After casually offering Harry a few small suggestions, Elena contentedly squinted her eyes, flipping back to "Standard Spells for Beginners," engrossed in her reading.
As for these "small suggestions," Elena didn't care if they'd trouble Professor Snape in the future. If she remembered correctly, it was Snape's concoction, the Draught of Living Death, that the older cat lady used to bewitch and abduct her to Hogwarts. Now, it was merely a matter of quid pro quo.
"Studying potions? About Mum's news..." Harry mumbled as he noticed Elena's lack of interest in conversation. He glanced down at the "Magical Potions and Elixirs" book in his hands and repeated softly, his gaze growing resolute.
The compartment fell back into silence, the only sound the occasional rustling of pages until...
"Excuse me, may I come in? Everywhere else is full."
The sliding door of the compartment opened, revealing a red-haired boy standing at the entrance, nervously asking in a lowered tone.
The atmosphere in this compartment seemed different from the others, quieter, solely focused on study. It almost made him wonder if he'd accidentally stumbled into a Prefects' room.
Elena raised her head, glanced at the red-haired boy half-hiding behind the sliding door, raised an eyebrow. She had seen him next to Mrs. Weasley earlier, although she didn't particularly like Ron Weasley. Well, having a good mother had its perks.
The girl nodded politely, giving a slight smile. "Of course, come in."
"Thank you."
The red-haired boy entered, briefly scanned the room's occupants, hesitated for a moment, then sat down next to Harry.
After a brief silence, seeing neither of the other two showing any inclination to converse, the red-haired boy scratched his nose, mustered the courage, and addressed Harry.
"Um... hi, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."
"Hello, I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
Despite his concerns about the Potions class, upon hearing Ron's greeting, Harry closed his textbook, turning to face Ron, introducing himself politely.
Oh no, there goes my quiet reading time.
Elena, sitting across from them, rolled her eyes weakly upon hearing their conversation. With Ron's enthusiastic personality, she estimated she wouldn't be able to concentrate on her revision for at least the next half-hour.
Sure enough, Ron's eyes widened in shock as he asked, "Harry? Harry Potter? So, you're really that—"
Ron pointed to Harry's forehead, nervously swallowing saliva, lowering his voice mysteriously. "I mean, that scar."
"Oh, yes."
Harry smiled casually, sweeping aside a strand of hair to reveal the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
"Wow, cool."
Ron's eyes widened further, about to ask something more when...
Whoosh.
At that moment, the sliding door to the compartment opened again.
"Hey, Ron. Looks like you've made a new friend?"
A pair of identical red-haired boys stood at the doorway, peering inside.
Ron nodded eagerly, gesturing excitedly to Harry beside him. "Fred, George, you'll never guess who I met."
"Wait, isn't that the black-haired boy who was standing next to us at the station?"
One of the twin brothers scrutinized Harry, then abruptly exclaimed.
"Oh, Merlin, Ron."
One of the twins dramatically slapped his forehead, interrupting Ron, appearing distressed. "You mean to tell me, we went through all that trouble to get you into this compartment, and your first concern is a boy's name?"
"Or perhaps our little Ron is shy, considering he hardly speaks to any girls except Ginny."
The other twin chimed in, nudging Ron while winking.
"Shut it, Fred, George!"
Ron glanced at the silver-haired girl, who was observing the three boys with interest, his ears slightly reddening. Raising his voice, he continued, "You know what? He's Harry Potter—the one who defeated the mysterious man."
"Harry Potter?!"
The twins' faces momentarily stopped jesting as they echoed in surprise, turning to look at Harry seated beside Ron.
At this point, Harry hadn't put down the strand of hair covering his scar, which directly caught the attention of the twins.
"Oh my, he really is—"
"Yes, he is, our little brother knows someone important."
The three brothers now stared at Harry as if he were some rare creature, making Harry feel a bit awkward.
Blushing, young Harry quickly let down the strand of hair over his forehead, covering the scar, and reopened "Magical Potions and Elixirs," pretending to read again.
"Hey, Harry, do you remember what happened then—"
"Do you think he'll remember the mysterious man's appearance—"
The two brothers suddenly became excited, almost simultaneously asking their questions.
Bang!
Before they could finish, Elena forcefully closed her book with a loud bang, startling the four boys in the compartment, unintentionally halting their conversation. They all turned to look at her.
"Alright, that's enough."
The silver-haired girl frowned, scanning the four boys in the room, raising her eyebrows.
"Fred, George! Do you want Harry to remember unpleasant things on his first day at school?!"
"As for you, Ron, have you revised your classes for the start of term? Memorized any spells? Can't you see Harry's studying?"
"And you, Harry Potter, stop flicking your hair and showing off your scar. It looks foolish, you know. Have you memorized the answers to those three questions? Do you still want to know about your mother's news?!"
Standing up, Elena looked displeased at the four boys, reprimanding them one after another in a rapid-fire manner.
The commanding air, honed from years in an orphanage, made the boys instinctively shrink, momentarily silent under her glare.
"Sorry, Harry, we didn't mean to."
"Come on, don't be angry. Women are terrifying, just like Mum."
Fred and George, the most audacious ones, recovered first. They first offered Harry an apologetic pat on the head, then turned to Elena, pulling faces in her direction.
Then the twins exchanged a glance and turned to the puzzled Ron.
"Listen, we're going to the middle compartment now—Lee Jordan has got a huge spider. You stay here and follow what Sister Elena says, quietly revise your textbooks."
"Oh."
Ron nodded dully, not even questioning why he was suddenly designated as their little brother.
"Well then, goodbye."
The twins waved hastily and slipped out the door.
"Wait! Here, take these two bottles. As a token of appreciation from earlier. Though they're not worth much, it's a gesture of my gratitude."
Elena suddenly remembered something, hurriedly reaching into her large black trunk, retrieving two bottles of cola. She rushed to the door, handing them to Fred and George.
"What's this?! Ink?"
"Oh, just a bit curious, but you're not going to poison us with magic, are you?"
The twins exaggeratedly exclaimed, looking at the dark liquid in the bottles, questioning.
Oh? They don't recognize cola? In that case...
Elena grinned, saying, "This is cola, a magical drink made by Muggles, very popular.
Don't you believe me? Ask Harry, he's probably had it. Do you want to give it a try?"
The Weasley twins glanced suspiciously at Harry, who nodded in confirmation. They relaxed, took the colas, and turned to leave.
"Oh, by the way."
Standing at the door, Elena pulled the sliding door halfway, blocking Harry's face, sweetly adding, "Almost forgot to mention, before drinking, give it a good shake; it'll be more fun."
Then, amidst the twins' expressions of gratitude, Elena firmly closed the door, shot a threatening look at Harry for having widened his eyes upon hearing her words, crouched down, took out another bottle of cola, shook it vigorously, and with a smile, tossed it to Ron, who looked envious and curious.
"Of course, Ron... Here, this one's for you."
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