Alina laughed and gave a few more minor suggestions, then she squinted in satisfaction and began to put her focus back on ‘The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)’.
As for whether or not those ‘small suggestions’ would confuse Professor Snape in the future, Alina simply didn’t care.
If she recalled correctly, a certain old cat lady had knocked her out and kidnapped her to Hogwarts using the Draught of Living Death prepared by Snape. She was simply reciprocating his gift.
“Potions? Information on my mother…”
Seeing that Alina was apparently done talking, Harry looked down at ‘Magical Drafts and Potions’ and mumbled to himself, his eyes growing more determined.
The compartment once more fell quiet, the only sound being the flipping of pages.
Until…
“Excuse, can I come in? Everywhere else is full.”
The door to the compartment was opened, and a redhead boy standing at the entrance nervously asked.
The scene he saw in this compartment was different from the others—the quiet mood of studying made him think that he had inadvertently walked into the Prefect’s compartment.
Alina looked up, saw the redheaded boy who was half-hiding behind the sliding door and raised an eyebrow. She had just seen him with the rest of the Weasley family, and while she didn’t like Ron Weasley that much, who let him have such an excellent mother?
The girl politely nodded and smiled. “Of course! Come in.”
“Thank you.”
The redheaded boy walked in, glanced at its two occupants, and after half a second of hesitation, he sat next to Harry.
After a few moments of silence, where it became apparent that neither of the two was interested in talking, the redheaded boy scratched his nose, built up his carriage, and patted Harry on the back as he introduced himself.
“Um…hello. I’m Ron, Ron Weasley.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Harry, Harry Potter.”
Even though he was still worried about Potions class, when he heard Ron greet him, Harry still put down the book, looked at Ron, and politely introduced himself.
Ah, it was over. This was the end of her quiet reading time.
Sitting across from them, Alina helplessly rolled her eyes. Given Ron’s restless personality, she probably wouldn’t be able to study in peace for the better part of an hour.
As expected, Ron’s eyes went wide in disbelief as he asked in shock.
“Harry? That Harry Potter?! Then you’re really that—”
Ron pointed at Harry’s forehead and swallowed, then he spoke in a soft and mysterious whisper, “You know, that scar.”
“Oh, yes.”
Harry casually smiled, generously pushing aside his hair to reveal a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead.
“Wow, so cool.”
Ron’s eyes widened even larger, and he seemed about to ask another question.
Whoosh.
The sliding door opened again.
“Hey, Ron, it seems like you’ve already made a new friend?”
Two identical boys with red hair stood at the door and peered inside.
Ron nodded and pointed at Harry as he excitedly said, “George, Fred, you definitely won’t guess who I met.”
“Eh? Isn’t this that black-haired kid who was standing next to us on the platform?”
The twin brothers carefully examined Harry, one of them suddenly exclaiming.
“Oh my god, Ron.”
One of the twins gave Ron an exaggerated slap on the back of the head and spoke in a deeply distressed manner, “You’re not telling me that after we went to such great lengths to send you to this compartment, the first thing you did was ask for the name of a boy, are you?”
“Perhaps our little Ron was too shy. After all, besides Ginny, he hasn’t really talked with any girls before.”
The other twin added, winking at Ron.
“Fred, George, shut up!”
Ron glanced at the silver-haired girl, who was watching the three of them with great interest, and his ears went slightly red. Raising his voice, he said, “What do you know? It’s Harry Potter! The Harry Potter, who defeated You-Know-Who.”
“Harry Potter?!”
A teasing look appeared on the twins’ faces as they voiced in unison and looked at Harry.
Harry still hadn’t let his hair drop back down, so the two immediately saw that thunderbolt scar.
“Oh my god, he’s really…”
“That’s right! He is! Your little brother has gotten to know a celebrity!”
Being gawked at by the three brothers like he was some rare animal made Harry feel rather embarrassed.
His face going red, Harry dropped his hair and covered the scar. He opened back up ‘Magical Drafts and Potions’ and began to pretend like he was reading.
“Hey, Harry, do you still remember a little of what happened…”
“Do you still think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like…”
The twins had avid expressions as they glanced at each other and almost simultaneously spoke.
Thump!
Before the two could finish, Alina closed ‘The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)’ with a loud thump, frightening all four of the boys and causing them to look at her.
“That’s enough for now.”
The silver-haired girl raised her eyebrows and grimly looked at the four boys.
“Fred, George! Do you want Harry to think about such unhappy things on his first day at school?!
“As for you, Ron, have you reviewed the course material? How many spells have you remembered? Don’t you see that even Harry is studying?
“And you, Harry Potter! Don’t just go showing your scar as soon as you meet someone. Do you know how silly that looks? Did you remember the answer to those three questions? Do you even want to know more about your mother?!”
Standing up, Alina issued a barrage of criticisms at the four boys.
The dignity she had built up as the big sister of the orphanage immediately had all four boys bowing their heads in silence.
“Harry, I’m sorry we didn’t mean it.”
“Alright, don’t get angry. Women are all frightening, just like mom.”
The ones with the thickest skin, Fred and George, were the first to come back to their senses. They apologized to Harry while affectionately rubbing his head, and then they turned to Alina and made faces at her.
The two then glanced at each other and looked at the confused Ron.
“Listen up. We’re going to take a walk around the middle of the train. Lee Jordan apparently has a giant tarantula. You wait here, listen to Big Sister Alina, and obediently study.”
“Oh.”
Ron woodenly nodded, not even questioning why he had suddenly been made a little brother.
“Well then, see you later.”
The twins waved their hands and began to move toward the door.
“Wait a moment. These two bottles are for you as a thank-you gift for before. They’re not worth much, but please, take them.”
Alina suddenly remembered something, ran up to her trunk, and took out two bottles of Coke, which she handed to Fred and George.
“What’s this?! Ink?”
“Hey, we were just a little curious. Do you really need to poison us with a potion?”
The twins cried out in exaggeration as they examined the black liquid inside the bottle.
Oh? Didn’t they recognize Coke? Since that was the case…
Alina smiled. “This is Coke, a miraculous drink created by Muggles that is very popular. If you don’t believe me, ask Harry. He’s definitely had it before. Do you want to try it?”
The Weasley twins suspiciously looked at Harry Potter, but when the earnest and obedient Harry Potter nodded in approval, they relaxed and took the Cokes.
“A miraculous Muggle drink? Lee Jordan probably hasn’t seen it before.”
“Wow, this color…cool! Thank you.”
The twins happily nodded, put the Cokes away, and turned to leave.
“Oh, right.”
Alina had halfway closed the sliding door, blocking Harry’s face, before sweetly adding, “I forgot to say, before you drink it, shake it really hard. That will be even more interesting.”
Fred and George said thanks again, and then Alina slowly closed the door. She threateningly glared at Harry, whose eyes had gone wide, and then she took out another bottle of coke from her trunk, gave it a vigorous shake, and then threw it over to the curious and envious Ron.
“Of course, Ron…here, this bottle is for you.”