Chapter 167 "Hermione Granger"

Upon hearing Ron's request, Harry hesitated momentarily before casually lifting the hair in front of his forehead and saying, "Of course, it's nothing, just a scar."

Ron and Draco examined the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead and simultaneously exclaimed, "Cool!"

Subsequently, Ron and Draco exchanged glances, then turned their heads away simultaneously, no longer acknowledging each other and displaying disdainful expressions.

Observing this interaction, Harry chuckled and said, "By the way, Ron, I was discussing the sorting ceremony with Draco just now. Draco mentioned that during the sorting ceremony, each person has to cut a wound on their palm, drip blood into the pool, and around the pool, there will be statues of the four founders of Hogwarts. Whichever statue your blood reaches determines the house you join."

"If the statue doesn't respond for a long time, you continue to drip blood into the pool. Because of this, some people even faint from anemia!"

Hearing Harry's description, Ron's face turned pale, but he still insisted, "No, no, the sorting ceremony I heard is not like this! Each of us will be sent into a labyrinth. The labyrinth has four exits, representing the four houses of Hogwarts. Whichever exit you emerge from determines the house you join!"

"I heard from my brother Fred that when they entered Hogwarts, a new student entered the maze and hasn't come out yet!" Hearing Ron's story, Harry and Draco exchanged nervous glances, both swallowing simultaneously.

Sensing the growing tension in the box, Harry swiftly changed the subject, asking, "Which house do you want to join?"

In unison, Ron and Draco declared their preferences: "Gryffindor!" and "Slytherin!"

Observing each other's choices, Draco couldn't resist a sarcastic remark, "As a pure-blooded wizard family, how could they enter Gryffindor?! It's truly a shame fitting for your name, Weasleys! A pure-blooded family of wizards choosing Gryffindor over Slytherin, what a shame!"

Without hesitation, Ron countered Draco's mockery, "Then, what about Slytherin? Didn't the majority of the dark wizards in history come from Slytherin? Do I need to remind you what the Malfoys had done in the past?" He argued while staring intently at Draco.

The verbal sparring continued until Draco, with a flushed face, turned to Harry and asked, "Harry, you're definitely going to be in Slytherin, aren't you?"

Harry, who had been silently observing the exchange, nodded in panic and confusion, much to Draco's satisfaction. As Draco looked at Ron smugly, he saw Ron's eyes widen in disbelief.

"God, Harry, of course, you have to join Gryffindor! The greatest white wizard in history, Dumbledore, the current headmaster of Hogwarts, is from Gryffindor! Gryffindor is the best house at Hogwarts, it's the Hogwarts number one house!"

Hearing Ron's words, Draco was momentarily stunned.

He then stood up in anger, swiftly drew his wand from his robes, and pointed it at Ron while shouting, "What nonsense are you talking about?! The best house at Hogwarts is, of course, Slytherin!"

In response to Draco's sudden aggression, Ron also promptly retrieved his wand, pointed it back at Draco, and retorted, "The best house is Gryffindor! Also, do you think you're the only one with a wand? Can you use spells?"

As Draco and Ron faced off, wands at the ready, Harry rushed to stand between them, attempting to push them apart to prevent any altercation. He implored loudly, "Hey! We're friends, don't be like this! Calm down! Oh my God! Who can help me? Wentworth!"

Just as Harry felt helpless and called out for Wentworth, the only person he knew and trusted on the train, the door to the compartment opened from the outside once again.

Draco and Ron, their wands still poised for a magical duel, and Harry, caught in the middle, all turned their heads to see who had entered.

It was not Wentworth who appeared outside the door, as Harry had called out for moments ago, but a young girl with messy brown hair.

Upon entering the compartment, the girl was about to speak when the scene took her aback before her.

She stood there in surprise, exchanging glances with everyone present. After a moment, she introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger! Are you guys discussing spells? Can I join in on the conversation you guys were having?"

Before Harry could respond, Draco suddenly pointed his wand at Ron and dramatically shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" Ron, horrified, closed his eyes in fear.

However, Draco burst into laughter, and when Ron opened his eyes, he found Draco looking triumphantly at him. It was clear Draco had only been trying to frighten Ron by "casting" the unforgivable spell.

An irritated Ron retaliated by pointing his wand at Draco, declaring, "I'll show you the real Unforgivable Curse! Crucio!" Draco's face turned pale, and he retreated behind Harry in fear.

However, midway through, Draco seemed to realize that Ron couldn't actually cast any Unforgivable Curses. Turning back to face Ron, Draco found him smirking.

"You..." Draco pointed at Ron, at a loss for words, while Ron continued to make cheeky faces at Draco.

At that moment, Hermione, standing at the door, chimed in, "Are you two fools? How can we have the Unforgivable Curse at our age? Actually, the two of you don't know the spell at all, right?"

Hearing Hermione's candid remark, Ron and Draco simultaneously blushed. Ron tried to save face, saying unconvincingly, "Why don't you show us then? If you can do it, prove it!"

Facing Ron's challenge, Hermione confidently took out her wand, aimed it at Harry's eyes, and incanted, "Reparo!" Harry's worn-out glasses miraculously became as good as new in a flash of light.

Harry took off his glasses, examined them, and exclaimed, "Cool!"

As Harry removed his glasses, his forehead, which had been concealed by hair, revealed the corner of the scar, catching Hermione's eye. She expressed her surprise by saying, "My God, you're Harry Potter!"

Upon Harry's confirmation, Hermione shifted her gaze to Draco and Ron. Realizing her scrutiny, Harry promptly introduced the two to Hermione.

"Pleasure to meet you!"

Hermione shook hands with them perfunctorily. This time, Draco remained silent, refraining from asking Hermione to prove her qualifications to sit in the compartment. He now regarded her as a powerful wizard.

The Draco in this life, after Wentworth's influence, had evolved beyond the narrow-minded Draco Malfoy fixated on blood purity.

The butterfly effect that Wentworth had brought on this life is starting to take place. With Draco and the Malfoy family switching sides to the Alliance, Voldemort, who was meant to appear in later years, would find himself suffering because of many things he had lost. The cause of all this is the Alliance under Wentworth's leadership.