There were, of course, no wild toads on the train.
"Some careless student probably lost it," Fred said casually. "Just leave it in the corridor. Its owner's bound to find it."
It was a rather offhand suggestion, plainly showing little concern for the toad's fate.
But they really had no need to worry.
This was the Hogwarts Express. Unless he decided to jump out of the window himself, his life could hardly be in danger.
Lee Jordan immediately bent down and picked up the toad, ready to get rid of him.
Just then, the compartment's sliding door suddenly opened.
A round-faced boy timidly poked his head inside.
His eyes and the tip of his nose were red, and his face was full of anxiety, as though he had just been crying.
"P-please, have you seen a toad? His name's Trevor. I've lost him again..."
The boy immediately explained why he had come.
Lee Jordan's hand froze in midair, for he happened to be holding a toad upside down at that very moment.
Neville's gaze immediately locked onto his pet.
"Trevor!" he exclaimed, his eyes falling on Lee Jordan.
When he saw Lee Jordan roughly holding his Trevor, who looked weak and listless, tears instantly welled up in Neville's eyes again.
"What... what did you do!?" Neville's voice was thick with tears and a rare trace of anger.
But he did not dare approach, because the older student before him was considerably taller than he was.
Lee Jordan's tied-back dreadlocks and rather tall build made him seem all the more intimidating in the timid Neville's eyes.
For a moment, he could only stand there, tears swimming in his eyes.
The scene spoke for itself.
It looked exactly like a case of school bullying.
Lee Jordan was utterly speechless. How had he somehow become the villain picking on the weak?
"Hey, don't cry!" Flustered, Lee Jordan hurriedly pushed Trevor into Neville's arms. "I really didn't do anything to him! He just... er... maybe he got motion sickness?"
He racked his brains for a flimsy excuse-though the toad's listless appearance did little to make it convincing.
Fred watched from the side, itching to laugh, but felt it would be far too unkind to laugh now. He could only press his lips tightly together, his shoulders trembling slightly.
George secretly nudged him with an elbow, signaling for him to rein it in.
"You really are a nasty piece of work, Lee." Morris whistled, looking as though none of this had anything to do with him.
"Shut up, Morris. Whose fault do you think this is?" Lee Jordan snapped, then turned to the still-sniffling Neville, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "Stop crying, kid. Your toad really is fine. I promise."
Neville raised his tear-blurred eyes, looked at Lee Jordan's helpless and even slightly aggrieved face, then at Trevor in his hands, and slowly nodded.
"Neville, have you found your toad?"
Just then, another voice came from the doorway.
A girl with long, thick, bushy brown hair appeared there.
The exceptionally clever girl swept her gaze around the compartment and instantly pieced together the situation-Neville holding his toad with red-rimmed eyes, an embarrassed Lee Jordan, the two redheaded twins behind him laughing at Neville, and Morris holding a black cat as though none of it concerned him.
She immediately frowned and blurted out, "You're bullying a first-year like this!?"
Lee Jordan raised a hand to his forehead.
Great. Now I'll have to explain it all over again.
He did not want some bizarre rumor spreading among the new students.
Picking on the weak?
He had no need for that sort of reputation.
After two and a half rather chaotic minutes of explanation-mainly because Fred and George kept making trouble-the misunderstanding was finally cleared up.
Although Hermione still thought these boys seemed a little unreliable, especially Lee Jordan, who had been holding the toad, she at least believed they had not deliberately bullied Neville.
"All right," she said, her tone softening with a trace of apology. "It seems I misunderstood. Sorry, I shouldn't have accused you before finding out what happened."
Neville also timidly poked his head out from behind Hermione and said quietly, "Th-thank you for helping me find Trevor."
"No problem." Lee Jordan waved a broad hand, attempting to display the graciousness of an older student.
A few beads of cold sweat still lingered at his temples.
"I'm Hermione Granger." The brown-haired girl formally introduced herself, then stepped aside to reveal the round-faced boy hiding behind her. "This is Neville Longbottom. We're both first-years."
"Fred Weasley."
"George Weasley."
"Lee Jordan. We're all third-years, and this is..."
"Morris Black," Morris said simply. "A first-year, just like you."
A first-year among a group of third-years was clearly a rather unusual combination.
Did they already know each other?
A flicker of surprise crossed Hermione's eyes as she looked Morris up and down.
"Hey!" She suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "I recognize you!"
Morris paused. "Hm? Have we met?"
He took a careful look at Hermione, certain that he had no recollection of this girl with thick brown hair and bright, alert eyes.
Probably...
"At the pet shop in Diagon Alley," Hermione said indignantly. "You ignored me. That was very rude."
Only then did Morris realize that the girl before him was named Granger, and was probably Mr. and Mrs. Granger's daughter or relative.
"Oh, so it was you." He put on a look of sudden recognition.
To be honest, he had not remembered the face of the person who had spoken to him at all.
Nobody would go out of their way to memorize a stranger's face, especially an unremarkable child's.
Hermione gave a soft huff.
She had already realized that Morris did not remember her at all and had only answered that way to spare her embarrassment.
What an annoying fellow.
Just then, a clear ringing of bells came from the corridor, accompanied by a cheerful woman's voice. "Anything off the trolley, children? Chocolate Frogs! Pumpkin Pasties! Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans!"
The witch pushing the snack trolley had stopped right outside their compartment, her way blocked by Hermione and Neville in the corridor.
Hermione naturally noticed this too and said to Neville, "Let's go, Neville, now that you've found your pet toad."
"Oh, wait."
Neville scratched his head sheepishly, bought a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from the witch, and shared them with everyone present.
He seemed to want to express his thanks, even though the earlier experience had not been particularly pleasant.
For some reason, however, all the beans Morris received were flavors like bogey and mud.
In the end, he silently reached a conclusion:
He hated Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.