so weird. The last one was watermelon-flavored, but why is this one so salty... I suspect they just put a chunk of salt in it." After eating another bean, Li Mu immediately couldn't help spitting out what was in his mouth.

"Ha, you've got it pretty good. Fred told me Percy once ate one that tasted like dung..." Ron cut in. Li Mu and the other two's reactions gave him a bit of the superiority of being well-informed.

"Oh no! Why does it feel like it's hopping around in my stomach?" Hermione's shrill cry rang out at the same time—she had just endured intense nausea to try a Chocolate Frog, and now she felt even sicker.

"Harry, how's that candy you ate?" Li Mu popped another bean into his mouth, then suddenly remembered to ask Harry. The Boy Who Lived had barely said anything since earlier. "Hey, Harry? Harry!"

Harry painfully pointed at his mouth and tried hard to peel his lips apart. His upper and lower lips seemed to have been glued together with 502 glue.

"Wow! How did you dare eat Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" Ron's voice rang out. "Looks like your mouth won't be able to open for a while."

Everyone burst out laughing at Harry's utterly miserable expression.

Amid the laughter and joy, the scarlet Hogwarts Express continued speeding onward. Time slowly ticked by, and the sun shining over the land gradually tilted from east to west.

Finally, when the last trace of sunset at the western horizon was about to vanish, Hermione Granger came back to her senses and raised her wrist to check her watch—this mechanical watch was also a magical thing in Ron and Neville's eyes.

"You'd better hurry and change into your robes. I think we're about to arrive," she reminded them loudly. A girl's voice was naturally clearer and sharper, and whenever Hermione raised her voice, she could become the center of attention no matter where she was.

Fortunately, the companions who had just become friendly with one another were not annoyed by her reminder.

"Um... all right... well, could you please go outside first and give us some privacy?" Ron even took the lead in answering her, with a lively Chocolate Frog still in his mouth.

The twilight shone upon the faces of the five people in the compartment, golden and filled with joy and hope.

Tomorrow would be better, right? Li Mu looked at his companions in the compartment, warmth filling his body.

Only at this moment did he truly begin to feel something for the magical world of Harry Potter. Only then did he feel that he had truly become part of this world.

(End of Chapter)