You weren't much better off before, actually.
Dolly thought to herself as she watched Neville and his grandmother walk away, comparing his childhood with Harry's, but she wouldn't say such a thing out loud.
And Harry knew this very well. Otherwise, why would he feel sympathy for the fat boy in front of him?
For a moment, Harry even wanted to do something for this boy whose name he didn't even know.
But then Harry gave up the idea.
He didn't even know the other person's name. Meddling in someone else's family affairs might only make them resentful.
Harry had become more cheerful, but he wasn't so reckless as to have completely lost his mind.
With the help of Neville's grandmother, the three of them quickly pushed their trolleys to the entrance of a carriage that was still relatively empty.
They dragged all their luggage into an empty compartment and quickly helped each other sort everything out.
Then Hermione and Harry excitedly looked around, while Dolly wondered if she would meet those other people.
Including but not limited to the Weasley brothers, Malfoy, and so on.
The train was not small, to be honest, because it wasn't just for new Hogwarts students, but for all year levels who needed to take the train.
But at the same time, the train's environment was relatively enclosed, with only one corridor, and each compartment door and window had a large pane of glass.
It was actually very easy to see who was in a compartment.
Sure enough, before long, Dolly saw many suspected characters from the story.
For example, the conspicuous pair of red-haired twins, who chattered non-stop wherever they went.
And Malfoy, with his slicked-back hair, looking smug, followed by his two cronies carrying his luggage.
As for the upper-year students, there was no need to say more. Dolly couldn't even call out some of their names at first glance.
Seeing all this, Dolly truly felt it: she had arrived at Hogwarts!
The excitement of the three didn't last long, cooled down by the increasingly chaotic carriage.
This was where the advantage of a compartment became clear. Although a compartment could theoretically seat four or even six people, no one wanted to actively squeeze into the compartment where Dolly, Hermione, and Harry were.
A stranger facing three people who were familiar with each other—the awkwardness was no different from social death. Few people wanted to experience that.
Unless, he really couldn't find any other seat.
"Hello, can I come in? There are no other seats."
Dolly turned her head and could only sigh. This was probably the unbreakable fate of the main trio.
The person who had come was undoubtedly Ron.
He had clearly come to the station with his two older brothers, but had been ruthlessly abandoned by them and had to find a compartment on his own.
Of course, it was also possible that Ron had done this on purpose.
After all, his two brothers had their own classmates and could have fun with them.
Ron was very thin-skinned and probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to squeeze into an upper-year compartment, not to mention that his two brothers often made fun of him.
Harry looked at Ron in surprise. The train had already been moving for a while.
Not having found a seat at this point probably meant he had been wandering the train for a long time.
He glanced at Hermione and Dolly opposite him. This matter still had to be decided by his sister.
Ron also realized at this point that the two girls were the real decision-makers.
The girl with the thick, bushy brown hair and the "don't come near me" expression was one thing; Ron would rather die than interact with someone with that kind of expression.
But when his eyes moved to the girl the boy regarded as the leader, Ron's gaze couldn't move away.
She was lying gracefully on her side on the sofa, her legs gently crossed. She wore a beige knitted sweater, the ends of her golden hair curled, resting lazily on her shoulders.
The September London wind blew through her hair, causing strands to brush against her slightly furrowed brow, while her green eyes curiously sized up Ron.
Ron was struck as if by lightning. He quickly looked away, even feeling an urge to turn and run.
But because running away would be too embarrassing, he could only stand there stiffly, unable to advance or retreat, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
"Hermione, what do you think?"
Dolly didn't answer directly, but asked for Hermione's opinion.
Hermione shrugged. "I have no objection."
"It's fine to let him in. It'll give Harry someone else to talk to. Otherwise, I get angry just seeing him frown while trying to memorize his books."
Harry, far from being angry, burst out laughing. "Hermione, don't make it sound like I'm worse at my studies than my sister. At least I'm a little better than her."
It would have been better if he hadn't said that. Hermione got even angrier, her eyes wide as she glared at Dolly.
Although she had lowered her academic expectations for Dolly after learning she was recovering from a major illness, seeing that she herself had memorized all the first-year textbooks while Dolly and Harry were still stumbling over incantations, how could she not be angry?
The good friend she had imagined was supposed to be someone who would study and motivate each other, competing for first place in every exam, a true meeting of minds.
To this, Dolly could only say that she didn't want to be so competitive anymore.
You only live once. You can't really spend every day like you're preparing for college entrance exams.
Her magical level was limited by her magic talent level, and more textbook knowledge wouldn't guarantee her a smooth path after graduation.
It was better to focus on experiencing life. Anyway, she could add points to her magic, and Vernon would leave her a handsome fortune.
Calculating by a tenfold increase each year, by the time Dolly graduated, Vernon would be worth over a hundred million.
Then she would take that money, invest in future unicorns around the world, and she could lie flat for the rest of her life.
Why be as competitive as in her past life?
"Then come on in. We'll be classmates soon anyway."
Dolly spoke, and this time Ron felt as if he had been granted amnesty.
He dragged his luggage into the compartment and briefly put it away.
Even though he really didn't want to talk to Hermione and didn't dare to talk to Dolly, Ron, knowing basic courtesy, still took the initiative to speak. "Hello, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."
"I have three older brothers at Hogwarts, so I should be quite familiar with the school."
Ron's words piqued Hermione's interest.
Although Hermione had already learned all about Hogwarts' unofficial history from books, you couldn't believe everything in textbooks.
So she also spoke up. "I'm Hermione Granger."
"She's Dolly Dursley, and as for him..."
Harry took the initiative to finish, extending his hand generously. "Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you."
But there was no response for a long time. Ron was dumbfounded again.
"You're that famous Boy-Who-Lived?"
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