"Boss, you're back from your adventure?" Goyle perked up the moment he saw Draco.
Something stirred in Draco's heart. Suddenly, he felt that, for now, he was more comfortable staying with these two dim-witted lackeys.
At least they wouldn't dissect him inside and out with that cold logic.
Glancing around the otherwise empty compartment, Draco raised an eyebrow in feigned displeasure. "You two, why aren't your disguises in place yet? Why isn't anyone sitting with you?"
Both froze, embarrassed flushes creeping onto their faces.
They looked at each other, as though checking whether this "accusation" was true.
After struggling for a long while, Goyle finally squeezed out, "...Don't know."
Vincent scratched his head too. "...Not many people on the train."
Draco was amused. Not many people on this train?
The corridor had been as packed as Diagon Alley on market day earlier, with no empty seats left.
Draco didn't expose their excuse and went along with it instead. "Probably. Worked out nicely-there was still a seat for me when I came back."
Both visibly relaxed, the bewildered embarrassment on their faces rapidly dissolving.
In its place came a dull, almost grateful agreement that said, "Yes, exactly," as though they had finally found a reasonable explanation for their failure.
Since no one wanted to come into this compartment, it worked out well for Draco.
His two lackeys sat on the seats opposite, leaving him an entire bench to himself.
He simply took off his shoes, stretched out his legs, and lay back, turning the seat into a bed.
At the sight, shock and confusion filled Goyle's face. "Boss, you're..."
"This doesn't fit your etiquette," Vincent couldn't help saying.
Draco gave them a lazy glance. "Can't I lie down when I'm tired?"
Goyle nervously craned his neck to look outside the door. "If someone passing by sees you..."
"Let them look all they want, all right?" Draco said unconcernedly. "If someone comes, of course we'll make room for them. If nobody comes, there's no reason to wear ourselves out."
Their outlook seemed to have been struck by a thunderbolt, utterly overturned.
They exchanged a look, both wearing expressions of disbelief.
Draco continued coaxing them patiently. "Are we supposed to sit upright for five or six hours straight? How tiring would that be?"
Goyle nodded at once. "Boss, you've got a point!"
The two exchanged another look, their eyes full of the realization that things could be done this way too.
Draco waved a hand. "Stop thinking about it. This is the boss's privilege. Learn more from your boss, get smarter, and become a little boss yourselves someday. Then won't you have privileges too?"
Goyle nodded vigorously. "...Learn from the boss."
Vincent nodded along. "Yeah, privileges."
Draco shook his head, unable to help laughing.
"All right, keep an eye out. Wake me when we get there. I'm going to sleep for a while."
Goyle immediately promised, "Don't worry, boss. We'll wake you right on time!"
Vincent asked, "Boss, aren't you going to eat?"
"I'll decide when I wake up." Draco closed his eyes. "They say the Hogwarts welcome feast has plenty of good food. Save some room."
At the mention of "good food," the pair's intensely focused vigilance instantly crumbled.
It was replaced by vacant expressions mixing longing, agreement, and silly grins. Their minds were evidently already filled with the roast chicken, pies, and cakes on the Great Hall's long tables.
A little over ten minutes later, Draco was sound asleep.
An unknown amount of time passed before someone pushed open the compartment door, and a bright female voice sounded from the doorway. "Anything off the trolley, dears? Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands..."
Woken by the noise, Draco sat up.
A saleswoman stood in the doorway with a snack trolley piled high with colorful sweets and treats.
The moment Goyle saw the trolley, his eyes fixed on it, and he almost started drooling.
He hurriedly turned to Draco. "Boss, what do you want to eat?"
Vincent quickly chimed in. "I've got plenty of pocket money too!"
Draco waved a hand. "Buy some yourselves if you want. There's nothing I feel like eating right now."
With Draco's permission, the two immediately rushed to the trolley like hounds unleashed and began choosing in earnest.
As he picked, Goyle said, "All right, boss. I'll buy extra. Just tell me when you want some."
Draco couldn't help exposing him. "You're just worried you won't have enough for yourself."
Goyle scratched his head with a guileless grin. "Boss, you saw right through me again."
Draco shook his head helplessly, and the saleswoman was amused by the boy's honesty too.
As she took their money, she asked casually, "Oh, by the way, a girl with bushy brown hair came by earlier with a round-faced boy who was nearly crying. They said he'd lost a toad called Trevor. Have any of you seen him? The boy was terribly worried."
Draco slapped his forehead. How had he forgotten about this?
Earlier, he had planned to show off his "precise location plus summoning" skills in front of Hermione, but he hadn't had enough Fortune Points to redeem the relevant abilities.
But with Hermione's current attitude toward him, showing off wouldn't mean much anymore. Still, earning a few Fortune Points was always good.
Draco pretended to look thoughtful. "I think I saw him earlier, but I didn't pay much attention. I'll go and look now. Come back in a little while, and if I've found him, I'll give you the toad."
Goyle looked up from choosing snacks and glanced at Draco, a little puzzled. Earlier? Hadn't the boss been asleep the whole time?
But the temptation of snacks was clearly greater, and he soon cast that little doubt to the winds, concentrating on his choices again.
"Oh, that would be wonderful, sir. How kind of you." The saleswoman gave him a grateful smile. "Then shall I come back in about ten minutes? Thank you."
Draco nodded, rolled off the seat, and put on his shoes.
He now had just enough Fortune Points to redeem the Summoning Charm.
Without hesitation, he silently requested the exchange.
[Ding-original plot altered. Fortune Points +10. Learned "Summoning Charm."]
After learning the Summoning Charm, Draco pushed open the compartment door and stepped into the corridor.
He saw the "five-person search party" made up of Neville, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Lavender asking from compartment to compartment.
It seemed Harry and Ron had gone to Hermione's compartment after all.
Finding an empty lavatory, Draco closed the door, took out his wand, pointed it in the direction the train was traveling, and murmured, "Accio Trevor."
With a quick, firm, precise flick of his wrist in the direction of travel, a streak of silver light burst from his wand tip, only to retract the instant it appeared.
That meant the target wasn't in that carriage.
Draco immediately turned around and cast again in the opposite direction. "Accio Trevor!"
This time, the silver light shot out, flashed through the lavatory, and flew down the corridor.
Before long, a toad wrapped in silver light came flying from the far end of the passage, a little over a meter above the floor, tracing a smooth arc toward Draco.
Meanwhile, a tearful Neville was backing out of a compartment in disappointment.
He had just reached the middle of the passage, ready to ask in the next compartment, when he suddenly saw a dark shape flying toward him.
He cried out in fright and instinctively tried to dodge, but he couldn't get out of the way in time. The toad was flying a little too fast.