With the whistle of the Hogwarts Express, the train slowly began to move, and the scenery outside the window started to glide by.
At last, Harri let go of Vera's hand and eagerly threw herself against the window, her nose practically pressed to the glass.
"Look! London's moving backwards!" she cheered like a child riding a train for the very first time.
Watching Harri's back, Vera found the corners of her mouth lifting on their own.
Nox yawned in her lap and stretched lazily.
Just then, the compartment door slid open. A girl with bushy brown curls stood in the doorway, her bright eyes quickly sweeping over the compartment.
"Hello—do you mind if I sit here? All the other compartments are full."
Vera looked up at the girl in the doorway—thick brown curls, lively brown eyes, and those unmistakable, slightly endearing front teeth.
Hermione Granger, one of the original trio from the books, was standing there now with several books in her arms.
"Is it okay?" Harri immediately turned to look at Vera.
Once Vera gave a small nod of approval, Harri at once jumped up enthusiastically to help Hermione carry her things inside.
A flicker of surprise crossed Hermione's eyes when she noticed Vera's wheelchair, but she quickly recovered and offered a polite smile.
"Thank you! I'm Hermione Granger."
"Harri Potter," Harri said, extending her hand, then pointing toward Vera beside her. "And this is Vera Black."
"Is it really you?" Hermione's eyes widened at once. "I know all about you! You're mentioned in A History of Modern Magic, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century."
Harri awkwardly pushed up her glasses, her cheeks turning slightly red.
"Uh… really? I actually don't know much about any of that…"
Hermione immediately launched into an enthusiastic explanation of all the legends surrounding Harri. Vera sat quietly to one side, observing this future academic powerhouse without drawing attention to herself.
Just as she had expected, Hermione's thirst for knowledge was every bit as strong as described in the original story, and her attitude was fairly friendly too.
"Oh, right!" Hermione turned curiously toward Vera. "You're a Black? As in the Black family? They were mentioned in The Pure-Blood Directory."
Vera regarded her with interest. "You've even read something like that? Impressive."
Hermione flushed slightly. "After I got my letter, I read every magic book I could get my hands on. The Pure-Blood Directory is a little… outdated, but it does contain a lot of useful historical information."
Nox suddenly leapt from Vera's lap onto the table and curiously sniffed at the books Hermione had brought.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Is this your cat? It's beautiful!"
"Her name is Nox," Vera said, gently stroking its head. "She's part Kneazle."
"A Kneazle!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, immediately pulling out a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and flipping rapidly to a certain page. "It says here they can recognize suspicious people—they're extremely intelligent magical creatures!"
"Really? Let me see!" Harri hurried over to peer at the book, and the two girls' heads nearly bumped together.
Vera watched the scene with some amusement.
It seemed that even in this world, some bonds were simply inevitable.
Just then, the compartment door opened again.
"I heard the Savior was in this compartment—"
Draco Malfoy's arrogant voice stopped short. The moment he saw Vera, surprise flashed clearly across his face.
"Vera? What are you doing here?"
His gaze swept over Harri and Hermione, and the corner of his mouth curled dismissively.
"And with these… people, no less?"
Harri immediately straightened up, her green eyes fixed on Draco in wary annoyance.
"You again."
Hermione looked back and forth between them in confusion. "You know each other?"
"Yes," Vera answered calmly, her fingers lightly stroking Nox's fur. "Do you need something, Draco?"
Draco's expression stiffened. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle loomed in the doorway like two squat mountains.
"My father told me to… come say hello," he said reluctantly, his gaze lingering on Harri for a moment. "But it looks like you've already found company."
Harri frowned. "Vera doesn't need you telling her what to do."
Draco's face darkened. "Potter, you'd better understand who you're talking to!"
"Cousin Draco," Vera cut in softly, her gaze steady on him. "Do you really want to make trouble on the very first day of school?"
Draco opened his mouth as if he wanted to retort, but under Vera's quiet stare, he ultimately did nothing more than give a cold snort before turning and leaving with his two cronies.
For a moment, silence settled over the compartment.
Hermione looked at Vera curiously. "Cousin? You're related?"
"Distantly," Vera replied shortly, with no desire to get dragged into that subject.
Harri, meanwhile, flopped back into her seat in irritation. "That Malfoy is so annoying! What gives him the right to talk like that?"
Then she suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly leaned closer to Vera, lowering her voice.
"Is he holding a grudge over what happened in Madam Malkin's? Want me to teach him a lesson for you?"
Looking at Harri's earnest expression, Vera couldn't help laughing softly. "No need. I can handle it."
Hermione's gaze moved back and forth between the two of them, keenly sensing that there was a story here she didn't know yet.
"You two knew each other already?"
Harri at once began excitedly recounting how they had met in Diagon Alley, and Hermione listened with shining eyes.
Just then, the compartment door opened yet again.
A red-haired boy covered in freckles poked his head inside.
"Have you seen a toad? Neville's pet's gone missing again—"
His gaze landed on Harri, and his eyes flew wide open.
"Blimey! Harri! We saw each other on the platform earlier—I'm Ron Weasley!"
Harri gave him a friendly wave. "Of course I remember, Ron. We haven't seen a toad… do you want to come in and look?"
Ron's gaze swept across the compartment and paused visibly when he noticed Vera—especially when he saw the wheelchair. His expression turned a little awkward.
"Er… thanks," he said, scratching his head as he stepped carefully inside. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Hermione immediately displayed her usual helpful enthusiasm. "We can help you look! Where does a toad usually hide?"
Ron shrugged. "Who knows? Neville's toad always runs off somewhere."
Nox suddenly sprang down from Vera's lap and padded gracefully over to Ron's feet, sniffing at the hem of his trousers.
"Whoa!" Ron took a startled step back. "That your cat? It's… really good-looking."
"Her name is Nox," Vera said softly. "She has Kneazle blood. She might be able to help find the toad."
As if she had understood, Nox's ears twitched. Then she turned and slipped beneath the seats.
A few seconds later, a panicked ribbit! rang out from somewhere inside the compartment.
-------
April Special Days *Sale 20%*
patreon.com/RuneA
-------
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon Age of Gods: Starting with a Simulation as Heracles (10 Chapter)
Terra Love Trap: They All Want Me to Themselves (10 Chapter)
Dimensional Ranking: Top Ten Saviors (10 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen: Naoya Zen'in Wants to Stay Alive! (10 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it