Chapter - 7.2

Around half-past twelve, there was a great clattering outside in the corridor. A smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and asked, "Anything off the cart, dears?" Believe it or not, it was one of the sweetest smiles.

 

When the lady looked at Ron, he shook his head and took out some sandwiches from the pocket of his robe, "My mum packed some for me."

 

Potter, on the other hand, was intrigued, just like Nicole. He pulled out a couple of coins from his pocket and presented them to the lady, "How much can I buy?"

 

Meanwhile, Nicole shook her brother, "Brother, give me some money. I want to buy candies," Nicole said. It was like she was asking for some protection money. She was bossy but somewhat spoiled.

 

Without turning to look at her and opening his eyes, Alex threw a pouch toward Nicole, "It's for you. No money for the whole year for you." Alex had already stored some money for Nicole to use, separate from his stash. It was her pocket money.

 

When the old lady left, her cart was left naked by Potter and Nicole. The compartment was full of snacks, and except for Alex, everyone was busy gulping them down. There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and several other strange things. Harry and Nicole had never seen any of these things in their lives.

 

Ron, on the other hand, was well versed. He put the sandwiches aside and meticulously explained to the two of them about every candy and cake in front of them.

 

While the three of them were busy gulping the snacks and chattering among themselves, Alex could not lay down anymore. Annoyed, he sat to lecture the three of them when his gaze fell on the nicely packed sandwiches beside the red-haired guy.

 

'What was his name again?' Alex tried to remember. He was awake when those two guys claiming to be the brother of this red, or maybe orange-haired guy came, 'And what's with his hair?'

 

'Oh, never mind,' Alex gave up trying to remember his name. It was not necessary anyway.

 

"Do you mind?" While Alex thought so much in his mind, he could only say three words, hoping that Ron would understand the rest on his own. Pointing towards the packed sandwiches beside Ron, Alex asked.

 

"Sure, you can have them," though slightly taken aback, Ron did not care about the sandwich now. He had more tasty stuff at his disposal.

 

And Alex said no more. Wanting to try something homemade, Alex grabbed the sandwiches from Ron and started eating them in silence, minding his own business. And the others also chose not to initiate the conversation with him apart from Nicole, who would offer him something from time to time. There was something about him that would usually keep those not acquainted with him at an arm's length.

 

And not breaking the norm, Alex went back to sleep after he was done eating the sandwiches without saying a word.

 

Nicole, Harry and Ron were having a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end of a funny grey one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. The compartment was full of laughter, and it was hard for Alex to 'rest in peace'.

 

While it was already hard for Alex, more trouble came their way. As Potter, Ron and Nicole were having fun, there was a knock on the door of their compartment, and a round-faced and plump boy came in. He looked tearful.

 

"Sorry," he said, "But have you seen a toad at all?" he asked in a very soft tone.

 

Everyone looked at his tear-jerking eyes and shook their heads. Ron wanted to make fun of the dried lines he could see below his eyes because of all the crying but stopped himself because Harry Potter was here.

 

"I've lost him. Again! He keeps getting away from me!" The boy sighed helplessly. He was blaming it all on himself.

 

"I don't think you need to worry too much," Suddenly Nicole spoke, "I don't think the train is going to stop anywhere before Hogwarts. That gives you more than enough time to find him."

 

"Tat's ait," Suddenly, the boy saw hope, but he bit his tongue in excitement, "Aaa... Well, iph you fee him..." Caressing his tongue, the boy left without even finishing.

 

After the boy left, the compartment again fell silent. All of them had met for the very first time, so if no one initiated the conversation, everyone would go silent from time to time. Well, Alex liked it, but it was always short-lived.

 

"Well, he was something else," Ron said, looking at Potter only to get a nod in agreement from him.

 

"Hey, want to see some magic?" Ron suddenly asked.

 

"Can you do it?" Harry asked Ron with excitement. From the looks of it, Potter had never seen magic up close.

 

"Of course, I have tried hundreds of them," Ron puffed up his chest and said with pride, "But I will show you something new."

 

"Well, I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..." Ron said, pointing towards his rat lying in his lap as if dead.

 

"Does magic work on dead things?" Nicole asked, suppressing her laughter.

 

"Oh, shut up," Ron chided at Nicole while he rummaged through his trunk, trying to find something. He did not like her making fun of him in front of Ron. It took him a while, but Ron finally pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places, and something white was glinting at the end.

 

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway..." Ron said while clearing his throat.

 

He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time, he was not alone, a girl was with him. She was wearing a different robe. It was the Hogwarts robes.

 

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. It was a different type of bossy from Nicole. Nicole tried to add a tinge of cuteness into it, or so Alex thought.

 

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening. She was looking at the wand in his hand.

 

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." throwing Alex's legs aside, she sat down. Others looked at her, taken aback by her straightforwardness.

 

"Er... all right," Ron said and cleared his throat, ready to cast the spell.

 

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

 

Ron waved his wand, but nothing happened. The rat stayed grey and fast asleep in his lap. It didn't even turn to change its position. Seeing no change in the rat, Ron's face flushed red with embarrassment.

 

Everyone looked at Ron, hoping he would explain what was going on.

 

"I told you, it won't work on the dead," Nicole smirked.

 

But before Nicole could delight at his embarrassment, the rat suddenly opened its eyes. It tossed around in his lap before landing on his back, looking at Ron. It didn't have the power to get back on its legs, but it did not stop him from throwing its legs around in desperation. To everyone, it looked like the rat was drowning in the air.

 

But no one knew what to do, and slowly the movement of its legs began to slow down. One of its front legs reached for its neck while the other stretched, trying to reach out to Ron. No one had thought in their wildest dreams that a rat could look at someone the way this one was looking at Ron. It stared straight into Ron's eyes, blaming him for all the mishaps before finally passing out in Ron's lap.

 

"Is it finally dead?" Nicole asked. For someone who exhibited a lot of emotions, Nicole was rather chill about the rat.

 

Hearing her, Ron turned his face towards her angrily, about to blurt out all that would come into his mind, but he held himself back in time. After all, Harry was here. He can't have him see his ugly side, Ron thought and turned his attention back to his rat. He put his finger on his chest, trying to feel his heartbeat.

 

Lucky for him, he could faintly feel the throbbing in its heart. The rat was alive. it was a relief, and Ron could not help but sigh.

 

When everyone saw that slight smile on Ron's face, they knew the rat was okay. But it also allowed them to not hold back anymore. And the new girl in the room was the first one to take a dig at Ron.

 

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl, "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice, and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family knows magic at all. It was such a surprise when I got my letter. But I was ever so pleased." The girl went on to blow her own horn.

 

"... And, of course, getting admission to the best school of witchcraft is no small feat in itself. I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope that..." as the girl was going on and on about whatever was coming to her mind, she suddenly felt light and a strong gust of wind passed her ear.

 

And before she could understand what had happened, the next moment, the girl was outside the compartment, and the door slid shut.

 

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