"You really had nothing better to do, huh? I spent all that time watching, and you spent all that time watching me, just to give me a fright," Herman asked like a complaining little adult.
"There's nothing to do anyway. We've still got a while before the train leaves," Harry said casually, as though nothing had happened.
Herman looked around and asked in puzzlement, "Why aren't there any Aurors following you today?"
"They haven't got time to watch me now," Harry explained. "I reckon they haven't even got time to bother with Sirius. They didn't even do anything when he went home yesterday."
"Why? Did something happen?" Herman pressed curiously.
"I reckon it'll be in the papers soon," Harry explained. "Someone broke into Gringotts. By now, probably every Auror in the Ministry of Magic has been called back. Fudge has always wanted to take inventory of the Gringotts vaults, and he's finally found his chance."
It seemed Voldemort had still set his sights on the Philosopher's Stone, but Hagrid had taken it away beforehand, just as in the original story. But did this have anything to do with Quirrell? Herman couldn't help thinking of the Quirrell he had met that day.
Just as Herman sank into thought, Harry patted him again. "What are you thinking about? It's good news, really. At least the Aurors haven't got time to investigate you. Otherwise, they probably would've called you in for a chat ages ago."
Harry's reminder also brought back the matter of how she had screwed him over, landing him on the Aurors' investigation list at such a young age.
"Right, I still haven't settled that score with you."
Harry hurriedly changed the subject. "Come on. There'll probably be more people soon, and we'll have to fight for seats when we board."
Harry pulled Herman along and rushed straight into the wall.
Once they passed through the wall, the scene before them changed instantly. A red train stood a short distance away, billowing steam. Parents seeing off their children were scattered all over the platform, and children's chatter filled the air around them.
While Herman was still looking around at the novel surroundings, Harry urged him, "Come on. There probably won't be any seats left on the train soon."
"Coming, coming." Herman suddenly spotted a blond figure. At the thought of possibly getting stuck with a chatterbox, Harry seemed the less troublesome option after all, and he hurried a few steps to catch up with her.
After they boarded, since they were fairly early, they found an empty compartment after walking along the corridor for a little while. Once inside, they sat opposite each other without needing to be told, then placed their luggage on the seats beside them, leaving no room at all for anyone who might want to share.
The two fell rather quiet after that, though it wasn't awkward. Herman simply took out a book and began reading, while Harry gazed out the window. In the direction she was looking, a large black dog was watching the train window, as though seeing her off.
After a long, rousing whistle, the Hogwarts Express slowly began to move.
Harry gradually drew her gaze away from the black dog outside the window and found herself at a loose end. Bored, she looked at Herman, who was absorbed in his book across from her, and a mischievous smile tugged at her lips. Who knew what trick she was plotting this time?
Just then, a rustling came from outside the door. Immediately afterward, the compartment door slid open with a creak, and two twins with vivid red hair and faces so identical they might have been copied and pasted poked their heads inside.
Herman recognized them at once. They were the Weasley family's twins-George and Fred.
"Hello? Are there any spare seats in here?"
Harry wasn't particularly willing to share a compartment with strangers to begin with, while Herman knew these two troublemakers' personalities all too well and feared they would cause some sort of trouble here and drag him into it.
So, like perfectly coordinated partners who could read each other's minds, they answered in unison, "No."
Yet Fred and George turned a deaf ear to their answer. By the look of it, they hadn't intended to wait for a response at all before cheerfully announcing:
"Brilliant, there are only two people here. Little sis, you can stay here. We've got things to do. Lee Jordan's still waiting for us. Bye!"
With that, they shoved a little red-haired girl straight inside, then promptly ran off.
Only the little red-haired girl remained, her cheeks as red as ripe apples and her head lowered so far it nearly disappeared into her chest. She didn't dare so much as glance at Harry or Herman. Her little hands twisted nervously together, and an enormous trunk trailed behind her.
"Um, um, may I sit here?" the little girl asked in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Harry and Herman stared into each other's eyes, neither willing to be the first to move the luggage occupying the seats. Their silent contest remained deadlocked for quite some time.
In the end, Herman helplessly picked up his trunk, then stood and said, "Sit on my side."
As he spoke, Herman made room for her in the inner seat. The little girl hurriedly thanked him. "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble."
Herman helped put away the little girl's luggage, then suddenly moved Harry's luggage off her seat and placed it at his feet along with his own before plopping down heavily beside her.
"??" Harry stared at Herman in shock, her eyes as wide as bronze bells. She had never expected him to pull something like this.
Herman gave her a wicked little grin, like a child whose prank had succeeded. His eyes held a challenging look as he watched Harry, as though saying, That's what you get for not giving up a seat. Now we can squeeze together.
When the little girl saw Herman and Harry squeezed together while she had a whole side to herself, she grew even more embarrassed. She hurriedly stood up like a startled little rabbit and said, "Um, um, perhaps I should go out and look for another empty seat."
"It's fine. Sit down," Herman said quickly. "We're close. We even met the family together last time."
At Herman's death-courting remark, Harry became as furious as a little volcano on the verge of erupting and couldn't resist reaching for her wand to teach him a lesson.
Herman also sensed the intense killing intent beside him. Driven by his will to survive, he hurriedly turned to Harry and said, "Oh, right, Harry. Your uncle gave me a start-of-term present last time, so I've prepared two presents for you and your uncle too. You'll definitely like yours."
"Presents?" Herman's words successfully aroused Harry's curiosity, and she slowly lowered the wand she had been about to draw.
Seeing Harry put away her wand, Herman breathed a small sigh of relief. "Yes, presents. They're in my trunk. I'll give yours to you later."
Listening to their exchange, the little girl opposite them began looking at them rather strangely, as though she had already imagined countless stories about them. After all, Herman was handsome and Harry was pretty. Anyone who saw them would let their imagination run wild.
Now that the little girl opposite them had sat down, Herman introduced himself like a polite little gentleman. "Hello, my name is Herman Horace, and this is Harry. We're both first-years."
There was little hope of getting Harry to introduce herself, so Herman could only do it for her. The little girl hurriedly greeted them. "Hello, my name is Ron Weasley. I'm a first-year too."
All right, I'm used to it anyway. Ron's turned into a girl. This is perfectly normal.