The holidays had finally arrived as planned. Hermione took the Hogwarts Express in the morning to go home. As for her roommates, except for Ron, who would be staying at the castle, Seamus and Neville were returning home for the holidays.
As Hermione sat in her compartment reading, someone knocked on the door.
"Excuse me, is anyone here?"
Hermione, initially annoyed by the interruption, looked up in surprise upon recognizing the voice.
It was Harry and Ron.
"Harry? Ron?" Hermione said cheerfully. "Why are you two on the train too… I mean, shouldn't you still be at the castle?"
"Harry said he was going to Diagon Alley and asked me to come with him," Ron shrugged. "Besides, we were worried you might get into trouble with the Slytherins along the way."
"No, Harry already made arrangements with Miss Farley, didn't he?" Hermione said with a smile. "I heard she asked to meet you yesterday afternoon?"
"Ah, yes," Harry replied, leaning back lazily in his seat.
Hermione and Ron looked intrigued. "So, what did you two talk about?"
"Nothing much. Miss Farley just wanted to be friends," Harry answered sincerely. "You know, that's how Slytherins are."
Indeed, in Harry's time, Slytherins were exactly like that: if you had no skill, they wouldn't even notice you; but if you showed the right strength and competence, they would respect you. They were far better than the descendants of Death Eaters, who now relied only on their supposed "pure-blood" status, acting arrogantly and oblivious to the times.
"That's how Slytherins are?" Ron scratched his head. In his mind, Slytherins were much worse.
But it wasn't entirely Ron's fault; after all, today's Slytherins were descendants of the Death Eaters who had followed Voldemort.
"Look at those Death Eaters. None of them were good… Just judging by appearances—from Voldemort to Bellatrix—could they compare to Grindelwald or Vinda Rosier? No, they lack that capacity, you know."
"And you, Voldemort, killing a one-year-old child alone and being killed in return… how do you justify that? Shameless."
"At least Miss Farley is a good person," Hermione nodded. "The duel challenge with Harry was only necessary, due to her status as a prefect."
"Really, mate?" Ron asked, worried. "Did Miss Farley actually threaten you because of her family?"
"Don't worry," Harry said, smiling at Ron. "She's not that kind of person."
The meeting with Gemma the previous afternoon had been as calm as the Eastern Front 52 years ago; Gemma had simply expressed her desire to be friends with Harry. He hadn't refused—after all, the saying goes that more friends means more options, and perhaps Gemma would be useful in the future.
"Since you two are here, why don't you come spend some time at my house?" Hermione invited. "My house is big; you can stay for a while."
"We're going to Diagon Alley," Ron said.
Hermione asked curiously, "I forgot to ask earlier, why are you going to Diagon Alley?"
"To buy some Christmas presents," Harry told Hermione. "Christmas is about exchanging gifts, and Ron's gift needs to be delivered in person."
"Huh? What gift?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
Harry didn't answer but turned to Ron. "Have you noticed that you always struggle to learn spells and often feel resistance when using your wand?"
Ron thought carefully and nodded. "Seems like it."
"Exactly," said Harry, putting his arm around Ron's shoulder. "Mr. Ollivander once told me that the wand chooses the wizard. Maybe your difficulty learning spells is because of your wand. So I'm planning to go to Mr. Ollivander's shop during the Christmas holidays. If that's really the problem, then this wand will be your Christmas present."
"Harry…" Ron was touched. He reached out to touch Harry's leg and then turned to look out the window silently.
After a pause, he said awkwardly, "Thank you, Harry."
"We're friends," Harry laughed, putting his arm around Ron's neck. He glanced at Hermione's complex expression and said to Ron, "Also, you'll practice your dueling skills with Hermione when classes start. I don't want you to lose to her because of your wand."
"At least then I'll have an excuse," Ron joked.
"Boys…" Hermione shook her head, exasperated.
The train soon arrived at the station. Harry grabbed Ron, ready to say goodbye to Hermione, but she interrupted him.
"Listen, Harry, Ron," Hermione said, "Why don't we have dinner at my house first, and then I'll ask my dad to take you to Diagon Alley? You know, the Leaky Cauldron is quite far from King's Cross Station. You'd be walking?"
"All right," Harry said, realizing she was right.
The three exited the carriage, and Draco and his two lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle, approached.
Harry expected Draco to say something, but to his surprise, Draco, upon seeing them—especially Hermione—quickly lowered his head and stepped aside, as if fleeing from something terrible.
"What was that?" Harry asked, curious.
"Nothing," Hermione replied with a charming smile, watching Draco walk away.
As expected, the Grangers were waiting at the station exit.
Although there were no telephones at Hogwarts, Hermione had a messenger owl to send messages home.
Hermione's father was named Askin, a typically English name; her mother was Claire, a very kind woman.
Upon learning that Harry and Ron were Hermione's classmates, the couple warmly invited them to their home.
"Huh?" exclaimed Ron, surprised to see Mr. Granger's car. "Isn't that a car?"
"Ron, you know about cars?" Hermione asked.
"Of course, my dad has one too," said Ron, raising an eyebrow. "But his car isn't as nice as this one, nor does it have that Peugeot logo that looks like a Golden Snitch."
Following Ron's gesture, one could see a stylized "B," as if ready to take flight.
Judging by the design of the car, it was clearly not cheap.
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