Lucas and Hermione strolled through the carriage, followed closely by Neville, who kept his head lowered.
The trio was searching for the missing toad.
"Speaking of which, Lucas, your frog cub seems to be gone too," Hermione suddenly noticed, realizing the little creature that was usually perched on Lucas's head had disappeared.
"It went off traveling again—just let it be," Lucas replied casually, remembering how the frog cub had helped carry his luggage earlier. He felt a quiet sense of relief.
Finally decided to go back out into the world after lounging around at home for so long.
"Really?"
Hermione didn't press the topic any further after seeing Lucas's nonchalant attitude.
"Your frog cub is really strange."
Just then, Lucas knocked on the door of another compartment. They'd already searched through half the train.
"Hello, have you seen a toad by any chance?"
When he pushed the door open, there were two boys inside—one with round glasses, the other with a head of bright red hair.
"No, sir, haven't seen a toad," the boy with glasses replied politely.
"Hey Harry, watch this spell!" the red-haired boy interrupted. He raised his wand and pointed it at the sleeping mouse in his hands.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow—turn this stupid fat rat yellow!"
His battered wand gave a dramatic flick, but nothing happened. The fat rat just kept sleeping, twitching its leg now and then.
Those two were Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. And the "rat"? Definitely not just a rat.
What a coincidence, Lucas thought.
"Why didn't it work?" Ron's face turned red with frustration. He tried again, waving his wand harder, but only a puff of white smoke came out—no magical effect.
Meanwhile, Hermione had arrived with Neville, having checked other compartments, just in time to witness the scene.
"Your wand movements are all wrong. Maybe you should study a little more," she said matter-of-factly.
"For example—here's a simple one."
She raised her wand and pointed it at Harry's glasses. Instantly, the cracked lenses smoothed over and cleared up.
"Simple charm, right?"
The corners of her mouth tugged upward in pride.
Even with perfect technique, though, that rat won't turn yellow, Lucas thought. He knew the creature's real identity.
But that wasn't his business.
"Lucas Geralt. Nice to meet you, Mr. Harry Potter."
Might as well introduce himself properly.
"Nice to meet you, Lu—"
"Wait… Harry Potter?" Hermione's eyes widened in surprise before lighting up, cutting Harry's words.
"I've read about you! Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century—you're mentioned in all of them. I didn't think you'd be this famous!"
"I didn't think I was that famous either," Harry replied with a shrug.
"But Lucas, how did you recognize me?" he asked curiously.
"Easy. The scar on your forehead is pretty visible," Hermione answered before Lucas could.
"I found my toad! Lucas, Hermione!"
Neville's excited voice echoed from the corridor. He ran up holding his toad, joy written all over his face.
"Let's go, Hermione." Now that Neville had his toad back, it was time to return to their compartment—after all, they still had a mountain of snacks waiting.
"Oh, redhead—there's something dirty under your nose, you know?"
With that parting comment, Hermione followed Lucas out of the compartment.
Ron's nose twitched in annoyance.
"What a pain… Hope the Sorting Hat doesn't put us in the same house," he muttered to Harry, clutching his rat protectively.
————
After helping Neville retrieve his toad, it was already past sunset.
The steam train was approaching its destination.
Lucas was sitting in his seat, playing Pokémon on a game console, a half-eaten chocolate bar in his mouth.
Hermione sat opposite him, reading for a while, then turning to admire the golden light bathing the countryside outside.
"Lucas, which house do you think you'll be sorted into?"
"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?"
In her mind, Lucas was clearly suited to either—one symbolized bravery, the other intellect.
He had both qualities, in her opinion.
Lucas paused the game, considering her question, but instead of answering, he asked one of his own.
"What about you? Which house do you want to be in?"
"Me? Gryffindor, definitely!" Hermione replied without hesitation. "It's where the great Headmaster Dumbledore was!"
She held up a collectible Dumbledore card that had come with one of the sweets.
Same as the original—Gryffindor again.
"As for me, I'll let the Sorting Hat decide."
Lucas had actually made a quiet agreement with Snape to join Slytherin. But he still wanted to hear the Sorting Hat's opinion.
Besides, as a half-blood orphan, Lucas had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Slytherin crowd.
He wasn't from a prestigious family—Geralt wasn't a pure-blood name.
Being friends with Slytherins wouldn't be worth much.
Then again, with his current strength and physique, he could probably dominate the entire house.
Friends? Lucas smirked. I'd rather be king of the snakes.
"You don't have a favorite house?" Hermione asked, a little pouty.
"I like them all," Lucas replied, vaguely, focused on his game.
It's not like they'd be completely separated anyway—they'd still attend the same classes. Only the dormitories were different.
And once he figured out how to get into every house's common room… well, who's going to stop him?
Thinking like that, Lucas glanced at Hermione reading quietly again.
"If you're thinking something weird again, I will hex you," Hermione warned, catching his stare.
"I was just wondering how people can eat so much candy" Lucas said seriously, holding up his game console. "It's been bugging me."
Ironicly the snack pile on the table had mostly been devoured—by Lucas, of course.
Gaming took energy, after all.
Outside, stars replaced the fading sunset. Moonlight poured through the windows and illuminated the table.
The lights inside the train switched on.
It rumbled through the wilderness under the night sky. In the distance, a vast, shimmering black lake came into view, with a massive castle looming high above.
Ahead of them stood Hogwarts