The train sped north through changeable weather. Rain pattered against the windows, sometimes lightly, sometimes hard. Then the sun showed its face, only to disappear behind passing clouds again.
As night fell, the lights in the compartments came on.
Outside the compartment's glass door, Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabbe lurked under the yellowish lights, their shadows stretching across the corridor.
"Boss, I think Jerry Green's in there too," Crabbe said hesitantly. "Maybe we should..."
"What are you afraid of, Crabbe? You're such a coward! The boss is a Prefect now!" Goyle cut him off impatiently, waving his thick arm as though he feared nothing.
Before Draco Malfoy became a Prefect, Jerry Green could push them around whenever he liked. But if Jerry could still bully them now, what the hell was the point of Draco Malfoy becoming a Prefect?
"Goyle, you idiot!" Malfoy shot him a glare. "If you want to die, don't drag us into it!"
"Boss, are we just going to let it go?" Goyle shrank back, but he still wasn't satisfied. If being a Prefect wouldn't let Draco deal with Jerry Green, surely it would let him deal with Potter.
"Of course not!" A sly smile curled Malfoy's lips. He had become a Slytherin Prefect, while Potter had lost out to Weasley. Was he going to pass up a chance like this? Of course not. He was going to rub it in Potter's face.
"Both of you, remember this!" Malfoy's expression turned serious. "Jerry Green doesn't care about our grudges with anyone else, so use your heads and don't provoke him. Otherwise, not even your fathers will be able to save you two idiots!"
The compartment door flew open. A familiar yearly drama aboard the Hogwarts Express was about to begin, with two British boys ready to clash.