"W-What do you mean, 'a romantic moment'!?"
Hermione's face flushed bright red. "Marius, don't say things like that!"
Marius gave her a sly smirk and said sarcastically, "Oh? Or did I get it wrong? Could it be Miss Granger actually doesn't want to share a compartment with me?"
Hermione's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "No! I—I just wanted to sit with you so I could ask you more questions about spells, that's all!"
Watching her flustered honesty made Marius feel rather pleased with himself. With that, he finally waved off the sheepish, rejected Harry.
One could only imagine how Harry felt right now. His first ride to Hogwarts, and he'd already been force-fed a hearty dose of public affection. Ever since entering the wizarding world, people had been kind to him—always friendly, always admiring. Marius was the first person who treated him without flattery or fuss.
Soon after the Hogwarts Express began moving, the door to their compartment slid open, and a round-faced witch poked her head in with a warm smile.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Before Hermione could answer, Marius snapped his fingers. "We'll take two of everything!"
"O-Oh! Right away, sir!"
The trolley witch looked momentarily stunned by his extravagance, but quickly began stacking sweets on their table. Before long, it looked like a miniature mountain of sugar.
"Enjoy your feast, dears."
The trolley witch bowed, smiling broadly at the windfall, then moved on.
"You shouldn't have bought so much," Hermione chided. "It's wasteful!"
"It's not like any of it spoils right away," Marius said casually. "Besides, we can always bring it with us into Hogwarts."
"But too much candy will rot your teeth!"
Marius gave her a deadpan look. Of course the daughter of two dentists would say that.
"Relax. If it comes to that, I'll foot the bill to replace them with a full set of golden teeth."
Hermione looked horrified. The image of herself grinning with a mouth full of bling sent shivers down her spine. She whacked Marius a few times, half-laughing, half-annoyed. "You're the worst! No one wants gold teeth!"
As the two bantered, the train rolled on. But it wasn't long before Marius's now-level-3 Mental Strength flared up with a sudden spike of warning. This sensation… it was even stronger than what he'd felt back at Gringotts.
And sure enough, just moments later, the door to their compartment slid open again—this time, accompanied by a pungent garlic stench.
"M-Marius… Cloud…"
In the doorway stood Professor Quirrell. "Would you… m-mind c-coming to the staff car later? I… I have something I'd like to discuss…"
A faint flicker passed through Marius's eyes. Why was he inviting him over? Had Voldemort discovered Marius was the one who disrupted him at Gringotts?
But that didn't seem likely. If Voldemort knew, wouldn't he just try to quietly dispose of him, rather than openly request a chat?
Besides, Marius was sure he'd been fast and subtle enough not to leave a single trace.
After a moment's thought, Marius offered a pleasant smile. "Of course, Professor Quirrell. I'll join you shortly."
"O-Okay then, M-Mr. Cloud…"
As Quirrell left, Hermione let go of her nose and frowned. "Who was that? You know him?"
"He's our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Marius said with a shrug. "I've heard a lot about him. Supposedly he's a creepy perv who's into kids. So, Hermione, make sure you never get close to him, alright?"
Marius slandered Quirrell without a second thought—and Hermione believed him immediately.
"What?! Hogwarts actually hired someone like that? My dad would definitely send a complaint if he found out!"
"Also…" Hermione waved her hand in front of her nose, grimacing. "The smell… it's awful…"
"Scourgify!"
Marius flicked his white wand lazily, and the nasty odor vanished on the spot. Hermione's eyes lit up in amazement.
"Was that the cleaning spell from the book?"
"Not quite. That was Scourgify. The one in the book is 'Tergeo'—slightly different."
Marius gave a brief explanation, then stood up and headed for the door.
Before accepting Quirrell's invitation, Marius had suddenly realized something important: they were on the Hogwarts Express.
Why the hell should he be afraid of Voldemort here?
If anything, Voldemort should be the one worried about making a wrong move. After all, the train was full of students, staff, and enchanted protections.
So, he figured—why not hear Quirrell out? Could be that Voldemort wanted to recruit him instead. As the heir to a prestigious pure-blood family, that wouldn't be too surprising.
He reached the staff compartment and pushed open the door, only to be immediately assaulted by a fresh wave of garlic so strong it almost made him choke.
"By , Professor Quirrell—do you ever bathe?"
Quirrell gave an awkward laugh. His stutter was now noticeably reduced. "Mr. Cloud, I've heard much about you. Your recent feats were… quite impressive."
"You're too kind," Marius replied with a foxlike smile. He could tell Quirrell was working up to something—but Marius beat him to it.
"If I may speak frankly, Professor," Marius interrupted, fanning the air dramatically, "the stench on you is so bad I can barely breathe~"
Before Quirrell could respond, Marius raised a hand to stop him. "And since you've heard of my recent accomplishments, you must also know that I possess near-perfect magical control, yes?"
"Y-Yes, but I was actually trying to—"
"Perfect!" Marius clapped his hands with exaggerated enthusiasm, cutting him off again. "Then you can rest easy—I won't get your robes dirty."
"Get my—wait, what are you doing?"
Before Quirrell could piece it together, Marius had already raised his wand and pointed it directly at Quirrell's turban.
"I believe the source of that toxic cloud is your hat. Don't worry, Professor—I'll give it a thorough cleaning!"
"Aguamenti!"
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T/N:
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