The Coolness of Midsummer

Chapter 13: Midsummer Chill

The scenery outside the carriage window shifted constantly. Neville yawned, glanced at the two schoolmates across from him who were reading, and suddenly remembered something as he began patting himself down.

Neville's expression grew increasingly panicked and pale.

"What's the matter, Neville?" Su Er noticed and asked aloud, and Hermione raised her head.

"I..." Neville broke out in a sweat of anxiety, his voice carrying a slight hint of crying, "My Trevor, he's gone..."

"Who's Trevor?" Hermione asked aloud with a puzzled expression.

"Trevor is my toad, a gift from my grandmother." Neville stood up anxiously, "I have to go look for him."

"But..." Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Neville hurried out of the compartment.

"Isn't your toad right on top of your head..."

Su Er and Hermione exchanged a glance, hoping Neville would realize sooner rather than later that his toad was actually right on him.

About ten minutes passed, and Neville had not returned.

Hermione stood up abruptly, "I think we should go out and take a look?"

Su Er nodded, stood up, and followed Hermione outside.

The two passed through several compartments without catching sight of Neville, until they walked past one and heard a loud commotion coming from inside right at the doorway.

A voice shouted from within, "Say that again?"

Hermione glanced at Su Er, seemingly asking whether they should go in and take a look, as Neville might be inside.

Su Er nodded; he had already guessed roughly what was happening inside.

The scene inside the door revealed itself to them: a blonde boy with two thick, bulky, somewhat foolish-looking companions was confronting a somewhat sloppily dressed boy-oh, and a red-haired boy with freckles on his face.

He seemed rather angry, his face flushed red, and the freckles on his face seemed to dance.

Neville, whom Su Er and Hermione were looking for, was not here.

"No!" he snapped at the doorway, his gaze fixed firmly on the blonde boy.

Hermione didn't leave; she looked curiously at the wand in the red-haired boy's hand.

Su Er saw it too. That wand was certainly old; could that silvery-white hair protruding from the edge of the wand possibly be the core?

The blonde boy sneered, "Are you looking for a fight, Weasley? Coming from a Weasley family that can't even afford meat?"

Good grief, what a top-tier sarcastic bastard. Su Er listened from behind Hermione and felt like throwing punches.

The boy wearing round-rimmed glasses pressed his lips together and spat out a sentence: "Unless you get out right now."

That sloppy boy had thick bowl-cut hair, a thin face, and a lightning scar faintly visible through his bangs.

This was the protagonist? Su Er raised an eyebrow.

Then that blonde one must be Malfoy, huh?

Amidst Su Er's spinning thoughts, the situation continued to develop. Malfoy sneered again, "But we have no intention of leaving. All the food we brought has been eaten, but it looks like you still have plenty here?"

One of the bulky boys behind him casually reached out to grab the snacks on the table, only to emit a world-shaking shriek as he raised his hand high and shook it vigorously.

It was a rat, biting the boy's finger.

The rat was finally shaken off, colliding with the carriage window glass before sliding weakly down the glass, looking as though it had passed out.

Taking advantage of Ron's panicked scramble to retrieve the rat, Malfoy and his two "friends" prepared to leave the compartment.

"Get out of the way, Mudblood." He said angrily to Hermione.

Hermione didn't quite understand what Mudblood meant, and she stepped aside, but Su Er understood.

"Hold on." He said, his expression turning pitch-black.

"What?" Malfoy halted his forward stride and glared up at Su Er, "Did I say something wrong?"

A look of disgust appeared on his face as he looked Su Er up and down, "Reeking entirely of Mudblood. Are you a first-year too? With her? Then you're a Mudblood as well."

"Apologize!" Su Er pulled his wand out from behind him.

"What? You want a fight too?" Malfoy saw Su Er draw his wand.

"Lads, look, another one just like Weasley." He wore a mocking expression and sneered.

The two blockheads behind Malfoy obediently burst into loud laughter.

"Apologize, I won't say it a second time." Su Er pulled Hermione behind him. Hermione was rather frightened; it was the first time in all her time knowing Su Er that she had seen him looking so furious.

"If your family failed to teach you proper manners, then I don't mind teaching you in their place."

Su Er's response was a sneer. Malfoy turned around, intending to say something to his "friends," but he saw looks of terror in their eyes.

Malfoy immediately turned his head, only to be met head-on by a beam of icy-blue light.

And a forceful shout: Immobulus!

Malfoy: Who casts magic without even giving a warning? These youngsters have no martial ethics!

While cooling off a bit in the summer was certainly nice, the chill of magic was entirely different from the chill of air conditioning.

The exposed hair on Malfoy's body instantly frosted over, and his entire body stiffened as he fell backward. His two friends immediately shrieked as they reached out to catch Malfoy, then shrieked again and let go-it was too cold!

Malfoy collapsed onto the floor in utter despair, though thankfully, a thick layer of carpet covered the floor of the Hogwarts Express to save him from taking secondary damage.

Ron inside the compartment had already noticed the situation at the doorway, and a burst of laughter erupted in the quiet carriage, exceedingly loud.

Su Er angled his wand slightly, his expression growing even more gloomy.

Malfoy's two friends let out a shriek and immediately bolted backward; after running just a few steps, one of them paused, then turned right back around to drag Malfoy away with him.

Malfoy, stiff and unable to move, shed tears of humiliation.

"Brilliant shot," Ron shouted loudly from inside the compartment, while Su Er withdrew his wand and glared fiercely at him, having certainly not forgotten how Ron had just yelled at Hermione.

He had never even yelled at Hermione himself, so who did some random kid think he was? Hmph.

Ron instantly fell silent.

"Su Er, Hermione, why are you two here?" Neville's voice rang out.

"Nothing. Did you find your toad, Neville?" Su Er asked, his tone betraying no trace of anger whatsoever.

"No, I asked lots of people, and none of them saw Trevor." Neville lowered his head dejectedly. "I might have lost him."

Hermione cast a peculiar look at Neville.

"Maybe you'll see it as soon as you get back to your compartment," Su Er said.

"I hope so," Neville said sadly. "My gran is definitely going to send me a Howler."

"Let's go back, Neville. Things surely aren't as bad as you imagine," Hermione comforted him.

Neville nodded with a sorrowful expression, a myriad of ways Trevor could die already flashing through his mind.

The more he thought about it, the more upset he became, and the moment he reached the compartment he couldn't help collapsing onto the table to sob softly.

Hermione couldn't bear to watch people cry, and she was just about to open her mouth to remind Neville that his toad was actually right on top of his head and had never left.

Ribbit. The toad on Neville's head hopped down onto the table as his center of gravity dropped.

"Trevor?!" Neville saw the intact, living Trevor on the table through tear-filled eyes, and he joyfully scooped Trevor up in both hands, beaming with delight.

"I bet everyone in the other carriages saw the toad on Neville's head, but not a single person told him."

Hermione whispered secretly to Su Er.

Su Er nodded. Indeed, standards had degenerated, and people were no longer as honest as they used to be.