The saleswoman returned to Draco with a relaxed smile. "Sir, sorry for the trouble. The toad has been delivered to that young gentleman."
Straightening up from beside the compartment door, Draco gave a faint smile. "You're too kind, ma'am. It was hardly any trouble. If there's nothing else, I'll head back inside."
"Of course, sir. Enjoy your rest." The saleswoman nodded and continued pushing her trolley toward the other carriages.
Draco nodded, turned, and returned to the compartment.
Goyle and Vincent each held a large bag of snacks, eating with crumbs all around their mouths. When they saw Draco return, they immediately sat up straight in a fluster, like two puppies caught stealing food.
Draco couldn't be bothered with the two gluttons. He sat down by the window, casually picked up a magic book he had brought from home, and flipped through a few pages to pass the time.
The compartment fell quiet for a while, with only the rustle of turning pages and snack wrappers.
After lunch, time trickled by to the clatter of wheels against rails.
The scenery outside gradually changed. The orderly fields had long since disappeared, replaced by winding rivers and dark green hills.
The sunlight slowly faded, and the sky darkened little by little. The hills gradually joined into stretches of mountains and woodland, tracing heavy outlines in the dusk.
The train gradually slowed, and the grinding of wheels against rails grew softer.
Just then, an announcement echoed through the carriages. "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train. We will deliver it to the school for you."
Vincent looked up and asked uncertainly, "Is that true? We don't have to carry our own luggage?"
Goyle spoke indistinctly around a mouthful of Chocolate Frog. "They just announced it. How could it be false?"
"Finally. My backside hurts from all this sitting." Vincent stood and stretched, looking exhausted.
Goyle chuckled. "Now you finally understand why the boss wanted to take it easy, right? If he'd kept up appearances the whole way, he'd have been complaining about being tired just like you ages ago."
Draco glanced at them and closed his book. "All right, enough sucking up. Hurry up and tidy things away. Get ready to get off."
The two answered with an "Oh" in unison, hurriedly stuffing the snack bags on the table into their backpacks and straightening their scattered clothing.
Just then, someone pushed open the compartment door. Pansy braced both hands against the doorframe and poked her head inside, complaining, "Draco, you certainly know how to find some peace and quiet. The carriages up front are deafening. Those first-years keep chattering away. They really can make a racket."
She walked inside as she spoke.
After sweeping her gaze around the compartment, she curled her lips in satisfaction. "I heard that crybaby from the Longbottom family lost his toad and made such a fuss that the whole train knew about it. He didn't come here, did he?"
"Didn't see him," Draco replied mildly.
Pansy came in and naturally sat down beside Draco, adjusting her robes.
"We're almost there. My father said the Slytherin Common Room is beneath the Black Lake, and you can see the Giant Squid through the windows. I hope our dormitories aren't too damp."
"They probably won't be," Draco replied casually, his gaze resting on the darkness outside.
Despite Draco's perfunctory replies, Pansy enthusiastically chatted about all sorts of topics.
Draco responded now and then, but she didn't grow bored. Instead, she became more animated as she talked.
Draco sighed inwardly. This girl's chattiness really could rival Hermione's, except one leaned toward academics and the other toward gossip.
As they talked, the train slowed further. Darkness had completely swallowed the scenery outside, leaving only scattered lights in the distance and the pitch-black outlines of mountains.
Finally, with a faint squeal of brakes, the train slowly came to a stop.
The doors opened, and a rush of cold, damp air surged into the carriages, carrying the scent of earth and lake water. All the first-years in their brand-new school robes involuntarily gasped, breaking out in goosebumps from the sudden chill.
But there was no time to worry about that. The young witches and wizards poured out of their compartments, crowding and shoving toward the doors.
For a moment, the corridor rang with voices full of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.
Draco took his time.
With the two hulking figures of Goyle and Vincent leading the way, the young witches and wizards didn't dare come near their part of the corridor.
The pair were like two moving meat shields, keeping the crowd at bay while also blocking most of the cold wind.
A cold draft poured in from the end of the corridor, making Pansy shiver despite herself and instinctively move closer to Draco.
For the first time, she felt that having two underlings like these blocking the way ahead didn't seem like such a bad thing.
Many pure-blood students also moved behind Draco and his companions, as though their spot had become a natural shelter from the wind.
Their carriage was relatively far away, so Draco couldn't see Hermione and the others. He could only see a dense mass of heads bobbing ahead, like a flock of sparrows driven along by the cold wind.
They stepped onto the small, dark platform, where mist swirled around their feet and the cold crept straight up through the soles of their shoes.
The young witches and wizards shivered, hunching their necks and huddling together.
In the distance, a dim yellow oil lamp swayed in the night, a huge figure standing out beneath its light.
It was a giant with a thick beard around his mouth and nose, wearing a shabby leather coat. Holding up his oil lamp, he smiled and called to the crowd, "Come on, follow me! Any more first-years? Watch your step!"
Just then, Draco quietly drew his wand and murmured an incantation.
"Warming Protection."
A faint golden halo lit up at the tip of his wand and spread like ripples, settling over him, Pansy, Goyle, Vincent, and a few nearby pure-blood students he knew slightly.
A gentle warmth instantly enveloped their bodies, shutting out the biting cold.
[Ding-original plot added. Fortune points +20]
Draco nodded in satisfaction. Not only was he comfortable now, but he had also earned some fortune points along the way. Two birds with one stone.
Those who had received the Warming Charm visibly froze for a moment before realizing what had happened, their faces lighting up with delighted surprise.
They all cast grateful looks at Draco and murmured their thanks.
The surrounding first-years also more or less understood what had happened, and their gazes toward Draco gained a measure of awe and envy.
Pansy turned her head and gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Draco. You know I get cold easily. You're always so thoughtful."
Goyle scratched his head with a simple grin. "Thanks, boss! It's great following you!"
Vincent nodded repeatedly as well. "Yeah. I was a bit cold before, but now I feel about the same as usual."
Not far away, Lavender had wrapped her robes tightly around herself. Seeing this, she couldn't help covering her mouth with her hand and exclaiming softly:
"Parvati, did you see that? It's Draco! He cast a Warming Charm on himself and his companions! He must be the mysterious person who returned Trevor! Only someone that kind and considerate would think of looking after ladies first on a cold night! He's practically stepped straight out of History of Magic: Romance!"
On the other side, Ron was rubbing his arms from the cold, muttering, "Hmph. What's he showing off for? As if nobody else could do that."
Despite his words, his body honestly edged closer to Harry, trying to borrow a little more warmth from his companion.
Many first-years secretly cast envious looks his way, thinking, If only I knew magic like that.
The commotion in the crowd caught Hagrid's attention.
As his enormous figure guided the flow of people, his small eyes quickly swept over Draco and his companions.
Noticing the steady postures of those around Draco and how they were no longer shivering, he seemed to realize something.
But he didn't pay it much mind and simply continued calling loudly, "First-years! This way! Watch your step!"
As they walked, a boy squeezed out of the crowd and approached Draco. "Excuse me, sir. Your magic is remarkable. May I ask... could you also help those students over there who are freezing? They don't look very well."
As he spoke, he pointed at a few first-years nearby who were huddled together, their lips purple from the cold.
Pansy raised an eyebrow and spoke first. "I think the prefects and professors would know better how to look after everyone."
Hearing this from nearby, Ron first looked shocked, then quickly broke into a gloating expression. He whispered to Harry, "Hey, did you hear that? Someone wants Malfoy to show a little kindness! I bet a Galleon he'll humiliate him and then tell him to get lost."