the magical train

London, September 1st

Felix packed his luggage, took his owl, and headed outside his room to meet Sister Martha and all the children of the orphanage who had come to see him off.

"Felix, take care of yourself and listen to your professor," said Martha.

"Good luck, Felix!"

"Bring us some gifts from your school!"

"I will catch up, don't worry."

"Don't forget about us."

Only Martha knew that Felix was going to a wizarding school. The rest of the children thought Felix had been accepted into an inner school, but their words still touched him.

"Thank you, guys. I will miss you. I will send letters to you every week, and I will come back to visit whenever I can. Take care!" Felix said with gratitude.

Felix left, heading towards the train station. When he arrived, he started looking for platform 9 ¾. After reaching platform 9, he looked around and followed the instructions Professor McGonagall had given him. He ran towards the wall and passed through it as if it didn't exist.

Felix was surprised by what he saw on the other side of the wall. It was crowded with parents seeing off their students. As he watched, he was pushed by a 16-year-old boy with blonde hair and an arrogant look on his face.

"Mudblood," the boy sneered before leaving, as if looking at Felix was a waste of his time.

"Well, that's the first bully I've encountered in my new school. I guess it's about time, even if it is a school for wizards. But what does he mean by 'mudblood'? I think it's some kind of wizard insult," Felix pondered, standing up and heading towards the train. He wasn't bothered by what had happened; he was no stranger to bullying. Being an orphan had taught him that bullies preyed on the weak, and he knew he needed to make them scared of him.

He boarded the train and started looking for an empty cabin. He found one, took out a book called "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration," and began reading.

In the midst of reading, there was a knock on the door. Felix looked up and saw three boys standing outside.

"Can we stay with you?" the boy with glasses and brown hair asked.

"Come in," Felix replied and then returned to his book.

After a while, the train started its journey. The three boys sat down and looked around. The boy with glasses spoke up.

"Hey, my name is James Potter, and these two are my best friends, Sirius Black and Remus John Lupin. What's your name?"

Felix lifted his head again, staring at James while thinking, "I hate popular kids. They think everyone wants to be friends with them." After a few seconds of an awkward silence, Felix answered, "Felix Scarletwound," and returned to reading his book.

The three boys looked at each other in surprise. They had assumed Felix was a bookworm with no interest in making friends.

"He is definitely a Ravenclaw," Sirius confidently stated.

"I agree," said James, and Remus nodded in agreement as well.

Hearing them, Felix became interested. He put his book aside and asked, "What do you mean by Ravenclaw?"

The three of them were taken aback by Felix's attempt to engage in conversation. They had thought he was uninterested in human interaction.

"You don't know about the Hogwarts houses?" James asked.

"No," Felix replied.

"You're a muggleborn, I guess," James observed.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Felix asked cautiously.

"Not for us, but some pure-blood fanatics might have a problem with it. So be careful around certain people," James warned.

"Pure-blood, you mean wizards from wizard families with pure blood?" Felix inquired.

"Yes."

"Ah, I understand what it means now," Felix said with a happy face, excited to have learned something new.

"What do you understand?" James asked, curious.

"Nothing important. Can you tell me about the houses now?" Felix redirected the conversation.

"Okay, there are four houses in Hogwarts," James explained.

"Gryffindor, known for bravery and courage. Gryffindors never back down from a fight or doing what they believe is right. Some of the most famous Gryffindors include Albus Dumbledore, the most recent headmaster of Hogwarts, and where we hope to go."

"Ravenclaw is extremely focused on intelligence, knowledge, and wit. I think it would suit you," James continued.

"Hufflepuff values hard work and dedication. They are also extremely loyal to their friends and loved ones. And the last Hogwarts house is Slytherin. Founded by Salazar Slytherin, Slytherins value cunningness and ambition. Many witches and wizards from this house became Death Eaters," James elaborated.

"I understand, but what is a Death Eater?" Felix asked, eager to gain more knowledge about the wizarding world.

"Death Eaters are the followers of the Dark Lord Voldemort. He started a war against muggle-born wizards and wants to erase them. So, you need to be careful around people from Slytherin," James explained.

"I see. There are wars even in the wizarding world. After all, humans are humans, regardless of whether they are wizards or not. Sigh," Felix said with a mixture of sadness and relief. He didn't care much about the war because if there was a bad side, that meant there was a good side too. The fact that he was still alive on this train was proof of that.

"That's cool," Sirius commented.

"Right, it doesn't matter who we are in the end. We are all human," James added, strengthening his resolve.

Meanwhile, Remus looked at Felix with appreciation in his eyes.

Suddenly, the door opened, and an old lady with a snack cart appeared.

"Want some snacks, kids?"

"No, thank you," the boys replied.

Felix looked for a moment but then remembered he had no money.

James looked at Felix's reaction and turned to the lady. "Give us a little of everything, please."

"Here, have this as our meeting gift," James offered Felix a frog-shaped chocolate.

"Sorry, I don't accept things from strangers," Felix said, still looking at the frog.

"But we are friends now, right?" James asked, knowing that Felix really wanted the frog.

"Yes! Yes, we are friends, so I can have it. Thank you," Felix replied, snatching the frog from James's hand eagerly.

Observing Felix's reaction, James smiled hopelessly and began sharing the rest of the candy with his friends.

After a while, they finished eating, and the three boys looked at Felix with strange expressions.

"What are you doing?" James asked.

"I'm studying this beautiful-looking thing that can turn chocolate into a frog and act like one. It's just beautiful, what Transfiguration can do," Felix said, watching the frog move with deep focus, trying to understand the magic behind it.

"It's just chocolate," James said with a chuckle.

"You haven't seen real chocolate. You don't even understand how brilliant this is," Felix replied.

"You're not going to eat it?" James asked, his eyes resembling those of a mischievous fox.

"No, I hate candy. Even if I like it, how can I eat this beautiful...?" Felix started to explain, but James took the opportunity to snatch the frog and ate it in one bite.

"...frog," Felix finished his sentence, his voice trailing off.

There was a few seconds of silence, and then James, Sirius, and Remus burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

"What did you do? Who can be so merciless? Who can do that to Frogy? I had a lot of plans for him," Felix froze in his place for a few seconds before speaking in a cold tone. His voice grew colder and colder, making the cabin feel chilled, until he stopped, like the calmness before a storm, and then he exploded.

"GIVE ME FROGY BACK, YOU MURDERER!"

Felix jumped on James, trying to pry open his mouth to retrieve Frogy.

"No, stop! I'm sorry! Sorry! Sirius, help me!" James apologized and looked at Sirius for assistance, but Sirius looked the other way.

"You too, Remus?" James said in a disappointed tone, noticing that Remus avoided eye contact.

"YOU TRAITORS!"

While Felix continued his attempt to retrieve Frogy from James, James fought back until both of them grew tired.

"Rest in peace, Frogy. I will take revenge for you. I will never forget about you," Felix said, looking out of the window with a serious expression.

"It was just a piece of chocolate!" James exclaimed, flustered.

"Shut up," Felix replied with a cold glare.

After a while, they changed their clothes and disembarked from the train. They were greeted by a giant with a big beard and a kind expression.

"First years, this way! I'm Rubeus Hagrid, your guide. You can call me Hagrid."