After Harry boarded the train, he bumped into the Weasley twins from the family he had just met.
He was surprised to discover that the twins called out his name, "Harry Potter."
Moreover, the twins were very interested in the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
In fact, just last month, Adrian had already told Harry about the absurd story of how he, as a baby, had defeated Voldemort.
Harry still remembered Adrian telling him then: "If you find people recognizing you, don't be surprised. You're quite the celebrity."
At the time, he thought it was just a joke, but now it seemed that it wasn't—he really was famous.
However, he utterly rejected the title of "Savior," even finding it somewhat repulsive.
He didn't want to receive such attention.
Adrian had told him that the more attention you receive, the more trouble will find you.
...
After Harry took his seat in the compartment, Adrian also boarded the train.
He made his way to the very front of the train.
In front of the prefects' compartment, there was an additional compartment, which served as a rest area for the train staff. The Hogwarts Express driver and the vendor would stay here during their breaks.
In fact, in all the years Adrian had ridden this train, he had never seen what the driver looked like.
This time was no exception. When he opened the door, there was only a plump witch inside.
She was the trolley witch who sold snacks on the Hogwarts Express. Since Adrian had started school, she had never been replaced.
Adrian even had heard stories of how she had been selling things here since the Hogwarts Express began operation and how she was a ghost and stuff like that.
The trolley witch was currently arranging her cart, which was filled with all kinds of sweets.
Adrian noticed a box that kept jumping on the cart—that must be Chocolate Frogs.
By the way, he was very fond of chocolate. Except for Cockroach Clusters.
When Adrian opened the door and entered, she was startled.
"Excuse me," Adrian showed a hint of apology, "is the driver here?"
"He's at the very front. The train is about to depart," she answered reflexively, then looked at Adrian curiously, "Are you a student's parent? Parents aren't allowed on the train!"
Adrian shook his head, "I'm a professor."
Hearing this response, the trolley witch's puzzled expression deepened.
She scrutinized Adrian carefully, looking him up and down, then down to up.
Finally, she seemed to recall something and pointed at Adrian, saying, "Adrian Westeros? If I'm not mistaken."
As she spoke, she shook her head with slight regret, "I used to be able to remember every student's face. Ah... getting old is like this. Just a few years have passed, and I almost couldn't remember."
"You have an excellent memory, madam."
Adrian was somewhat surprised; after all, it had been such a long time, yet the elderly witch before him could still remember his name.
"You spent quite a few Galleons at my cart before," she said with a smile. "A big customer naturally leaves an impression. Not everyone has pocket money to buy an entire cart of snacks. I never imagined you would become a Hogwarts professor now."
Adrian recalled that he often bought some sweets from the trolley witch and shared them with his junior Hufflepuff classmates.
There was no particular reason; he just enjoyed the feeling of sharing.
"So, may I use the rest area?" Adrian asked.
The trolley witch blinked, seeming somewhat surprised, but promptly nodded: "Of course, Professor, if you could buy something from me."
"I'll take this." Adrian took a Chocolate Frog from the top of the cart.
At that moment, the sound of a whistle came from outside the window, and the train began to move.
"Ah, I should go," the trolley witch said as she prepared to push her cart out. "Rest well, Professor Westeros."
After the trolley witch left, Adrian was the only one remaining in the rest area. He casually leaned back in the seat and unwrapped the Chocolate Frog he had just bought.
Each box of Chocolate Frogs came with a collectible card.
Unsurprisingly, Adrian got a Dumbledore card.
For some reason, whenever he opened a Chocolate Frog, he would most likely get a Dumbledore card, which made him once suspect that the manufacturer of Chocolate Frogs had a special affection for Dumbledore.
Looking at Dumbledore winking at him from the photo, Adrian tucked the card into his pocket and stared out at the passing scenery.
When the trolley witch came back around, Adrian had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.
Meanwhile, in a compartment at the end of the train, the three young ones had already met.
Ron was demonstrating magic to Harry and Hermione.
'What kind of magic would he perform?'
Harry was curious. 'The Levitation Charm? The Illumination Charm? Or the Repair Charm?'
Ah, these were all too simple. A student from a wizarding family must know more powerful spells, right?
Just as Harry was thinking this, Ron uttered the incantation.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
"..."
What kind of spell was this? He had never heard of it.
Moreover, Sunshine daisies, butter mellow—this seemed similar to the name of Mr. Westeros's shop.
Harry was puzzled.
In any case, Ron failed to cast a successful spell.
As for Hermione, she said she had practiced a few spells at home, and they all worked.
This made Harry realize that new students who knew magic were probably in the minority.
That being the case, perhaps he was quite talented?
After all, he had only spent one summer previewing all the spells in "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1."
Although there were some spells he wasn't very proficient with.
In Adrian's words, "Your spells are all just for show, Harry. Don't be so full of yourself."
Besides that, Hermione also told him some bad news: his name had been recorded in many books.
"Modern Magical History," "The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts," "Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century"...
This gave Harry a better understanding of just how famous he was.
To be written about in history books!
As everyone knows, not many people written about in such books are still alive!
When Hermione left the compartment where Harry and Ron were sitting, Ron expressed his displeasure with her.
"No matter which house I'm sorted into, I hope I'm not with her," Ron said.
In truth, Harry also didn't like that girl called Hermione Granger who had just come in.
He felt she was a bit too proud, or perhaps arrogant? The way she talked with her head held high made Harry uncomfortable.
After all, Harry had learned so many spells but hadn't shown off in front of Ron.
Of course, she was indeed quite impressive.
Look at what she had said:
"I've memorized all the textbooks."
Was this really something a human could do?
It fit his stereotypical image of a "good student" perfectly.