Chapter 34: On the Hogwarts Express
The weight of Dudley's luggage was negligible with his strength, and they easily made their way onto the train. The three of them found an empty compartment and settled in. Hogwarts train compartments were assigned based on age, and students could only enter the ones designated for their respective years.
As soon as they boarded the train, Dudley and Hermione took out their textbooks to study. No one spoke a word, and to pass the time, Harry reluctantly pulled out a book as well.
To be honest, Harry was quite interested in magical world books. He might have explored them independently, but studying to the extent that Dudley and Hermione did was beyond his capabilities.
The compartment was filled only with the sound of pages turning.
"May I sit here?"
The door opened, breaking the silence inside the compartment.
A red-haired boy with freckles on his face peeked in, "Everywhere else is full."
Then he saw Dudley and quickly said, "Sorry, I thought this was a first-year compartment," and began to leave.
Dudley stopped him, "You haven't made a mistake; this is indeed a first-year compartment."
He tried to lower his voice, but to the other boy, it still sounded like a trumpet.
"But..."
Hearing Dudley's words, the red-haired boy hesitated and kept looking at Dudley.
Helpless, Dudley pointed at himself, "I'm also a first-year student."
He didn't say much, but the red-haired boy became even more hesitant.
The red-haired boy wanted to make sure this wasn't a prank, something his older brothers liked to do.
Seeing the boy struggling to speak, Hermione and Harry couldn't help but stifle a laugh. In the end, it was Harry who spoke up and explained, making the boy believe.
Even so, he occasionally glanced in Dudley's direction while sitting.
"Hi, what's your name?"
Harry looked at the red-haired boy sitting next to him, breaking the silence.
About to go to Hogwarts, heading to a new school, and a magical one at that, Harry felt excited and couldn't focus on reading.
"Ron, Ron Weasley," Ron introduced himself.
Hearing his last name, Dudley couldn't help but look at him. Ron also glanced at Dudley, and their eyes met.
This made Ron unconsciously shiver, and he tried to move toward the edge of his seat. This was basically the first reaction of all kids meeting Dudley for the first time. The title of "the one who can calm a crying child" wasn't a joke. But soon, he was captivated by Harry's words.
"Pleased to meet you, Ron. I'm Harry, Harry Potter."
Hearing Harry's introduction, Ron's eyes widened in disbelief, momentarily forgetting his fear.
"You're really... you know."
Ron pointed at Harry's forehead, an impolite gesture.
To be honest, it was quite rude.
However, Harry was good-natured, and without minding, he brushed aside the hair on his forehead, revealing the lightning-shaped scar.
Ron's eyes widened even more, almost popping out.
Before he could say anything, Harry covered his hair again.
Dudley had told him before coming not to reveal his scar unless necessary.
"Is that from the one who must not be named?"
Ron asked eagerly, though it was a question, it had a tone of certainty.
"Sorry." Harry didn't want to continue this topic, "I don't remember anymore."
"Not at all?" Ron didn't catch on and continued to ask eagerly.
"Cough, Ronald, I think Harry doesn't want to discuss this matter now."
"And you've got something dirty on your nose."
Hermione intervened before Dudley could, using her blunt, direct narrative style, making Ron somewhat uncomfortable.
Yes, although Hermione excelled academically, she wasn't good at communication. When she spoke, she always gave people an impression of being domineering.
Sometimes, even though the intention was good, it could lead to misunderstandings.
In fact, Hermione was also quite surprised when she first learned about Harry's background. After all, this was Harry Potter, the Savior of the Wizarding World. However, after spending some time together, she found Harry wasn't as exaggerated as the books portrayed him. He was just a young wizard of her age, and she treated him normally, considering him Dudley's younger brother.
But Ron was different. He grew up listening to Harry Potter stories, and now, the real-life Harry Potter was standing in front of him. How could he not be curious?
"Who are you?" Ron glanced at Hermione somewhat displeased.
"Hermione, Hermione Granger."
Hermione briefly introduced herself, acting like a proud little hen.
At this moment, Harry remembered to introduce Dudley, "And this is my cousin, Dudley, Dudley Dursley."
"Hello." Seeing it was Dudley, Ron said awkwardly.
Dudley's pressure was a bit much for him.
Mainly, it was this face—how should I put it? From a distance, it looked honest and kind, but the closer you got, the more you could feel an invisible oppressive force. Face-to-face, anyone with slightly weaker psychological endurance couldn't hold on.
"You can call me Dudley." Dudley put down the book, looked at Ron, and said.
He believed that he couldn't act like a bully like he did in St. George's Primary School. He had to get along well with his new classmates at the new school. So, he rarely showed a smile that he thought was friendly.
Who knew that when Ron saw that smile, his heart almost stopped, and he responded with an even more awkward smile than crying.
Just as Ron was thinking about whether to find an excuse to leave the compartment, there was a gentle knocking on the door. A soft voice came from outside.
"Um, um, have you seen my Trevor?"
The compartment door opened, revealing a shy-faced round-faced boy standing there, looking anxious as if he was about to cry.
"Who are you?"
Harry asked with a somewhat questioning look.
"I'm... Neville, Neville Longbottom."
With Neville's stuttered narrative, everyone understood that 'Trevor' was his missing pet toad.
"I've been looking for him for a long time and can't find him. Can you help me?"
Neville looked at everyone with a pleading expression.
When his gaze fell on Dudley, he couldn't help but shrink back instinctively. It was almost the first reaction of every child when they saw Dudley for the first time.
(End of Chapter)
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