"No, no problem."
Ron swallowed, noticeably leaning closer to Harry.
He tried to sound strong and calm, wanting to continue the previous topic:
"The reason I don't like Slytherin is because the Dark Lord came from Slytherin, and most dark wizards come from Slytherin, and of course, the criminals from Azkaban…"
Ron suddenly stopped talking, realizing what he had just said.
Dunat had been turned to stone and thrown into the aisle—Ron didn't want to end up like him. That would be too embarrassing!
The compartment door slid open again, revealing a little girl and a slightly chubby boy.
"Has anyone seen a toad?"
A girl with thick brown hair and prominent front teeth asked, her tone slightly condescending.
"Neville's toad is missing."
Neville tugged at Hermione's sleeve. He hadn't come in to ask himself like in the original story because he had seen the petrified Dunat Avery lying in the aisle.
He didn't know who was inside the compartment, and he wasn't sure if he'd be turned to stone just for disturbing them, so Hermione volunteered to ask for him.
"No!"
Ron quickly chimed in, hoping to distract Dana from his earlier slip-up.
The girl frowned.
"How do you know if you haven't even looked?"
Dana turned to Neville.
"Are you in this carriage?"
Neville shook his head.
Dana asked again:
"Is your toad a special breed? I mean, does it have hands that can open doors, or can it move objects from afar?"
Neville shook his head again.
Dana then looked at Hermione.
"You see, it's highly unlikely that Neville's toad could have crossed the carriage connections to get here, let alone that we have a sliding door on this compartment, wouldn't you say?"
Hermione hesitated, then blushed slightly, arguing:
"Even if what you say makes some sense, we can't rule out the possibility that Neville's toad ran in while someone was passing through the carriage."
She pointed to Dunat Avery outside the door, still clutching his wand.
"Not to mention, there was clearly a quarrel here earlier. The toad could have slipped in while you were fighting!"
Dana smirked. No wonder she becomes Minister for Magic in the future.
As a Muggle-born student, seeing a young wizard petrified and lying in the aisle, knowing that the "culprit" was inside, yet daring to challenge him—she truly had a Gryffindor spirit.
Dana knelt briefly and glanced under the seats, then straightened up.
"Alright, I've looked. The toad isn't here."
Hermione froze. She had expected an argument, but instead, Dana had simply cooperated.
She knew Dana was right, but now she felt a bit awkward. She had started off so strong, and now... there was nothing left to say.
"Um… um…"
She pursed her lips, pointed at the petrified Dunat Avery, and changed the subject.
"Did you cast a spell on this upperclassman? How could you hex a fellow student? Undo it so I can see!"
Dana shrugged, pulled out his wand, and gently tapped it.
Dunat Avery immediately regained his freedom.
"You committed a cri—"
Dana's wand tip began to glow green, startling Dunat mid-sentence.
"You, you, you… dare…"
Dana tilted his head and flicked his wrist, causing Dunat to bolt out of the compartment in terror.
Ron, seeing the green light at the tip of Dana's wand, was equally terrified.
"That's Avada Kedavra!"
Dana chuckled.
"No, Ron, it's just Lumos Solem with a green tint. If you had done your reading, you'd know this is a first-year spell."
He changed the light's color, making it cycle through red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, leaving Ron speechless.
What was pre-reading? Ron had no idea why anyone would do it.
But if pre-reading could produce tricks like Dana's, maybe it was worth considering.
Hermione, meanwhile, was beaming.
The slight unpleasantness from before didn't seem to matter anymore. She had been nervous about the wizarding world, but now she felt a sense of relief.
There were people here who understood learning as she did.
However, she still had the responsibility of helping Neville find his toad, so even though she wanted to discuss self-study techniques with Dana, she left with Neville.
Harry noticed Ron's unease and quickly reassured him.
"Ron, you don't need to be afraid of Dana. He's a good person. He was framed and imprisoned in Azkaban."
"Ah? Oh, oh, he's a good person."
Ron didn't seem convinced.
Dana's wandwork had been too smooth—he moved like someone who was ready to cast the Killing Curse at any moment.
Still, Ron refused to back down.
Even if Dana was a criminal from Azkaban, so what? Ronald Bilius Weasley wasn't one to be trifled with!
So he turned to Harry.
"Let's continue our earlier topic—my whole family is in Gryffindor. I think I'll be in Gryffindor too…"
He glanced at Dana, as if to say, I'm not afraid of you.
Unfortunately for Ron, Dana wasn't even paying attention.
He had already picked up his book again—Basics of Ancient Runes.
The book covered his eyes, so he missed Ron's determined expression entirely.
Today, Dana's compartment was unusually busy.
Not long after, the door slid open again.
A platinum-haired boy stood at the entrance, flanked by two burly boys.
"So, people say Harry Potter is in this compartment. So that's you, right?"
He pointed at Harry.
"Yes."
"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
A classic introduction.
Dana didn't want to get involved in this. He just wanted to finish reading Ancient Runes so he could finally decipher Merlin's notebook.
However, Draco first argued with Ron Weasley, then, after being rejected by Harry Potter, he turned his attention to Dana.
"And who are you? Seeing me here, don't you know to greet me? I haven't seen you at pure-blood gatherings. Are you a Muggle?"
Dana lowered his book, his lake-blue eyes locking onto Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy suddenly felt uneasy.
"I'm Dana Emrys," he said slowly.
"From Azkaban."
End of the Chapter.
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