Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry did not enjoy being the center of attention, especially when everyone who knew his name wanted to see the scar on his forehead. It made him feel like an animal in a zoo.

But he did not have the courage to refuse. Or rather, this could at least help him get familiar with others more quickly.

So when he noticed Ron staring at his forehead with flickering eyes, he pushed back his hair and let him have a look.

"Merlin's socks..."

Ron could not help but exclaim in admiration, his eyes still fixed on Harry's forehead so intensely that Harry's face began to redden.

Vaughn tapped him on the head with his wand.

Ron cried out in pain, clutching his head as he complained, "What was that for?"

"Because you were being rude."

"I... I was just curious..."

Embarrassed, Ron turned his face away and looked out the window.

Harry sat awkwardly beside him, his wandering gaze having nowhere to settle until it finally landed on the wand in Vaughn's hand.

Having received help from the Weasley family twice in a row, Harry felt that they were good people.

The timidity in his heart had finally faded a little. After watching for a while, he could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked, "Um, Vaughn... can I call you Vaughn?"

Vaughn, who was brushing Fruit Tea's fur, nodded. "Of course, Harry."

"Vaughn, that thing you used just now was...?"

"The Levitation Charm. It's a very basic spell that makes objects float. It's in our first-year textbook."

"That's amazing..." Harry blinked his green eyes, then his expression dimmed slightly. "I tried for a month and didn't learn anything."

Vaughn did not think much of it. "I've been practicing spells at home since I was eight. You grew up in the Muggle world, so there's no need to compare yourself to me, Harry. Lots of young Muggle-born wizards are just like you."

What he did not say was that he had learned the Levitation Charm after only reciting it twice.

There was nothing to show off about in front of children.

That made Harry feel a little better. He was about to enter a new environment, and he was afraid he would not be able to keep up with his classmates.

Thinking of this, Harry realized he had neglected Ron. He hurriedly shifted the topic toward him, hoping this new friend could show off a little too and bring them closer. "Ron, you must know lots of spells too, right?"

Ron: "..."

Harry watched Ron's face turn visibly red as he stammered without being able to say anything. Vaughn across from them even laughed aloud, and Harry realized he seemed to have done something stupid.

How embarrassing!

Fortunately, the compartment door was pushed open again just then. A smiling woman with dimples asked, "Dear, would you like to buy some snacks?"

She was pushing a trolley piled high with goods.

Harry immediately jumped up. He had never had friends before and did not know how to get along with people his own age, but putting himself in their shoes, he felt that buying everyone snacks was a pretty good idea.

Besides, he had money!

When Harry returned, the huge pile of snacks in his arms immediately drew Ron's attention. Ron watched wide-eyed as Harry poured them onto the seat, then warmly invited them to share.

"Come on, come on. I bought loads. I can't finish them all by myself."

Ron still tried to be reserved. "Mum packed sandwiches..."

But Vaughn had already cheerfully picked up a pumpkin pasty and torn open the wrapper. He was not a child; there was no need to be shy about such things. At worst, he could treat Harry next time.

Seeing Vaughn eat his food, Ron also awkwardly accepted a pasty. Then he let go of his restraint and started wolfing it down. Harry was delighted. For the past eleven years, he had never shared anything with anyone. He had neither anything to share nor anyone to share it with.

This felt wonderful!

Harry and Ron chatted as they ate, and soon their conversation became animated. They discussed Chocolate Frog Cards and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, while Vaughn occasionally chimed in.

But most of the time, he merely watched them with a smile, thoughts turning in his mind.

In his previous life, he had once entertained a hypothesis: given Harry's upbringing and living environment, what would he have become without Ron or Hermione?

The outcome was almost predictable—

Either Harry would have fallen into ruin as the Savior, becoming immersed in everyone's attention and praise until he turned into a useless failure.

Or he would have followed Voldemort's old path.

But that was only a what-if. The reality was that Harry had met, on this train to Hogwarts—the turning point of his life—two friends who would accompany him for the rest of his life, filling his dry, barren heart with love again.

Dumbledore always said that love was the greatest power.

But in Vaughn's view—

Fate... was the most awe-inspiring power of all!

How he wanted to seize it in his hands!

His fingers lightly stroked his wand as Vaughn turned to look out the window. The train had just passed the last stretch of neatly cultivated farmland. The fields racing toward the distant horizon gradually grew desolate, replaced by shadowy mountains, scattered forests, and rivers winding across the earth.

After an unknown amount of time, the compartment door was pushed open for the third time. A round-faced boy stood in the doorway, sniffling as he asked, "Excuse me, have you seen a toad? His name is Trevor. I lost him."

Harry and Ron blankly shook their heads.

"I'll help you look for him." Vaughn stood up. "Come on, Fruit Tea, smell his scent."

Fruit Tea jumped down from the table and followed behind him.

The round-faced boy gratefully blew a snot bubble. "Thank you, thank you. I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom."

"You're welcome. Just call me Vaughn."

Vaughn was not actually that kindhearted. He merely wanted an excuse to wander around.

And, while he was at it, give his little brother and Harry some time to bond.

Watching Vaughn leave with Neville, Harry sighed. "Your brother really is a good person, Ron."

Ron's face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum. "He absolutely isn't! Ever since I was little, I don't even know how many times he's scared me! And Fred and George are just as awful as he is!"

Harry disagreed. "You're brothers, so of course he'd fool around with you. But look at how he treats me and that boy. Before today, I always thought every older brother in the world was like Dudley."

They had talked about Dudley earlier, and Harry had practically described him as a demon.

Compared to Dudley, Ron actually began to feel that Vaughn was practically an angel. Unable to help himself, he started boasting, "...He's not that bad, really. Other than scaring me, Vaughn is good at everything. He's been brewing potions since he was eight. Everyone's heard his name—a famous genius."

"He also earns the most money in our family. Look, this new wand of mine? He bought it for me."

Harry looked at Ron cradling the wand as if it were a treasure, and felt deeply envious.

No one had ever given him a gift like that.

Elsewhere, unaware that his little brother was bragging about him to Harry, Vaughn quickly found Trevor with Fruit Tea's help. After sending off the tearfully grateful Neville, he was just about to leave when he heard someone call him.

"Vaughn... Weasley?"

He turned around. Not far away, Hermione Granger stood with her bushy hair, staring at him with sparkling eyes.