"Terrible weather, isn't it?" Michael walked into the compartment, soaked, complaining, "I remember it was like this when we encountered the Dementor."
He stood in the empty space in the middle of the seats, water dripping constantly from his hair, quickly soaking the floor beneath him, and even the luggage next to him was covered in rain and mud.
"Don't mention it, I never want to remember those creatures," Theo said, following behind.
Vid drew his magic wand and pointed it at Michael, "Warm Breeze."
The tip of the magic wand emitted a gentle and warm breeze, swirling around Michael. His robe billowed, and a thin mist rose from his entire body. Soon, he was completely dry, even his robe was neatly pressed.
"Wow..." Michael spread his arms to inspect himself, shook his sleeves again, and said, "Wow~" once more.
"Wow what?"
At the back, Leian, seeing they had caused a traffic jam, reached out to push the two in front into the compartment. Before the curious students behind could peek inside, he had already closed the door and drawn the curtains.
"Look, my clothes are all dry!" Michael showed them the effect of the spell, "My dad doesn't even know spells like this!"
"What spell is this?" Theo asked curiously, "Vid, did you invent it yourself?"
"Yeah, it's an improved spell based on the Flame Curse, mimicking a Muggle dryer." Vid pointed at Michael's suitcase again, drawing a small spiral with his magic wand, "Ventus Calidus! [Warm Breeze]"
A warm breeze swept over, quickly drying the suitcase and the puddles on the floor.
Michael extended his hand into the breeze, letting it brush his fingers, "It seems a bit warmer than before."
"It can control the temperature and wind force, so you don't get burned or blow your clothes away," Vid explained.
Michael's eyes lit up, "So that means you can also make the wind stronger..."
Before he could finish speaking, Theo covered his mouth, and his remaining words were swallowed with a "muffle."
Leian shook his head and sighed, "It's only been a few days, Michael, you seem to have gotten a bit reckless."
Michael rolled his eyes hard, pulling Theo's hand down, "I was just saying, if the wind force increases, it could lift someone off the ground like a balloon. How is that reckless?"
Leian: "...Ah?"
Theo, believing him, said shamefully, "So that's what you meant to say, I thought..."
"Hmm?" Michael feigned realization, raising an eyebrow and said, "Did you think I was going to say it could blow up girls' skirts? Tsk tsk tsk... Reckless, truly reckless! To think of that shows your mind is not pure at all!"
Theo and Leian: "..."
They watched Michael crossing his legs, leaning against the window, clicking his tongue and righteously criticizing, feeling something was off.
Vid couldn't help but burst into laughter.
After a bout of laughter and teasing, they put away the luggage. Theo noticed an empty spot on the luggage rack and asked, puzzled, "Vid, where's your suitcase?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Michael said, "He must have put it in his wardrobe space!"
No sooner had he spoken than Vid hit himself on the head with the book in his hand.
"What's wrong?" Leian asked quickly.
"I forgot..." Vid said, frustrated, "I was packing and planned to put it in the wardrobe space in the morning, but in a rush, I just..."
He had stayed up late making Poppets, and in the morning, he was in a rush to get to school, so he turned the wardrobe space into a pencil case and put it in his pocket, forgetting the owl cage and suitcase weren't packed.
In the morning, Vid overslept by half an hour and, due to the weather, Ferdinand was worried about traffic and hurried everyone out the door, letting Dobby send everything to school, which Vid found more convenient.
Only now, with Michael's mention, did he realize that he had a better way all along but forgot in his morning daze.
The others laughed heartily, surprised that Vid could make such a simple mistake, filling the compartment with a joyful atmosphere.
"Knock knock."
The compartment door was knocked on a few times.
"The trolley witch is here," Theo said as he opened the door, asking the others, "What do you want to eat?"
"Thanks, I'm not hungry now," Harry said from outside the door.
"Huh?" Theo paused, noticing Harry, Hermione, and a few members of the Weasley Family crammed in the corridor outside.
"I've been looking for you for a while," Hermione said, walking in, "Luckily, a second-year Hufflepuff saw you here and heard your voices passing by the compartment."
She gestured for Leian to move back, sat down, and looked across at Vid, asking, "Hey, Vid, do you know what's happening at school this year?"
Fred immediately burst out, "Even the non-school people in our house know, but they keep it from us! Come on; school matters are relevant to us, aren't they?"
"That guy Malfoy even came to our compartment to laugh at how little we know," Harry added gloomily, "Sirius didn't want to tell me either."
Ron mimicked Draco Malfoy's voice mockingly, "Your dad and brother work at the Ministry of Magic, and you still don't know... Their rank is too low... My dad deals with top Ministry figures... He's told me a long time ago..."
He snorted angrily and muttered a curse under his breath.
The expressions of the others weren't good either.
Theo sighed, looking at them, "There's some news you might not have heard—Malfoy's father seems to have disappeared."
Except for Leian, who's already heard, everyone else looked over in surprise, Vid included showed a sign of interest.
"Disappeared?" Harry asked, "What's going on?"
Hermione frowned, "I haven't seen that reported in the Prophet Daily."
"The Malfoy Family hasn't made it public. My uncle says they're discreetly looking for him," Theo explained.
"When did he disappear?" Vid asked.
"On the night of the World Cup," Theo replied, "Rumor has it, no one has seen him since the riot at the camp."
"Something must have happened to him, maybe thrown off a mountain by a wild Leprechaun!" Ron suggested enthusiastically, "It's a pity, young Draco's always so proud of his dad..."
"Stop joking, Ron!" Hermione nudged him, "This is strange, something even worse might have happened..."
"Worse than a Leprechaun attack on the camp?" Ron said dismissively.
"Maybe he's plotting something evil in the shadows," Harry said seriously, "like... trying to make the Death Eaters rise again..."
"Or maybe someone took him away," George hinted, "You know, there was another group that appeared that night..."
"Witch Pure Party?" Leian said.
"Exactly," Fred said, "Maybe they were nearby when the camp riot happened and encountered the fleeing Malfoy... I mean Lucius Malfoy."
"Why would Malfoy run away?" Leian asked.
"Because if he's caught, he'd be sent to Azkaban!" Fred grinned.