Hearing Ron's request, Harry was momentarily taken aback. Then, with a casual shrug, he lifted his fringe to reveal his forehead and said nonchalantly:
"Of course, it's nothing special—just a scar."
Ron and Draco stared at the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead before exclaiming in unison:
"Cool!"
Then, as if realizing they had just agreed on something, Ron and Draco exchanged a glance, swiftly turning away from each other with looks of disdain.
Seeing this, Harry chuckled and said:
"By the way, Ron, I was just discussing the Sorting Ceremony with Draco. He said that the ceremony involves each student cutting their palm and letting a drop of blood fall into a basin of water. Surrounding the basin are statues of the four Hogwarts founders. Your blood flows toward one of the statues, determining which House you belong to."
"If the statues don't react immediately, you have to keep adding more blood—some students have even fainted from blood loss!"
Hearing this, Ron's face turned pale, but he still forced himself to say:
"No, no, that's not what I heard! The Sorting Ceremony actually involves a giant maze. There are four exits, each representing one of the four Houses. Whichever exit you find, that's the House you'll be sorted into!"
"My brother Fred told me that when they started at Hogwarts, there was a student who entered the maze and never came out!"
Hearing Ron's explanation, Harry and Draco exchanged uneasy glances, both swallowing nervously.
Sensing the increasingly tense atmosphere in the compartment, Harry quickly changed the subject and asked:
"So, which House do you two want to be in?"
Without hesitation, Ron and Draco responded at the same time:
"Gryffindor!"
"Slytherin!"
The moment they heard each other's answers, Draco and Ron locked eyes once again. Draco sneered and said:
"A pure-blood wizard wanting to be in Gryffindor? What a disgrace to wizarding heritage!"
Ron, unfazed by Draco's taunt, shot back:
"Slytherin? Every Dark wizard in history has come from Slytherin! Do I need to remind you what the Malfoy family has done in the past?"
The two immediately launched into a heated argument, trading insults back and forth. Eventually, Draco, his face flushed with anger, turned to Harry and demanded:
"Harry, you're going to be in Slytherin, aren't you?"
Harry, who had been watching the exchange in amusement, suddenly found himself the center of attention. Caught off guard, he hesitated, then gave a nervous nod. Draco looked extremely satisfied, smirking triumphantly at Ron—only to be met with Ron's wide-eyed, incredulous expression.
"Merlin's beard, Harry! Of course, you should be in Gryffindor! The greatest wizard in history, Hogwarts' current Headmaster Dumbledore, was in Gryffindor! It's the best House at Hogwarts!"
Draco's smirk vanished as he stood up abruptly, pulling out his wand and pointing it at Ron, shouting:
"What rubbish! Slytherin is the best House at Hogwarts!"
Seeing Draco draw his wand, Ron immediately pulled out his own, aiming it right back at him.
"Gryffindor is the best House! And don't think you're the only one with a wand—do you even know any spells?"
As the standoff escalated, Harry quickly stepped between them, trying to push them apart while yelling:
"Hey! We're supposed to be friends—calm down! Merlin's beard, someone help me! Wentworth!"
Just as Harry, feeling overwhelmed, instinctively called out the name of the only other person on the train he both knew and trusted, the compartment door swung open again.
Draco and Ron, still holding their wands and looking ready to hex each other, turned toward the door. Harry, trapped between them, also looked up.
But instead of Wentworth, the doorway revealed a girl with bushy brown hair.
She had just stepped in, ready to say something, but froze at the sight before her. For a moment, the compartment was silent as everyone exchanged glances. Then, the girl finally spoke:
"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger! Were you practicing spells? Mind if I watch?"
Harry opened his mouth to explain, but before he could speak, Draco suddenly pointed his wand at Ron and shouted:
"Avada Kedavra!"
Ron's face turned deathly pale, and he squeezed his eyes shut in terror—only to hear Draco's laughter. Opening his eyes, he saw Draco grinning smugly, clearly enjoying his prank.
Furious, Ron raised his wand and retorted:
"Oh yeah? I'll show you a real Unforgivable Curse! Crucio!"
Draco's face drained of color as he bolted behind Harry—only to pause mid-stride, realizing Ron wouldn't actually know an Unforgivable Curse. Turning back, he saw Ron smirking mischievously at him.
"You—!"
Draco pointed at Ron, struggling for words, while Ron made exaggerated faces at him.
At that moment, Hermione, who had been watching from the doorway, huffed and said:
"Are you two idiots? There's no way first-years know Unforgivable Curses. Actually, do either of you know any real spells at all?"
Both Ron and Draco turned red at her remark. Ron, unwilling to back down, challenged her:
"Oh? And what about you? If you know magic, prove it!"
Without hesitation, Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at Harry's glasses.
"Reparo!"
A soft glow flashed, and in an instant, Harry's worn glasses were as good as new.
Harry took them off to inspect them and exclaimed in awe:
"Brilliant!"
As he removed his glasses, the movement revealed part of the famous lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Hermione's eyes widened as she gasped:
"Merlin's beard—you're Harry Potter!"
When Harry nodded in confirmation, Hermione turned her gaze to Ron and Draco. Sensing the need for introductions, Harry quickly said:
"Oh, and these are—"
"Pleasure to meet you," Hermione said, shaking their hands rather indifferently.
Draco, surprisingly, didn't make any comments questioning whether Hermione was worthy of sitting in their compartment. It seemed that, after witnessing her spellwork, he had categorized her as a capable witch, deserving of respect.
In this lifetime, thanks to Wentworth's influence, Draco Malfoy had clearly grown into someone who valued more than just blood status when choosing his friends.
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