11: The Initial Meeting of the Trio

"Excuse me, can I sit here? All the other compartments are full!" A head poked in from outside. The person first glanced at Harry Potter, then at Eisen sitting across from him.

"No problem, have a seat!" Eisen nodded in approval, and upon seeing this, Harry hurriedly said the same.

"By the way, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley!" After sitting down, Ron introduced himself.

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter!" Although Harry wasn't well-known in the wizarding world, his legend had already spread far and wide.

So, when he learned that the person in front of him was indeed Harry Potter, Ron immediately expressed a look of shock.

"So, you really have... that scar?" As if afraid of offending him, but unable to contain his curiosity, Ron still asked.

"Yes!" Clearly, Harry Potter was still unaware of what his scar meant in the wizarding world, and thus had no qualms about boldly displaying the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

"Then..." Ron then turned his gaze towards the smiling Eisen.

"Oh, this is Professor Eisen, the new Astronomy teacher," seeing Ron's action, Harry introduced Eisen's identity since Eisen hadn't spoken up.

"Professor Eisen..." Originally thinking that the person sitting across from him was just an upperclassman, Ron hadn't expected Eisen to be a professor. For a moment, he felt quite embarrassed.

"Yes, Ron Weasley, relax a bit, this isn't a Hogwarts classroom," Eisen didn't put on airs as a professor. After all, he wasn't as strict as Professor McGonagall.

Hearing Eisen's words, Ron felt relieved and proceeded to chat with Harry.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" A cart laden with various magical treats was making its way down the corridor and stopped at the compartment door where Eisen sat.

Having inherited a vast fortune, Harry, upon seeing his newfound friend Ron's modest means, waved his hand and bought all the treats.

Eisen had tried some magical treats from Diagon Alley before, like various flavored candies and Chocolate Frogs that could hop around, and they tasted quite good. However, after encountering the bogey-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, he developed a psychological aversion to magical treats.

Evidently, Eisen found it hard to accept such despicable practices from magical treat shops. Did wizards really have so much free time that they had to find amusement like this? Come to think of it, Eisen's thoughts weren't entirely unfounded. After all, if joke shops could openly sell prank products, it wouldn't be too surprising for magical treats to contain pranks as well!

For a while, Ron and Harry ate the treats and conversed, while Eisen gazed out the window at the scenery.

On the surface, Eisen appeared to be enjoying the view, but he was actually contemplating the Miracle Trait. This time, upon seeing Harry and Ron holding various magical treats, Eisen suddenly thought of something: did magical treats count as magical artifacts?

Or to extend the question, did magical potions count as magical artifacts? After all, they were both consumables. If they did, that would be incredible. Leaving aside other magical potions, the Felix Felicis alone could increase one's luck. That was essentially an exploit.

Coincidentally, Eisen still had an unused Miracle Trait, so he could try it out now.

"Is this a real frog?" Harry picked up a small box, examining it back and forth but finding nothing special about it.

"No, it's just a spell, but you can collect the cards," Ron said with his mouth full of treats, then introduced it to Harry, "Each pack comes with a card, and I already have over five hundred."

When Harry opened the packaging, a chocolate frog appeared before his eyes. Clearly, it was Harry's first time seeing such a thing. The chocolate frog then croaked and leaped straight towards the train window's glass.

"Watch out!" Ron warned Harry.

"Chocolate Frog, come here!" Just as the thing was about to jump out of the window, Eisen smiled and extended his right hand. With a casual motion and an incantation, the chocolate frog obediently flew into Eisen's hand.

"Wow, I know that spell, it's the Summoning Charm, my mom uses it at home all the time!" Ron enviously explained to the surprised-looking Harry.

"Indeed, the Summoning Charm. Young wizards can learn it after entering Hogwarts," Eisen said with a smile as he handed the chocolate frog to Harry, but he felt a bit deflated inside.

That's right, the Miracle Trait didn't react to magical treats at all. This meant that magical potions might not trigger it either. It seemed Eisen's target could only be magical artifacts.

"By the way, Fred gave me a spell that can turn Scabbers yellow, want to see it?" Perhaps inspired by Eisen's magic, Ron suddenly felt the urge to perform and asked with enthusiasm.

Harry became interested and looked at Ron curiously, while Eisen also smiled and nodded, giving an encouraging gesture.

However, Eisen knew that Ron's performance would fail. The reason was that Ron had most likely been tricked by Fred. After all, Fred, who was used to playing pranks, was definitely capable of such a thing.

"Sunshine, da..." Before Ron could even finish the incantation after waving his wand, he was interrupted.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost his," a bushy-haired young witch appeared at the compartment door, glanced inside, and continued, "Neville's lost his toad!"

Evidently, this was the third member Hermione Granger.

As she spoke, Hermione's prominent front teeth were visible. Although unfamiliar with this sudden intruder, Ron shook his head, indicating he hadn't seen any toad.

"Oh, are you going to perform a spell? Let's see then!" Perhaps noticing Ron holding his wand, Hermione expressed great interest. Of course, she herself might not have realized her somewhat bossy demeanor.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this fat old rat yellow!" Ron recited the incantation with a serious expression, nearly making Eisen laugh out loud.

After a flash of light, Ron's pet rat Scabbers remained unchanged. Immediately, Ron looked embarrassed, and Harry shrugged, unsure how to console him.

"Are you sure that's a real spell? It doesn't seem very effective, does it?" Hermione, on the other hand, had no such qualms and directly criticized Ron's attempt.

"Well, I've tried a few simple spells myself, and they've all worked perfectly!" Hermione then sat down right across from Eisen.

Perhaps she didn't mean any harm, but her tone sounded quite condescending. No wonder the young wizards initially disliked Hermione in the original story.

"For example, Oculus Reparo!" With her wand in hand, Hermione uttered the incantation towards Harry's glasses. Clearly, this was a simple variation of the Reparo spell.

As Hermione's voice faded, Harry's glasses instantly became as good as new, as if freshly purchased. Eisen couldn't help but silently praise her. Although just a variation, being able to master some spells even before starting school truly demonstrated Hermione's studious nature.

At this moment, Eisen felt that Hermione should have been sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor.

"Whoa, are you Harry Potter? I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?" Upon Harry removing his glasses, Hermione noticed the scar on his forehead.

With an astonished expression, Hermione first introduced herself, then turned her gaze towards Ron.

Ron, still busy with his snacks, mumbled out his name.

"Excellent Repairing Charm, if it were in class, I wouldn't hesitate to award you points!" Before Hermione looked his way, Eisen directly praised her.

To be honest, as a professor – well, even if just an Astronomy professor – Eisen understood why teachers favored studious students. Aside from the sense of accomplishment, they truly made life easier.

"Award points?" Hermione looked at the slightly older boy in front of her, displaying the perfect amount of confusion.

"Indeed, Professor Eisen, the new Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts," Ron chimed in, revealing Eisen's identity. 

"Professor Eisen!" Hermione's expression immediately turned to one of utter shock, then realizing her previous behavior had been witnessed by the professor, a flush of red appeared on her face.

"That's right, Miss Hermione Granger, no need to be tense. This isn't a classroom setting," Eisen maintained a friendly, smiling demeanor. Clearly, he had no intention of putting on airs because of his professor status. 

(End of chapter continuation)