Chapter 27: First Encounter with "Trevor"

"Meeting Harry Potter is nothing to be happy about! My brother is much more impressive than Harry Potter!"

Shanna's voice carried a tinge of defiance as she glanced at her father, her displeasure evident.

"My brother just happened to not encounter Voldemort, otherwise, he would have easily defeated him."

William cast a nervous glance around, ensuring they weren't attracting undue attention. When he realized they were alone, he turned back, shocked by his young daughter's boldness. Even Elena, caught in her own emotional turmoil, momentarily halted her tears.

"Shanna, I should have warned you, you can't say that name."

"I said it! I said it!"

For the first time, Shanna's voice rose with defiance. She had always been a model of propriety, never raising her voice in public before.

"My brother said it's okay!"

Elena shot William a warning look, urging him to be discreet. He hadn't bid Bell a proper farewell and was still searching for something related to Harry Potter. There would be consequences when they returned home.

"Shanna, how did your brother tell you?"

"My brother said, 'Voldemort is just a loser, and he's bound to fail. So, Shanna, isn't afraid of Voldemort, he's not worthy of my fear, and nobody is worthy of Shanna's fear.' So, Shanna isn't afraid of anyone!" The little girl's tears mingled with her stubbornness.

"Your brother is very wise indeed." It was Shanna's unwavering belief in her brother's words that made her fearless.

"Alright, Shanna isn't afraid of anyone. Brother will protect me, and Mom and Dad will protect me too."

Elena wiped her tears and scooped up her daughter.

"Don't cry, Shanna, or else your brother will worry. Let's go home."

"Yeah!"

As the platform gradually receded from Bell's view, a pang of sadness enveloped him. He trudged aimlessly, his suitcase in hand, resembling a lost soul emerging from the train carriage, leaving behind a few puzzled young wizards.

"Who was that just now?" one of the young wizards queried with curiosity.

"I don't know, probably a new student this year, looks quite unfamiliar," speculated a tall, thin youth.

"Impossible, can new students be that tall?" The third wizard's skepticism was apparent.

"What's so strange about it? Remember Marcus Flint from Slytherin? I heard he was over a meter tall when he was three years old." The tall, thin youth argued his point. "And that person's demeanor, it seems like it's their first time away from family."

"Flint was over a meter tall at three years old!?"

"..."

Was the tower leaning?

...

Bell shuffled towards the end of the carriage, the young wizards instinctively making way for him, their curiosity evident in their whispers.

Several compassionate older students approached, offering assistance to Bell if he was feeling unwell. However, Bell remained oblivious, lost in his own thoughts. He simply longed to find an empty carriage, where he could sit in solitude and reminisce about his time with his sister, easing the pain of separation.

"Sigh~"

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.

After shuffling for what felt like an eternity, just as Bell passed by a carriage, a black shadow suddenly burst out, landing on Bell's head.

Sticky, moist, with a faint chill and odor. It was unmistakably a toad!

(╬￣皿￣)

Bell's left hand swiftly grabbed the toad from his head and flung it to the ground, while his right hand instinctively reached for his wand.

"Disarm...!"

"Trevor—!"

A round-faced, chubby boy emerged from the carriage, lunging to retrieve his toad from the ground.

Lying there, facing Bell, trembling, he stammered, "I-I'm sorry, this is my pet 'Trevor,' please spare him."

"Sigh~!"

Seeing the chubby boy on the verge of tears, Bell sighed in resignation. He cast "Tergeo" and "Evanesco," removing the mucus and odor, before resuming his vacant expression and moving past the chubby boy, lost in thought.

"That...that..."

The round-faced boy hesitated, gathering his courage to address Bell, despite his fear of the strange young wizard.

"There's no way forward..."

"..."

Bell looked up to find that he had inadvertently reached the back of the train. Throughout his journey, he hadn't found an empty carriage! (In truth, he had been looking downward the entire time, oblivious to his surroundings.) Had Hogwarts fallen on hard times, unable to afford an extra carriage!?

Observing the bewildered and peculiar behavior of the young wizard before him, who muttered strange sounds like "Abba... Abba...", the round-faced boy suddenly realized.

'He's a bit slow.'

Driven by a sense of duty to assist his fellow student, the chubby boy gathered his courage.

"Um... if you don't mind, you can sit here. There's still a seat available."

The chubby boy's voice wavered, almost inaudible. But even without hearing him, Bell understood his intention.

"Sigh~!"

Reluctantly, Bell followed the round-faced boy into the carriage. He settled into a seat opposite him, determined to avoid any further encounters with toads. If that toad dared to approach him again, it would meet its end! No amount of persuasion, not even divine intervention, could save it!

Slouched in his seat, Bell was about to retreat into his memories when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Jean Granger."

Bell turned to find a third person in the carriage.

'So, there's another passenger?'

Sitting beside him was a charming young witch with tousled brown hair and bright brown eyes, regarding Bell with keen interest.

"Hello, I'm Bell Minashel, but just call me Bell. I prefer it over Minashel," he said, dismissing the formalities. After all, Minashel felt a tad dramatic for his taste. (William shuddered at the mere thought.) Bell had no qualms about being filial, but he wasn't overly sentimental either.

'Let you grab Shanna from me!'