"Phew, is it really just chocolate?"
After Ron's explanation, Hermione's expression gradually returned to normal. She looked hesitantly at the pentagonal box in her hand—the Chocolate Frog—but didn't muster the courage to open it.
"I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you. I think I'll continue looking for Neville's toad."
After the small scare, Hermione's voice noticeably weakened. She glanced quickly at Elena, who was finishing the last Chocolate Frog leg, nodded, and prepared to leave.
Thinking of running? That won't do.
Elena squinted, sucked chocolate off her fingertip, and smiled warmly at Hermione, softly saying, "Wait, please stop."
The silver-haired girl's grammar was odd, as if she were a foreigner struggling with English. As she spoke, Elena stood and hurried toward the door.
??
Hermione puzzledly halted, watching the silver-haired girl approach slowly, unsure of her intentions.
"Your method is too slow, and it's not efficient. When faced with a problem, don't rush. Come, come, sit here for a while, and we can discuss how to help you."
Whoosh.
Elena curved her lips, used her foot to close the compartment door, grabbed Hermione's hand, and, before she could react, half-dragged her to a nearby seat.
The little strength in Hermione, usually so obedient, was no match for Elena, who had been trained by her priest father. With feeble resistance, Hermione found herself firmly seated.
Glancing at the silver-haired girl's delicate face and the remnants of chocolate at the corner of her mouth, Hermione panicked, weakly struggling one last time.
"No, wait, I still need to..."
"Quiet, be a good girl, eat your sweets, and listen to me first."
Elena shook her head, swiftly grabbed the remaining Ferrero Rocher from Ron's hand, and without hesitation, shoved a chocolate ball into Hermione's mouth, silencing her.
"Firstly, do you know the toad's physical traits? Secondly, have you estimated its whereabouts based on its movement speed? Lastly, as a first-year student, can you ensure that many older students will be willing to help you?"
With a rapid-fire barrage of questions from Elena, Hermione, initially resistant, gradually softened and shook her head blankly. Initially, she had simply wanted to help the seemingly pitiful round-faced boy out of enthusiasm, without much detailed planning.
"What do you suggest?" Hermione quickly chewed and swallowed the Ferrero Rocher, raising her head slightly, slightly defiant. "Surely, we shouldn't give up just because it's difficult?"
"Of course not."
Elena raised an eyebrow, smugly chuckled, then turned to Harry. "Harry, can you lend me a few silver Sickles for now? I'll return them to you when we get to school."
"Uh? Oh, sure."
Harry, who had been listening attentively, quickly nodded. He counted out a handful of silver coins and placed them in Elena's palm, curious about her intentions.
"Just wait for me a moment..."
Elena pocketed the coins, opened the compartment door, glanced around, and swiftly dashed out.
Roughly two or three minutes later, the girl returned to the compartment door, panting, clapping her hands happily. She said, "All set. Granger, just sit tight here. I think Neville's toad will be delivered here soon."
"Huh? Why?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"It's simple. Have you heard of a reward?"
Elena grinned smugly, squinting slightly.
"I simply asked the train attendant to inform each compartment that whoever finds and brings the lost toad will not only get free food worth two silver Sickles from the trolley but also learn about a secret passage in Hogwarts that most students haven't discovered."
"A secret passage? I remember 'Hogwarts: A History' mentioning it, but it never detailed where they are. Do you know where they are?"
Hermione, the first to catch on, looked curiously at Elena.
"Of course. This is a secret Dumbledore personally revealed to me. On the eighth floor of the castle, behind two ugly stone creatures, there's a mysterious place that requires a password to enter, and the password changes randomly, mostly related to food."
Elena smiled mysteriously, glancing at the three children whose eyes were gleaming. She was eager to see their expressions if they followed the clues and ended up in the headmaster's office.
"Well, thank you. If there's nothing else, can I go back now?"
Hermione nodded, taking Elena's words to heart, stood up, straightened her robe's wrinkles, and prepared to leave.
Since she's here, and now wants to leave? This Hermione, not very obedient...
Elena glanced around, suddenly turned serious, licked her lips, and added in a sinister tone, "Of course, you can leave. However, I can't guarantee I won't mistakenly eat that poor toad thinking it's a Chocolate Frog. So, I suggest you stay and wait with us."
QAQ!!! X3
This time, not only Hermione but even Ron and Harry's faces changed, looking at the silver-haired girl standing at the compartment door as if they'd seen some particularly terrifying beast.
Chuckling~
Seeing the three children acting so alarmed, Elena chuckled. Her intentionally frightening expression vanished as quickly as snow meeting sunlight. She bent her fingers and lightly tapped each of their foreheads.
"Just kidding, there's no way I'd do that."
"Phew... I knew it, Elena, your expression just now really scared me. Right, Harry?"
Hermione sighed in relief, couldn't help but roll her eyes, and patted Elena's hand reproachfully.
Harry and Ron also nodded vigorously, mainly due to Elena's earlier skilled movements—tapping, grabbing, play-biting—creating a slight psychological impact on them.
"Yeah, it was really scary."
"Absolutely, very frightening."
Elena blinked, realizing that during her absence, the trio had already introduced themselves, laying the foundation for a small group.
Without the damage caused by the two magical confrontations, at least the first impression didn't seem as bad as in the original story.
However... Hermione dared to lay hands on her, which couldn't be allowed. The hierarchy in future relationships had to be established clearly from the start. Elena pondered for a moment before speaking softly.
"Forget the fact that toads have certain toxins; even in non-toxic frog species, there are numerous parasites in their bodies. Try not to eat them raw."
As she spoke, the silver-haired girl stuck out her pink tongue to moisten her lips. With the children gradually becoming dazed and frightened, she excitedly continued her earnest scientific briefing.
"However, frogs are not only highly nutritious but also usually have particularly delicious and healthy meat. So, the correct way to cook them is to hold, decapitate, peel, gut, then either boil or roast, but always cook them thoroughly before eating..."
Tap tap tap.
Clatter.
Before Elena finished speaking, rhythmic knocking was heard outside the compartment, followed by the door being pushed open.
Three boys entered, led by a pale-faced boy with shiny, slick golden hair. Flanking him were two chubby boys, almost resembling his bodyguards, with one of them holding
a yellow-green toad.
"I heard that if we bring this here, we can learn about..."
Draco Malfoy opened the door, eagerly asking about the compartment's contents.
As the compartment door opened, the boy happened to catch Elena's last words. He scrutinized the silver-haired figure in front of him and, with a look of sudden horror, subconsciously tried to shut the door again.
"Sorry, wrong compartment."
Smack.
The compartment door was caught, unable to be shut again.
Elena turned, her lake-blue eyes glancing briefly at the toad in the chubby boy's hands before refocusing on the blond wizard. Unexpectedly, it was Draco Malfoy and his friends who found Neville's toad...
"Oh, Draco, we meet again. Isn't the world just wondrous?"
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