The Hidden Snake of the Lions (Harry Potter SI): Chapter 13

As I relaxed in the secluded compartment of the train, I looked out the window as the train started to move out of the station.

Already, I can feel some form of concealment charms activate on the train and this particular set of tracks, keeping them concealed and out of the way from Muggle eyes.

Back in the day, there were not many tracks leading out of this place, so there was no need for such charms to exist on the Hogwarts Express. It also helps that the train belonged to that era, so there would be no one who would even spare a glance at it in those times, thinking it to be a simple railway.

But these days, things are not that simple anymore. Especially the steam locomotive that stuck out like a sore thumb among the diesel and electric locomotives.

There is also the need to make sure that muggles don’t walk onto the tracks accidentally, since they are concealed.

All in all, the Wizarding World has been forced to adapt to the rapid advancements in the Muggle world in its own way. However, I don’t think this type of concealment charm will work for long, especially in the 21st century, where the eyes in the skies in the form of satellite networks and digital footprints become commonplace.

If the Wizarding World is to survive the coming centuries, it will have to stop living in the past and start looking to the future, focusing more on innovation for the sake of self-preservation.

The door opened, bringing me out of my contemplation and memory fragments.

I turned to find the youngest Weasley at the doorway.

“Excuse me, do you mind? Everywhere else is full.”

I smiled at his timid question and nodded.

“Sure. Come in.”

Instantly, his face lit up with happiness.

Such simple-mindedness that feels happy at the smallest of things. I wish I had that privilege as well.

Sometimes, it feels like my memories, no matter how fragmented, are more of a curse than a blessing. Because of them, I have ended up growing mature too early, robbing me of the childish innocence that I should have at this age.

Thankfully, these memories are still a little bit detached from my primary personality, allowing me to retain the personality traits that a boy my age should have.

Imagine how weird it would have been if my personality were that of an old man who saw all of my peers as mere children? My time in Hogwarts would have been hell in such a case, unable to relate to the others, and I would end up without true companionship.

“I am Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley.”

“I am Harry. Harry Potter.”

The boy nodded as he stared at the massive burn scar on my face.

“I guessed as much when you told your name to Mum on the platform. That scar is rather distinctive and eye-catching.”

……I forgot that children my age usually have no filter between their brains and mouths.

I smiled wryly at his words and instinctively scratched at the scar on my face.

While his lack of tact is appalling and might land him in trouble in the future, his words are true nonetheless.

A massive scar that covered my entire forehead and stretched to below my right eye, and maybe even my head if I were to shave my hair, in the shape of a massive lightning bolt, is really distinctive.

It was only because of how big it is that its shape is obscured, and most people cannot spot the shape at a glance. Social stigma of staring at injuries also helps to keep people from staring at it too much and calling out the distinctive shape.

From the open doors, I saw a trolley of sweets and snacks pass by.

That’s a new addition. I don’t remember such services existing on Hogwarts Express back in the day.

“Anything off the trolley, dears?”

Ron gave a depressed look at the many different treats on the trolley before shaking his head.

“No thanks, I am all set.”

The sandwich he took out looked homemade and was probably delicious despite its rather unappetizing looks. I know this because I was a regular member at the Weasley house back in the day, and Garreth’s mom was one hell of a cook, which supposedly ran in the family, according to her words.

I turned to the lady and smiled.

“Do you have butter beer?”

The strange look that she gave me was answer enough, but she still shook her head.

Alright, I guess I’ll try my hand when I get back home to Hogsmeade during the holidays.

“Then, I’ll take the lot.”

I pulled out a few dozen Gallions from my pouch, which was enchanted with the same kind of expansion charms as my truck, something that cost me a good hundred Gallions.

Understandably, Ron’s eyes bugged out at the huge amount, as even the lady could not help but give me looks before happily placing a few of every type of stuff she had on the cart.

It is highly likely that she will think of me as nothing more than a spoiled child from a powerful family because of how easily I tossed out such a huge sum of money. But I still think this is justified since I have been craving some good stuff for years now.

Especially after tasting the processed and artificial flavorings of various Muggle foods.

I smiled as Ron’s face lit up in excitement as I motioned for him to help me finish the food.

……….ok, it’s official. The food culture in the Wizarding World has gone downhill.

After the disaster that was Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, I lost my appetite and continued browsing the food stuff to see if there was something relatively mundane to revive my taste buds.

Ron’s sympathetic gaze did not help either.

“Sorry, mate. I knew there was a chance of bad flavors coming out of that stuff. I mean, George, one of my brothers, swore he got a Bogey flavored one some time ago. But your luck seems to be just as bad as his.”

“No argument there…..”

My luck really is bad. Out of all the flavors that I could have had, why the hell did I get raw Salmon?

For some people, especially those who are into Sushi, it might have been a pretty good flavor, but for me, who never liked eating raw meat, it was gross, and it killed my appetite.

Suddenly, I spotted a box that said Chocolate Frog.

………Please don’t be a literal frog turned to chocolate or something extreme like that. I don’t think my stomach can take something like that.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the box and came face to face with a frog made of chocolate that started moving around instantly.

With a great leap, it jumped straight for the window. Thankfully, I was already on edge so it was an easy job to stop it in its tracks.

“Arresto Momentum!”

With the incantation evoked and my wand motion made in a fraction of a second, the frog froze in mid-air, unable to so much as twitch, as I allowed my senses to probe its inner makings.

Soon, I sighed in relief, finally sure that it was not a real frog turned to chocolate, but chocolate shaped like a frog with animation charm to make it move like a real frog.

Sure about its nature, I cancelled the spell and allowed it to fall into my hands firmly, allowing me to take a bite out of it to soothe my nerves and upset stomach.

“….Blimey Harry! That was wicked!”

I jumped at Ron’s excited shout.

Ah, right. From what I read, children his age are hardly taught any real spells and are only allowed to use simple spells like Lumos in the few weeks of time between getting their wands and being shipped off to Hogwarts.

A shame, really. Back in my past life, I heard that wizarding families usually had their exclusive knowledge and spell craft that were taught to their children from a young age, making them a cut above regular children when they attended Hogwarts.

From what I remember from Garreth’s words, he, too, was taught various spells before coming to Hogwarts and was even trained in Potion crafting to a certain degree before starting his studies. This was why he was so competent as a fifth-year student at Potion crafting, enough to create his own versions of regular potions and gain recognition from a renowned potion maker like Professor Aesop Sharp.

I caught the flicker of envy in his eyes as he stared at the beautifully made Wand in my hand before staring at me with excitement.

“Were you trained by someone!? How many spells do you know!?”

“I wasn’t trained by anyone particularly. I just read from the books and practiced on my own.”

A partial lie. I did read ahead for the year and know almost all the spells, given that they are basic spells that I already knew by heart and could cast without a wand if I wanted to. But Ron doesn’t need to know that much.

“As for how many spells I know? A lot.”

“Cool! I only know one spell. Fred gave it to me. Said it will help turn Scabbers yellow. Oh! This is Scabbers by the way!”

I looked down at the rather massive rat in Ron’s lap and felt like something was off about it.

Usually, animals have very little in the way of magic. So much so that they don’t even register on my senses with the exception of my little girl, who happens to have a rather large magical presence for some reason. I theorize that it has to do with how much time she spent with me since my childhood, but I can neither prove nor disprove that theory.

But this rat might be the key to proving this theory, given that I feel a very strong and steady flow of magic from him, although it is not a magical creature.

“Want to see?”

I nodded seriously as Ron took out his wand, making me wince.

Yeah, that won't do at all.

I can tell right away that this wand did not choose Ron, and neither was he its first owner.

Ron’s magic flowed through it just fine, but the undercurrent of rejection from the wand is barely being held back by Ron’s magic. Such a rebellious wand can prove to be more of a deterrent than a focus for his magic in the long term.

I do not know if it has some sentimental value or tradition, but I think Ron should ditch that wand and get a proper one for himself.

Maybe I can convince him of this change once we are sorted? It would be good to visit Ollivanders again and see how that old man is doing.

Ron cleared his throat and was about to start his spell when the door to our compartment opened again. This time, it was a girl our age with bushy hair who looked around a little anxiously and with no small amount of irritation.

“Has anyone seen a Toad? A boy named Neville lost it- Oh! Are you doing magic? Let’s see then.”

…..Ok, that was rather rude and more than a little arrogant.

As expected of a child, I guess. I should remember that I am the anomaly, and these two are the norm for our age group.

I watched with amusement as Ron became even more nervous from the scrutinizing gaze of the girl.

Gathering his nerves, Ron swished his wand randomly, which was already a bad sign since wand motions are an important part of a spell cast with a wand, and there exists a specific pattern to them, not just some random movements.

“Sunshine, Daisies, Butter Mellow, Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!”

…….Yeah, that is no Magic. That’s just a random burst of magical energy with no purpose- What the hell!?

The moment I felt Ron’s random burst of magic hit the rat, I instantly felt a form of magical resistance wash off Ron’s power. Something that should be impossible, even for a magical beast, since they don’t have the mastery over their magic to create that kind of resistance to magic that only a seasoned wizard or witch can do.

I should know since I could do that as well in my previous life, and something that I’ve been struggling to master again in this life for some time now.

This damned rat is either an as of yet undiscovered race of Magical creature, or it is a fucking Animagus!

Vritra felt my emotional turmoil through our bond and rapidly emerged from my coat, glaring at everyone in the room before his eyes fell on the rat, which instantly retreated into Ron’s coat with pure terror.

“I don’t think that is a real spell.”

The girl’s words brought me out of my thoughts, making me keep a hand on Vritra in comfort as Ron stared at it strangely and with a little bit of fear, just like the girl who gave it a cautious look but relaxed when she saw Vritra lean into my touch and wrap around my wrist gently.

Meanwhile, I continued keeping my senses on Scabbers, trying to see if any of its actions would give clues as to what it really is.

I'll have to monitor that rat as much as possible for the sake of my own safety. New species of Magica Creatures are a danger to everyone since we won't know what they are really capable of until proper research is conducted, making them a threat to the well-being of everyone around them.

And if it really is an Animagus, I know exactly how to deal with such people.

The girl sat down right in front of me, looking for something, before she spotted a crack in the window of our compartment.

“Of course, I’ve only tried a few simple ones myself. For example…”

She pointed her wand at the crack.

Bollocks!

“….I wouldn’t do that, if I were you-“

“Reparo!”

Her magic repaired the glass instantly, but just as quickly, the train’s defensive charms came online and rebounded some of that magic energy onto the girl.

“Protego!”

I cast the spell quickly, creating a shield around the girl that took the impact. But still, the girl felt some of the kinetic energy and was slightly pushed back, making her widen her eyes in shock.

“Yeah. The Hogwarts Express is enchanted to hell and back to protect it from all kinds of external interference. The intensity of the rebound depends on the spell used on it. Fortunately, you only used a simple restoring spell, so the rebound was relatively low.”

I smiled at the girl who still looked a little shaken at the events.

“I am Harry, by the way. Harry Potter.”

“….Hermione Granger.”

“Oh! I am Ron, Ron Weasley.”

Hermione simply nodded at Ron’s words, still a little shaken from the experience before she took a deep breath and gathered her wits.

She looked at both our clothes before nodding and getting up.

“You two should change into your robes. We will be arriving soon. Good day.”

With that, she left us alone and moved on.

Looks like my stay at Hogwarts is going to be quite interesting this time around as well.