"Hermione, over here!"
Lucas pulled open the door to an empty compartment and placed both of their suitcases on the luggage rack above. His physical strength was on full display at that moment.
"Thanks a lot!"
Hermione thanked Lucas, then looked at him curiously with her bright brown eyes.
She hadn't expected him to be that strong—he didn't look especially muscular, but he had just lifted her suitcase effortlessly.
And she knew how heavy it was.
Even just getting it onto the train had required Lucas's help.
She certainly didn't expect him to lift it with one hand.
Once their luggage was stowed, the two of them sat down facing each other.
Hermione took out a few books and laid them out on the table, clearly intending to study during the ride.
Lucas glanced at the book titles out of curiosity.
"Hogwarts: A History", "The Greatest White Wizard of All Time", "Essential Skills for the Wizard", and "Swimming with Ghouls"...
There were general knowledge books and travel journals about the wizarding world.
That's... quite a range, Lucas thought.
His light blue eyes turned to the window. The train hadn't departed yet, so he could clearly see the growing crowd on the platform outside.
The Grangers had left after making sure the two kids were safely aboard, but Lucas noticed a few familiar figures.
There were two red-haired twins hauling luggage, and a smaller boy nearby holding a rat.
"The Weasley family," Lucas muttered to himself.
He remembered their tragic end—how inseparable the twins had been, and how only one remained in the end.
"Want a snack?"
"Thanks."
A slender white hand held out a wrapped chocolate. Lucas accepted it with a nod of thanks.
Before boarding, Lucas had also packed a few snacks, just in case the ride took longer than expected.
Thinking of that, he reached into the backpack beside his seat and pulled out a mesh bag filled with round rice balls made of glutinous rice.
These were a special gift the frog cub had brought back—a treat called [Momotaro Rice Balls], from the world of Doraemon.
In some ways, they were practically a cheat item.
Lucas had quite a few, since the frog cub often visited the same world multiple times and brought back these rice balls every time.
"Here, try this."
He placed a rice ball in front of Hermione.
They didn't have any magical effects on ordinary people—Lucas just treated them as snacks.
They did taste amazing, though.
"Rice balls. A small snack, but really tasty."
Hermione curiously picked one up and took a bite. Her eyes light up the moment she tasted it.
Just then, the train whistle blew.
Wizards on the platform scrambled to board with their luggage. Since Lucas and Hermione were seated near the back, no other students had come looking for seats in their compartment.
The train slowly began to move.
It rattled along the tracks, heading toward Hogwarts.
Outside the window, central London gradually gave way to countryside, rolling fields, and blue skies.
At that moment, Lucas realized the frog cub that had been sleeping in his arms was gone.
Looks like it's off traveling again.
With the scenery outside becoming more picturesque, Hermione lost interest in her books. The two of them sat back, enjoying the view and nibbling on snacks.
After a while, a witch pushing a snack trolley knocked on the compartment door.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?"
"No, thank—"
"One of everything, please!"
Hermione had just started to decline when Lucas cut her off.
He dropped a few silver coins onto the table.
"Certainly, sir!"
Soon, the table was stacked high with treats—piling up almost into a small mountain.
Hermione pouted as the heap of snacks completely blocked her view of Lucas's blond hair.
"Can you even eat all of this?"
"Not you—us."
Lucas unwrapped one of the treats—a chocolate frog. What was even more fascinating was that the frog was animated.
"Even the two of us can't eat all this," Hermione muttered, watching the chocolate frogs hop among the snacks with a mixture of amazement and skepticism.
"They're fun."
Lucas grabbed one of the chocolate frogs and popped it into his mouth. The rich chocolate flavor spread across his tongue—but the frog's little leg still wiggled at the corner of his mouth.
Hermione turned away, the corners of her lips twitching involuntarily.
Really fun, she admitted to herself.
It was the first time she'd ever seen such a whimsical treat.
She picked up a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, tore it open, and popped one in her mouth.
"Grape flavor."
"Let me try one too."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, grabbed a bean, and tossed it into his mouth.
His expression immediately twisted in disgust.
"Bitter gourd... blegh."
Eating these beans really was a gamble.
Knock knock!
There was another knock on the compartment door.
Still chewing, Lucas got up to answer it.
Strawberry this time. Not bad.
Standing in the doorway was a round-faced boy with a panicked look.
"Sorry... have you seen my toad?"
Both Lucas and Hermione shook their heads, and the boy's shoulders slumped.
"I've searched the whole train..."
"We'll help you look!" Hermione offered kindly, noticing his eyes were starting to well up with tears.
"Thank you... my name's Neville Longbottom."
"You're welcome! I'm Hermione Granger, and this is my companion, Lucas Geralt."
Hermione introduced them with a proud smile, lifting her chin like a graceful swan.
It was the first time Lucas had seen her act like that. It kinda suits her.
"You're thinking something bad, aren't you?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at Lucas, catching him staring at her.
"I was just wondering where that toad went," Lucas replied with a shrug.
"Mr. Longbottom, where was the last place you saw your toad?" Hermione asked.
Lucas, munching on another Bertie Bott's bean, already had a good guess where it might be.