Chapter 74: Trouble Again
Arthur and the other two quickly found a compartment on the train.
Although there were only three of them, many young wizards would avoid entering the compartment when they saw Arthur.
Over the past year, Arthur had gained quite a reputation among the students, and some even looked at him with fear.
This gave him some hidden privileges.
Shortly after, the train set off.
Hermione was puzzled as she hadn't seen Harry and Ron along the way. "Arthur, did you see Harry and Ron?" she asked.
"No," Arthur lazily replied, stretching and looking tired from the warm sunlight streaming into the compartment.
Seeing Arthur in that state, Hermione couldn't do much about it and decided to go outside to check if Harry and Ron had boarded the train.
After a while, Hermione returned with a serious expression on her face. "I looked around, but I couldn't find them. Fred and George don't know where they are either."
When seeing Hermione's concern, Arthur comforted her, "Don't worry, if they miss the train, there are other ways to get to the school, like driving or something."
Hermione rolled her eyes, about to say how stupid the joke was, when suddenly the compartment door opened.
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed witch walked in and nervously asked, "Excuse me, is this seat taken? I've been looking for an empty one for a while."
Arthur glanced at her and noticed her amazing beauty.
Her golden curls were carefully arranged, falling softly over her shoulders, and her long eyelashes gave her a doll-like appearance.
"No one's sitting here, feel free to sit," Arthur replied, slightly surprised but quickly returning to his usual self.
Arthur didn't pay much attention to other pretty girls after seeing how stunningly beautiful Fleur Delacour was.
Seeing that Arthur had agreed, Cho and Hermione, didn't object either and nodded in a friendly manner.
Struggling to carry a large bag, the young witch thanked Arthur with a smile, revealing two faint dimples. "I'm Astoria Greengrass! Nice to meet all of you."
Arthur thought for a moment but couldn't remember hearing that name in any movies, so he didn't say anything specific.
He nodded and introduced himself, Cho, and Hermione.
However, Astoria suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Are you Arthur Gaunt, the genius wizard who refused to join Slytherin?"
Arthur's mouth twitched at hearing that, and the two girls beside him couldn't help but cover their mouths, suppressing laughter.
They hadn't expected Arthur's reputation to reach the newly enrolled young witch.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Astoria quickly apologized and explained, "I've heard my sister mention you countless times this summer, saying you're the most talented student in years and broke the House Cup record."
Arthur nodded knowingly. So, she was from a pure-blood family.
"Your sister is?"
"Daphne Greengrass."
The name sounded familiar to Arthur.
He had heard Cho mention it before, saying that Daphne was the Slytherin prefect in charge of Arthur's cheerleading team.
Arthur had been slightly confused when he first heard about a prefect being involved in the Fanatics.
How did Fanatics infiltrate Hogwarts?
After they got to know each other, the girls quickly became friends, and the train continued its smooth journey towards Hogwarts.
Suddenly, Arthur noticed something outside the window.
He was uneasy, so he took out his wand and tapped his temple. His expression turned weird.
"What's wrong?" Cho noticed Arthur's gaze set on something outside the train, and her face showed curiosity.
Hermione and Astoria also looked over with interest.
Arthur thought it for a moment, realizing it would be troublesome to explain.
Instead, he cast an Eagle-Eye Spell on the girls, signaling them to look out the window.
As they saw Astoria's curious expression, Arthur also cast a spell on her.
Now, everyone could see a Muggle car flying in the sky outside the window.
They could clearly drive out the two people inside.
"Harry! Ron?" Hermione exclaimed.
She could see the terrified expressions on their faces. The car was moving up and down, unstable.
She quickly shook Arthur.
"Arthur, can you help them?" she asked anxiously. Arthur shook his head; they were too far away, and he could not help them.
So the four of them could only watch helplessly as the car flew farther and farther away.
Hermione kept muttering about losing points. Arthur found it funny. Hermione truly placed more importance on points than on their own lives.
"The Harry you're talking about, is it the chosen one, Harry Potter?" Astoria asked Arthur with confusion.
"Yes, he's the chosen one, Harry Potter," Arthur confirmed.
This shattered Astoria's thoughts.
Was this savior really so bad?
Luckily, Arthur explained that the car belonged to Mr. Weasley, and there was no need to worry about safety.
Moreover, they hadn't started school yet, so there were no points to deduct from Harry and Ron.
This relieved Hermione's concerns, and she put them aside.
Arthur bought some snacks to pass the time during the journey and invited Astoria to share them.
Astoria felt a bit embarrassed, but with Cho and Hermione's urging, she ate some as well.
As they continued the journey, the relationship between Astoria and Cho grew closer.
Perhaps it was because Cho had matured another year and had become even gentler, giving Astoria the feeling of having an understanding older sister.
If it weren't for the fact that her family, the Greengrasses, were all Slytherins, she might have been tempted to join Ravenclaw because of Cho.
Slowly, the train reached its destination.
After the three of them escorted Astoria to Hagrid, they headed to the area where the older students boarded the carriages.
Hermione informed Hagrid about Harry and Ron's situation, which made Hagrid very worried.
However, Hagrid had to lead the young wizards in the Sorting Ceremony, so he couldn't immediately find Professor McGonagall.
He could only ask Hermione to find her as soon as they arrived at the school and explain the situation to her.
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