Willy Wonka's Chocolate

In everyone else's eyes, the moment Hermione saw Kane, she froze for a second. Then, as if some underlying logic had been triggered, she went straight into post-nut clarity.

"Would you mind if there was one more person?"

"No," Ron said, scooting his butt farther inside.

Once Hermione sat down in the compartment, she pulled a book from her pocket and began reading.

Harry and Ron watched this in confusion, scratching their heads. Both felt they should not have been sitting where they were now, but should have switched seats with the bookworm across from them so the two of them could lower their heads and whisper secretly.

But unlike Kane, who had immediately buried his head in a book, Hermione still had something weighing on her mind. Improving herself was urgent, but she had promised Neville she would help him find his Toad, which was just as important.

So...

"Have any of you seen a toad? You know, a Toad?"

The moment Hermione finished speaking, Kane, who had been quietly reading, suddenly jolted and decisively pulled out his wand.

"Toad? Where is the evil Toad?"

The other three people in the compartment watched with twitching lips. "So you're afraid of toads?"

"Actually, there aren't any here. We're just looking for one," Harry added.

Kane awkwardly put away his wand. "Don't mind me. I've got PTSD."

Harry and Ron heard Kane's strange words. Though they did not understand them, they said nothing. Hermione, however, was different. She could hardly be called anything less than well-read.

"I know PTSD is a traumatic stress disorder. For example, someone who has been in a car accident might fear speeding vehicles and car horns, while someone who has been to war might fear gunfire. But what exactly did a Toad do to you that could make you..."

As she spoke, Hermione pointed at the Living Wood wand tucked inside Kane's sleeve, its mouth sealed shut with a golden nail.

"...react so strongly?"

Ron nodded as well. "That thing does look scary, but you're so powerful. Couldn't you just kill it?"

Kane slowly closed his book. "You want to hear it?"

The three of them nodded in unison.

"The place where I once lived was strange and absurd. It was a wilderness, with all kinds of magical creatures and unusual weather."

"One of its special springtime weather patterns was that, in the afternoon, countless frogs would fall from the sky. The locals called it Frog Rain. Every time, hundreds of frogs would fall together, then act like tyrants of the wilderness. Any creature that appeared before them would get licked by those disgusting tongues."

Harry and Hermione did not doubt Kane's words in the slightest. After all, she had lived in Muggle society until then. No matter how bizarre the Wizarding World was, she could accept it.

Ron, who had grown up in the Wizarding World, and Malfoy, who had been listening outside the compartment, were different. Their worldview had never included such a place, except perhaps Innsmouth from Cthulhu novels.

But when Malfoy cried out, "Impossible!" the entire compartment fell silent. Hermione opened the compartment door. "Sir, who are you?"

Seeing Hermione's Muggle clothes, Malfoy had initially wanted to reflexively tell her to shut up, Mudblood. But then he remembered that neither he nor his father had found out where Kane came from. Socially speaking, Kane counted as a Mudblood too...

Uh, his father had also told him to make friends with Kane. He would watch his mouth for now.

"My father said I was in the wrong at the ice cream shop, so he told me to apologize to you." As he spoke, Malfoy took three beautifully wrapped bars of chocolate from his pocket.

"Willy Wonka Chocolate. My father went through some connections to buy it. These are for you." Malfoy placed the three bars on the table, then put on his usual proud, haughty expression again. He pulled the door shut and left. This was also what his father had taught him: do not push too hard. A good beginning was enough.

After Draco Malfoy left, he recalled the strange wilderness where Frog Rain fell. It was a clue. Perhaps it was the territory of some strange magical family. He needed to tell his father.

"Willy Wonka? What a strange name." Hermione frowned and asked, though her eyes and hands remained firmly glued to her book. The chocolate had nothing to do with her. Better not look at it.

"Willy Wonka was the greatest confectioner in the Wizarding World last century. Most mainstream sweets nowadays—Chocolate Frogs, Cockroach Clusters, Lemon Sherbets—almost every magical candy you can see in Diagon Alley was invented by him."

"But later, it seemed someone betrayed his candy factory. Disheartened, he sold off all his patents and only kept a small handmade chocolate workshop, where he made just one hundred bars a year."

"Since Malfoy's apology is so sincere, I'll forgive him!"

As soon as Ron finished speaking, he hurriedly picked up his own bar of chocolate, tore open the wrapper, and bit into it.

Harry did the same. You could not expect an eleven-year-old child to share something so precious with a companion he had only met for the second time. It would be one thing if it were ordinary chocolate, but this was Willy Wonka Chocolate...

Though he did not know how amazing it was, it certainly sounded amazing.

As for Kane... normally, of course, he would eat the chocolate openly and generously. The sort of thing where he gave the whole bar to Hermione, or split half with her, then Hermione suddenly blushed for no logical reason and the two began a sweet romance—that would be abnormal.

And so, in the small compartment, three people simultaneously stuffed chocolate into their mouths while one buried herself in studying. But after studying for a while, she remembered that she still had to help Neville find his Toad.

She raised her head. The same old saying applied: people more talented than you were eating chocolate. Now was the perfect chance to catch up.

Soon, Kane had finished his chocolate, leaving not a single bit behind. This bar deserved Ron's praise. He had never felt so good; his once-withered soul was incomparably full, and his SAN value had never been so abundant.

The flower crown on his head could finally be put away.

Just as Kane moved, Hermione, who had been reading while watching him, finally noticed the blind spot.

"So? Never mind. Everyone has their own taste, and this flower crown really is quite nice."

Unlike Hermione's calm tone, the other two people in the compartment could not hold it in again. Still, they did not want to laugh aloud, because that would be too rude. They could only lower their heads, shoulders shaking constantly, while Kane's temple throbbed.

Soon, evening came. Hermione finally put down her book and chose to look for the young wizard named Neville... and his Toad.

Kane was much the same. After reading all morning, his eyes had felt sore and swollen, so he had no choice but to sleep all afternoon. Now, Harry was waking him up.

"Hurry up and change into your robes. We've arrived! We'll see Hogwarts soon!"