Our young master Draco Malfoy was basking in praise and admiration aboard the Hogwarts Express. For a while, it went straight to his head.
Still, the students' conversations kept circling back to the real stars: the campus legend Qin and the boy who'd survived the Dark Lord—Harry Potter. Of course, no one dared say Voldemort's name out loud.
"I can't wait to see what Qin does this year."
"Gryffindor's Quidditch team is a whole new beast with Qin on board."
"Yeah, but with Charlie gone, who's going to be their Seeker?"
"Doesn't matter. With Qin as Beater, you could stick anyone in as Seeker and they'd still win."
"You volunteering, then?"
"Ha! They don't take students from other houses. Besides, I'd die before betraying Hufflepuff!"
"Tch."
"Hey, I heard Qin's sister is starting at Hogwarts too. Wonder if she's as impressive as he is."
"Definitely something to look forward to."
...
Thanks to his Quidditch heroics, Qin Yu had become a household name at school. The more people learned about him, the more they discovered: top marks (according to the professors), impeccable character (according to some first-years), and a vast social circle (again, first-year feedback). He'd quickly become the school's golden boy.
Of course, Qin Yu's fame was strictly a schoolyard thing—a big fish in a small pond. Out in the real world, he'd just be another face in the crowd. But that suited him fine. As long as he could learn, level up in secret, and have some fun, that was enough.
As for Harry Potter, his name had echoed through the wizarding world for a decade. Until now, he'd been a legend no one had actually seen—finally, they could put a face to the myth.
"That boy's in the compartment up ahead."
"I peeked in—he looks really quiet."
"Is he really that powerful? I mean, he escaped You-Know-Who. His magic must be off the charts."
"Maybe, maybe not. He seems pretty ordinary to me."
"But he can't be just anyone."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
...
All this talk made Malfoy more than a little jealous.
Still, he figured it was only a matter of time before he made a name for himself at Hogwarts. But first, he wanted to see just what those two "legends" looked like.
With his ever-present shadows—Crabbe and Goyle—in tow, Malfoy set off down the train.
That's when he spotted the boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop in the corridor. Even more telling, passing students greeted him with a cheerful "Qin!"
...
"You're really Qin?!" The memory of what he'd said in the shop made Malfoy's face turn a little awkward.
"Didn't expect to see you again so soon, Draco!" Qin Yu replied with a friendly smile.
"You… you know my name?" Malfoy's eyes widened in surprise.
"Well, I've met your father several times. Each time left quite an impression. And with that iconic pale blond hair and that face—let's just say, you're the spitting image of him. Almost annoyingly so," Qin Yu said, his tone turning cold.
Every meeting with Lucius Malfoy had ended in disaster. So seeing his son now, Qin Yu couldn't muster much warmth.
"I… I don't know what happened between you and my father. But I… I hope you'll speak more civilly!" Malfoy stammered, suddenly uneasy.
Now he understood why his father had warned him to keep his distance from Qin—turns out, there was bad blood.
In truth, Lucius's warning stemmed from witnessing Qin Yu thrash Jerome. He was terrified his own son might end up on the receiving end.
"Oh, civilly? Fine. Remember what you said. If I catch you being uncivilized at school, we'll have a little chat—just you and me, junior Malfoy."
Qin Yu stepped closer, looming slightly over the shorter Malfoy. He finished with a firm pat on the boy's shoulder, making Malfoy flinch.
"O-of course. The Malfoy family has a long and noble heritage. We're a pure-blood family—elegant, civilized, and impeccably polite. I would never do anything uncivilized!" Malfoy lifted his chin, trying to sound composed.
But with Qin standing so close, his heart was pounding. He couldn't help but feel a little scared—maybe more than a little.
"Excellent, excellent. Here's a reward for you, junior—have a sweet."
Qin Yu offered Malfoy a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean, and handed one each to the burly Crabbe and Goyle as well.
"What's this…?" Young Master Malfoy had never tasted such "commoner" treats.
"Something tasty," Qin Yu said, popping one into his own mouth.
Lucky—strawberry.
"Hermione, Neville, let's go. That toad probably wandered into another carriage." Qin Yu called to his sister and the chubby Neville, and the three of them moved on.
Malfoy hesitated, then tossed the Every Flavour Bean into his mouth.
His face instantly puckered in agony.
"So sour…" he gasped.
His mouth flooded with saliva. But after the initial shock, a subtle sweetness lingered. Actually… it wasn't bad at all.
That kind of flavor hit was new for Malfoy—and, to his surprise, he kind of liked it.
"Qin, I will catch up to you someday!" Malfoy quickly chewed and swallowed the sweet, calling after the retreating Qin Yu.
"I'll be waiting," Qin Yu replied without turning.
Once Qin Yu and his group had left, Crabbe asked, "Malfoy, are we still going to find Harry Potter?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't we? Maybe he'll get into Slytherin too. I hope he's smart enough to join us."
Malfoy had already spotted Harry Potter at a distance and recognized him as the bespectacled boy from the robe shop. This trip was all about recruiting Harry for his little clique.
But most of all, he wanted the famous Harry Potter as his friend—preferably one who'd listen to him. That would be the ultimate bragging right.
Of course, now that he knew Harry was friends with Qin, Malfoy decided he'd settle for just being friends.
So the Malfoy trio knocked on Harry Potter's compartment door.
Despite Qin Yu's warning to be civil, Malfoy couldn't help himself. He was as arrogant as ever, even mocking the Weasley family's poverty.
Harry Potter found himself instantly disgusted. Friends? Not a chance. If he actually knew any magic, he'd have been ready to throw down then and there. The way Malfoy insulted Ron made Harry's blood boil.
In the end, Malfoy not only failed to make friends with Harry Potter—he left with things more tense than ever.
"Ow, my stomach hurts… must've been that bean…" Goyle groaned, clutching his belly.
"Me too…" Crabbe echoed, grabbing his own stomach.
Just then, Malfoy's own stomach started rumbling loudly.
So the once-arrogant trio beat a hasty, embarrassed retreat from the compartment.
"Ha ha ha!" "Ha ha ha!"
Harry and Ron burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Adam, who'd barely been noticed the whole time, slowly lowered his slightly raised hand and muttered, "What a bunch of noisy idiots."
…
Chugga-chugga!
Whooo-whooo~
The train thundered through sweeping mountains, rivers, forests, and fields, occasionally passing a sleepy Muggle village.
Young witches and wizards chatted, laughed, dozed, or gazed out at the scenery, waiting for the journey's end.
Qin Yu and Hermione never did manage to find Neville's toad. Fortunately, after a short sulk, the chubby boy was distracted by the treats Qin Yu had given him.
Once Neville left, the siblings finally had a moment of peace—everyone else was busy getting ready for arrival.
Qin Yu and Hermione changed into their wizarding robes.
Seeing Hermione transformed into an adorable little witch again—chin up, face proud—Qin Yu's heart melted. He couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek.
With such a cute face around at home, he thought, he'd do more than just pinch her cheeks.
At worst, he'd recite her a poem.
"If you keep pinching, my face'll swell!" Hermione protested.
"I wasn't even pinching that hard."
"Then let me pinch you and see!"
"Go ahead."
"Hmph, but don't move!"
"Ow! I definitely didn't use that much force!"
"Really? Then I'll be gentler… let's try again…"
"…"
"Don't dodge!"
"Only a fool wouldn't dodge!"
"Heh, you can't escape, I—mmph…"
The girl lost her balance and tumbled into Qin Yu's arms. Deciding she was comfortable enough, she just stayed there for a rest.
——Dimensional Wall——
All right, calling it "writer's block" might sound like an excuse. Honestly, I just made the key character interactions too simple in my outline, and I've been struggling for two days.
I'll try to sort things out quickly… Only one update today.
No more rambling—everyone, get some rest.
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